Foundation Problems

[jlundquist1]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? TX

We closed on our home 2 weeks ago. Since moving in we have noticed numerous things that have lead us to believe that the house has a foundation problem. We had the home inspected prior to close and our inspector is licensed. He noted in his report that the foundation was "performing it's intended function at this time, in my opinion". He noted about 1/4 of the items that lead us to believe that there is a problem in his report. At the inspection both I and my realtor asked about the foundation and no problems were reported. Some of the things we have noticed are obvious repairs in the drywall. The house is 10 years old, we are the 4th owners and it was owned by an out of state relo company when we bought it. The house has at least 2 prior inspection reports, 1 from the relo co. and one from a previous contract, none of which noted foundation problems.

We signed an agreement with our inspector that we would notify him of any problems withing 10 days and would agree to arbitration before litigation. We notified him, he came back out, and seemed honestly concerned. He did admit some of the things he missed and offered to help pay for an engineering study if we choose to have one, only after we have a foundation repair company give us their opinion. However he said he still feels that he wouldn't have noted a foundation problem.

My question is basically what to do? Is my claim against our home inspector, the relo company, the previous owners (who are now out of state), or all? If my inspector carries insurance what can I expect from that and how do I file a claim? Can I have the repairs done and try and recoup later or should I wait? What if it gets worse while I'm waiting?

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? TX

We closed on our home 2 weeks ago. Since moving in we have noticed numerous things that have lead us to believe that the house has a foundation problem. We had the home inspected prior to close and our inspector is licensed. He noted in his report that the foundation was "performing it's intended function at this time, in my opinion". He noted about 1/4 of the items that lead us to believe that there is a problem in his report. At the inspection both I and my realtor asked about the foundation and no problems were reported. Some of the things we have noticed are obvious repairs in the drywall. The house is 10 years old, we are the 4th owners and it was owned by an out of state relo company when we bought it. The house has at least 2 prior inspection reports, 1 from the relo co. and one from a previous contract, none of which noted foundation problems.

We signed an agreement with our inspector that we would notify him of any problems withing 10 days and would agree to arbitration before litigation. We notified him, he came back out, and seemed honestly concerned. He did admit some of the things he missed and offered to help pay for an engineering study if we choose to have one, only after we have a foundation repair company give us their opinion. However he said he still feels that he wouldn't have noted a foundation problem.

My question is basically what to do? Is my claim against our home inspector, the relo company, the previous owners (who are now out of state), or all? If my inspector carries insurance what can I expect from that and how do I file a claim? Can I have the repairs done and try and recoup later or should I wait? What if it gets worse while I'm waiting?

**A: hire a foundation contractor and an engineer. You need more evidence.

 

[nextwife]

Drywall repairs in and of themselves do NOT mean there is a failure of the foundation. I have seen MANY homes that develop cracks. It is normal and natural for some settling and adjustment to occur over time. Seasonal ground heaving is a natural occurance, and will cause some plaster cracks, even if the foundation is quit solid. And many homes WILL settle some in the first decade, as compacting occurs. If I considered every home that had plaster/drywall repairs over the years to have failing foundations, virtually half of of the homes I've ever toured would be placed in that catagory.

AS stated, you need to PROFESSIONALLY establish that there IS a structural problem with the foundation. Right now, all you have is evidence of drywall repairs. And those can happen for OTHER reasons. We have repairs where shelving standards used to be, where we removed paneling, and so on. Get a specialist.

 

[jlundquist1]

Thanks.

We have a foundation repair company coming out this week. If they report a problem we'll hire an engineer.

It's not just cracks in the drywall. The floors on one side of the house feel like they slope, some of the windows don't shut properly, etc. All of what we see individually wouldn't raise an eyebrow, but combined it seems to be a problem.

 

[HomeGuru]

Thanks.

We have a foundation repair company coming out this week. If they report a problem we'll hire an engineer.

It's not just cracks in the drywall. The floors on one side of the house feel like they slope, some of the windows don't shut properly, etc. All of what we see individually wouldn't raise an eyebrow, but combined it seems to be a problem.

**A: post back later, and you should hire the engineer anyway since the home inspector agreed to pay for the engineer.

 

[jlundquist1]

The foundation guy just came out and said that industry standard is 1 inch of settlement across a 30 ft span. The lowest point in the house is 1 1/8th of an inch off. He recommended trying to remedy the problem with drainage control, etc. He said if it gets worse, or if I really want it repaired it could be done for around $4k. I mentioned wanting to hire an engineer. My inspector who originally offered to help pay for an engineer now says that he feels he's done and anything I do from this point is my responsibility.

I'm on the fence about the repair. It's much less than I expected. I understand that there is a very minor settlement problem and that any house in this area probably will have at some time a little settling. My questions now are:

1. I still feel that if the inspector had reported all of the structural problems (cracked drywall, windows that don't shut properly, minor masonry cracks, walls that are not level, etc.) I probably wouldn't have bought the house. Even if it's only a drainage issue this is money I didn't forsee, nor did I want to spend. If all I have a claim for is the $200 inspection report I don't feel it's worth the hassle of arbitration or litigation.

2. Although I like this house and plan to stay in it for a long time I still look at real estate as an investment. If down the road I've lost value becaue of a negligent report or disclosure do I have a claim against anyone (inspector, previous owners) for that?

I think I'm more confused now than I was when I didn't know.

 

[Gadfly]

The thing that would help with your choice is the one thing you may not be able to determine and that is, "Did the house settle that little bit in the 10-years since it was built, did it settle all at once when it was built, or did it settle in the time since you first purchased the home?" Also was the so called industry standard a standard for all time or a standard for a specific period of time. Did he give you any place where you could reference this standard.

If the house is done settling (as in your expert would have to tell you) maybe you should consider simply fixing the drywall and be done with it.

Before you decide which "leagal" path to take I think you need to look at all of the technical options. At this point you haven't (at least to this board) explored all of the science (and may not even know what it is) and you really need to know that first.

 

[jlundquist1]

I know this is more of a legal forum so I may be in the wrong place now. According to everything I look at (Dept. of Agri., leveling companies,etc.) this area has very expansive soil and the house may never be done settling. According to the leveling co. this much settling can happen in as little as a month. It did not happen since we purchased the home since we noticed it about the 2nd day and some of the signs were there prior. As far as the other timelines I don't know, and frankly how could I. From what I've researched there are about 6 "standards". Ha!

I think my legal questions have been answered in a round about way. The repair is much less than I thought, and although I still feel that the inspector was a bit negligent and the prior owners deceptive in their disclosure, it's far from a clear cut case and would probably cost 10x more to litigate than repair.

I'm not sure what you mean by the science of it, but I wouldn't mind if you point me where to look! It seems the more I learn, I realize that there's plenty of science as to why settlement occurs, just none on how & when to fix it.

Unfortunately the biggest lesson I've learned from this is one I already knew: caveat emptor!

 

[justalayman]

The foundation guy just came out and said that industry standard is 1 inch of settlement across a 30 ft span. The lowest point in the house is 1 1/8th of an inch off. He recommended trying to remedy the problem with drainage control, etc. He said if it gets worse, or if I really want it repaired it could be done for around $4k. I mentioned wanting to hire an engineer. My inspector who originally offered to help pay for an engineer now says that he feels he's done and anything I do from this point is my responsibility.

I'm on the fence about the repair. It's much less than I expected. I understand that there is a very minor settlement problem and that any house in this area probably will have at some time a little settling. My questions now are:

1. I still feel that if the inspector had reported all of the structural problems (cracked drywall, windows that don't shut properly, minor masonry cracks, walls that are not level, etc.) I probably wouldn't have bought the house. Even if it's only a drainage issue this is money I didn't forsee, nor did I want to spend. If all I have a claim for is the $200 inspection report I don't feel it's worth the hassle of arbitration or litigation.

2. Although I like this house and plan to stay in it for a long time I still look at real estate as an investment. If down the road I've lost value becaue of a negligent report or disclosure do I have a claim against anyone (inspector, previous owners) for that?

I think I'm more confused now than I was when I didn't know.

Not sure what you are going to remedy with drainage improvement. You may stop further damage but as you said there are problems now with doors, windows, etc. the only way to fix this is to level house. Is this the repair for $4k?

You might also talk with the local building department as to soil type. They may be the closest to the problem without a vested interest in what you do.

And of course your inspector is going to say it's in your lap now. The more people believe him the better for him. I would continue to investigate until you have a consensus of uninterested parties.

If nobody before has noted a foundation problem before you would be hard pressed to claim anything against the previous owners. So realistically that leaves you and the inspector. If you find in your investigation that he was deficcient in his inspection procedures then that's who I would looks towards for money.