cracked exterior masonry

[real_cheep]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? -Tennessee
My wife and I are moving to Tennessee and looking very closely at a beautiful 1930's Dutch style brick-on-wood frame home in the town to which we're relocating (actually, I've only loooked at the numerous pictures my wife took of the place on her last house-hunting trip). There are several places where the exterior masonry is cracked - usually along joints, but some cracks go through bricks. Most of these areas are very near earth level. Now, my current house has a leaky basement - so I know about cracked foundations and the need to be cautious - BUT, this house has no basement, only a crawl space. So, absent a basement, would there be any reason to be worried about cracked masonry aside from aesthetic concerns? Thanks for any advice.

 

[John Se]

Get professional help!

gotta look at the footings and see if they are stable, cracks may have been there 50 years. also what kind of soil is the house built on and does the house seem to drain well? Is the water table very shallow? a 1930's house will not have an re-bar in the footings or masonry, may have bond wire so if they are cracked they are probably still moving. Just an opinion, so whats you legal question?

 

[real_cheep]

Thanks for the quick reply, John Se. The house is near the high side of a sloped 2 acre lot, so if I had to guess I'd imagine drainage is pretty good. There is, however, a very small creek traversing the property, which I think must arise from a spring (since my wife tells me there is no higher ground around the property), so perhaps the water table is quite shallow.

My legal question is, does the seller have to disclose any problems he/she is aware of which might result from (or contribute to) this cracking (provided the house is not being sold as-is)?

More immediately, who should I get to look at the footings to make sure they are stable? Where would such a person reside in the Yellow Pages, and what kinds of qualifications shoudl he/she have? Would your basic home inspector be up to the task?

Thanks again!!!