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I bought a house with bowed foundation walls.
- Thread starter ejchatt
- Start date
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Just Blue
Senior Member
Did you have an inspection before purchase?
In January of this year I closed on a house, not realizing both the front (basement) and back (garage) foundation walls are bowed and in need of repair. I am wondering if I can hold either the foundation company or previous owners libel, and if it would be worth it financially to pursue this issue legally, considering the costs of a lawyer and court. Here are further details:
Timeline of events:
12/12/18: Inspection report from Inspection Company came back, indicating some cracks in the foundation as well as evidence of water in the garage. Recommended re-grading to ensure water ran away from foundation. Quotes on the Foundation/ crawlspace from the inspection report:
“A crack of approximately 1/8"or less was observed in the foundation wall. The cracking implies that some foundation movement has occurred. Recommend masonry sealing and monitoring for any further movement. Although no obvious evidence suggesting "immediate" concern was observed, this does not however guarantee future conditions. The exact / precise measurement of such conditions is not within the scope of our inspection. Past or future movement may be related to soils and geological issues, which are beyond the scope of our expertise.”
“Evidence of water penetration at the foundation was observed in the crawl space area. Additional ventilation and / or a vapor barrier should be considered. The conditions observed are conducive to wood rot, mold,
rust and corrosion to pipes and wires. Recommend further evaluation by a waterproofing contractor. A mold inspection or testing was not performed as part of this general home inspection.”
“The inspector was unable to fully inspect the foundation walls and floors due to the finished basement components. Areas behind finished walls and ceilings were concealed and were not visible or accessible for a full and complete inspection.”
12/14/18
My real estate agent had someone from a local foundation company go by the house on her request to inspect the foundation and address the issues of the cracks as well as potential water/mold issues. He left my agent a voicemail stating: “I looked at that house, what it actually needs is some gutter downspout extensions, I told them it’s roughly about a $900 project, they’re probably going to do that on their own, so that’s all I would do to that house. Alright, thanks so much, bye.” Agent forwarded me this voicemail letting me know that he had inspected the foundation and only recommended the gutter downspout extensions, also adding that he had said there were no mold issues. I did not get anything official or in writing based on this "inspection", but I do still have the voicemail.
1/25/19
I closed on the house with no work to the foundation.
11/25/19
Another person from that same foundation company came by to inspect the foundation. I had called the company to get someone to look at the house because of increasing cracking in the plaster ceiling. He diagnosed the front foundation wall as being a bowed wall due to the evidence of stair step cracking as well as horizontal and vertical cracking, most of which had been there at the time of purchase, as evidenced by the fact that they were still painted over from the previous owners. He was not able to stay long enough to give me an official estimate of repairs but verbally told me that it would be around $7000 and arranged to come back later the next week to give me an official estimate.
12/3/19
I spoke with the inspector who originally came to the house last December on the phone who agreed to come by the house on 12/5 to look at the foundation and share with me any pictures or notes he took on the house from last December. He verbally expressed to me on the phone that he had not set foot in the house to look at the foundation wall in the basement, that he had only looked at the outside of the home and inside the garage regarding the water issues. I said that I was under the impression that he had looked at the house to address foundational issues and he reinforced that he never looked inside the house.
12/4/19
Another inspector from another came by to look at the house per my request. He agreed on the diagnosis of bowed foundational wall on the front wall in the basement. He also diagnosed bowed foundational wall on the back wall in the garage, and stated that this issue was actually more pressing than the bowed wall in the basement. He stated that the wall in the garage shouldn’t have passed an inspection in his opinion, and that there was evidence of previous patching that had since burst open leading to further foundational cracking. He gave me an official estimate of the repairs totally $9860 through his company.
What are my rights? What can I do that might actually save me money as opposed to an expensive upfront cost for a lawyer that might not pan out due to lack of paper trail?
I live in Tennessee.
Timeline of events:
12/12/18: Inspection report from Inspection Company came back, indicating some cracks in the foundation as well as evidence of water in the garage. Recommended re-grading to ensure water ran away from foundation. Quotes on the Foundation/ crawlspace from the inspection report:
“A crack of approximately 1/8"or less was observed in the foundation wall. The cracking implies that some foundation movement has occurred. Recommend masonry sealing and monitoring for any further movement. Although no obvious evidence suggesting "immediate" concern was observed, this does not however guarantee future conditions. The exact / precise measurement of such conditions is not within the scope of our inspection. Past or future movement may be related to soils and geological issues, which are beyond the scope of our expertise.”
“Evidence of water penetration at the foundation was observed in the crawl space area. Additional ventilation and / or a vapor barrier should be considered. The conditions observed are conducive to wood rot, mold,
rust and corrosion to pipes and wires. Recommend further evaluation by a waterproofing contractor. A mold inspection or testing was not performed as part of this general home inspection.”
“The inspector was unable to fully inspect the foundation walls and floors due to the finished basement components. Areas behind finished walls and ceilings were concealed and were not visible or accessible for a full and complete inspection.”
12/14/18
My real estate agent had someone from a local foundation company go by the house on her request to inspect the foundation and address the issues of the cracks as well as potential water/mold issues. He left my agent a voicemail stating: “I looked at that house, what it actually needs is some gutter downspout extensions, I told them it’s roughly about a $900 project, they’re probably going to do that on their own, so that’s all I would do to that house. Alright, thanks so much, bye.” Agent forwarded me this voicemail letting me know that he had inspected the foundation and only recommended the gutter downspout extensions, also adding that he had said there were no mold issues. I did not get anything official or in writing based on this "inspection", but I do still have the voicemail.
1/25/19
I closed on the house with no work to the foundation.
11/25/19
Another person from that same foundation company came by to inspect the foundation. I had called the company to get someone to look at the house because of increasing cracking in the plaster ceiling. He diagnosed the front foundation wall as being a bowed wall due to the evidence of stair step cracking as well as horizontal and vertical cracking, most of which had been there at the time of purchase, as evidenced by the fact that they were still painted over from the previous owners. He was not able to stay long enough to give me an official estimate of repairs but verbally told me that it would be around $7000 and arranged to come back later the next week to give me an official estimate.
12/3/19
I spoke with the inspector who originally came to the house last December on the phone who agreed to come by the house on 12/5 to look at the foundation and share with me any pictures or notes he took on the house from last December. He verbally expressed to me on the phone that he had not set foot in the house to look at the foundation wall in the basement, that he had only looked at the outside of the home and inside the garage regarding the water issues. I said that I was under the impression that he had looked at the house to address foundational issues and he reinforced that he never looked inside the house.
12/4/19
Another inspector from another came by to look at the house per my request. He agreed on the diagnosis of bowed foundational wall on the front wall in the basement. He also diagnosed bowed foundational wall on the back wall in the garage, and stated that this issue was actually more pressing than the bowed wall in the basement. He stated that the wall in the garage shouldn’t have passed an inspection in his opinion, and that there was evidence of previous patching that had since burst open leading to further foundational cracking. He gave me an official estimate of the repairs totally $9860 through his company.
What are my rights? What can I do that might actually save me money as opposed to an expensive upfront cost for a lawyer that might not pan out due to lack of paper trail?
I live in Tennessee.
Hi Just Blue, I just posted all the details to my question. Thank you!
Even though I relied on the expert opinion of a professional who apparently concluded nothing needed to be done to the foundation without even looking at it?
PayrollHRGuy
Senior Member
And that is where you are screwed.
quincy
Senior Member
The house’s foundation was inspected twice in December 2018 and, despite the inspections showing damage to the foundation, you purchased the home in January of 2019 knowing that no repairs had been made to the foundation.
Now, close to a year after purchase, you are looking at costly repairs to the foundation.
I do not see that you have any legal action to pursue. You knew the foundation issues at the time of purchase.
You can speak to an attorney in your area for a personal review, though, if you think the attorney might think differently.
Now, close to a year after purchase, you are looking at costly repairs to the foundation.
I do not see that you have any legal action to pursue. You knew the foundation issues at the time of purchase.
You can speak to an attorney in your area for a personal review, though, if you think the attorney might think differently.
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