Hi, it’s Nick with Sell My San Antonio House. And today, we’re going to answer the question, “can I sell a house with foundation issues?”
And, the short answer is absolutely. I know this…because we buy them all the time. But, here are the problems you’re going to run into. One, who’s willing to buy that property? And two, how are they going to pay for it?
Here’s what I mean. Most homeowners come in, they’re looking for a house to live in, and they’re going through your property, and they started to see the cracks in the walls, the doors don’t shut the way they should. Maybe the floor feels a little bit unlevel. They know this house has got foundation issues. They’re out the door, because they don’t want to take on that risk. They don’t want a property that they know has these types of problems.
It’s much easier for them to go somewhere else, find another one without the foundation issue. Even if they wanted to buy it, most people are going to use a traditional home loan, and they typically will not lend on properties that have foundation issues.
So, you get to the inspection part of it, they come look at it, “Hey, this has foundation issues. The bank says, “Whoa, we’re not going to loan on that property.” Then they can’t buy it even if they want to.
Now, what can you do as the homeowner? Got a couple of choices. First one, you can fix the foundation issues. There’s lots of reputable companies around, find somebody who’s licensed, bonded, insured, come in, they can take a look at the issue. They can dig under the house, put in their piers, level it out, fix the problem.
Keep this in mind, it’s not just the cost of the foundation repair. Here’s what I mean. Imagine if you took a jack and you’re jacking up your car, and you feel all that pressure in there, there’s a lot of weight on there, think of fixing a foundation as kind of similar, but now you’re picking up a house. So, you’re moving something that’s very heavy with a lot of pressure, a lot of force, other things are going to break.
How much, is hard to say, but that’s part of the risk of fixing a foundation. Lots of times the plumbing underneath the house will break, and those are very expensive plumbing repairs. At least you’re going to have some sheetrock that breaks where you got to come in and fix that. So, if you’re going to fix it yourself before selling the property, just make sure you factor in for all the additional things that could happen. And hopefully, it won’t be too bad, but make sure that you factor it in so you really know what your total cost is going to be.
What’s your other choice? Sell it to an investor, somebody who’s paying cash for houses. If they’re in an area where there’s a lot of foundation problems like San Antonio, where we’re at, then they’re going to be used to buying houses with foundation issues. They’re going to come in, they’re going to see that there’s obviously a problem, but they’re still willing to buy the property as is, with the existing issue because they have crews in place, they can come in and can take care of the problem.
You can get a local real estate investor like Sell My San Antonio House to make you an all-cash offer for the property just like it is. The investor takes all the risk, they accept the repair, and then you can move forward.
So, what do you need to know? Can you sell a house that has foundation issues? Absolutely. You need to find the right type of buyer, or you need to decide to fix that issue yourself before selling the home. If you’re going to fix it yourself, make sure that you account for anything else that is likely to pop up, so you know what your total cost is before going into the project. Or contact somebody who pays cash for houses, who’s used to taking on properties with foundation issues, have them give you a cash offer and decide which route is best for you. I hope this helps. If there’s anything we can do for you, don’t hesitate to reach out. (210) 201-6644 Have a great day. Thank you.