Need house advice!

[mpdlawdog]

Ok I really don't know what to do....my wife and I have been on the outs for quite some time(figures and I sold the charger why? To make her happy...yea I'm stupid). we were planning on putting the house up for sale this spring regardless of what her and I decided...well I we nt down and discovered the entire wall is basically coming in. It is broken and pushed in about 3 inches all along the bottom so there is no bracing it. It was all finished so I couldn't see the extent of the damage until I took the walls down.  Its bad.  I have not got a total estimate but it will be well over 10k to fix.  I had an escavotor come out  it was 3k just for him to dig it out (he's even a friend).  We both have near perfect credit.  She wants to let the bank take it back.  I know if we fix it we will never get the money we put in to fix it back out and would probably just break even if we sold it before I found out the foundation was messed up. I do have a few options. I own my 79 scout and our 05 odyssey.  I could sell one and put it towards the damage but I'm guessing it will just be putting a dent in total.  Any input or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Silver R/T]

It really depends on how much you owe on the house, do you want to ruin your credit, where would you live if you get rid of the house? Really need to run a few scenarios before getting rid of the house.

[JB400]

How about pix  I know a few people that might be able to help give an expert opinion.  Are we talking about a concrete wall or a block/rock wall?

[mpdlawdog]

I owe about 180000 on the house....if I sold it without the damage I would probably break even....I have spent a ton of money remodeling this house and quite frankly hate it!  I can stay in my parents "other" house. They have two but no they are not rich...it's the house I grew up in. They built another house on the back part of the property.  They wouldn't make me pay rent.  She would probably rent a house or apartment because she couldn't afford to buy a house anyway....I will take some pics of the damage

[stripedelete]

How about pix  I know a few people that might be able to help give an expert opinion.  Are we talking about a concrete wall or a block/rock wall?

[skip68]

 I can stay in my parents "other" house.   They wouldn't make me pay rent.  

That's cool that you have that option.     Do you have insurance on the wife?     Remember we talked about this awhile back?      

It's a tuff call but I think you should try and get it on the market and hope you get out from under it.      You might even get the bank to work with you some.     

[2Gunz]

I am assuming the house would be worth more if the economy wasnt so bad?

Why not rent out the house.

Pay the mortgage and save money to fix it properly.

Then when the house is fixed and the market is better.... hopefully sell it for a profit.

[69rtse4spd]

Hard to say, but if you & the wife are on the outs why put money into it, get my drift. Three grand seams a little high but depends on if any plumbing or electrical or anything else comes out that side. Also if he can get to the work site easy, or if he is busy with other jobs, friends job may keep him from other bigger paying jobs. . How thick is the wall, as asked before, is block/stone or concrete, three inches could be pulled back out, I think, but no expert. Tough call & good luck, keep us posted. 

[Daytona R/T SE]

I used to own a house that had the basement wall coming in like that. I had the local foundation place come in and put in those steel anchors. Fixed it in one day for about $1500. That was about 20 years ago, so the price surely has come up some, but I'm sure it would be much cheaper than $10K...

[RallyeMike]

I assume that you have called your insurance company to find out if structural defects in the wall and/or a soils issue is covered?

[Patronus]

I too have had recent experience with this. Where is the house located? In our case it was worth it to fix it. With a profit margin of 30% here in Boulder, CO. you gonna fix it..Now somewhere's else...   You may have certain legal rights as well. A major structural issue such as this is deemed pre-existing so.. if you want out that may be an avenue.
Our's was 25' in length, cost $5K with the steel...and 6" of floor space. 

[Old Moparz]

My Dad lives in a house built in 1900 with a stone foundation in the north western part of MA. About one year ago there was a wall that bowed inward approximately 18 inches over a 8 foot section where all the first floor floor joists sat. This was at the lower part of the wall, too. I built a temporary beam with columns parallel to the failing wall in case it collapsed. The work was way beyond my abilities & over 3 hours from me so he got several estimates between $6000 & $8500. The repair came out good & done by a reputable contractor in his area.

Your situation is a bit different than my Dad's in that you're personal life & location is going to possibly change, but I think you should at least get 3 or 4 estimates before you make any final decision. Repaired will not increase the value, but leaving it will definitely decrease it dramatically. You won't be able to sell it to anyone that needs to get a mortgage, it will never be approved. Leaving it & letting the bank take it back would probably bring you more problems with your wife & your finances than you think.

[lisiecki1]

I would say if it can be fixed and you can still break even (or close to even) selling it afterwards then it's not worth the hit on your credit by taking the foreclosure.

[4cruzin]

I'm a real estate broker and own 3 real estate offices . . . Have you considered a short sale?  Have you had the home appraised in the current condition?  Have you talked about a short sale with your mortgage company?  Who is your mortgage company . . . Hopefully not BOA.  Block wall I assume?  Do you have funds to buy a home before the foreclosure happens? 

[mpdlawdog]

sorry here are the pics....

[mpdlawdog]

renting the house out is not an option....neither one of us want it....I have not considered a short sale...would they even do it with the house like this?  No I dont have the funds to buy a house before the current one went to the bank...but I dont care about owning a house....I have a place to go...my parents have two houses and an apartment above one of their barns so I could hide out until I got my credit back together...

just found this...this is the wall in the front of the house that is next to the worse wall...

[Dino]

Get a few contractors over to weight the options, it doesn't look too terrible but I'm not a specialist. 

I'm sorry to hear about your personal issues and losing the car over it but focus on what you need to do right now.  If you are on the verge of seperating then sit down and talk about what you want to do.  Get rid of the house, give her her share and go live in your parent's house.

Take a breather and let life get back to normal, then you can start dreaming about a car again.

[Tilar]

Looks like someone failed to put a drain around the foundation and it froze at one time or another.  Since it sounds like you two are splitting up, and neither one wants the house, I'd put a wall up covering that up, then put the house on the auction block with a reserve and hope you get your payoff. The only other option as I see it is to let it go back to the bank.

That said, We repaired walls in my barn by hiring a company to come in and spray gunite on the foundation wall, basically covering everything up while giving it the strength of concrete. It ends up being about 4 inches thick and probably the cheapest "fix" you can do.

[JB400]

I'll show some people the pix and see what they have to say.  Does the wall sit on the floor?  Is there any cracks in the floor?


I did "Spot the Cat" though

[Paul G]

With those foundation problems clearly visible would the house even be sell able? FHA or VA would not approve the sale. I don't know about conventional lenders? If it needs $10k in repairs, and you owe $180k, and it is only worth $180k in good repair, you need to decide what your good credit is worth to you. Is it worth a $10k loss to keep your credit rating up? Sorry to say but, to stop making payments now, start talking to the bank about a short sale, and eventually let it go back to the lender maybe a viable option.

Years ago the owner would still be responsible for the difference between the final selling price and the amount owed. Just say a foreclosed home sold for $100k, the mortgage was $150k, the owner would be sued for the $50k difference. Is it still like that today? For some reason I don't think so.  

[Mytur Binsdirti]

It would be very convenient if an electrical fire were to happen and the house was a totaL loss.

[JB400]

It would be very convenient if an electrical fire were to happen and the house was a totaL loss.

Fire Marshal would do an investigation.  Not the best way out.

[RallyeMike]

I'd put a wall up covering that up, then put the house on the auction block  

Very   of you.      (I understand what you meant!)

[Tilar]

It would be very convenient if an electrical fire were to happen and the house was a totaL loss.

Fire Marshal would do an investigation.  Not the best way out.

No doubt, At least hire someone to come check out the gas furnace since it seems to have a problem.       

[mpdlawdog]

I'll show some people the pix and see what they have to say.  Does the wall sit on the floor?  Is there any cracks in the floor?


I did "Spot the Cat" though

Lol yea that's Jesse my daughters cat....no it doesn't sit on the floor...it's cracked along the bottom block about 4 inches up....all the way across the wall...no cracks in the floor.....I do know our fire investigator.  He lives down the road from me! 

I was also wondering about the short sale thing if I would be responsible for the difference than what it would sell for...I've never been in this position before...

[Lord Warlock]

credit wise, the stigma that used to be associated with letting a house get foreclosed on isn't as bad as it used to be, lenders are willing to take into account that sometimes the economic conditions may force someone to lose a house.  A lot of people have walked away in the last couple years.  If you let it go back to the bank, there will be repercussions, and it may take a few years to overcome the situation and be able to buy another house should you want to.  The credit situation will affect both you and your wive's credit if you both are on the house note. 

As far as repairs go, have you contacted your homeowners insurance company yet?  homeowners should cover major structural repairs such as this, thats one of the reasons why you pay for HO insurance.  I saw a renovation show on tv where they did something similar (holmes on homes), and yes they spent well over 10k to fix it, another show they actually lifted the entire house up to build a new foundation at a cost of about 10k.  This looks like they'd just have to support the structure and rebuild the wall  with a problem, could be less than 10k. 

 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

I saw a renovation show on tv where they did something similar (holmes on homes), and yes they spent well over 10k to fix it, another show they actually lifted the entire house up to build a new foundation at a cost of about 10k.  This looks like they'd just have to support the structure and rebuild the wall  with a problem, could be less than 10k. 

 

I'd bank on  more than 10K.

[Cooter]

It would be very convenient if an electrical fire were to happen and the house was a totaL loss.

Be vewry, vewry careful Turbin....Folks here are hunting Fraudulent actions. You are now branded.

[mauve66]

checked on homeowners insurance yet? some policies don't cover sewer backup or flood but may cover drainage from foundation??

[mpdlawdog]

checked on homeowners insurance yet? some policies don't cover sewer backup or flood but may cover drainage from foundation??

Insurance company (all state) said nothing the can do..I'm going to dig alittle further to see about that....the guys I had out thinks the title backed up causing a bunch of water to gather...the weather here has been up and down causing alot of thawing and freezing

[Paul G]

Another idea here. Are you handy with the tools? Can you manage this job yourself? It is not that hard to fix this if you know how. You could dig out the foundation by hand, it is possible and free if you do it yourself or with a couple real good friends.

If that is a support wall the floor joists above that wall need to be supported about 3' in from the wall on the inside of the basement. That will hold up the floor above and give the bricklayers room to work. Knock down the damaged wall and lay new block. Seal the wall on the outside. Clean out or repair the drain tile, if there are any, and then backfill. It is a simple job. You could do the manual labor and just hire a bricklayer, and be his laborer if he will let you.

Get lots of contractors to come in and take a look. Ask them if there is any way to do some work yourself to keep costs down. They may have ideas that work for you.

[Supercharged Riot]

dig a big hole next to the basement to unload the pressure caused by the dirt that might be a cheap temp solution 

i would sell one the cars and us the funds to fix it.
then sell the house.
Minimize your costs while fixing the solution and saving your credit from adversity by giving it back to the bank.
because 7 years of bad credit is a long time for me. 

[PocketThunder]

renting the house out is not an option....neither one of us want it....I have not considered a short sale...would they even do it with the house like this?  No I dont have the funds to buy a house before the current one went to the bank...but I dont care about owning a house....I have a place to go...my parents have two houses and an apartment above one of their barns so I could hide out until I got my credit back together...

just found this...this is the wall in the front of the house that is next to the worse wall...

Move into your parents second house with your sweetie and save up money to fix your house and sell it.  Then during this time maybe you and the Mrs will re-kindle the fire you once had and you can move into the apartment above the barn together and make sweet love down by the fire again...

[4cruzin]

dig a big hole next to the basement to unload the pressure caused by the dirt that might be a cheap temp solution 

i would sell one the cars and us the funds to fix it.
then sell the house.
Minimize your costs while fixing the solution and saving your credit from adversity by giving it back to the bank.
because 7 years of bad credit is a long time for me. 

I think the first thing you need to do is get an idea what the home is worth in the current condition and what it is worth in a repaired condition . . . then figure the cost and see if it is worth the effort to repair the home depending how much you owe. 

[mpdlawdog]

Thanks guys for all the advise....have had alot going on...in the process of moving out of the house...well I have been doing a lot of thinking and I am going to fix it myself...at least get it dug out and the demo....never laid block before so might hire that part out....waiting on my taxes to come back so I can start digging it out and go from there...we both have perfect credit and I don't want to flush it down the toliet....I think I can manage it without selling either vehicle if I do most of it myself....will keep you all posted!  Thanks again for all the advise

[mopar_man]

I'm in the excavation and construction business . That is not a difficult fix . First you need a small backhoe to come in and excavate the dirt away from that wall .
It shouldn't take no more than 3 hrs to do a clean tidy excavation and that would be a very slow operator . 1/2 an hr for me .
You diffinately need to support your floor joist on the inside with a temporary wall as its a good chance that the backhoe will knock it in .
Backhoe    .....3 hrs ...@$50. hr =    $150.00   give or take .
backhoe to backfill after wall is fixed....3 hrs....@$50.00/hr=$150.00

Now you need maybe 3 pallets of concrete block , count how many you are going to remove and add 10%
10 pieces of  5/8 rebar
50-60 ft of block lock
cement and sand
shouldn't cost anymore than $1000.00

After all the old concrete blocks are removed , it shouldn't take any decent mason no more than two days to fix that wall .
So, you pay him $1000.00 a day.

Total      $300.00         backhoe
           $1000.00         materials
           $2000.00         labour
           $1000.00         building materials for support wall

I really can't see how its a $10k fix without you being gouged .
get lump sum price on labour and get it on paper, phone around a get prices of backhoes , get price of materials . you know how many block have to come out and most masonary stores can tell you how much materials (cement mortar , sand  rebar and block lock you need for that fix .
Best of luck with it . 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

It would be very convenient if an electrical fire were to happen and the house was a totaL loss.

Be vewry, vewry careful Turbin....Folks here are hunting Fraudulent actions. You are now branded.

Who's talking fraud? I'm just saying that it would be convenient if such an occurance happened. The same holds true for a gas explosion.

[Old Moparz]

Thanks guys for all the advise....have had alot going on...in the process of moving out of the house...well I have been doing a lot of thinking and I am going to fix it myself...at least get it dug out and the demo....never laid block before so might hire that part out....waiting on my taxes to come back so I can start digging it out and go from there...we both have perfect credit and I don't want to flush it down the toliet....I think I can manage it without selling either vehicle if I do most of it myself....will keep you all posted!  Thanks again for all the advise

When it comes time to build the supporting structure, (temporary wall or beam) which will be first, consider what the base under it will be. What I mean is, if the foundation wall that is failing is the same wall that supports the ends of the floor joists, the temporary wall or beam will need to be supported by a solid footing. If you build directly on your basement floor, chances are the floor is only 4 inches of concrete & not designed to carry the weight or load of the entire house.

Being short on money to tackle a big project sucks, but I think you need to seriously consider estimates before you actually start the work yourself. When I did the temporary support at my Dad's place it was simple. The floor was dirt so I scarified the ground where I was working & removed loose material. I then put down a layer of crushed stone & placed two layers of 2x6's flat on top of each other & built a 2x6 stud wall above it. On top of the stud wall was a triple, 2x8 beam directly below the 1st floor joists.

This wall was not for the actual support during the foundation repair, it was only to prevent movement of the house if some of the foundation collapsed. The company that did the actual repair ended up not having to build anything additional to support the house during the repair. That wasn't the intent, but at least I know what I built worked out fine. You may be able to build a temporary "spread footing" on top of your basement floor to spread out the load. I'm sure there are others who have done it but you really need to be careful.


Good luck.