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...