Foundation Folly

I recently emailed my investor pool a video of the exterior of a property for sale on Kershaw St. in Ogden.  I was able to finally get inside the property today.

Today's lesson is on foundation problems and what to look for.

Our first clue to problems with this home was a slightly noticable patch on the exterior stucco.  Interestingly, there was a patch on the exact opposite side of the house as well.  The exterior looked quite nice with a new coat of historic colored paint.

A closer inspection though reveals a lot of settling in the foundation.  You can see in the photo above how the foundation peaks in the middle of the home and sags at each end.  A walk inside reveals more.

 

No this isn't trick photography, the window is sagging extensively to the left.  You can even notice the cracked pane of glass (lower left pane) that has been caused by the movement.  An inspection of the crawl space is even more revealing.

 

I don't know about you, but to me that looks like a pretty big crack.  Its hard to have level floors when sitting on that.
Be careful what you buy.  This home was in the middle of being repaired and the owner abandoned it.  Likely, I believe, due to the foundation issues plaguing it.  The bank owns it now.  Given its problems, this home will be sitting on the market for a while.

In my opinion, the problems with the foundation were likely created from poor water management.  This home sits on a hill of silty soil and the water from neighboring homes spills into its lot. 

Anyway, when shopping for homes, keep a lookout for foundation problems.  The are expensive to fix and can undermine an entire project.