Buying a house with structural issues

[izmophonik]

My wife and I are selling our house and have found one that we want.  The problem is that the inspector listed the following items need to be addressed:

1.  Cut down a big a$$ tree in the backyard that is causing brickwork to crack.
2.  Vents in the crawlspace are not strapped to the wood anymore and have fallen to the ground.
3.  Install additional support in the roof to support the weight.  Currently some beams are splintered and there aren't any diagonal support beams to take the load off.

Total estimate of repair $6,000.00.  My realtor is presenting the findings to the sellers so hopefully they will pay for it but would anyone have heartburn buying this house all things considered?  I'm just not sure how big of a deal this is after it gets repaired.  Discuss.

[cannon_fodder]

Nope.  With the following assumptions:

1) The damage to the brickwork is superficial and will not get worse once the cause is remedied.

2) The damage to the vents is not indicative of other problems (not sure what that would be, just sayin', the vents themselves are not that big of a deal).

3) The roof has not sagged such that there is other structural damage.  I'm not an engineer and truth be told, can be somewhat of a wood butcher.  But, if the beams were too weak and sagging I could see how that could effect the attachment to the walls, the ceilings, or other items of importance.   If it's a "just in case" move, then I don't see it as a real problem.

If the problems are as straight forward as you suggest, the cost estimate is correct, and you are willing to deal with the inconvenience of getting it fixed - then it wouldn't bother me a bit.

FWIW, Tulsa Tree Trimmers is a great company for tree work.  Trim, removal, or otherwise. 

[sgrizzle]

I assumed from the title you meant piers. My current home had structural issues when we bought it. I think you should plan on the fact that if it needs $6,000 in repairs now, over the next 5 years you may be spending another $6,000 on more repairs. Structural repairs should really be called "structural tweaking" because every time they reinforce, pier, adjust, shim anything, it causes minor changes elsewhere. The additional supports they add now may lead you to discover additional bracing needed at a later date.

The people who were selling my house had done things like shimmed & shaved all the doors so people wouldn't suspect structural problems. My structural inspector found it and we had to pier one corner so then I have had to replace or square up all the doors in the house again.

If you really like the house, it's a good deal, and are willing to accept future repairs and a possibly diminished resale value, go for it.

[Conan71]

If you have a good structural inspector and a house is more than 10 years old in Tulsa, they will likely find something to pick at on the structural inspection.  I'd say go ahead with the deal if you love the house.  You are going to be hard-pressed to find a home that isn't going to have some "issue".

Sistering in boards in the rafters is no big deal, neither is re-hanging ductwork or cutting down a tree. But you might want to find out if the rafter damage is due to four layers of shingles presently being on the roof.  If that's the case, it may not insure and should be re-roofed as well as shored up.

I just bought a house in that had some duct and minor slab issues which were due to poor drainage.  I reduced my offer to the seller in an amount which reflected the remedial work that needed to be done.  I'm having the ducts cleaned and lined and slab repairs done professionally.  In reality, most of the problems seem to have happened during the time frame the sellers lived in the house which was about 9 years.  Once I removed 2" of composted leaves and another couple of inches of pine needles and leaves from the gutters and got them working again, it's already made a difference.  I've got a drainage specialist I'm working with as well to make sure the lot drains properly.  Truth be known, just a little better landscape maintenance and keeping the gutters cleaned or a $40 gutter cap would have likely equated to $4k more in the seller's pocket if they would have just kept that up.

FWIW, I lowered my offer and elected to have the work done myself as then I could dictate the contractors I want to use and can make sure repairs are done correctly and to my liking.

[izmophonik]

Thanks for all the advice.  To address a few questions; when I said "issues" I meant the list of things the structural inspector wrote in his report.  I suppose those are recommendations.  The house was built in 1966 in the neighborhood behind Bishop Kelly.  The inspector indicated there would need to be some jacks put in to get the roof to stop sagging and then additional support could be installed but the sagging would never be fixed.  Also, it appears that all of this sagging only seems to occur over the garage.

[Conan71]

Thanks for all the advice.  To address a few questions; when I said "issues" I meant the list of things the structural inspector wrote in his report.  I suppose those are recommendations.  The house was built in 1966 in the neighborhood behind Bishop Kelly.  The inspector indicated there would need to be some jacks put in to get the roof to stop sagging and then additional support could be installed but the sagging would never be fixed.  Also, it appears that all of this sagging only seems to occur over the garage.

"The sagging would never be fixed" sounds troublesome.

You might want to run that by your insurance company before you pull the trigger.  If it collapses, they are on the hook or they might write that specific hazard out of your policy which means you'd be on the hook.  Since you have verifiable prior knowledge of this defect via the structural inspection, it's possible they could wiggle out of paying up if you didn't mention this issue to them.

Talk to a competent roofer and get several opinions.

Lastly, get an estimate on fixing it right, not necessarily the lowest bid and have the sellers pay for it either directly from settlement funds or by dropping your purchase price by a like amount.  If they won't, there's plenty of other houses to choose from in Tulsa.

[izmophonik]

Yeah, that is the only comment that bothered me.  He said the sagging would never be fixed but it would be "better" than it is now with some jacks and proper support.  I think I'll have a roofer check it out.  Thanks for the advice.

[Red Arrow]

The price of the house should reflect its condition.  If you know the issues include the repairs in the fair market value of the fixed up house.  It would probably be better to have the repairs done yourself.  The seller would most likely go for the bottom dollar (price and probably quality) fix. If you get it done, you know it will be to your satisfaction.  Insurance is an issue.  Make your choice of proper fix vs. insurance clause.

I relate more to cars.  I would rather buy a used car with worn out tires than buy one with new cheap tires I didn't like.  Again, the price would need to reflect the condition.

Unless financing issues are involved, it's your choice.

[nathanm]

The house we bought was built in 1930. The morons that installed the central heat and air cut through some floor joists to put in the returns and didn't bother reinforcing the surrounding floor. Due to that and a few other things we had a structural inspector out. He said it's not a huge deal, just sometime in the next year spend the couple grand to put in some piers to support the area around the returns and it would cease getting worse.

Of course, that won't fix the cracked tile and plaster, but that's the charm of living in an old house, amirite?

[Red Arrow]

Of course, that won't fix the cracked tile and plaster, but that's the charm of living in an old house, amirite?

Frequently called character.  I often prefer that to the sterile modern offerings.  Just make sure it doesn't have too much "character".  The Tom Hanks/ Shelly Long movie "The Money Pit" comes to mind.

[waterboy]

I don't know why this thread didn't show up on my computer yesterday. Something ain't right.

Listen, I would only add one comment. There may be a connection between the air ducts separating from the joists and the sagging roof trusses. Have someone look carefully and see if the straps holding the ducts were poorly attached or if there is termite damage or wood rot that loosened them. If the floor joists are weakened, they would sag and cause bearing walls to sag and thus the roof joists. Additionally, it may have too many layers of roofing which needs to be addressed. You can add supports to the roof rather cheaply.

If the sagging is primarily around the garage area then its no big deal. That's a large unsupported area on a slab that typically doesn't get constructed or as well maintained as well as other parts of the house. Those homes built around BK in the 50's - 60's are pretty well built. I wouldn't let it stop you from buying  but I would want to know the reason for those ducts separating from the joists. Mine have been in place 90 years. The wood hardens and makes it even more difficult to remove them.

[Red Arrow]

I don't know why this thread didn't show up on my computer yesterday. Something ain't right.

I have had that problem if the time of day on my computer was not set correctly.  I don't know why that should make a difference but when I reset the clock and date, I suddenly got the missing posts.

[waterboy]

Thanks. The date and time seem to be accurate. It is 2:49pm April 19, 1996 isn't it?

[Red Arrow]

Thanks. The date and time seem to be accurate. It is 2:49pm April 19, 1996 isn't it?

Even my computer isn't that old. 

[cannon_fodder]

Thanks. The date and time seem to be accurate. It is 2:49pm April 19, 1996 isn't it?

Yes it is.  And I have a 1995 Sail Boat I'd like to sell you on the cheap.