Answering the question of whether foundation issues affect the value of your home is easy. Absolutely! Issues of this nature will affect your home’s value. Answering the question of how this will affect the value of your home becomes much more difficult.
You have been through the purchasing process of your own home. Imagine coming across the perfect home and finding out there are foundation issues that will need to be addressed before you can move in. If you intend to sell your house anytime soon, the first thing you will want to know is how much the realtor will take-off of the selling price. That is because problems with the foundation can be very costly.
The Many Roads That Lead to Foundation Repairs
Whether or not you are looking to sell your house right now, having foundation issues will definitely affect your home’s value. The simplistic answer would be to say that your home’s value can be decreased by 10% to 20%. But a longer and more realistic answer is determined by many factors. The cause of the foundation damage will play a key role in deciding how much your home’s value is affected. Because there are many different reasons your foundation could become damaged, there is more than one way to fix a foundation. Each approach takes a different amount of time and materials.
One factor that may cause foundation issues is water damage from sewer pipes. Over time, leaky sewer pipes could lead to foundation posts that have started to rot. Or you may have severe bowing in your concrete floor due to large tree roots that have started disturbing your foundation. Another example would be a crack that has developed in a wall due to shifting soil.
These are just a few factors that may affect a foundation. However, they truly have very little in common with each other. As expected, each one of these examples will affect the value of your home differently and have different repair costs. If you are thinking of selling your home, one question you might ask yourself is whether you should repair the foundation or lower the price of your home instead.
Things to Consider: Costs
The first thing you need to do is call in a professional and get a free price estimate. You can make an informed decision once you know the overall cost of the repair. There are two options available to you.
- According to Home Advisor, most foundation repairs will cost between $1700 and $5900. You can choose to have the repairs done before you put your home on the market. However, you will be spending a lot of time and effort as well as money should you choose this route.
- The other option is just to sell the home as-is. However, potential buyers will not only look at the cost of the repair but also at the time and effort it will take to do the repairs. This can mean having to lower the price of your home more than the actual repairs would be. This may result in taking more of a loss than if you were to have it repaired yourself. Only you can decide whether the time and effort that you will put into the repairs can compensate for the money that you will lose selling the home as-is.
The Hidden Costs of Foundation Repair
A bad foundation that is not caught in time will have secondary costs associated with it. These are not the costs of repairing the actual foundation but the costs of repairing any structural damage caused by the foundation issue. Your home’s value will decrease when you factor in all these costs.
For example, a beam or a post that has split or shifted can cause the flooring above it to bow and/or crack. The cost of these repairs can sometimes be more than the foundation repair itself. Deducting these expenditures will lower the value of the home you are selling.
Also, cracks could develop in your exterior walls because of a shifting foundation. Besides the fact that this is a structural issue, cracks in exterior walls are more visible than the actual foundation issue that has caused them. These types of cracks can cause your curb appeal to dwindle as well. This can lead to a lower home value for you and possibly for your neighbors as well.
“I’m Not Planning on Selling My Home Right Now”
Does that mean you should not be worried about the value of your home? A point worth noting is that a bad foundation could lead to an increase in your homeowner’s insurance as well. The cost of this insurance is directly related to the condition of your home. You have to factor in the increase in insurance and other costs. This will determine whether your home has truly decreased in value when you eventually sell it.
Having foundation issues does not mean you will lose money when selling your home. You need to call an expert and get the cost for repair and their professional opinion on how to proceed. They can also tell you how long it will take for repairs to be completed and whether it might be better to sell the home as-is. The biggest thing to remember is not to ignore the issues you are having.
When you ignore a bad foundation, it will continue to deteriorate, along with the structures around it. This can easily turn a $1500 repair into a $10,000 repair. Fixing the foundation problems as they become apparent will ensure your home’s value, whether or not you decide to sell it.
