Buying a home (foundation questions)

Posted by sharkbaitoofhaha@reddit | askdfw | View on Reddit | 10 comments

First off, I’m in my late 20’s pondering a move from the bay area CA. Don’t judge, I am not coming with a wad of cash. I am tired of cost of living and CA crime and policies.

I work for a real estate firm HQ’d in Dallas and plan on renting in the Plano/Frisco area to start but may want to buy a home in the future. The main thing that scares me from this area is what I see about foundations cracking.

I have a buddy who lives out in Gun Barrel City and says to make sure foundation is “pier and beam” or “post and beam” instead of concrete slabs. Are most new homes built with this recommended foundations able to withstand this issue for long periods of time?

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Hembalaya@reddit

Most homes built after the 1960s in the metro were built on a slab foundation. Slabs are more prone to settling issues and more expensive to fix when they do. However, if the slab has already been repaired on a home with foundation issues it’s unlikely to settle further.

For newer homes, it’s tough to say. The best thing you can do to protect yourself is make sure to understand best practices for protecting your foundation, and getting a builder’s warranty that covers the slab for 10 plus years so you’re covered if anything does go wrong.

If you have any other questions feel free to DM me. I’m a realtor based in Dallas, and can help you both with your homebuying questions and your rental questions.

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caternicus@reddit

My house was built before 1960 and had pier and beam. I'm in East Dallas. There are many homes over here that are being upgraded and flipped. OP can look at that as an option.

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TexasLiz1@reddit

So we got a mix of clay and blackland prairie called gumbo and so every house here under $5MM is going to have foundation issues at some point.

Pier and beam is available for older homes and newer homes at the $5MM and up range. They are still going to have foundation issues that you will have to remediate every few years - it’s just that they don’t have to jackhammer to get to the issue so it’s usually less costly. It’s just the nature of the beast. You are going to want a foundation inspection before buying ANY home. For new builds, you are going to want to get a warranty and follow their directions religiously (like having a soaker hose) to maintain your foundation as well as you can.

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Liberteabelle1@reddit

If you have a slab foundation, you have to water it in the summer. Crazy, huh? I’m a native Texan, but was in California for 20 years before moving back and buying a house. This foundation watering was something I’d never heard of, so my brother told me. Locals know this.

I have soaker hoses on a timer for the summer.

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owlinthesand@reddit

It's said there are 2 kinds of homes here. Those that have foundation issues and those that will. It's so common here that there are tons of homes that never get repaired.

It's not that expensive to get a licensed structural engineer to inspect and write a report. A huge percentage of the time there are other issues causing it such as large trees too close to the house, drawing moisture away from the foundation. I paid around $700 to a P.E. about 3 years ago. I'm sure it's more now. It was a huge benefit when I sold the house to say it was repaired per a licensed engineer and not just per some foundation repair hustler.

It's definately a concern, but I wouldn't sweat it too much. It's so common in North Texas.

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Buehler_DFW@reddit

If you’re that concerned I’d be buying something pre owned that’s been checked, and it’ll be settled. It’s just something you have to keep an eye on over the years.

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elliottbtx@reddit

You can try to buy a house with a repaired foundation. Sometimes additional piers are needed after the initial repairs. Some foundation repair companies will guaranty the work even covering new buyers. However, this doesn’t help if the repair firm goes out of business.

If the inspection reveals foundation issues, you can ask for the seller to make repairs, but they may try to do it cheaply. You will need an independent engineer to provide a report on repairs needed to fix it right.

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