Hey there, fellow homeowner in a bit of a pickle. So, I’m in the process of selling my house, but man, it’s been a rollercoaster ride. Three times now, potential buyers have bailed because their home inspectors flagged what they call “foundation issues.” Let me give you the lowdown: I snagged this place back in 2018 and right off the bat, I noticed this hefty crack stretching the entire length of the basement floor. Plus, on one side of the crack, the floor dips about ¾ inch lower. And, to top it off, there are three teeny tiny vertical cracks on the basement walls.
Before I even signed on the dotted line, I brought in a licensed structural engineer to check things out. This dude assured me that those vertical cracks were NBD — just your run-of-the-mill result of the concrete settling in. He also mentioned that the big floor crack wasn’t a structural red flag but probably happened because the builders skimped on cutting stress joints. Plus, the basement was bone dry, so no need to sweat it, right?
Fast forward to now, with all these buyers backing out left and right. The second ones were like, “We might reconsider if you get another engineer in here and fix whatever they suggest.” So, I did just that. And wouldn’t you know it, the second engineer gave me the same thumbs-up: all good, no repairs needed. But still, the buyers bailed.
With the third set of potential buyers, I handed over both engineer reports, thinking, “This is it, we’re in the clear.” Nope. Their inspector goes, “This house is sliding down the hill,” which is honestly news to me. I even tried sweetening the deal with some extra cash, but no dice. And here I am, stuck in this frustrating loop.
So, what’s a homeowner to do when not one but two pros say there’s zilch to fix, yet every inspector that walks through finds a problem? I’ll take any advice you’ve got. I’m itching to get this house off my hands — I even had to relist the place we were eyeing. Thanks in advance for any help!