5 Tips for Inspecting Your Home Foundation for Issues

The importance of your home’s foundation cannot be stressed enough for it is what needs to be stable and strong in order to support the home with integrity and longevity. It is imperative to hire an expert to totally examine the foundation, one who has a reputation for finding any signs of problems that could escalate.

It is critical that the correction of such issues is of the highest importance.
Therefore, the foundation needs to be checked by a qualified professional home inspector. The lender or insurance company may actually require official documentation that any issues have been resolved.

Following are some of the tips that you should be aware of when foundation issues are sought to be found and corrected:

1. Even what appears to be small issues can be indicative of the possibility of major problems that could result in high expenses to fix. They can be deceptive since many might be hidden from sight.

2. As a buyer, you would assume any foundation problems that have been documented and the costs for fixing the same when you purchased the home, and those corrections could prove to be very costly. You would not have any recourse to hold the previous owner accountable. Also, you may lose your eligibility for certain types of financing like loans that are government-backed because they require that the home be structurally sound and not have any major issues.

3. Water damage is the most damaging and could be quite costly. If it is draining back toward the house, it could cause the foundation to get wet and possibly crack or settle and encourage mold and rot.

4. Be alert for floors out of level, windows out of square, or interior doors with uneven gaps at the top.

5. If you are the seller and do not want to invest substantial funds into fixing any foundation problems, you most likely will have to adjust the selling price downward to allow the buyer to retain the necessary funds to do any necessary repairs.

Issues can possibly not look all that significant, but they could become big headaches in the future. Even tiny leaks or cracks may appear to be minor, but they could be deceptively hiding bigger issues. That is why it takes an experienced home inspector to do a detailed and close evaluation of the home to give a buyer the true story of the home’s condition.