How much of a fix to pass FHA appraisal for concrete crack

[RoyD]

Hi there. We are attempting to buy the house we are renting and for a few reasons we need to go through FHA. Our landlord made it clear he isn't going to fix anything. With that said, the biggest issue we think we will face in terms of the FHA approval is the garage. It has a pretty solid crack down the middle of it (see attached).

My question is, if we go ahead and fill the cracks (my husband is handy and know a good way to do it), would that be enough to pass the FHA or would they expect the whole thing to be jackhammered out and re poured?

 

[glenn walker]

Hi there. We are attempting to buy the house we are renting and for a few reasons we need to go through FHA. Our landlord made it clear he isn't going to fix anything. With that said, the biggest issue we think we will face in terms of the FHA approval is the garage. It has a pretty solid crack down the middle of it (see attached).

My question is, if we go ahead and fill the cracks (my husband is handy and know a good way to do it), would that be enough to pass the FHA or would they expect the whole thing to be jackhammered out and re poured?

OK Lets forget the cost - You have signs of a more serious issue then filling and covering up the cracks. As an-investor appraiser and broker my first inclination is I am not buying this until I have had a General Contractor or civil engineer check to see if this is also happening under the foundation of the home.Thats some serious settlement or home is located on unstable soil and over the years has shifted. The big Red-Flags cracks are going both ways east to west and north to south and I want to follow the one going towards the inside of the home lift up some floor coverings and follow the trail. The crack running sideways are often from a big tree outside which has lifted the foundation but the vertical ones indicate you may have way bigger issues. With that being said my two most biggest screws up when I was younger was thinking I only had a tree issue or an-issue isolated to the garage. One cost me $25,000 because over a few years the inside foundation raised an inches and broke a main water line.

I highly recommend that you spend a few hundred dollar and have either a licensed real general contractor inspect the foundation of both the garage and inside house because that Patch and cover job may look OK but two three years from now your dream home is a now a nightmare. At bare minimum pull up some interior flooring and see if that bad boy is in the homes foundation.

Now if you like to gamble then get a jack hammer and a concrete saw and try and patch it up. Will the FHA appraiser call it out ? Maybe or maybe not if its one who knows nothing about construction and or is half blind you may get a free pass. The worst that can happen is if he she sees the repairs-fresh concrete and patch job or new poured concrete he/she will call for a inspection by a licensed professional . So I would find a licensed contractor to either do it or assist you and one who will give you a completion saying it's been repaired and mitigated. And when the lender asks you give your loan officer give him-her a copy and the FHA Underwriter will sign off the condition. Or Apply for a FHA 203-K Stream Line Renovation & Repair Loan .

Limited 203(k) Mortgage​

FHA's Limited 203(k) program permits home-buyers and homeowners to finance up to $35,000 into their mortgage to repair, improve, or upgrade their home. Home-buyers and homeowners can quickly and easily tap into cash to pay for property repairs or improvements, such as those identified by a home inspector or an FHA appraiser. Homeowners can make property repairs, improvements, or prepare their home for sale. Home buyers can make their new home move-in ready by remodeling the kitchen, painting the interior or purchasing new carpet.

 

[Mark K]

I would have to take it in context. If the house is 2-3 years old and this has happened since construction, its a problem.

If the house is 40-50 years old, chances are it happened many years ago and is nothing more than an ugly cosmetic issue. They didn't compact the dirt/fill under the concrete slab and it settled. I've seen worse, some much worse.

Whether or not it gets called out on the appraisal is up to the individual appraiser.

 

[glenn walker]

I would have to take it in context. If the house is 2-3 years old and this has happened since construction, its a problem.

If the house is 40-50 years old, chances are it happened many years ago and is nothing more than an ugly cosmetic issue. They didn't compact the dirt/fill under the concrete slab and it settled. I've seen worse, some much worse.

Whether or not it gets called out on the appraisal is up to the individual appraiser.

It appears to be an-older house and the same guys who did the compacting on the garage also did the compacting on the main house. I am fairly liberal with noral settling issues but when you have large cracks running both vertically and horizontally you may have more serious issues going on and I would certainly be willing to pay a few hundred bucks to at least have a good GC take a look at it. I learned the lesson the hard way when I was young and thought I was just dealing with some normal settlement issues on a 50 year old home. The funny thing is just like this FHA buyers landlord -my seller seller also wouldn't pay for any repairs and I filled them in myself . It was later that I discovered that he knew the house had bigger foundation problems. I discovered it after I moved in and when I had pulled up all the flooring-It had a 2 to 3 inch deep crack from front to back of the house and a marble would roll from one end to the other : ) LMAO

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Cracks are one thing. Spreading of the crack, offset or sinking is a sign of insufficient support below the slab. This seems to fall in the latter. I would let them appraise it, don't mention the crack to the appraiser and let him/her decide for themselves. They may view it as cosmetic. If so, no repair needed...yet. The older the house the more likely it gets a bye. Don't create problems for yourself and NEVER make a repair to a house that you do not own.

 

[glenn walker]

Agree do not spend on dime and let the chips where they fall -BUT -make sure you know for a fact its just normal settlement-because if you are wrong it can be a very expensive price to mitigate it : So you have been advised and no you are now on a poker table : ) LOL

 

[Tom D]

not to scare you, but in this big city coal ash was collected for a couple hundred of years. and it had to be dumped somewhere. so it was dumped within the city where they had gullies i guess. eventually, row homes were built on this ground. well, 75 years later cracks started showing up, small at first. but eventually homes started having more problems. it became know as the 'sinking homes of logan'. underground water had dissolved the coal ash, and the ground was settling down more. their homeowner's insurance didn't cover that hazard, i think the city gave them money. several city blocks thru out the city were torn down. i would be second thoughts unless i actually knew the cause. the hundreds now is a small price to pay for a potential whatever. and if nothing bad, you will sleep better at night.
dem is not little itty bitty cracks.

 

[RoyD]

Thank you all for the replies! So the reason we think it is confined to the garage is because the garage is placed behind the house and is on a down slope and all the rain water runs down the driveway basically into (and I guess under?) the garage. The garage actually floods pretty much every time it rains a lot--not so much standing water but the floor gets muddy from all the rain water mixing with dirt from outside of (and under?) the garage. There is also a large maple tree to the back-right of the garage which as one poster said have roots impacting it as well.

I think we will look into getting a professional contractor/engineer to look at it as well as the house in case we are wrong and it is not confined to the house.

I really appreciate all the input

 

[Mark K]

Or you could park a car in the garage and the appraiser will never see the cracks.

The question is "how bad do you want the house?"

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I had pulled up all the flooring-It had a 2 to 3 inch deep crack from front to back of the house and a marble would roll from one end to the other

When my brother first got out of the army with his 2 year old they rented an old house near us. The floor was so uneven that my niece's favorite toy horse on wheels would roll from one end of the living room to the southwest corner.