So, this house I am buying....maybe

[House Cat]

It is funny how you find a house and you walk through it, fall in love in a matter of 20 minutes and boom...you are in escrow. The problem with our viewing is that the owner was actually THERE! So we felt a bit awkward being as thorough as we usually are and I think maybe that created problems. Oh heck, I know it did.

We had our home inspection yesterday. The house is actually high up on a hill. On two sides of the house, behind and to the right, two of the homes are actually sunken. Holding in my lot on those sides are two 14 - 15 foot high retaining walls (they are about 75 foot long.) In other words, two gigantic retaining walls. The house behind me is a very large, very high priced home and I am confident that they will maintain the wall. The house next to me is actually in a bowl of retaining walls and they are all falling in around them. The wall between what would be my house and this house is already starting to lean.

Now, we have someone coming out to give a quote for repairs.

But would you live in a home that is situated like this? The lot is a third of an acre. I am pointing this out to say that one of the retaining walls is VERY far away. The other retaining wall, the one that is leaning, is about 15 - 20 feet away from the house.

This neighborhood that I am moving to, is kind of like this...with hills and undulations. Maybe not this pronounced, but it is near a river, with streams and woods, etc...more natural looking sometimes. I think many people have retaining walls on their lots.

Oh, and finding out who owns the walls has proven to be almost impossible. I have been told that it should be treated like a good neighbor fence.

 

[VirginiaZee]

If it was me (and again, this is just my opinion)... but I'd try to find out how structurally sound these walls are. In other words, if someone doesn't maintain the wall, what would happen to my house/land? I would also see if I could talk to the owners of the nicely maintained house, to see what they know about the walls (who is responsible for them, how costs/repairs are done, etc.). I know neighbors are supposed to be neighborly and all, but if the cost of maintaining the walls is relatively high (and the "relatively" part would probably vary from person to person, perhaps drastically), my hunch is the person who most needs or desires to have the wall fixed would be the one to pay to fix it. In other words, if the one neighbor is already letting the wall collapse, I'm not sure if they would ever pay to fix it, since upkeep costs are usually less than total redo costs. That said, if the wall collapses and nothing would happen to your house, then I don't think it's a huge deal. Just my $0.02, so please take with a grain (or more!) of salt. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[blingbunny10]

House Cat - I'm in the middle of house buying, too, so I know what you're going through. Congrats on finding a home!

Re: the wall issue: did you order a survey to see where the edges of the retaining wall lie? Honestly, it may be cheaper to fix the wall (And if it's right on the property line, you can hope your neighbor on that side would chip in on the cost) than to lose your EMD. I would have someone come out to give you an estimate. If you love the house otherwise, that is what I would do.

Edit: I just saw your comment about the inspection. If you just had inspection done, you probably have a few days to negotiate with the seller. I would go this route and ask them to fix the wall or give you credit to do so.

 

[Calliecake]

House Cat, A person I worked with was in a similar situation a few years ago, the exception being that the wall was behind two homes and both the home owners responsibility. The home was 10 years old and the retaining wall needed to be replaced. The cost was close to $100,000 to fix and they had no choice to fix as the retaining wall was very high and the house was set much, much lower on the property. They fixed the wall, sold the house and moved shortly after the wall was fixed. I would make sure you get quotes on worst case scenario regarding the wall. It was an absolute nightmare for the homeowners. I'm not sure if the price of the wall was for one of the lots or both of the lots. Please look into the costs associated with the wall before purchasing the home. Also ask if this is something that would need to be done every few years or would last 20 years. Please know I feel terrible telling you this. I know you love the home. My first thought when reading your post is they were selling the home because they didn't want to pay for the cost of a new wall.

 

[House Cat]

House Cat, A person I worked with was in a similar situation a few years ago, the exception being that the wall was behind two homes and both the home owners responsibility. The home was 10 years old and the retaining wall needed to be replaced. The cost was close to $100,000 to fix and they had no choice to fix as the retaining wall was very high and the house was set much, much lower on the property. They fixed the wall, sold the house and moved shortly after the wall was fixed. I would make sure you get quotes on worst case scenario regarding the wall. It was an absolute nightmare for the homeowners. I'm not sure if the price of the wall was for one of the lots or both of the lots. Please look into the costs associated with the wall before purchasing the home. Also ask if this is something that would need to be done every few years or would last 20 years. Please know I feel terrible telling you this. I know you love the home. My first thought when reading your post is they were selling the home because they didn't want to pay for the cost of a new wall.

Thank you. This is the kind of thing I am looking for! Yes, I will have this question in my list of questions.

And, I am wondering if they are selling the home because of this reason too.

 

[canuk-gal]

House Cat, A person I worked with was in a similar situation a few years ago, the exception being that the wall was behind two homes and both the home owners responsibility. The home was 10 years old and the retaining wall needed to be replaced. The cost was close to $100,000 to fix and they had no choice to fix as the retaining wall was very high and the house was set much, much lower on the property. They fixed the wall, sold the house and moved shortly after the wall was fixed. I would make sure you get quotes on worst case scenario regarding the wall. It was an absolute nightmare for the homeowners. I'm not sure if the price of the wall was for one of the lots or both of the lots. Please look into the costs associated with the wall before purchasing the home. Also ask if this is something that would need to be done every few years or would last 20 years. Please know I feel terrible telling you this. I know you love the home. My first thought when reading your post is they were selling the home because they didn't want to pay for the cost of a new wall.

Thank you. This is the kind of thing I am looking for! Yes, I will have this question in my list of questions.

And, I am wondering if they are selling the home because of this reason too.

Like Callie, my first thought also. I would not purchase this house without a structural engineering assessment/survey. Good luck!

cheers--Sharon

 

[House Cat]

The contractor we had out yesterday said he would not repair this wall because he could not guarantee its safety. He would only replace the ENTIRE structure, both walls. This entails digging holes deep down, pouring concrete, back filling gravel for drainage, and a bunch of other things. Quote to arrive today. Can't wait to see that.

I forgot that my granddaughter's other grandfather is a structural engineer. When her stepdad came to pick her up today, he said he would ask if the engineer could come out and look at the wall. He told me that if the wall is unsound and there is a dwelling with a foundation on it, the land can be deemed uninhabitable by the engineer. Then the property owner will have no choice but to fix it.

It is now my impression that once a retaining wall begins to show any signs of failure, it is unsound.

I really wish there were another house on the market that was suitable for my needs. I really don't know what to do. In the specific school district that I am looking and in my price range, pickings are slim. My house sold like hotcakes, two offers in 24 hours and they went into a bidding war and I got $13,000 over asking. To be honest, every day I look at the MLS and pray that another house shows up because of these problems. I love the house, but I am getting cold feet.

 

[arkieb1]

When you can see retaining walls are leaning and are falling down on joining properties suspect issues and I would get at least two people who know what they are looking at engineers, structural concrete people etc to advise on how much it would cost to fix it, what (like earthquakes, earth movement) or the type of soil (clay for example) that could be making the walls move and fully understand any underlying or possible ongoing issues with the walls... Then if you love the house when you have a clear idea of the cost to fix said wall or walls deduct that from the asking price or at least negotiate with it clearly in mind.

There might be no ongoing issues with the actual site it might be that the walls were not built properly in the first place, if the walls have had a lot of movement, check if the house has moved, cracked etc as well...

 

[momhappy]

The contractor we had out yesterday said he would not repair this wall because he could not guarantee its safety. He would only replace the ENTIRE structure, both walls. This entails digging holes deep down, pouring concrete, back filling gravel for drainage, and a bunch of other things. Quote to arrive today. Can't wait to see that.

I forgot that my granddaughter's other grandfather is a structural engineer. When her stepdad came to pick her up today, he said he would ask if the engineer could come out and look at the wall. He told me that if the wall is unsound and there is a dwelling with a foundation on it, the land can be deemed uninhabitable by the engineer. Then the property owner will have no choice but to fix it.

It is now my impression that once a retaining wall begins to show any signs of failure, it is unsound.

I really wish there were another house on the market that was suitable for my needs. I really don't know what to do. In the specific school district that I am looking and in my price range, pickings are slim. My house sold like hotcakes, two offers in 24 hours and they went into a bidding war and I got $13,000 over asking. To be honest, every day I look at the MLS and pray that another house shows up because of these problems. I love the house, but I am getting cold feet.

I'm sorry that you're going through this - it sounds like you really love the house, but your gut is telling you that it might not be the right fit. My only piece of advice would be to trust your gut. Please keep us posted and I really hope that it works out for you in one way or another

 

[autumngems]

Too me, it sounds like too much of an issue and too much money, look elsewhere.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Too me, it sounds like too much of an issue and too much money, look elsewhere.

+1

I would not do it.

 

[TooPatient]

I would not purchase that house no matter how much I loved it. Too much risk and expense. The one wall may be well maintained with great neighbors now, but what about in 10 or 20 years? Or even 5?

You also don't know how much damage may have already been done. Pipes, drainage, foundation, and more....

Just doesn't sound like a good idea.


I hope another comes along even better!