Your home is experiencing signs of foundation issues. You are also thinking of selling your home soon. Should you put it on the market with or without getting the foundation repaired? How will getting the foundation repaired affect the value or price of your home? What to do . . . what to do?
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we have been repairing home foundations for 35+ years in Bryan, College Station, and other Brazos Valley communities like Navasota and Madisonville. We know that foundation repair and home sales often happen together.
We have played a part in many real estate transactions for buyers and sellers where foundation repair was involved. We’ve also talked to more than our fair share of Realtors® in the area about this issue.
This article will review the relationship between a home’s value and foundation repairs. We will also cover common concerns and decisions that home sellers are often faced with when it comes to foundation repairs and putting a home on the market.
Can I Sell My Home With Foundation Repairs?
Homeowners often worry that having their foundation repaired will somehow negatively impact their ability to sell. This is simply not true. Homes sell every day around the country that have foundation issues or had foundation problems addressed with foundation repairs.
There are people out there that will buy a home with foundation problems or past repairs. Any home will sell under the right circumstances and right price for a buyer.
So, remove this worry from your mind completely. It’s entirely possible to sell your home with foundation repair and it could even work in your favor. We will explain more in the coming sections on that.
Will Foundation Repairs Decrease the Price of My Home?
Having foundation repairs completed should not decrease the price of your home. Getting foundation repairs completed on your house will maintain its expected value.
Maybe a little math sentence will help here:
Price of Home in Regular Condition = Price of Home with Foundation Repairs Completed
For example, if your home price was expected to be set at 250K with no foundation issues, then you should still be able to set the price at 250K if you happen to have foundation repairs done on the home.
To put it yet another way, foundation repairs don’t negatively impact the price of a home.
Will Foundation Repairs Increase the Value of My Home?
Just because foundation repairs don’t negatively affect the value of your home, doesn’t mean that it positively affects it either. So no, getting foundation repairs won’t add more value to your home. You shouldn’t expect to be able to price your home higher than normal because foundation work was done.
Foundation repairs do not increase the value of homes. Other things can increase the value of homes like these upgrades:
- A kitchen or bath remodel,
- New or high-efficiency windows,
- New or high-efficiency appliances,
- Up-to-date finishes, hardware, and/or fixtures, or
- Landscaping and improvements to curb appeal.
Notice I used the word upgrade a minute ago? Foundation repair is not an upgrade, it’s something that brings a home to its expected condition. Foundation repair doesn’t add extra value, it only maintains value. This is why the little math sentence (now in word form) still applies:
The price of your home in a normal, expected condition is equal to the price of your home with foundation repairs completed.
What Happens to My Home Price if I Don’t Do Foundation Repair?
So far, both of the sections above talked about a home that has had the foundation repairs done. Foundation repairs neither decrease nor increase overall home value. However, NOT getting foundation repairs can affect home value quite a bit.
If you don’t get the foundation fixed, you should expect the value/price of your home to be lower. There are a few things that typically decrease home value. They are the kinds of conditions that make your home not “up to snuff” anymore, like the following:
- A roof that is past its life expectancy,
- Major plumbing system issues,
- Outdated electrical infrastructure, and
- A settled foundation that is causing problems for the home.
Any major systems of your home that are not working as expected will negatively affect the value. You should expect to set the price lower for your home when selling.
But let’s say you don’t set the price lower right away compared to similar homes without foundation issues, what then? You can certainly do that in some markets. But don’t be surprised if buyers ask for a lower price when they make an offer or during the inspection period if you haven’t addressed foundation issues already.
Repair My Foundation or Not: How Will My Home Sell Faster?
Maybe now you’re wondering which way will your home sell faster, with or without getting the foundation repaired?
It could be said that a home might sell *easier* if you have foundation repairs completed. Sure, you might also get reasonable offers sooner. But more importantly, there could be fewer hiccups, fewer delays, and less angst. Not getting the repairs done before selling can create more work, extra negotiations, and bad feelings due to fear, worry, and concern on the buyer’s side.
It’s a tough question to answer *for all times and situations* because how fast a home sells depends a lot on the current real estate market conditions in your area. The rules of supply and demand can impact how quickly homes sell and in what condition.
For example, if there are only a few homes on the market, home buyers will be more inclined to take literally anything they can get and pay more for it, even if the home needs foundation repair or other major work. If there’s a lot to choose from and home inventories are high, buyers can be much pickier and tend to demand more from the seller.
Real estate markets are very localized by geography and industry. Even if the “economy is bad,” certain areas can still have booming and competitive markets.
So we can’t really advise you one way or the other on how your home will sell faster – with or without foundation repairs. This is a question left to your trusted real estate professional because they will know what’s going on in your local market.
Do’s and Don’ts for Foundation Repairs and Home Selling
Just to summarize some of the key points in this article, we’ve put together a quick do’s and don’t list. Who doesn’t love a do’s and don’ts list? I do . . . er . . . I mean, I don’t . . . or do I?
- DON’T worry about selling a home with foundation repairs
- DON’T expect foundation repair to increase the value of your home
- DO anticipate a buyer to ask for foundation repairs if they have not already been done
- DO expect foundation repair to make home selling run smoother
- DO fix your foundation if your Realtor® advises it based on market conditions
A good rule of thumb would be to put yourself in a buyer’s shoes and also think about the current market situation your real estate professional describes to you. What are potential buyers going to expect right now in your current market?
What If I Can’t Pay for Foundation Repairs Before Selling?
There’s no getting around the fact that foundation repair can sometimes be challenging for homeowners to afford. You do have some options on ways to pay for foundation repairs during the home selling process if it’s not feasible for you to take care of it in advance.
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we have been inspecting and repairing Brazos Valley foundations since 1985. We have been around long enough to see that homeowners handle foundation repairs and home selling in a number of ways.
If finding alternative options to pay for foundation repairs while selling your home is something you need to know more about, check out “Should I Fix My Foundation Before I Sell My Home? 4 Ways to Handle Repairs.”