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Need help in home assessment. Multiple hairline cracks throughout home

2 years ago

Hi everyone.

I'm currently in a market to purchase a home and I saw a home yesterday that I like the location and floorplan, but it's in obvious disrepair.

In addition to the home needing common updating, there are issues that concern me enough to make me wonder if it's even worth pursuing. Namely the home has a history of multiple roof leaks (ceilings around home show water spots) and there are multiple areas of extensive hairline cracks on the exterior and interiors of the home. This indicates foundation settlement and maybe structural issues. In the pics I show, there are large support beams on the inside that extends to the outside that show signs of stress. This is in addition to various other hairline cracks throughout the interior and exterior of home.

In addition, with a history of leaks, there worry for undiscovered mold. Is mold a costly thing to remediate if needed throughout home?

Please let me know what you think about this. Are there major structural red flags here?

Look at the closest beam and note the cracks. All the beam edges along house show extensive water wear:

Here is an interior shot of the same beam. Note the large crack in beam:

Some interior cracks:

Please help and give me your thoughts!

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Comments (4)

cat_ky
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Lots of expensive work that needs to be done there. Likely to cost more to repair and make it all right, than to put the money into one that is in better condition. I would not consider that house, there are way too many unknowns, about it. You already know it needs foundation repair and a new roof, and thats costly. Good chance that there is mold in the walls, and I see popcorn ceilings, and depends upon the yr of the house, that could be asbestos, plus the chances of mold. If you do decide to go forward with a purchase, please get a very good inspector of your choosing, not a realtor choosing, to inspect every single thing.
nickel_kg
2 years ago
Hire your own inspector and look over their shoulder as they go, a good one will be happy to explain what they are finding.
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Huge money pit if you ask me. A stucco exterior is great to have but once it develops cracks the moisture penetrates and decays it from the inside until it falls off. Tap around the cracks of the stucco and if it sounds hollow it's about ready to fall off and effected areas can't be repaired and must be removed and replaced and hard to match existing stucco.

The cracks in wood beams are not an issue but dry rot is. I can see water wicking into the beams from the outside so stick a dull butter knife in it. penetration of any kind means it's dry rotted.

This is an old house and looks to have plaster interior walls and ceilings and just like the stucco if you tap around the cracks and it sounds hollow it's lost adhesion to the lathes and will fall off. With these old houses comes a need for complete electrical and plumbing upgrade and unless they've already been done, along with no insulation, needing a roof and as another mentioned potential asbestos all around this house will have substantial repair bills.

More full pictures of the house inside and out would aid in accessing the overall condition but what I see is enough to go in with an offer substantially lower than market value with the cash on the side to repair and upgrade.

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