My husband and I are newbies at home buying. The house we are living in was built new when we bought it. So we really have had no "older house" experience. We have seen a house which we like and we've contacted the agent. She tells us that there is a lot of seepage in the basement and that we should be prepared for it. I don't know what it means to be "prepared for it". She says that they have an engineer's report that says to repair the dammage will cost between $3000 - $5000. To me this sounds ominous. It could turn into a "Oops Sorry it'll now cost $30000 - $50000." Because after all, is the engineer offering to do the job, or is he just giving a ball park figure? What would you advise in this situation?
Answer:
If the foundation walls are poured concrete, and if the leak is due to a crack, it can cost even less than 3K$ but if repair entails excavation along the foundation walls, that may mean that you have to excavate all around the house and that comes at about $150.00 per foot in the Ottawa, Ont. area. It also toasts your driveway, foundation planting and whatever patio you might have purchased. You might want to take a closer look at the engineer's report. Too often this sort of thing turns into being a 'two story house': you get one story when you're looking at it and another when it comes to actually doing the repairs. The second story is seldom one you want to hear.
