How to tell if a discounted house has major foundation damage
Discounted homes often hide structural issues like daylight showing through crawlspaces or sagging walls that signal expensive repairs ahead. Relying on standard home inspections is not enough; buyers need a dedicated assessment from a licensed structural engineer before moving forward to avoid buying a money pit.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 22.0× more often in r/HomeMaintenance than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1getting estimates for the repair and factoring them into the purchase decisionDid this help you?
- 2hiring a reputable foundation contractor to evaluate onsiteDid this help you?
- 3Hiring an independent home inspector or structural engineerDid this help you?
- 4Requesting repairs as a contingency for buying the houseDid this help you?
- 5Steering clear of the purchase entirelyDid this help you?
- 6Pay a structural engineerDid this help you?
- 7Hiring a structural engineer for an inspectionDid this help you?
- 8Monitoring and repairing concrete cracks yourselfDid this help you?
- 9Modifying yard grading and drainage to manage water flowDid this help you?
- 10Walking away from the purchaseDid this help you?
- 11Asking for price concessions or repairs in negotiationsDid this help you?
- 12Hiring an independent structural engineer for an inspection and stamped reportDid this help you?
- 13Asking the seller for an extension on the inspection periodDid this help you?
- 14Getting estimates from contractors or foundation specialistsDid this help you?
- 15Walking away from the real estate deal entirelyDid this help you?
- 16Getting a quote to replace landscaping/hardscaping and demanding cash at closeDid this help you?
- 17Walking away from the house purchase entirelyDid this help you?
- 18Requiring a new landing and steps to be poured before closingDid this help you?
- 19Make the offer contingent on a satisfactory report from a foundation or structural engineer.Did this help you?
- 20Hire a home inspector to evaluate the cracks before proceeding.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Inspector found slight bowing in foundation wall, how worried would you be?”source ↗
“My concern is that we’re already in the inspection/attorney review period, so getting an engineer would mean asking the seller for additional time while we find someone who can come sooner.”source ↗
“Our inspector also recommended having a structural engineer evaluate it.”source ↗
“I'd lose sleep over this for sure”source ↗
“Would just one engineers insight be sufficient? I’m worried the engineer will also give more mixed “could be $500 or $50,000””source ↗
“How do i know if this is a big issue or just a minor sttling crack?”source ↗
“I'm supposed to close on this house tomorrow and the sewer line was being redone today. I noticed they dug under a substantial amount of cement. It seems like they would never be able to compact the dirt enough from under neath when they backfill to support this but I'm being told it'll be fine. Any advice?”source ↗
“It is his first potential home purchase. I am deeply concerned about these cracks in the foundation/basement.”source ↗
“First time home buyer..at first tried to avoid houses with foundation cracks but it just seems inevitable on houses built from 1970s-2000s (Ontario) is it just something you have to accept?”source ↗
“Looking at possibly buying this home. The foundation under the home is fine, but here under the attached garage there are problems. You can see daylight coming through under the crawlspace. Is this a huge concern in the future?”source ↗
“Yea, I would not close on that house, that seems to be a huge issue going forward. Even if it mean't losing the escrow. But this should def allow you to walk away.”source ↗
“I would not move ahead with this house until I got an inspection from a structural engineer. Not a house inspector, but a bonafide residential structural engineer.”source ↗
“I had water intrusion in my basement this summer and panicked, but it turned out I just needed to spend a few days in the yard with a shovel to fix my drainage.”source ↗
“My husband and I are living in a house where the foundation is messed up. Worst choice we ever made. Literally have chunks of ceiling missing now”source ↗
“No I'm just dad thinking that foundation issues are a major issue and too costly to bother buying.”source ↗
“This is in Houston Texas and in the first image by the light you will see the crack if you zoom in. What do you think?”source ↗
“That's a huge hole really close to the foundation, that's going to settle over time. It's not just the stairs that are going to get shafted, it's that front walkway? as well, any landscaping in that area. etc.”source ↗
“This is the right side of a small house I'm considering. It's marked down way under market so I'm concerned this right side wall is a major issue.”source ↗
“These cracks in the house are concerning me, is it worth it to put an offer?”source ↗
“I haven’t had an inspection yet, they are asking for 285k originally then dropped to 225k, I wanted to offer them 180k just I feel that may be high with all the other repairs the home will need to undergo.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How serious is a sewer scope belly under the street?
- 5How to spot hidden subfloor damage covered by new OSB
- 6Should I buy a house with conflicting roof damage reports?
- 4Last-minute home repair flagged by inspector before closing
- 3Does my lifted skylight need a professional inspection?
- 30Is a basement wall crack structural or just cosmetic?