This property looks like a good deal but has been on the market for 4 months. Can anybody give me some input as I’m very interested in making an offer. Is the crack a serious problem or can it be fixed at a reasonable cost? Am I missing something?[/quote]
The only way I know of to fix a cracked slab is to jack up the building. Your link shows an obvious two-story bldg but is this condo a two story? It appears to be just a one-story unit with a unit above. How many units are in this building??
Not familiar with this complex.
It costs $35K to $50K to *properly* fix a crack all the way thru (front to back or side to side) in a 2000 – 2400 sf SFR. You would have to hire an engineer to do it and sign off on it.
If the crack is not offset (one side higher than the other) and it is not too wide (more than 1/4″), you could just buy it and live in it if the price is low enough but you will have to disclose the crack, by law, when you list the property for sale, as well as remove the floor-covering, like the REO seller did in the photos, to allow potential buyers (and their inspectors) to inspect the crack.
If you choose to live in it unfixed, I don’t see you gaining any equity from this property in the foreseeable future so I would not buy it.
If you choose to have it fixed, I would get estimates of how much it would cost to do so in escrow first before I committed to the sale.
I have NO IDEA how a crack in a condo slab could be fixed without affecting adjacent and nearby condo owners.
In any case, if you bought the property and fixed the crack, you will have to disclose to future potential buyers in your Transfer Disclosure Statement that your condo has a “fixed crack slab” and make your engineer’s certificate available for viewing by potential buyers.
