Does Foundation Repair Increase Home Value?

The American Dream is plain and simple: buy dirt. Whether the current real estate market is booming or just a bubble is up for debate, regardless, home sales and prices are spiking across the nation.

Let’s face it, the world has changed. More and more people work from home, creating demand for bigger living spaces than cramped apartments and condos.

In addition, communal family living is on the rise with more adult children than ever living with their parents due to a post-pandemic economy.

People across the nation want to upgrade their square footage, bidding on a limited, highly sought-after commodity.

The new home builders can’t keep up and are backlogged for months. Resale homes are going for way above the asking price with all-cash offers. This train is not slowing down.

So, maybe you want to take full advantage of the bull market, bet it all on black: sell your home, burn your cell, and retire to Fiji sipping Mai Tais on the beach. But there’s just one problem, your home’s foundation is in less than stellar condition.

In which case, you should read our article: Sell Your Home with Foundation Issues

Or perhaps you are considering purchasing a home with a busted foundation or even a recently fixed foundation and you want to know if it’s worth the investment.

The truth: foundation repair always increases home value.

Foundation Repair increases your home value on three primary fronts:

• Structural integrity
• Cosmetics

First of all, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

Foundation repair infers foundation damage. Foundation repair always increases a home’s value because foundation failure always decreases a home’s value.

Repairing one section of your home does not mean the entire home needs to be protected against settlement or heave it is not showing.

Foundation repair is just that, repair. Foundation “protection” does nothing to add equity to your home.

Foundation Repair Adds Structural Integrity Value

Foundation settlement and foundation heave (both instigated by expansive soil) are the primary causes of foundation failure.

True to their names, foundation settlement sinks a home, and foundation heave pushes the home upward, both exerting undue pressure onto the home. Believe it or not, homes are not made to go up and down like a seesaw. Concrete, though strong, is not known for its elastic properties.

Although, this is more common in homes with hillside slope stabilization issues.

In short, people generally purchase homes for one of two reasons:

• To live in
• To rent or sell

Therefore, foundation repair is worth it if just for the privilege of living in your home without worrying about foundation failure extensive enough to force you out.

The vast majority of people don’t heavily scrutinize their foundations, whether it’s crawling into a crawlspace or performing a walk-around.

And, even if they did, many don’t know what to look for. Turns out, many of the signs and symptoms are not directly found on the foundation itself.

The uneven pressure caused by foundation settlement and foundation heave is like a virus that starts in the heart and travels to the rest of the body.

The pressure is transferred up through the foundation, to the bones of the home, and eventually into the interior. This results in several telltale signs and symptoms.

The signs and symptoms that point to compromised structural integrity are:

• Sloping floors (the numero uno clue that something is amiss with the home’s foundation)
• Cracks zipping through the drywall, stucco, tile, or cement slab itself
• Sticking doors and windows (hard to open, hard to close, frames askew)
• Leaning Kitchen Cabinets (like the King of Pop’s 45 leaning dance move in the Smooth Criminal music video)

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Now, many of these signs would be considered cosmetic. Something about the human brain in wired for symmetry. Cracks zipping through drywall and ugly, crooked door frames don’t sit quite right in our gray matter. We love 90 angles.

However, it would be a mistake to treat cosmetic damage caused by foundation settlement just like cosmetic damage caused by any other source.

Foundation Repair Adds Cosmetic Value

We all know that even a fresh coat of paint can increase your home’s value on the market along with a feng shui interior decorator. Cosmetic eyesores are a nightmare for potential new homeowners who don’t want to spend the time or cash on a remodel.

The truth is: remodels = more cash.

However, here’s the kicker. Remodels implemented before a home with a failing foundation is stabilized are absolutely useless.

• Those cracks you patched up will come back with a vengeance
• Those new cabinets you put in will begin to pull away like the old ones
• The sloped floors you “fixed” with self-leveler will continue to sink

Problems left unattended get worse. Foundation failure can take a huge bite out of your home’s value by cosmetic issues alone. So, if you don’t want to rinse-and-repeat remodels from here into eternity, we suggest foundation repair.

Remodels can add significant value to your home.

Repair the foundation first, then remodel. That way you have a double return on your investment: for structural integrity and cosmetics.

A home with a documented helical pier or push pier repair behind it can be a strong selling point, because the buyer can see the work and the measurements that went with it.

Choose Dalinghaus for Your Foundation Repair Needs

Here at Dalinghaus Foundation Repair: we respect your time. We tailor-fit your home’s repair plan to meet your unique needs.

Dalinghaus Foundation Repair can help you address a sinking foundation with helical pier, push pier, and polyurethane underpinning.

We do foundation underpinning the right way.

Schedule a Free Evaluation

Foundation movement is easier to judge in person than from a photo. Schedule a free evaluation and a Dalinghaus specialist will walk the property with you and explain what the evidence shows.