Is Foundation Shifting Affecting Your Home in Chicago?
During the home building process, a great deal of excavation is done to make room for the new house. The soil around the home is dug up and later used to fill in the area around the home’s foundation. Over time, it’s expected that this soil will shift and settle due to the weight of the house. While this shifting is natural, it can lead to problems with your home’s foundation.
For homeowners, this is a risky gamble. Shifting can lead to cosmetic foundation problems or even more severe issues that are costly to repair.
Let’s look at some of the causes of foundation shifting and what homeowners can do to sell a home with foundation issues.
Causes of Foundation Issues in Chicago
Soil conditions are one of the main causes of foundation problems in Chicago and elsewhere. Your home’s foundation rests on and is surrounded by soil. Natural soil shifting can result in increased pressure on the walls of a foundation. Moisture in the soil can also have this same effect. When it rains or snows, soil absorbs water and swells up. This wet soil pushes up on the foundation. When the temperature heats up, the water is expelled and the soil contracts. This causes foundation settling.
Another cause of foundation issues is shoddy construction. If a poor job is done when concrete for the foundation is poured, this can result in long-term damage.
Is Your Home at Risk?
Usually, homeowners worry if they start to see cracks in their foundation walls, but it’s possible that these cracks are simply cosmetic. A much more troubling sign of foundation issues is bowing walls inside a home. Another sign is doors starting to stick, or are hard to open or close.
If you’re seeing any of the warning signs, take the time to have a professional come out and inspect your home. Foundation problems don’t fix themselves, and they only get more and more expensive as the problem worsens over time.
Selling a Home with Foundation Issues?
Buying a home with foundation issues is a tough ask for many buyers. Even if a home is priced accordingly, many buyers don’t have the extra cash on hand to pay for foundation repairs. Some lenders aren’t comfortable giving a mortgage for a home that needs a lot of work done. Most sellers in this situation are forced to come up with a way to pay for the repairs themselves before they can put their house up for sale and have it under contract.
An alternative is to sell to We Buy Ugly Houses in Chicago. We buy homes as-is, so sellers don’t have to worry about making any repairs. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation quote for your home that you can trust.
