Selling an Older, Boise Home? 4 Foundation Red Flags Inspectors Always Catch

The Boise real estate market loves historic charm and mid-century layouts like what you'd find in the North End or the Bench. However, these older homes carry not only history, but time to experience settlement and structural damages due to active soil, poor crawl space protection, and more. 

Here's a few red flags you can catch before the home inspector does, which can save your sale, protect your asking price, and prevent last-minute dealbreakers. 

1) Stair-Step or Horizontal Wall Cracks

Whether there's "stair-step" wall cracks in a concrete brick wall, or a horizontal crack slicing across the basement wall, the cause is often the same: hydrostatic pressure.

When there's moisture outside, that water gets retained by the soil outside the foundation and exerts pressure against the wall, hence the seeping leaks that are visible in this picture.

2) Sticking Doors and Uneven Windows

Is there a door that won't close right? What about a window that doesn't fit perfectly into its frame anymore? Have you seen any cracks in the drywall along the edges of the frame?

This can be another symptom of settlement, or sagging crawl space beams that are no longer supporting your floors properly, causing your frames to sit in a wonky way.

3) Soft, Sloping, or 'Bouncy' Floors

Sagging crawl space beams not only cause sticking doors, but also sagging floors! It can feel like a part of the floor is 'bouncy' or not secure. That's a key sign that wood rot has weakened the crawl space, and that the floor is lacking support, meaning it may fail in the future. Nobody likes a floor that isn't stable! 

4) Musty Odors (The Hidden Dealbreaker)

You might think the home smells a little musty, but it's not a big deal. Light a few candles, and it's good to go, right?

Unfortunately, these odors aren't coming from nowhere. Home inspectors will often find standing water, mold growth, white efflorescence, and more in the crawl space that's causing the odors. 

The Solution? Call Us!

We can fix all these problems for you. For example, to address the musty odors, we can install a SaniDry Sedona which purifies and dries the air (up to 100 pints of water per day), and encapsulate the crawl space which permanently protects the structural integrity of the crawl space and improves indoor air quality by fighting future microbial growth. Make sure to call right away to learn more!