Guide
Selling or buying a New Braunfels house with foundation trouble
A foundation problem, or an old repair, does not stop a house from selling. Hiding one can undo a sale. Texas law sets out what the seller has to put on paper.
The seller's disclosure notice
Under Property Code ยง5.008, whoever sells a single-dwelling residential property in Texas must hand the purchaser a notice, in writing, about the property's condition. A ready-made version, the Seller's Disclosure Notice, is available from the Texas Real Estate Commission and carries everything the statute lists.
It records the seller's knowledge and belief as of the signing date. The statute is blunt on two points: the notice warrants nothing, and it does not replace any inspection a purchaser chooses to have.
What the form asks that touches foundations
Each of these is a yes-or-no question put to the seller:
- A faulty foundation or slab
- It sits in one checklist with the roof, the walls and the floors.
- Previous structural repair
- An earlier foundation repair belongs here even if it was done under a previous owner and the seller knows of it.
- Settling and soil movement
- A single entry bundles these two with landfill and fault lines.
- Improper drainage
- It has an entry of its own.
- Water damage and wood rot
- Relevant to pier and beam houses, where leaks and decay under the floor are common causes of sagging.
Where the answer to any of these is yes, the form asks for an explanation.
Timing, and who is exempt
The notice should reach the purchaser no later than the contract's effective date. Where it turns up after the contract is made, the purchaser gets seven days from receiving it to end the contract, for any reason at all.
Some transfers fall outside the section. Examples: a sale at foreclosure, a transfer handled by the fiduciary of an estate, one co-owner conveying to another, and a brand-new house nobody has occupied. Think one of these fits your sale? Have an agent or a real estate lawyer confirm it.
Practical steps
If you are selling
Get ahead of the question
Have the foundation evaluated before listing if you have seen signs. A current elevation map and a written opinion answer a buyer's first question before it is asked.
If the house was repaired, assemble the file: engineer's report, contract, permit record, before-and-after readings and the warranty with its transfer terms. Some warranties lapse unless the new owner registers the transfer soon after closing, and a fee may apply.
Disclose what you know. An honest notice with documents attached reads very differently from a problem the buyer's inspector finds unannounced.
If you are buying
Verify, then decide
Read the notice closely for the items above, and ask for the documents behind any yes.
Should the home inspection flag the foundation, hire a structural engineer of your own while the contract still lets you withdraw. That fee is small beside the cost of a surprise.
A house whose foundation was repaired, with the papers to show for it and a warranty that passes to you, has lost nothing by that fact alone. An unexplained patch of fresh mortar is a reason to ask more.
Treat this page as a plain-language summary. It cannot stand in for a lawyer's or an agent's advice on your particular sale.
When you are ready
Pages can narrow it down. A level and a floor plan settle it.
Whichever side of the escarpment your house stands on, the answer comes from numbers taken on the spot. The firm that makes the visit then sets down on paper what it measured and what a repair would run to.
Sudden shifting, the smell of gas, or a wall that seems about to come down is a different matter: clear the house first, then dial 911 or your gas provider.
Have your New Braunfels house measured
Ring the number and describe the crack, door or floor that worries you. Whoever answers works for a foundation repair firm near New Braunfels, a separate and independent business, and can book a day to inspect.
Call (830) 879-9995Your call may be recorded. The referral disclosure explains who is paid.