I just got this house and the owner before me started digging under the foundation to do a wall under and did not finish so now part of my house is falling in the hole what can I do. Thanks

Find a local contractor or structural engineer to take a look. You may have permanent damage that needs to be fixed or it could be as simple as pouring more concrete to fill and reinforce the area. In any event, it's a potentially serious structural issue that no-one on this board can give you an accurate answer for.

uh, you can't dig for new rooms below the footings without doing some major work. it's a given that the ground under the footings is going to slide into the hole.

was this disclosed? did you have an inspection-contingent contract? it's a material change in the stability of the house. you might also get some pictures and bring them with your contract of sale from the realtor to a lawyer. this is not going to be a $250 fix. and if you can recover the costs, it's worth doing.

When you say you "just got the house", do you mean that you've just signed the purchase/sale contract or just closed on the house? If the former, is title still vested in the guy you're buying the house from?

Agreeing with both Jaybee's Swschrad's advice, this is a structural as well as a legal issue.

It's my understanding that owners must make disclosure of serious issues, so the sort of sink hole the owner has created should have been disclosed. Was it?

If you are purchasing with a mortgage, what was the lender's position? I assume the house was inspected/appraised if a mortgage was involved. I wouldn't think a lender would be too comfortable with this situation.

If the deal has closed, was there an inspection by various city/county/township officials, and what were their recommendations/conclusions?

I wonder also if you are now the owner how you were able to get homeowners insurance with this serious issue unresolved. In fact, if you don't have HO insurance, I think you might not be able to get it because no carrier would want to insure a house with such a hazard.

Sure hope you haven't closed on this house yet!

quote:

Originally posted by swschrad:
uh, you can't dig for new rooms below the footings without doing some major work. it's a given that the ground under the footings is going to slide into the hole.

That's right .. Must look for some other ideas.