WWYD - sell or keep?

I'm in a duplex that I like a lot. However, since the moment I moved in 3 years ago, I've had foundation issues. I'm in NC and we have clay soil - which can cause problems in some areas. The guy who sold it lied about there being issues and my inspector apparently sucked, and now I own it.

Over the years I've had a few piers installed and it's been shimmed 3 times. Each time it happens, it makes something else shift. A few months ago, I decided to just go for it and paid $5,000 to have 10 piers installed. It mostly seems stable, and I know that it was going to cause more cracks in the walls, but there are some places that haven't settled completely since then (mostly in the master bath - which didn't have issues before).

A realtor friend said that it's an INSANE seller's market right now and that I'd probably have multiple offers on my place - even with the foundation issues. He said I could easily play it off as just adding 10 piers so the issue is fixed.

The problem is that I would have no where to go. I've looked at houses currently on the market and none are as nice as my place. I don't want to leave this one just to get into another house that isn't as big and isn't updated. Plus, I'd probably end up in bidding wars since it's not a buyer's market. I could move into a rental for a bit (even though I LOATHE moving) but there's no guarantee that there would ever be anything I like on the market that I can afford.

So - do I stay and continue to (maybe) pay more over time to put bandaids on the foundation (I doubt it would ever come to needing $5,000 more work but it would also include having to repair the walls b/c of the cracks)? Or do I try to buy another house? Do I move into an apartment (which would be more than what I'm currently paying for my mortgage)? What would you do?

WWYD - sell or keep?

If you love it and don't mind possibly having to keep putting money into it then I would stay

Re: WWYD - sell or keep?

Any house will need work and repairs over time.

If it’s a sellers market, it means you are paying more for your next place - unless you are leaving the area, downsizing, etc.

If the only reason to leave is this issue, and you’ve addressed it then I would stay - no one can promise you that you won’t have hidden issues in the next place.

Small example - my previous owner put in a nice master bath but never replaced the pipe under the toilet which was original to our 1955 house. This pipe leaked and we had to cut a big while in the bathroom below to repair. It was like a 1k job that no one could have anticipated. We had another similar pipe leak into our garage for another $700. We also had a $1,700 repair to our heater. Luckily there wasn’t major damage but stuff happens when you own a house. So these things easily add up to what you are dealing with (we’ve had a few other things too)

Good luck with whatever you chose.

Re: WWYD - sell or keep?

We bought our house only to discover foundation issues after about 6 months. We paid more than $5k to have it repaired, but now we're good. We also got several cracks around doors and on walls as the house resettled. I was told it could take a year for the house to completely resettle. If you only had your work done a few months ago, I'd give it more time to see how it goes.

Re: WWYD - sell or keep?

Re: WWYD - sell or keep?

I think I agree with everyone else but I would add that I would get multiple opinions on the foundation and what is coming in the future.

Maybe have another GC inspect it even if you pay him for his time. Then at least you can budget for future problems.

If the market is also in favor of sellers for whatever/wherever you would buy then the seller's market makes no difference.

WWYD - sell or keep?

Keep it