A Brick Veneer Crack Tragedy: A True Story

Folks, I had to share this true story.  I feel so bad for this young lady.

Here are her words:

"I bought the house in 2011 with my husband (at the time), we divorced in 2012.  I lived in it for a little while and was thinking about putting it up for sale when some family friends asked if they could rent it from me.  I rented to them for about a year, then they moved out, and it was on the market for about 6 months with no offers.  I switched Realtors and got an offer within two months.  You know the rest...home inspection revealed a brick veneer crack, my Realtor called in a foundation repair company who made a visual inspection and recommended $8K worth of repairs. I was hoping my structural warranty would cover it so I wouldn't have to pay out of pocket, but the warranty company hired you to perform a floor level survey, which revealed there is no structural foundation failure or issue and pointed out that there were no interior drywall cracks opposite the brick veneer crack.  The buyers said they were ok with the new assessment and just wanted the brick repaired, then four days before closing they talked to the foundation repair contractor and changed their minds and walked away...I hope to sell soon. In the meantime I'm carrying a $1K mortgage, vacant home insurance (which is four times as expensive as regular home owners insurance), monthly utilities, and lawn care.  But it would have been illogical to spend $8K on 'repairs that were unnecessary' and might have put the house in worse condition (why would I choose to make the house unlevel if it's perfectly level to begin with) just because the would-be buyers were scared."

Now tell me, don't you feel sorry for this seller?  Is this not tragic?  Folks, you've got to stop doing this to your sellers.  Don't ever call a foundation repair contractor for an evaluation of cracks in brick veneer.  You are asking for a price to underpin the foundation, which seems to always start at about $ 5,000.00 and averages, $ 8,000.00 or more, like this poor woman's estimate.  Stand your ground with these home inspectors that don't know squat about brick veneer cracks.  Again, if there are no drywall cracks inside the home, opposite the brick veneer cracks, then ask the home inspector why you need to get them further evaluated.  Tell him that brick veneer cracks easily for a large number of reasons and cracks are nothing to worry about if there are no cracks inside the home.  Ask him/her, "What if this house had vinyl siding, would you still be telling us to get the house evaluated, and if so, why?  I promise you he won't have an answer.  If he says this is an unfair question or he can't equate brick veneer with vinyl siding, don't ever use the inspector again.