The short answer
You can sell, repaired or not. Texas law requires the seller of a single-dwelling home to give the buyer a written disclosure notice, and the Texas Real Estate Commission’s form asks about the foundation in three places. The choice you actually face is whether to repair before listing, sell as-is with full disclosure, or offer the buyer a credit.
What the seller’s disclosure asks
TREC’s Seller’s Disclosure Notice, prepared under Texas Property Code § 5.008(b), asks whether you’re aware of:
| Item on the notice | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Foundation/Slab(s) | Known defects or malfunctions in the foundation itself |
| Previous Structural or Roof Repair | Any earlier repair, including piers and leveling |
| Landfill, Settling, Soil Movement, Fault Lines | Conditions in the ground under and around the house |
Answer from what you know. If you’ve had an inspection, a contractor’s plan or an engineer’s report, the buyer’s agent will likely ask for it, and declining to share it after disclosing a problem rarely helps a sale.
What the buyer’s side will check
The home inspection. A Texas home inspector must give a written opinion on how the foundation is performing and report the visible indications of adverse performance behind it: binding doors, sloping floors, cracks. That’s a visual opinion, not an engineering one; the engineers’ board concluded it is not engineering. A flagged foundation often leads the buyer to order an engineer’s evaluation.
A plumbing test. TREC has an addendum for hydrostatic testing that lets the buyer, at the buyer’s expense, hire a licensed plumber to test the drain lines. Under-slab leaks and foundation movement often travel together, so expect this on an older slab house.
The lender. For FHA loans, HUD’s handbook requires the lender to confirm the foundations will be serviceable for the life of the mortgage, and says an inspection by a qualified individual or entity may be required when the appraiser sees signs of structural failure.
Repair first, sell as-is, or offer a credit?
| Option | Works well when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Repair before listing | The problem is clear, the repair is moderate, and you have time | Choose the repair on its merits, not the cheapest plan; buyers’ engineers read the paperwork |
| Sell as-is with disclosure | The repair is large, you’re short on time, or the buyer plans to renovate | Expect offers to subtract the repair cost plus a margin for uncertainty |
| Offer a credit or price cut | A buyer wants to choose their own contractor | Get a written repair estimate first, so the credit is based on a real number |
Either way, a contractor’s inspection with elevation readings, and ideally an independent engineer’s evaluation, turns “foundation issues” into a defined problem with a price. Buyers discount uncertainty more heavily than they discount a known repair.
If you repair before selling
Keep a file the buyer’s inspector can read in five minutes:
- The city permit. Fort Worth requires a building permit for every residential foundation repair, with a licensed engineer’s foundation plans and structural letter. The permit guide covers Mansfield, Keller and Arlington too.
- The engineer’s documents and any final report.
- Before and after elevation readings and a drawing showing every pier.
- The plumbing test results, if one was done.
- The warranty, with its transfer terms.
One DFW contractor notes that an engineer’s report gives a future owner some degree of security. That’s the point of the file: it lets a buyer trust work they didn’t see.
If you’re the buyer
Ask for the seller’s records, get your own inspection, and consider an engineer’s evaluation if the inspector flags the foundation. The Foundation Performance Association recommends buyers get a baseline elevation survey, so there’s a record to compare against if the house moves later. The inspection page explains the levels of evaluation.
Insurance rarely changes this picture. Texas policies generally exclude settling and soil movement; the insurance guide explains the exception for plumbing leaks.
Want a contractor to look at it? Call to schedule an inspection.