Just the general Home question related the foundation. I am hoping to see your opinions and comments.
Location : North Texas
House year : 2018
Background : Bidding for this house. Only three years old, and already shows the crack on the bricks only on one side. Seeing the patio area puling away from the house.
Question: Will it be okay 5 - 10 years down the road?
Based on your region and when the house was built...
No one can tell. Even an engineer would have a hard time giving you a solid answer without extensive soil testing which could take months.
What I notice is that you have a question here full of pictures of cracks, yet you have not done your due diligence on the footings, piers, whatever they used for the foundation. How deep are they, what is the area norm, how does the concrete look, are there low points or puddling, can you see any visible settling, and so on. There are a lot of variables.
#1 Best case
If this house was "built really well", had more than adequate footings, and the ground was prepared right, it can definitely still settle. The settling time period is at about 1-7 years with the years 3-5 usually having the most visually apparent settling. This is right in that bubble.
The fact that they used brick really tells because it is unforgiving. The third pig used brick but he did a lot of foundation work outside of the story! But if this house was built right those cracks are nothing but cosmetic (although they may be a bit unrepairable).
#2 Worst Case
Now maybe the foundation wasn't poured deep enough, the ground wasn't prepared right or it was installed on bad ground. This may just be the beginning. You may have a corner sinking and these cracks will grow wider and wider and cause numerous other issues. That is for new owner to deal with!
If this house was 15 years old we would tell you "looks low risk and cosmetic" - doesn't mean no risk. It being 3 years old I can tell you this is medium to high risk. Like I said you can get an engineer out there, I doubt an engineer will sign off on this house having no long-term settling issues given its age.
The bricks separating from the threshold is a cosmetic problem, but it is a symptom, along with your cracked mortar and bricks of something more significant -- the foundation is/has settled. You should ask if the foundation (this typically occurs with slab vs. pier and beam) has been repaired. If done recently, then you have some "minor" fixes for the cosmetics. If the foundation was repaired some time ago, or hasn't been fixed, then you should get a professional to inspect it, assuming you can get access to inside of property.
I've had this issue with two properties in the DFW area, and both times the foundation repair was approx. $8000 to $9000, which was on the low end of estimates. That work will only fix the foundation, and it will only last as long as the owner keeps the soil watered around the house afterwards, for as long as the owner has the property. it is a result of the shifting clay soil found in the DFW area.
I had a bid to fix my cracked mortar and bricks, and the estimate wasn't too bad, but it wasn't really too large of an area (maybe $500 IIRC?). It included being able to match the color of the mortar, which (for me) was critical. I fixed the bricks at the threshold myself for practically nothing.
If the house has had foundation repairs, but the owner didn't keep the foundation watered, as we say, then there's no reason why the property couldn't need additional foundation repair.
Built in 2018? That's a relatively new home and it suggests how bad the soil is in this area, as well as suggesting how little care was given to the landscaping/area immediately around the house, since it's already messed up within less than 3 yrs. should you pass? Depends upon your budget. The vast majority of residential properties have/had this issue in this part of Texas.
Will it last 5 to 10 yrs.? maybe, assuming the foundation is/will get repaired and how extensive the cracks in the mortar are. I have seen similar brick walls still standing after that amount of time. Obviously, if you buy it, you will want to fix it- either now or when you go to sell it in the future. the cosmetics won't necessarily keep someone from getting financing for the purchase, but needed foundation repairs can prevent financing.
could cracks signify a problem?, can be answered here