Question: Do I need to fear having shrubs near my foundation? The foundation repair people have told me that the shrubs are causing a big part of my problem by robbing the moisture.

Answer: There may be some specific situations where shrubs actually do directly cause foundation problems, but usually you can add any water that the shrubs are removing. A home landscape without shrubs would be a pretty bleak affair. Keep the front sides of the shrub beds properly watered to encourage vigorous root growth out into the landscape and away from the house, and you should have nothing to worry about. You could also cut a trench against the house and install some type of root barrier.