Is this kind of flooding/water intrusion a deal-breaker on a house?

[Otterwins]

I have a house that I might be able to get in a great neighborhood - totally renovated with new roof, flooring, HVAC, kitchen, etc. (although this could be bad sign?). It's at a decent price point. But I noticed the Seller disclosure checked the box for water intrusion and the box for flooding. The house had ZERO smell of mold. In fact, I went all over it and into the basement, and I smelled nothing - just a good, clean (without fragrance covering it) house. It's a little ranch - half brick, half hardiplank-style on front. Everything looks solid. 

Seller wrote a description:
"In 2013 a 9-inch rainfall caused water to back up due to debris catching on the fence line. The fence line needs to remain
clear by the exterior door of the basement."

Is this a deal-breaker situation where a house could have foundation issues or other structural, mold, nightmare? The house really did look super clean. The upstairs floor had been redone with luxury vinyl (will probably want to redo it with wood panels later), but that's not unusual to see people redoing floors with these 1970s homes that probably had red shag carpet in the day. :)

Thanks! I'm feeling that sometimes inspection guys don't tell all the details even when you pay them $500 to tell you what issues the house has.

[Otterwins]

Another issue: "City storm sewer easement at the side of the property. (recorded)"

What problems could this create in an established, older neighborhood (people not building around this)? The lot is super small - .39 acre. Thanks!

[uniwelder]

It could be really helpful to knock on the doors of the neighbors to see what they know, both of any previous issues and of the recent renovations.

[GilesMM]

Ask for details on the flood event and resulting damage.  Try to understand how it happened.  If it was just a one-time deal I wouldn't worry about it. Nice to see it disclosed.

The sewer easement means there is a sewer line crossing the property which the city may need to access to repair or replace.

[Otterwins]

Ask for details on the flood event and resulting damage.  Try to understand how it happened.  If it was just a one-time deal I wouldn't worry about it. Nice to see it disclosed.

The sewer easement means there is a sewer line crossing the property which the city may need to access to repair or replace.

Realtor says to address flooding scenario with seller during due diligence so we don't scare them off. This is a tough real estate market area with lots of buyers. I suppose worst case I lose my $3,000 earnest money if I have to walk after seeing flood details are more extensive?

[Paper Chaser]

If a flood 10 years ago were going to  cause foundation issues, etc it would be visible by now.
I'd choose the most hard-assed, nit-pickey inspector you can find and ask them to focus on any areas of concern. But it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me personally.

[GilesMM]

Ask for details on the flood event and resulting damage.  Try to understand how it happened.  If it was just a one-time deal I wouldn't worry about it. Nice to see it disclosed.

The sewer easement means there is a sewer line crossing the property which the city may need to access to repair or replace.

Realtor says to address flooding scenario with seller during due diligence so we don't scare them off. This is a tough real estate market area with lots of buyers. I suppose worst case I lose my $3,000 earnest money if I have to walk after seeing flood details are more extensive?

Write your contract so you have an off-ramp with earnest money return after inspection.

[former player]

So, a basement flood 10 years ago?  And the house now looks sound and in good order, having been lived in for the 10 years since?  I agree you need a thorough inspection, but I probably wouldn't be too worried about structural issues.

One thing you do need to look out for before purchasing is whether there are going to be any issues with insurance.  There is likely to be on record a substantial insurance claim for remedying the damage from the previous flood, so you need to check eg whether companies will either refuse to insure against flood or would charge a premium for insuring against flood.  You might also check whether there is any local flood mapping which shows a more widespread problem with surface area flooding in the location of the house.

Apart from that my main concern would be that a flood might happen again, particularly given that we are entering an era of more extreme rainfall more often - I think peace of mind on the possibility of future flooding is invaluable. I would want to take a very good look at the land gradients on the plot and its surroundings to understand where surface water wants to flow and what might stop it from flowing, and whether there are any changes which could make the situation safer.  Those changes could be:

- changing/removing the fence so that debris can't catch on it
- removing anything that might become debris along the fenceline
- changing the fall of the land so that any water that backs up does so away from the basement door
- moving the basement door, making the basement door flood proof, or building some sort of protective barrier around the bottom of the door to prevent flood water from reaching it.

I once passed on a house that I thought might be liable to flooding (it was just downstream of a bridge across a stream that I could see might easily become blocked) because while there were things I might have done to prevent flooding if I was there at the time there was little I could have done if I had been away at the time.

[Dee18]

I’m in Vermont right now where hundreds of people have lost their homes due to flooding that never happened before because rainfall was never so extreme. With climate change I would not take a chance on any place that had flooded previously.

[Otterwins]

I’m in Vermont right now where hundreds of people have lost their homes due to flooding that never happened before because rainfall was never so extreme. With climate change I would not take a chance on any place that had flooded previously.

YES, Dee 18! That's exactly what I found. Here's a good lesson learned today - TALK TO THE NEIGHBORS. I walked up and down the street and then bumped into the person next door. He said, "I don't want to discourage you, but every time there's a big rain, it seems like that basement was flooding." He went on to explain that the water storm drain line was right through the yard, and in extreme rains, you could pretty much imagine that the lid could pop and it's right next to the house/basement. He said his contractor friend (who does grading) wanted to buy the house but decided it is too much of a job (even though he could do the work himself). NEXT. $300,000 and heartache saved by doing a little research.

Thanks for the feedback - it is appreciated!

[PMJL34]

Great advice Uniwelder!

[Otterwins]

Great advice Uniwelder!

Yes, thank you, Uniwelder! I'm a bit shy going up to folks, but this tip saved me $300,000 and complete agony, I think!

Onwards!

[newco]

I often wonder about the water issue as well.  On my disclosure (4 years ago), the seller listed that the walls sweat.  Someone painted the walls with dry loc paint so you can't really see if they are sweating or not, but at times, there has been a tiny stream of water that runs along the basement floor to the drain.  My thought is that if the house is 80 years old and there aren't any foundation issues, they aren't just going to pop up now.  The house has survived this long, the likelihood of further problems doesn't seem realistic.  Granted I could be telling myself that to sleep well at night. 

Point is, if the house has survived that long (assuming it's an older place) there shouldn't be much to worry about.   

[Sibley]

I often wonder about the water issue as well.  On my disclosure (4 years ago), the seller listed that the walls sweat.  Someone painted the walls with dry loc paint so you can't really see if they are sweating or not, but at times, there has been a tiny stream of water that runs along the basement floor to the drain.  My thought is that if the house is 80 years old and there aren't any foundation issues, they aren't just going to pop up now.  The house has survived this long, the likelihood of further problems doesn't seem realistic.  Granted I could be telling myself that to sleep well at night. 

Point is, if the house has survived that long (assuming it's an older place) there shouldn't be much to worry about.

Counter point being, the house survived just fine until x thing changed which is going to cause a big problem down the line.

Dry loc paint could be the x thing that changed. Locking water into a foundation is generally not a good idea in old houses.

[Otterwins]

I often wonder about the water issue as well.  On my disclosure (4 years ago), the seller listed that the walls sweat.  Someone painted the walls with dry loc paint so you can't really see if they are sweating or not, but at times, there has been a tiny stream of water that runs along the basement floor to the drain.  My thought is that if the house is 80 years old and there aren't any foundation issues, they aren't just going to pop up now.  The house has survived this long, the likelihood of further problems doesn't seem realistic.  Granted I could be telling myself that to sleep well at night. 

Point is, if the house has survived that long (assuming it's an older place) there shouldn't be much to worry about.

At first I thought this, but then I realized that rainfall is now super heavy in the south as climate has shifted. What might have been minor runoff before may be a river as we get slammed with bigger storms. I think it is smart to avoid any housing that is next to storm drainage or may be prone to flooding.

[newco]

I often wonder about the water issue as well.  On my disclosure (4 years ago), the seller listed that the walls sweat.  Someone painted the walls with dry loc paint so you can't really see if they are sweating or not, but at times, there has been a tiny stream of water that runs along the basement floor to the drain.  My thought is that if the house is 80 years old and there aren't any foundation issues, they aren't just going to pop up now.  The house has survived this long, the likelihood of further problems doesn't seem realistic.  Granted I could be telling myself that to sleep well at night. 

Point is, if the house has survived that long (assuming it's an older place) there shouldn't be much to worry about.

Counter point being, the house survived just fine until x thing changed which is going to cause a big problem down the line.

Dry loc paint could be the x thing that changed. Locking water into a foundation is generally not a good idea in old houses.

That is a good way to look at it, I've never thought it about it like that.  I guess my question is, when should one be concerned?  Is it at the first sight of water or efflorescence on the walls?  Should one consider how long they are going to be living somewhere before making that decision? 

Now you've got me thinking about this, and I'm not sure if I should call an engineer to take a look at the problem or not.  If this is going to cost ~$20,000, that is a big chunk of change that I could just put towards my next house and let the next owners deal with this, assuming this doesn't become my problem for 5 years or whenever I move next. 

[Sibley]

I often wonder about the water issue as well.  On my disclosure (4 years ago), the seller listed that the walls sweat.  Someone painted the walls with dry loc paint so you can't really see if they are sweating or not, but at times, there has been a tiny stream of water that runs along the basement floor to the drain.  My thought is that if the house is 80 years old and there aren't any foundation issues, they aren't just going to pop up now.  The house has survived this long, the likelihood of further problems doesn't seem realistic.  Granted I could be telling myself that to sleep well at night. 

Point is, if the house has survived that long (assuming it's an older place) there shouldn't be much to worry about.

Counter point being, the house survived just fine until x thing changed which is going to cause a big problem down the line.

Dry loc paint could be the x thing that changed. Locking water into a foundation is generally not a good idea in old houses.

That is a good way to look at it, I've never thought it about it like that.  I guess my question is, when should one be concerned?  Is it at the first sight of water or efflorescence on the walls?  Should one consider how long they are going to be living somewhere before making that decision? 

Now you've got me thinking about this, and I'm not sure if I should call an engineer to take a look at the problem or not.  If this is going to cost ~$20,000, that is a big chunk of change that I could just put towards my next house and let the next owners deal with this, assuming this doesn't become my problem for 5 years or whenever I move next.

As far as I know, you can't really remove dryloc paint. It's designed to soak in and seal for lack of better terminology. Efflorescence tells you there's water, which by itself isn't enough to determine anything.

In your situation, I'd make sure that water drainage is addressed from the exterior. The less water getting to the foundation the better. Gutters, grading, etc can make a huge impact. The dryloc makes it harder because it's masking what's going on, as well as potentially speeding up foundation deterioration. In terms of fixing the foundation, you do it when there's something to fix. It could take decades.

[roomtempmayo]

Is this a deal-breaker situation where a house could have foundation issues or other structural, mold, nightmare? The house really did look super clean.

We're in an area of the country where basements commonly get wet.  I've never heard of normal amounts of water impacting an otherwise-sound foundation.  Most basements are either unfinished, or partially finished with removable flooring.

My only concern would be mold if the basement is fully finished.  But if it's bare concrete or block, it's a nonissue.