Discovered water in the basement during house tour

[Michael Chang]

Hello BP Community ,

(Un)fortunately we viewed the house on a day with heavy rain and it had a few spots of running water from the basement walls (the seller agent is aware of the puddle of water as well).  I took a few videos that you can see the basement (basement wet 1& basement wet 2)   We generally like the neighborhood and the house, but the wet basement is our biggest concern about the house at the moment.

We definitely want to be safe and take all precautionary measures to ensure the basement and home stay dry and warm and will want to repair and invest in basement waterproofing.

Would you consider a house with water in the basement? Not sure if you have any advice or tips on how we should address the water in the basement problem during the homebuying process in the terms of inspection, repair and negotiation. 

Thank you,

Michael

[Petur Karlsson]

@Michael Chang

What town in Bucks county? According to inspectors and officials in my town (also in Bucks), wet basements are very common due to the shallow bedrock and ground moisture.

I have water trickling from small cracks in the basement of my investment property, especially during rains obviously, but it never entirely floods the basement and a sump pump + dehumidifier combo take care of it all along with additional (simple) drainage we built that carries the water from the pump away from the building. We are about to do some repairs to the floor of the basement but our house is also built in 1910.

It may look like a big problem but it can also be easily manageable. Ask the neighbors if they have the same experience? I know the people around me are in the same shoes. Having someone experienced take a look will definitely give you "concrete" answers and peace of mind, however. I personally wouldn't touch anything with real foundation issues.