Bailing out the cellars
In the spring and the fall, we get a spate of wet weather, here in metro Boston. Since the snow melt a couple of weeks ago, I have been seeing wet basements. Every year or two I hear about the “extraordinary conditions” which led to the wet basement I am standing in.
Sometimes, I see seepage (that’s when the concrete is damp to the touch because there is enough water pressure to have water forcing its way through the concrete.) I’ve seen little waterfalls coming through foundation cracks and gaps between stones. And I’ve seen puddles.
I’ve seen sump pumps that are happily pumping in dry basements. I have seen sump pumps that are sitting in wet sumps not going on. I have been told about that bitter hum of the pump as it dies when called to duty.
This weekend was one of those extraordinary rainstorms. If you are ruling out damp basements, there were no houses for sale this Sunday (I went to 6 open houses.) They all had signs of wetness.
What should a buyer learn from seeing houses in the middle of this? Is it better to see a problem in mid-crisis?
It is easy to say, “I’ll rule out any damp basement.” There are whole sections of towns where everyone knows that the basements are all wet. Frequently, these are nice areas. These are not in a flood zones, just damp-basement land.
I don’t know what the best advice for buyers is about potentially wet basements. I’d rather see a pump and perimeter drain installed and working than not. Yet, I have clients who will rule out any house with a pump, on the grounds that this indicates a problem. Some owners are reluctant to install one for fear of such resale issues.
Owners, was your basement dry? Do you have a pump? Were you bailing last weekend, with a pump or by hand?
Buyers, how do you react to a sump pump in a basement?
