We live in Pittsburgh, where water in basements is pretty common. In my case, the back patio seems to be gapping on one side and letting water underneath, which runs into the basement. After a heavy storm, there can be close to a gallon down there. I run a dehumidifier and fans.
I'm wondering if it's necessary to try to fix this before selling the house in approximately three months. One contractor, who is unfortunately terrible at responding to texts, came out and proposed a solution which he was fairly sure would solve the problem. He never got back to us with a quote, but considering it involves removing and replacing a roughly 9×9 concrete pad, it would be at least several thousand dollars.
Is it better to roll the dice and hope this fixes it, or simply disclose the problem and let the buyer deal with it?
EDIT: some people may be thinking that I am considering not disclosing the problem. I'm just asking whether to fix it or not.
Water entering house – – should I fix?
byu/fludeball inRealEstate
Posted by fludeball
3 Comments
You’ll definitely want to disclose this either way since it’s a known issue – trying to hide water problems is a recipe for legal headaches down the road. The question is whether fixing it upfront gives you better negotiating power or if you’re just throwing money at something that might not even work perfectly.
From a marketing perspective, I’d lean toward getting at least one more quote from a contractor who actually responds to communications. That first guy already burned his credibility by ghosting you. Even if you decide not to fix it, having a solid estimate shows potential buyers you’ve done your homework and aren’t just pawning off a mystery problem.
Water in Pittsburgh basements is expected, but a gallon after heavy storms might spook some buyers depending on the local market. If houses are moving fast in your area, disclosure might be fine. If it’s a buyer’s market, fixing it could help you stand out and avoid lowball offers that factor in worst-case repair scenarios.
Why not just seal the gap? Granted I was expecting wayyy more water than one gallon.
You’ll have to disclose it, which means that the buyer may well ask for a credit to resolve the problem.
Did the contractor bid on replacing the entire slab? It might cost less to have the edge of the slab raised with a cement/foam injection, and then you just seal the opening between the slab and the foundation.