Standing water in the crawl space

[Samantha Soto]

What does water in the crawl space mean? How common is that issue in Indiana? I am under contract with a property in the Idianapolis area and the inspection found a significant amount of water under the crawlspace (although it was in the middle of a rain storm). But is it typical for there to be large amounts of water under a house during a rainstorm? To me this seemed like a big red flag.  Has anyone dealt with this issue?  The seller claims the water has subsided since the rains stopped, but the inspection showed some old water lines which seemed to indicate that the problem has been happening for a long time.  

[Alec B Calzada]

@Samantha Soto

I don't work in Indianapolis, rather California, but from my experience working in design and engineering you don't want water pooling under your home during a heavy rain. Most foundations and crawlspaces are designed to minimize the amount of rain water that can get in. There can be numerous causes or reasons that enough water is getting in to actually puddle, but typically a home restoration professional can verify the integrity of the foundation and check to see if there may be other places the water is coming from.  I recommend having a professional inspection done by a home restoration service like ServPro or Moore Restoration there in Indianapolis. Water saturated ground can compromise the foundation of the building leading to cracks in the foundation footings, the floors, maybe even small amounts of sinking (not to mention the increased possibility of fungus and mold build-up).