Water damage, just walk away?

Question

Got a property that is in great condition upstairs, even has some new appliances, but they never winterized the house and some pipes in the basement busted. Water is at about 1/2 inch when I checked it out, saw water lines about 5-6 inches up at one point. Basement has a drain, why didn't it drain out? Concrete floor. There was condensation on the windows in the whole house, you can smell mold  in the basement, not so much upstairs(its been sitting like this for a week or so now).

My first thought was: "not worth it, there are always less complicated deals". But I'm wondering what your experience is. My thought is that in the long-term you could have a lot of problems come up. For one, there were some minor cracks in the cement floor, which have absorbed some water. Plus mold can popup anytime.

Richard Warren · Answer

Most people would walk away from a water problem. Which is exactly why you shouldnâ€™t, you may get a great deal. Determine exactly what needs to be done to see if it is worth it to you. The best deal I ever made was a house with a water problem. It was a HUD foreclosure that several investors passed on. I figured out what the problem was and grabbed it at a great price and made a fantastic profit. So take a closer look.

:cool:

Diane Menke · Answer

In our city the sewers and rain run off systems are connected. So a heavy load of rain water can cause water to come up out of the sewers into the basements of houses. Many old city sewer systems on the East Coast and I think places like Chicago too have this set up.

You can see if the water lines to radiators and or water feed lines or a toilet cracked. Any one crack can fill a basement with 1-2 inches of water during a freeze/thaw cycle if the house is empty and no one noticed it.

I had a dishwasher part close to an exterior door freeze a couple of weeks ago. That small crack with a 1/4 inch water line to it created a lot of steam in the house and an ice slick in the back yard. For some reason I do not understand its usually a hot water line that freezes.

I bought another house with vandalized water lines last year. I got a great deal because the damage to water lines and drywall spooked other buyers. It cost about 9K to make repairs to it all but still a great deal.

Bring in the pro you pay and get some good advice. I bet you develop a nice team relationship with them in the process.

Diane Menke

Jim Doine · Answer

How can a basement have a drain? Water doesn't flow up. The only way I know of to drain water from a basement is with a sump pump. The drain your seeing must lead to a sump pump somewhere. If the power is off it won't work. Jim

Ana Hyler · Answer

Good point Jim... I didn't think about it till you broght it up. I don;t have this issue but I'm following this topic.

Tim B · Answer

Shane, your right to be concerned about why the basement did not drain - make sure you checkout the sewer.  It could be a more expensive fix then repairing the frozen pipe damage.

Mike C · Answer

Shane,

I agree with Richard all the way, the worse a property looks, the better the potential deal. Broken windows, fire and water damage, smells so bad you can hardly enter, these are all great things potentially.

If you can get permission, go look in the house with a contractor experienced in water damage who can really assess what it will take to fix. Pay them for an hour of their time, 50-70 dollars or whatever. A good contractor wonâ€™t take a look for nothing and will instantly look down upon someone who wants them to take a look for nothing. A pro, will insist on paying them for some of their time because they understand time is money. They will give you some great advice and the knowledge you learn from seeing what that contractor thinks and why is worth 10 times the money you paid them. The damage could be bad or not but only one way to find out.

A bank owned home is good because they will hopefully want to get rid of this problem property. Having been on the market only a month means they probably are not that motivated yet. But definitely take a look and see what you have. Because if you donâ€™t someone who understands the real problem and what it will really take to fix will get it under contract soon.

Even if you donâ€™t buy it, I would pay a contractor to look at it. It will be a great learning experience for you.

Good luck.

Mike C

Shane M · Answer

That is true, the water damage could serve as an excellent device to ward off other investors and even more effectively ward off regular buyers. It is bank owned, they just lowered the price by 10K (because of the water) and aren't budging, it has been on the market for under a month and I am looking at some other properties so I figure I can leave it on the wait list for now. In another month they may be open to further discounts....

Water damage, just walk away?

Most Popular Reply