We’re thrilled to be back with another Real Estate post today. The last time we checked in on this topic, we began a new series: “Buyer Beware. ” You can catch up on that, as well as all our Real Estate posts, here!
If you’re in the market now or will be in the future, we want to provide you with valuable information for navigating the real estate market so we can help you make that next purchase. We hope these posts help you ask the right questions about that next Real Estate transaction.
But first, let’s keep all the legal humans happy: This series aims to explore the housing market and what I believe we can expect from it or that you should know about. Please understand we’re not offering personal financial or investment advice. We highly encourage you to talk to your local Realtor and licensed financial adviser. {Side note: If you need help finding a good local Realtor, let us know no matter where you live. We’ve helped several people with this not-so-little task.} Our latest was a sweet family moving from Florida who just closed on a house in Texas.
Caveat Emptor
If you’re not familiar with this series, here’s the intro: A Latin phrase meaning, let the buyer beware, and one you should fully understand if you’re buying Real Estate. In its most simplistic form, the buyer holds all responsibility for research, due diligence, and understanding the conditions and possible dangers and hazards of the purchase. Welcome to a new series, where we talk about everything you should be fully informed about.
Depending on your state, disclosures about the property can mean vastly different things. There are actually 21 states that do not require a seller to disclose that a home has flooded. Can you imagine? You purchased a home only to learn it flooded and the mold remediation was not done correctly.
With every state being a little different, we can’t get into all the specifics of where everyone lives, but your local Realtor should be able to guide you in that process. If you need help finding a Realtor in your location, let me {Jamin} know. I know many great Realtors all over the country, and I’m sure we can help you.
I want to cover some “buyer beware” issues that I think can apply to everyone, no matter where they live. Things that you might not have thought about or not have given much thought to. These are things that may not rise to the level of a flooded house, but they might be things that would be nice to know before buying the house.
Buyer Beware – Flooding
Last time, I mentioned that 21 states don’t require you to disclose flooding. But what about drainage? And does it matter?
Yes, it matters, and what the homeowner needs to disclose varies by state. Even in states where you must disclose flooding, there is some grey area as to what constitutes flooding, so know your local law and ask lots of questions. You’ll want the best information you can get so that you don’t end up with a soggy, messy, and expensive bill later.
Buyer Beware – What is Flooding
Most people think of major events when you talk about flooding, burst pipes, or those flooding pictures you see on the news. But those are only the big events. For the sake of our discussion, I want to define flooding as any presence of water either in or not being directed away from the home. This definition is why there is so much grey area in the disclosure of flooding. For instance, is the presence of water in the crawl space flooding? Maybe, and maybe not? While it is impossible to make a blanket statement for every home, what we want to do is help you identify indicators of a home that could or might have had potential flooding issues.
Buyer Beware – Could it Flood?
Let’s start with the easy-to-assess things that are identifiable with a simple eye test.
High side of the street – Does the property you are looking at sit at street level or below street level? If it does, this is your first indication that there could be a potential water issue. With this type of property, at the very least, you know that any water from the edge of the street to your home will be flowing away from the street. If the property is on a street without gutters, the water from the street is a potential hazard as well. Where will all this water go?
Other Hills – We addressed the street side of the property, but are there hills around the property? If so, does the water runoff have a clear path away from the home and other structures?
What if the area is flat and even with the road, so you’re feeling good? Honestly, this can sometimes be even worse than hills. Why? The water will just sit with nowhere to go, creating your own little marsh. You always want a slight decline away from the home with a continuous clear path for water to go.
Also, look for erosion – One of the easiest things to identify is an erosion path. Water leaves its marker normally in a lower-lying, more bare area. These areas can be a telling sign of the water path. However, in most cases, you most likely will not have a super well-defined erosion area. So you’ll have to look closely.
Maybe you think there is sufficient runoff from the house, but it’s kinda hard to tell. Another surefire way to gather info is to look at a survey map of the area with elevations or topography. These can be found on plat maps and often times available in listings. A simple warning here, though, is that often, they can only be done by 2′ drops or rises in elevations. So, there might not be enough info on the map to help.
And the biggest thing is you want to make sure that the grade falls away from the house. Ideally, the ground should drop one inch for every foot that you move away from the house for the first 5-to-10 feet. An easy way to detect this is with a tape measure, level, or even a string. Just measure from a certain point of the house to the ground, then run your level or string out and measure again. Is the grade falling away from the house? If not, then you could have a water issue.
If you are buying during the rainy season, then you’re really in luck because Mother Nature can give you a first-hand preview of what the water around the property is doing.
Buyer Beware – Has There Been Water Intrusion?
If you live in a state where water intrusion doesn’t have to be disclosed, or maybe it’s a grey area, or perhaps the owner legitimately doesn’t know, what are some signs you can look for? We’ll address crawl spaces first and then talk about homes on a slab.
Buyer Beware – Has there been water intrusion – Crawlspace
You will need to be ready to get down and dirty and enjoy some time in the crawl space. Make sure to bring a good light as well. Once you’re down there, here are some things to look for to identify if there are or have been any water issues.
First, identify helpful things.
• Is the space encapsulated with a vapor barrier? The barrier needs to run the height of the block walls, and all the vents need to be closed. Why does this matter? Well, if there happens to be water intrusion, then this barrier keeps it contained and out of areas it can affect.
• Is there a sump pump in the crawl space, and does it have a French drain feeding it?
• Is there a dehumidifier in the crawl space?
If you have all these things, then you have some great defenses against possible water intrusion or groundwater swelling. This is an often overlooked aspect of water intrusion, so more on this in a minute. Next, you’ll look for the warning signs of water intrusion.
• If there is insulation, is it sagging?
• Are the floor joists discolored with a brown or green color? This can indicate the presence of mold, which means the air in the area has high humidity.
• Can you see stains on the vapor barrier or the block walls?
• Is there a musty odor?
• Is the ground soft?
If you encounter any of these things, then the chances increase that there has been or currently is a water intrusion problem. At this stage it might be wise to call in a professional.
Buyer Beware – Preventing Water Intrusion – Groundwater
One thing we do want to address is groundwater intrusion. It is not unusual for a crawlspace to have this issue. This is simply caused by the ground becoming so saturated that the water literally comes up from the ground; it is not like what we have been talking about with runoff water from above ground. There are simple things to look for to help control this, some of which we have discussed above.
All good crawlspace should be encapsulated, with a drainage system underneath that leads to a sump pump as well as a dehumidifier. These things alone will sufficiently deal with any groundwater issues. Secondary to this, a French drain around the outside of the home on the side where water intrusion is most likely will help keep groundwater as well as runoff at bay.
Buyer Beware – Has there been water intrusion – slabs
Detecting flooding on slabs that have gone unnoticed can be a little more tricky as there are fewer places for the water to hide from the casual homeowner. Below are a few things to look for when investigating this potential.
• Swelling of the baseboards – One way to detect flooding is to look and see if the baseboards have bubbled or swelled any. Most baseboards are made of MDF, which does not tolerate water well. If they do not appear flat and smooth, there is a good chance there has been water present.
• If there is an unfinished basement, you can simply look for water stains on the blocks as an indication of water intrusion.
• Unfortunately, with slab foundations, most of the detective work will need to be done outside to look at the water runoff and gauge the potential of flooding based on it.
Buyer Beware – Gutters
The easiest way to protect a home against outside water intrusion is to have a good gutter system in place to move roof water away from the home. Unfortunately, it is also the most neglected. Here is what to look for on the gutters.
• First, the obvious question is, does the home have them, and do they all appear to be functioning?
• Next, find each downspout and how the water is directed away from the home. Ideally, it is directed into a pipe that goes underground and away from the house. If not, then there could be an issue with the water pooling around the house from roof runoff.
Most people don’t realize how much water your roof produces, but in a downpour, it can dump gallons per minute. Here is a fun fact for you. An inch of rainfall on a square foot of surface area yields .623 gallons. So, multiply .623 gallons by the number of surface square feet of your roof. With a small roof of 2000 square, it would be .623 x 2,000, which equals 1,246 gallons. So for each inch of rainfall, your roof could shed 1,246 gallons of rainwater.
That’s a lot of water. Where is it going to go?
Buyer Beware – Water Intrusion
Keep in mind some of these things your inspector will look for, but as I have always said, why wait or trust someone else to do a job that you can do? As NBC always reminded us in the 80’s “the more you know.”
Let us know if you have any questions, and have an inspired day!
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Real Estate is an interesting beast, and having an agent who can pull the curtains back and help navigate what will most likely be the biggest purchase of your life, is essential. As they say, you don’t know what you don’t know, and that’s where a good realtor comes in. {If you need help in hiring a Realtor, check out our post here.}
If you’re in the Middle Tennessee area, I’d love to meet you and help you find the perfect home; you can sign up here so we can start the process. And even if you aren’t in Middle Tennessee, contact us here, and we will take care of you no matter where you live. There is no reason to go it alone.
When it comes to renovations, we have you covered there, too. See our client spaces here + contact us here to work with us! See a little more of what we do here. We hope to hear from you!
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