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When the power's off, the water can rise

With the rise in foreclosed and abandoned homes in this area we are beginning to see many homes with water damage in the basement. Sometimes you also see it on normal resale homes. The culprit is often an overflowing sump pump pit caused by a power loss. The damage can be extensive and costly, but can be easily avoided but installing a battery backup in case of power loss.

I have had a listing that I was very excited to get my first showing on this week. I called the seller, got voice mail and informed them of the time I would be by. I met the prospect, looked at another home first, then headed over to my listing. Surprise! The seller had abandoned the home and looked to be in the process of moving everything out.

We looked around the first floor and they really liked it. They were very impressed by the upgrades and layout. The big shock came when the husband went down into the darkened basement and stepped in a half foot of water. Apparently the seller had shut off the power, to save a few bucks, and the sump pump had shut off, totally flooded the basement, swamped the furnace, and most likely ruined everything they had stored down there. A shame because the prospect had above a passing interest.

I think I'm partly to blame for not educating them about a battery back-up system which they lacked, but also for not educating them on the possibility of what can occur when the power gets shutoff and there is a sump pit.

I immediately called the seller, at about 7pm, and left several messages. When I had not heard back by the next day at 4pm I called again. This time I got an answer. I sensed regret but was so taken aback by the seller's flat affect and by not being called that I informed them I was pulling my sign and delisting the property until the situation was remedied, and the seller disclosure amended. I told them to call me when they were ready, but I'm not very optimistic that will occur.

So, in the future I hope to avoid this by being very emphatic about the need for both a battery back-up and for the power to remain on whenever I see a sump pump that lacks a proper back-up system. It's a shame to see thousands of dollars of damage occur when a basic system can be had for around $100.

Posted by Matt Grohe CRS, GRI, ABR on 07/18/2009 11:40 PM

Comments (13)

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13 Comments on When the power's off, the water can rise

JUL

Hi, Matt. I immediately thought of the sump pump not working when I read your title. It's common in my area to have electric powered sump pumps but not the battery backup. That's a hard lesson learned--I hope your seller corrects this soon. Thanks for sharing!

JUL

Hi Matt: If the power is "disconnected" and not just temporarily out - would the battery backup be able to handle the sustained load?

Thanks Yolanda!

Matt: No, it would not handle a sustained load, but would pump for about 7.5 hours to 12 hours depending on the system in the event of power failure. Again, I'd go back to my obligation to inform the seller what could occur with a sustained power loss in situations where I see they have a sump pit.

In my opinion, all houses should have the utilities left on while they are on the market.

Matt,

Were they in a flood plain or what? That's strange and also stupid to turn the power off.

I recently went into a short sale home in which all the utilities were off. The home had been on the market for over 200 days. The heat was shut off during the cool moist spring months... The home had that mildewy, moldly, sour smell just like at my Grandma's cabin at the coast. She doesn't keep the heat on either - not even to just 60 to 65 degrees to keep the air flowing.

My buyer went into an allergy attack and developed a headach immediately and we had to leave the home. Plus it wos too dark to show it anyway.

I tried to scrub and clean and get that smell out of my Grandmother's house but it is impossible. Once the mildew spores are in the carpet, they don't seem to come out. I never go to Grandmother's cabin anymore because I'm always sick when I stay there.

It is a big huge shame to see this happen to a lovely home, because they didn't want to pay for the ulitities. The sump pump issues is a much bigger loss, but any type of mildew or mold is also a serious health issue.

One of the things I like about the North Carolina listing contract is that it spells out under sller responsibilities that they are to keep working, existing utilities in order to make the property available for showing. This is easily overlooked, but one of the things I try to point out when reviewing the paperwork.

There's nothing like going to show one of your own listings, fliking the light switch, and nothing happens, or expecting heat/air to be on in extreme weather and sweating or shivering through a showing because the power has been turned off.

JUL

Thanks all!

Not that I evesdrop, but I have ears, and today I overheard an REO listing agent in the office next to mine remarking to someone that he'd seen over a 100 homes damaged by flooded sump pits in the past year as a result of power being shutoff. It's a shame to see homes damaged in this way. Just another facet of the fallout.

JUL

There has been a lot of damage due to power being off.. or here in NH, not being properly weatherized for the winter. I would think the power costs are a lot less than what it costs to repair all the damage.. or the price reductions due to the damage.

AUG

I believe listing contracts here require that all utilities be left on, but that doesn't prevent the banks from turning the utilities off.

AUG

That sounds like a mess. Fortunately, we don't have too many basements here. In fact, I've never seen one. People do turn their pool filtering equipment off and let the pool revert to a Louisiana swamp. Not good for adding value to a home.

SEP

I think you handled that great. I would pull my sign and avoid the delayed headaches. If the seller is that short sighted now, what other horrors await after you get a contract and approach closing - better to get clear of the contamination before you get sucked in too deep. You may not get that listing again, but you've got your integrity and even if that seller hates you, he'll respect you.

Drick; Thanks for the comments. In a fit of weakness I did relist the property, for two days. The seller refused to update the disclosure to include the damage however so I cancelled it. Decision: final!

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