Drainage Issues Can kill A Real Estate Transaction
PART 1
This post is dedicated to and all stakeholders involved with a real estate transaction. Be you a homeowner, home buyer, real estate professional, contractor, home inspector, lender, title or escrow company you need to know this.
Above left: A futile attempt at installing an effective French Drain system. No matter how many times we've all heard it....Water doesn't flow uphill! This catch basin will have to have a major 3 inch flood on this property in order for it to function.
Middle: Drains don't function well whence damaged or clogged.
Right: Always place catch basins below ground level and at the lowest spots on the property allowing water to gravity flow towards the storm drain system.
For several decades now we've been dealing with many unhappy and disgruntled folks over drainage related problems. Things can and usually do get extremely costly, very time consuming, frustrating and very ugly literally and figuratively.
Always have your crawl space inspected by a home inspector, drainage contractor or civil engineer with drainage experience.
Don't become a victim no matter where you are on the ladder. You must be proactive or it could come back to haunt you for years to come.
What you see in the photo below can happen under and/or around any home be it Factory Built or Site Built. Disclosure is the key issue here.
Above: Cracked expansive & contracting soil. This along with a history of dampness is your first sign of a chronic drainage problem or a plumbing or sewage leak. In either case should you see this be you a home buyer, seller, RE professional, or home inspector don't close the door and walk away. THIS PROBLEM WILL NOT GO AWAY with you!
If you're a home seller you could get sued.
If you're a RE professional better check your E & O insurance.
If you're a home inspector get ready for a law suit that could drive you out of business.
If you're a home buyer/owner. Get ready for months perhaps even years of grief, frustration, expensive repairs and inconvenience whether you like it or not. Don't count on selling your home until this problem has been resolved.
If you have purchased a home with a drainage problem while you are hoping to win a legal battle you will still be shelling out thousands of dollars in the process to mitigate continueing damage and for deferred maintenance.
In addition to all the drainage problems you'll be dealing with chances are you'll also be dealing with myriad other issues like mold & mildew just to mention a couple.
Home Inspectors don't cut the inspection short by not wanting to belly crawl the distance under a crawl space and be sure to walk the property thoroughly looking for low spots, ponding or standing water.
Also look for signs of soil erosion and flow paths leading to these ponds. If you are not qualified to comment on these issues inform the homeowner and potential buyer and advise them to seek the advice of other experts i.e. civil engineers or experienced drainage contractors who do deal with drainage issues regularly.
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS
Water permeates around and under the crawl space and/or slab.
After a period of time if this situation is not addressed moisture, mold, and mildew will begin to take it's toll and eventually the entire structure could become inundated with tens of thousands of dollars in damage and in some cases even a total loss.
Now that you have an idea of all the horrific things that could happen to your home, listing, sale or inspection PLEASE take the time and to be proactive from the very beginning so you will never have to deal with this ugly issue.
As an EXPERT WITNESS for the past 20 years dealing with DEFECT LITIGATION and almost every other construction defect issue I can tell you that DRAINAGE is perhaps one of the most costly, time consuming and painful experiences you could ever go through no matter where you are in the line up.
In Part II I will share some very basic and comparatively easy ways to go about dealing with this issue before it ever has a chance to become a NIGHTMARE.
But understand that although it is imperative that you deal with a drainage issue it is not always going to be easy on your pocket book.
Remember, even if you resolve your drainage issue it is still an issue and should always be disclosed. I'll explain more in Part II.
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