It never fails to make me nervous when I find water stains on a basement wall, or when I find a basement that has been "freshly painted". This basement had been painted about a year earlier. On the disclosure form that the homeowner filled out, it stated 'No known leaks" in the basement. Then, I find this in the well room area, which is a area of the basement that protrudes from the main house, and is covered outside with a concrete slab at grade level, with undisturbed grass around it.
So, with a little putting 2+2 together, (after seeing these stains above) I conclude that the basement must have leaked in the past year, and probably still will during wet weather, since it is apparent that no repairs could have been made recently from the outside without digging around that concrete slab.
So, I show the homeowner this picture, and he says "Oh THAT. Yea, it might come in a litlle bit there when it rains real hard, but it never gets on the floor".
Hmm, nothing at all on the disclosure form about that. Now the homeowner's word is quite suspect.
A little more investigation. Aha! Even though it is dry outside at the time of the home inspection, my moisture meter shows that both the wall and the wood above have a high moisture reading. Methinks I have found an active water leak that was not disclosed. A little more touch-up paint might have kept it from being discovered? Doubtful. I always run the moisture meter around perimeter walls everywhere I can reach, so chances are good I would have still found it.
Homeowners, please don't try to hide such things. It usually will only end up in an awkward situation for you, the home inspector, and other parties involved. It is much better to just disclose that there might be a problem.
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