Selling your home can be a bittersweet, stressful experience — with or without flooding in the crawl space.
When it comes to selling a house with water in the crawl space, a homeowner’s best shot at saving on costs is to schedule a pre-inspection. Risks associated with having water in your crawl space are two-fold: your buyer potentially backing out once water and/or mold is discovered in the crawl space, and additional costs for water and/or mold remediation services. A pre-inspection — or a proactive inspection of the home’s crawl space, before it’s put on the market — from a crawl space company like Crawl Pros, can save you money, time, and stress during the sales process.
And the best news? Crawl Pros offers free pre-listing inspections for real estate transactions. Call our team at (866) 673-9626 or submit the form below to get started. Otherwise, keep reading for more information on selling a home with water in the crawl space.
Should I Suspect Water in My Crawl Space?
Flooding in your crawl space can mean additional costs for water removal and remediation services, less profit from the sale of your home, and another item for you to add to your ever-growing real-estate to-do list (we’re assuming somewhere in between “hire a real estate agent” and “pack up the china”). Intuitively, flooding in crawl spaces tends to happen more frequently in rain-heavy regions. The residents of the Pacific Northwest know rain — and, subsequently, flooded crawl spaces — better than most.
Causes & Signs of Excess Water in Your Crawl Space
Heavy rain isn’t the only thing that could cause water to infiltrate your crawl space, however. Some other potential sources of crawl space water include:
- Leakage from sewer or other waste lines in your home
- Watering the plants near the base of your home too often (either by hand or via sprinklers near your crawl space vents)
- Flooding from a nearby stream or river
- Clogging or improper positioning of gutter downspouts
- A high groundwater table
Especially in humid areas, it’s natural for crawl spaces to house a certain amount of moisture; the trick is to determine if your crawl space has too much moisture. Puddles and other forms of standing water are almost always a sign that there’s too much water in your crawl space, posing serious risks to the structure (and value) of your home and the health of its occupants. If it’s not obvious by looking, it’s sometimes easier to spot the results of too much water in your crawl space, rather than water itself. Visible signs of crawl space water include mold or mildew growth, rotted wood, or warped/cupped hardwood floors in your home.
Whether you have reason to suspect water in your crawl space or not, we recommend a pre-listing inspection for any homeowner who has owned their house for over five years. Likely, your house hasn’t been subject to a crawl space inspection since its initial purchase, and a pre-listing inspection eliminates any potential surprises when it comes time for the buyer to inspect the house.
Benefits of Pre-Inspections
A pre-listing inspection can save you money, time, and stress. Whether it’s protecting your preferred offer or speeding up the sales process, many homeowners find pre-listing inspections advantageous when selling their home.
Saved Costs – Especially for homes in buyers’ markets, negotiating the price of your home can be a challenging and lengthy process. Once you’ve finally accepted an offer you deem fair, it’s standard for buyers to bring in a home inspector to perform a full inspection of the home before the sale closes. Based on the results of this inspection, the buyer can choose to reopen negotiations or rescind their offer altogether, forcing the seller to consider less attractive offers they’ve already received or put the house back on the market completely.
A pre-listing inspection ensures there are no surprises in the results of the buyer’s inspection, enabling the seller to consider and fix issues before they list the house. Many of the issues that arise as a result of the home inspection are likely to have started in the home’s crawl space, such as water damage or pest infestation, and could’ve been resolved prior to the buyer’s inspection if a pre-inspection had been performed. Additionally, a pre-listing inspection from a crawl space expert like Crawl Pros ensures the seller receives accurate estimates for remediation services, rather than risk estimating the costs incorrectly while negotiating.
Saved Time – If the results of your buyer’s home inspection prompts them to walk away without purchasing, this means backward progress in the sales process for the seller. Especially for sellers on a time crunch, the mere thought of putting the house back on the market in hopes of finding an offer as great as the first can be stressful and expensive. Even if the buyer doesn’t walk, their home inspection opens the door for renegotiations, extending the sales timeline.
A pre-listing inspection not only secures your preferred offer, but it also speeds up the entire sales process. If the house was already thoroughly inspected and major issues remediated, there’s considerably less opportunity for delays once the house is put on the market. Both the buyer and the seller can make educated, confident decisions faster.
Peace of Mind – Last but not least, a pre-inspection can offer peace of mind before and during the sales process. It ensures there are no surprises when it comes time for the buyer’s inspection, and it also enables you, the seller, to set prices and plan timelines confidently. Not only that, but homeowners can enjoy their final days in the home knowing the house is in good condition — without standing water or mold growing in the crawl space and risking the health of the home’s occupants.
Did we mention that a pre-listing inspection is free? It’s tough to make a more compelling argument than “you’ve got nothing to lose!” If you’re interested in scheduling your free pre-listing inspection, call the Crawl Pros team at (866) 673-9626 or submit the form below to get started.
How Do I Fix Water in the Crawl Space Before Selling?
If your pre-inspection confirms that there is, in fact, flooding in the crawl space of the house you’d like to sell, your Crawl Pros pre-inspector can assess the severity of the flooding and provide a recommendation and cost estimate for water removal and remediation services. Water itself is not usually the issue: the source of real concern is typically mold or structural damage, like rotted wood, caused by excess humidity in the crawl space.
Our water remediation services include not just drying the crawl space, but installing a sump pump and French drain system to ensure there is no flooding in the future. Wet crawl spaces are common in areas where soils are wet (like the PNW), and the presence of a sump pump in your crawl space should put potential buyers at ease knowing you’ve taken good care of the house and reduced the risk of crawl space problems for them in the future.
Can I Sell a Home With Crawl Spaces Issues As Is?
We understand that some sellers don’t have the time or financial resources to go about fixing crawl space water issues once they’ve identified them with a pre-listing inspection.
The good news for those of you in need of a quick sale? Though you’re legally required to disclose the results of your pre-listing inspection, you’re not legally required to fix any issues in the results. Instead, you can adjust the price to reflect the estimated water remediation services needed; the buyer would purchase the home at a reduced price to accommodate the remediation costs once they’ve closed the deal.
Call Crawl Pros for Crawl Space Real Estate Inspections
With locations in the Portland and Seattle areas, Crawl Pros is the regional expert in crawl space and attic services. We understand common issues with houses in the region, know what to look for, and can offer thorough, accurate explanations and recommendations as a result. We’re so confident in our ability, in fact, that we offer a Perfect guarantee with all of our services, including water remediation services.
If you’re interested in scheduling Crawl Pros services, please submit the form below for a free estimate. We look forward to working with you!