Basement Wall on the Basement Floor? No Problem!

Today was inspection day for a condo I am selling to an out-of-state investor. No catastrophes noted, just needs paint and carpet, all new doors and lighting, kitchen updates, two new bathrooms, and maybe a new heating unit - but we knew that going in and the offer price reflected it. Somehow I missed the cracked window; hope it doesn't kill the deal.... There was more chat than usual since it was just the inspector and me. Oh did he have stories to tell!

As expected, the worst of the worst comes down to real estate's most dire enemy. No, not FSBOs,overpriced sellers, incompetent/crooked "professionals", or gun-shy buyers. The enemy is not bats in the attic, raccoons in the chimney, termites in the sillplate, or knob and tube wiring. The enemy is....water.

Story number one regarded an agent who always previewed the properties she would be showing buyers, listing the deficiencies. She'd point them out when the real showings took place; no sudden surprises for her, negotiation points for the buyers, and boy did that realtor look good! One property had been recently and drastically price-reduced. Prior to preview, there seemed to be no reason for the failure-to-sell. Desirable neighborhood, updated property, 6 inch diameter root growing through the basement wall. Wait, back up, 6 INCH ROOT GROWING THROUGH THE BASEMENT WALL! Was it a deal killer? Of course not. She made a few calls, talked out worst case scenario fixes, and the offer on the property was made with those scenarios factored in. That root was looking for water and had been finding it at the poorly drained basement wall. Strongly quenched there, it grew even more powerful, knocking right through and into the house. Ultimately, the solution was excavation of the perimeter with appropriate drainage tiles and a sump pump installed. Not sure if the tree was spared or not.

So what would happen if that root had continued to grow? What a perfect segue to story number two! Picture a lovely historic home in a lovely historic town. Great original features upstairs, nightmare original basement downstairs. We call them Michigan basements, but we're in Michigan, so I guess the rest of the country has another name for the stone and mortar foundations so prone to streams of water, buckling in, and level 10 of buyer horror, on a scale of 1-10. In this particular property, a fix had been attempted to sturdy up the wall by building a yard high block wall about 3 feet in from the Michigan wall, and then THE GAP HAD BEEN FILLED WITH SOIL! Think raised garden bed, with natural irrigation. Roots had grown through the Michigan wall, luxuriated in the warmth and moisture of the indoor spa retreat, climbed up and over the new wall and...into the open cistern in the basement floor. I wish I had a picture of that! Several fix scenarios were presented, and being a property owner with money, the cheapest one was chosen. Essentially a basement waterproofing system in pure white covered up the whole mess with a tidy facade. The fix didn't solve anything except that no one could see it any more.

But the best story (#3) tied back to a photo used in the continuing education class this company had come in to our office to present, and one of the reasons I decided to use them in the first place. The con-ed class photo showed a block wall essentially broken down the length of it, bowed out in the middle like an arrow tip, from one end to the next. Could this problem be solved? Yes. Should the potential buyer buy this property? Depends. What is the cost to cure and what is the negotiated offer price of the property? It was the buyer's decision. The inspector's position was to not alarm the buyer, just present the facts please, just the facts.

Story number four, this inspector was called in by an investor who was considering buying a property that no one else would touch. Nice suburban neighborhood, very commutable to all points in the tri-county area, spacious, updated, with one of the four basement block walls completely in a heap on the floor of the basement. The investor asked that one question. Can this be fixed? Since the inspector was dealing with an investor rather than an end-user buyer, he was more free with his advice. He paced out the wall and estimated $12,000 for the repair. The investor bought the property for $85,000, put in about another $25,000, including that wall repair, and sold for something in the vicinity of $200,000. Knowledge and courage were rewarded with a tidy profit. (P.S. It was water again.)

In summary, buyers should not be afraid of what look like insurmountable problems. Every problem can be solved. Just do the math and see if it makes sense. If it doesn't, that is a seller problem, not a buyer problem. Next. Another troubled property may have a seller who understands. Granted, not all buyers are cut out for the level of repair that may be needed even if the deal is great; stress can kill. Buyers need to know themselves, hire the pros for inspection, and don't do repairs that are not DIY friendly. If buyers have remorse, they can go to that big jar of M&Ms labeled, "Take two for buyer's remorse, as needed." Every realtor should supply that to a nervous buyer, first timer, fifth timer, whatever. It lightheartedly lets them know that their fears are normal. If the homework was done, chocolate might help. Trust me, I won't tell a soul.