Did your basement flood after the storm last night?

by Sheldon Johnston on July 12, 201212. Jul, 2012 in Tips for Home Owners

floodedbasement

Help! My basement flooded! Did I mention I just accepted an offer on my home yesterday? Talk about the highs and lows of real estate.

At about 1am last night the first storm rolled in to Edmonton, and then at 3am I was woken up by the house shaking from thunder and kept awake for an hour by the torrential downpour.

Basements all over Edmonton flooded last night, including some currently for sale or pending. If you’re one of those homeowners, here’s what I’d recommend you do:

  1. Don’t panic.  
  2. Contact your insurance company.
    a. Find out what your coverage is
    b. Find out what the remediation process is like and a basic framework for how that goes. Remember they maybe busy with other homeowners in a similar situation.
  3. Contact your REALTOR® if you are using one. They will discuss the different options available to you.
  4. I recommend you authorize your agent to disclose what has happened to the buyer’s agent, and what you have done, and let them know that you will keep them updated

At this point they may bail on the transaction, but that is not the most important consideration. The most important thing to do is: GET THE PROBLEM RECTIFIED and CLEANED UP as soon as possible. If you don’t tell them, they will find out eventually and you will have a bigger problem on your hands.

Depending on your buyer’s tolerance, their desire to buy your property, and how much good will you have with them, they may remove or extend their conditions, negotiate new conditions or let them lapse. If the buyers have already removed conditions, keeping them up to date is a very good way of avoiding problems as closing approaches.

PS – if you’re basement didn’t flood, this is an excellent reminder to check your sump pump and put extensions on your downspouts so they are draining away from the house.

About

Sheldon is very familiar with the ins and outs of real estate; he has been licensed to sell Real Estate in Alberta for over 20 years. Sheldon has served on the Real Estate Council of Alberta, the Real Estate Insurance Exchange and the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. Find Sheldon on Twitter @edmontonsheldon.

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15 Responses to “Did your basement flood after the storm last night?”

  1. GMNo Gravatar 12. Jul, 2012 at 11:57 pm #

    Now is when we find out which real estate agents are honest and which ones aren’t.

  2. MuradNo Gravatar 13. Jul, 2012 at 9:00 am #

    Hello,
    Does is anybody know if Terwillegar Towne is effected by flood?
    Thanks

  3. JohnNo Gravatar 13. Jul, 2012 at 9:46 am #

    I know a lot people who lives south side has flooded basements. But none of my relatives who live north side has that problem. Is there any particular reason for this?

    • StevenNo Gravatar 13. Jul, 2012 at 10:43 am #

      Not sure if there is a larger reason but for this particular storm I don’t think there was as much rain on the northside. Live in the northeast and I couldn’t even tell it had rained in the morning.

      • MichelleNo Gravatar 14. Jul, 2012 at 8:03 am #

        In Highlands we did get rain that was over the curbs were high up and didn’t get the hail so it drained.

  4. JohnNo Gravatar 13. Jul, 2012 at 10:55 am #

    I don’t know the reason but I tend to hear flooding a lot more often on the south vs the north.

  5. JonNo Gravatar 18. Jul, 2012 at 12:45 pm #

    Do you guys think that installing a sump pump in a older (1965) house would generate any ROI when it comes time to sell? Is it enough of a bonus to bump up the sale price to cover it?

    • Sara MacLennanNo Gravatar 18. Jul, 2012 at 1:48 pm #

      It is expected that the home has a working sump pump, if not it should be discovered upon inspection and you will have to put one in.

    • Sheldon JohnstonNo Gravatar 18. Jul, 2012 at 2:09 pm #

      to elaborate on Sara’s quick reply. Anything in the city of Edmonton after 1988 requires a sump pump. However in many cases for homes of your age it has been added and the weeping tile repaired or replaced. If you’ve never had water in the basement then I wouldn’t worry about it. However if you have had some flooding due to excessive rain then you will have to disclose that. This maybe perceived negatively by buyers depending on the market conditions and one way to offset that or maintain your value would be to have a sump installed. However its not generally one of those that is sexy enough to get you more money but may make the difference in why someone chooses your home over another.

      • birdladyNo Gravatar 18. Jul, 2012 at 8:45 pm #

        So, I have never heard a realtor ask if there has ever been any flooding in the home because of excessive rain. They have only ever asked if there is a defect that would cost a lot to fix. Is flooding due to heavy rain a defect? I would suspect that flooding would be covered by insurance and be on record in a central database for anyone buying the home – but if it was seepage which is not covered by insurance, I can’t see a homeowner volunteering that information.

        • GMNo Gravatar 19. Jul, 2012 at 12:04 am #

          All I’ve ever seen realtors do is check the bottoms of the walls in unfinished basements for signs of water. If the basement is finished you’ll never see it.
          Rarely would they ever ask the owner if flooding has ever occurred. And even if they did, if the owner said no, how would they ever check to see if it’s true?

  6. GMNo Gravatar 18. Jul, 2012 at 3:12 pm #

    Do you mean anything BUILT in Edmonton after 1998? Or any house sold in Edmonton after 1998?

    • Sheldon JohnstonNo Gravatar 18. Jul, 2012 at 3:33 pm #

      built

  7. GMNo Gravatar 18. Jul, 2012 at 3:47 pm #

    Well, that may not mean much. I’ve seen too many built improperly. Filled with mud because they were not done right, burning out the pump in a few months of installation.

    And, of course, the builder will buy the absolute cheapest pump to put in there too, since nobody will notice until after it has been sold.

  8. AshNo Gravatar 24. Jul, 2012 at 4:37 pm #

    I’m taking possession of a new home in a week and had my walk-through today. During the July 12th rains, I asked my builder if our basement had flooded, and they said no. When visiting the home last week, I noticed what appeared to be water damage on the floor and a clean-up operation. The builder confirmed that water had entered through the window well (sump pump was working properly), and after some probing, admitted that this was due to the downspouts having not been lowered and the rough grading having not been finished due to backlogs with the landscapers (as well as indirect suggestions that there maynot have been enough gravel in the window wells/settlement had occurred). The problem was supposedly corrected, but then happened again after last night’s rains. We saw the pooling of water in two locations in the basement. Aside from lowering the downspouts, the only thing the builder has done is removed the insulation for drying, and says this will be sufficient. They’re trying to get pre-grading done and expediting the rough grade. My question is, is this enough? What are their obligations in these circumstances? Should we still be worried? What should we do before our possession next week?