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My question involves real estate located in the State of: New Jersey
We just bought and moved into our home two months ago here in central NJ, the home is about 30 years old with a block basement (partial basement with a crawl space). We pretty quickly noticed several water problems with our basement. During the first heavy rain, we noticed that pretty much all the downspouts of the house were clogged and overflowing. And low and behold, right after that rain we had water in the crawl space. I also noticed a few water stain on the well. We cleaned up the water and got the downspouts fixed just in time for Irene.
Then Irene came a few days later. During the storm, I noticed that in one corner of the house the downspout was still not working correctly and overflowed. And that seemed to be same corner of the house through which we got water in the crawl space again. In addition, the power went out, and the sump pump did not work. The basement did not flood, but the sump pit pretty much filled up to the very top edge and the basement walls got really wet. I also noticed water leaking into the basement through two cracks between some blocks. In addition, there were some big water stains on some wall, and also the bottom of the basement walls got pretty wet pretty much all around the basement.
Now it really sucks that we have to deal with this so shortly after our move. The sellers of course mentioned nothing into their disclosure, the pretty much answered all the relevant questions with no:
Q9: Are you aware of any water leakage, dampness, etc: NO
Q9a: Are you aware of mold: NO
Q10: Are you aware of repairs or attempts to control water or dampness problems: NO
Q11: Are you aware of any cracks or bulges in basement wall or foundation: NO
Something that should have tipped me off, but I did not think much about since a lot of people have them to control moisture in the basement, is that they had a dehumidifier running. And the basement was dry during our inspection (even though it rained the day prior). Our inspector noticed some water stains on the wall in the crawl space, but he told us they don't look recent and he noted that there is no evidence of any standing water at the time of inspection.
Any advice on whether I could go after the previous home owners? It's pretty much impossible that they did not know about such issues, but I also have no proof that they did. Should they have know about the issues, or can they just claim ignorance? How much of a burden of proof is on us?
Any advice on how to proceed is greatly appreciated.
If you have no proof you have nothing. You have to prove they lied and I hardly think an event like Irene will help your case. Were there any hurricanes that hit the house when the sellers owned the property?
Come on now. This told you there was water leakage.
also,
Seems to me having an existing sump pump generally indicates there is some kind of water concern.
What the situation is about seller honesty is when inspection points out that the disclosure answer has to be wrong, I don't know, but finding these things out before purchase is what inspections are for.
how many red flags did you need? Any evidence of a water stain should be investigated thoroughly...sounds to me the home inspector blew it off...with an event like Irene, places that never flooded, flooded, so I'm sure they had water issues prior to Irene...especially if the gutters/downspouts were clogged and water was accumulating near the foundation...I would have done a more thorough inspection before committing to buy...
Well, to be fair to the OP, chances are good the sellers lied on the disclosure form when they said "No" to all the questions about dampness.
On the other hand, I'm guessing not much can be done at this point since your inspector did point out the existence of past water intrusion, and the sump pump clearly is there because of water issues.
I'd buy a battery backup or a generator for the sump pump for the next time the power goes out.
For what it's worth, we just moved into a new house a week before Irene hit and had lots of water flowing into our sump pit. The ground was saturated before the hurricane, and then when all the additional rain came, there was just a lot of water. I'd say that situation is not the norm. You might find that you don't see that kind of water situation very often.
also,
Seems to me having an existing sump pump generally indicates there is some kind of water concern.
What the situation is about seller honesty is when inspection points out that the disclosure answer has to be wrong, I don't know, but finding these things out before purchase is what inspections are for.
Exactly, if there's no flooded before, why do they need the sump pump?
First you are dealing with an unusual circumstance with the kind of weather you've been having in the northeast. You could probably live in that house another 25 years and never see water again after last summer.
Second - everyone has, or should have, a dehumidifier in their basement. Basements are damp - period. When my friend bought her house I told her get a dehumidifier, she said it was dry as a bone. OK. A year later she has 2nd baby, gets out all the old baby stuff, it was moldy. Frankly, the bigger clue was the sump pump. Why do you think they have one?
Third - you have no way of proving that they lied,especially with the kind of weather you've had up there (see my first point). Your own inspector saw water damage - what's his definition of "old" - two years ago? 10? 50?
Finally - all basements have the potential to get water in at some point. That's a fact. Something you have to deal with as a homeowner.
Water seepage is a problem with older basements. Below grade means humid, stale smelling air and anyone who has a basement should have a dehumidifier....and usually there is a cat box down there so all the more reason for a dehumidifier. Water stains on the wall warranted more investigation by you and by your agent....at least a question or two to the sellers or selling agent. Clogged gutters should have been investigated by your home inspector. Those I use get their ladders out and actually look into the gutter system around the house. The seller obviously was a bit devious checking NO blatantly. There had been, at some time moisture in their basement. But, you buy a house and take the good with the bad. If you found a bag left behind with $10,000 in it stuffed in the sump hole would you let them know? It all works out. Put on your big boy pants....fix the problems with the basement walls, and the downspouts and call yourself a homeowner.
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