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If the drainage is still from the street to the house, you may want to have that fixed anyway (if possible), or buy a different house (if not possible to fix). Drainage is something that you will want to have done right and working.
So, if it was me I'd not only assume that I had to disclose it later on, but also right now I'd have my inspectors focus closely on it and maybe even get estimates on fixing it (if needed) before making an offer.
Bear in mind that I am not an expert but just another homeowner. I just had my drainage fixed in February after major landscaping work messed it up in January. Had to have my lot re-graded, but now when it rains the water runs away from my house to the street.
I'm looking at a house that had past water problems of flooding under the house and yard. If I buy this will I have too tell future buyer's about this past problem?
Thanks.
If you were buying the house would you expect to be told?
Koale
So, your decision to buy the house is influenced by past water problems ... and whether you will have to tell a future buyer about the same water problems.
Obviously, the disclosure has influenced the price you are paying for the home. Are we to assume that, being aware of this, you hope to leveraging the price down on the front end ... and then not tell the next 'unsuspecting; buyer, so you can resell the house as if it had no prior water problems, on the back end.
I guess the overriding question is: "Are you only asking what is 'legal' ... or are you making an ethical decision?"
A sump pump was installed in crawl space for previous moisture from earlier years, new gravel and plastic put underneath. Home has no problems re; moisture at all since then.
With the sump pump it will show up to an inspector, that there has been a problem in the past and corrected. If you don't reveal this, then you can get a serious lawsuit from a future buyer.
It sounds kind of like you are looking for a way to hide this, when you sell hoping for more profit on the home. Even after your attorney told you that you have to reveal seeking advice from a post on the internet.
Quote:
A lawyer told me today that I will have too tell future buyer's about past water problems even if the problem has been repaired.
It sounds like, the land was improperly prepared when they built the house. In cases like this, the builder should have brought in some dirt, and raised the area where the home was built to prevent it from ever happening. Or they should have installed a french drain system around the house foundation The water should have been channeled around the house, not allowed to flow under it.
The builder should have taken care to protect the house when preparing the ground to build the home. That is how good builders handle the lots they build on.
When water is flowing in from the street into the side yard and ending up under the house, it is definite that the builder did not properly prepare the land before building.
People in area has told me about having too install sump pump under their house because of water. The area is like wetlands. House's built in a low area in the county.
Lets look at the house you are involved with. Where I come from, the builder would have made some changes in the lay of the land. You say the water flows from the street into the side yard, and works it's way to under the house. I am used to in those situations that they would haul in fill and dirt, to build up the lot so this would not happen.
Example our own home. It is adjoining over 300 acres on two sides, that are flood irrigated. We have some irrigation rights for our 5 acres. When they irrigate, it flows into part of our pasture which keeps the grass nice and green. However our home was built up enough (not enough to really appear to be) that the water will not come over by the home but is directed away from it. If it had just been built on the original land as it lay, we would have the same type of problem the home you are considering has. In the part of the country I have lived in, we make sure the problem you have does not happen.
Building a home where the water flows from the street into the lot, instead of from the lot to the street is kind of stupid in my opinion.
Lets look at the house you are involved with. Where I come from, the builder would have made some changes in the lay of the land. You say the water flows from the street into the side yard, and works it's way to under the house. I am used to in those situations that they would haul in fill and dirt, to build up the lot so this would not happen.
Example our own home. It is adjoining over 300 acres on two sides, that are flood irrigated. We have some irrigation rights for our 5 acres. When they irrigate, it flows into part of our pasture which keeps the grass nice and green. However our home was built up enough (not enough to really appear to be) that the water will not come over by the home but is directed away from it. If it had just been built on the original land as it lay, we would have the same type of problem the home you are considering has. In the part of the country I have lived in, we make sure the problem you have does not happen.
Building a home where the water flows from the street into the lot, instead of from the lot to the street is kind of stupid in my opinion.
Where this house is at I think back in 1983 they had no inspections from the county. I've found in the past houses begin built close too river beds so when we get very heavy rains the house's basement would flood. This place has no zoning.
The short answer, in Tennessee, you are likely to have to disclose the issue, since you already know about it. Being fixed is a relative term. I see it frequently, where the homeowner tells me they had a problem, "but it was fixed", and I find the same problem when I go under the house.
Poor drainage is not easily fixed by bringing in fill and building the house. Its not a good idea to build a house on fill, since the foundation will likely settle/move.
Throwing a sump pump at the water problem is not really "fixing it". It's more "managing it". Fixing it properly means correcting the slope of the ground to keep water from getting to the foundation in the first place. The best way is to contour the grade around the house to divert the water away. Grading swales around the house can divert the water away.
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Well, John...
