Buyers Want Dry Basements and Crawlspaces

If you are considering selling your home in southwestern Ontario, it is a fact that buyers want a dry basement or crawlspace.

As mentioned in a previous article, a wet basement or crawlspace can affect your health, the structural integrity, energy costs and the overall enjoyment and use of your home.

An undesirable basement or crawlspace can also affect resale value, as most buyers do not want to inherit such significant issues.

Windsor – Essex Real Estate Broker, Jim Lengyel of Deerbrook Realty, agrees, “Even in a hot real estate market, buyers want dry basements and crawlspaces.”

Undesirable crawlspace or basement conditions have many consequences to sellers; “A wet basement or crawlspace can affect the list price, limits the number of people who may be interested in the home and increases the length of time on the market. Furthermore, a wet basement or crawlspace may negatively affect the final purchase price and indicate a more severe structural problem.”

It's recommended that the homeowners take care of any basement or crawlspace issues before listing their home for sale, keeping in mind that a transferable warranty for the work done is extremely valuable to a buyer. 

Consider the following:

• When selling, homeowners are required to reveal any defects they have knowledge of within their home; even if water penetration has only occurred once.
• If there is a moisture problem in a home, there is likely mould, which according to Health Canada is a significant health hazard.
• An independent study revealed that when a homeowner properly encapsulates a crawlspace, the heating and cooling savings amounted to 10-20% per year.
• The value of a home will generally decrease by 10-25% on the market simply due to having a wet basement.[1]

If you’re selling or buying a home with water issues in the basement or crawlspace, choose a well established, certified basement contractor who offers a permanent solution with an after the sale service department and transferable warranties. At Advanced Basement Systems, we provide all of the above, plus a free inspection and financing options. Please reach out to us if we can help you. 1-866-277-1277