NEVER Buy a Michigan House Without Checking for These 7 Signs of Water Damage

A Michigan basement can look perfectly dry on a sunny showing day. The clues that it isn't are usually there, if you know where to look.

Water damage is one of the most expensive problems a buyer can inherit: it can mean foundation repairs, mold remediation and ruined finishes. Before you fall for a house, check for these seven signs.

1. White, chalky streaks on basement walls

That powdery residue is called efflorescence: minerals left behind when water moves through concrete or block and evaporates. It means water has been coming through the wall, even if it's dry today.

2. Water lines and stains

Look low on walls, on the bottoms of furnace and water heater bases, on wood stairs and on stored items. A horizontal stain line at the same height across a room is a classic sign the basement has held water.

3. A musty smell

Your nose is a good inspector. A persistent musty or earthy smell often means moisture, and possibly mold, somewhere you can't see.

4. Fresh paint, new paneling or new carpet, only in the basement

There are innocent reasons to refinish a basement. But brand-new paint or drywall low on the walls, in an otherwise unchanged house, is worth asking about directly.

5. A dehumidifier that never stops

A dehumidifier running hard, or several of them, tells you the space has a moisture problem the owner is managing.

6. The sump pump, and what's behind it

Ask how old the sump pump is and whether it has a battery backup. During storms, the power often goes out exactly when the pump is needed most.

7. Outside: gutters, downspouts and grading

Downspouts should carry water several feet away from the house, and soil should slope away from the foundation, not toward it. Water pooling against the foundation is the most common way it ends up inside.

What else to do before you buy

• Read the seller's disclosure statement. Michigan's Seller Disclosure Act requires most home sellers to complete one, and it asks about evidence of water in the basement or crawl space. It covers what the seller knows, and it isn't a warranty.
• Get a professional home inspection. Ask the inspector to use a moisture meter in the basement.
• Consider a sewer scope. In older Metro Detroit suburbs, a camera inspection of the sewer line can catch roots, cracks or collapses that cause backups.
• Check your insurance. Standard homeowner's policies often don't cover sewer backup without an added endorsement.

Selling a home with past water damage instead? Here's what Michigan sellers have to disclose, and how to decide whether to restore first or sell as-is.

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