Waterproofing Troubles Don't Have Good Timing - 5th Post in the Buyers/Homeowners Common Link Series

Just to Recap This Blog Series

Here is my final blog post as part of the series about how homeowners and buyers alike share disdain for wet basements and how the choices made by the homeowners ultimately effect future buyers as well. Taking care of the issues sooner rather than later truly do benefit everyone. This doesn't make the decision process any simpler. 

So, say there is a homeowner who has water every year. This is something I am seeing recently coming through our leads. But then the breaking point hits and there's more than just a leak the whole basement is resembling a bath tub. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, so besides just saying, "see, so-and-so should have just fixed that the moment there was a leak." I wonder how many people ever take care of any issue when the issue is just revealing itself. Perhaps the issue even comes and goes and isn't that prominent. I think most people aren't negligent but rather internalizing a conversation about whether this will come back any larger and that is what we will be discussing in this post. 

Don't Let This Come Back to Haunt You

We aren't in the Halloween season just yet but decisions really can come back to haunt us sometimes and I feel like home-related decisions tend to be really good at this. I know that buying a home is a huge investment and it's the place you and your family live- of course you want to do the right thing. However, the right thing isn't always clear or affordable or urgent, so sometimes making a decision can be a very murky experience. In fact, we are going through this right now. We have a well and our pipes are apparently brittle. We had a leak repaired and were told we could have another leak or none at all- we are straddling between fixing the piping because it is brittle and waiting for the next leak, which could come at a very inconvenient time. 

I guess I would advise homeowners with a wet basement to repair the issues sooner than later when straddling the decision between fixing the source of the issue and waiting to see what happens. I say this because the ramifications can be huge when it comes to waterproofing and the issue with waterproofing is that whatever leaked once will leak again unless fixed. 

We cannot predict if something will happen again, if it will be worse, or if we will be fortunate and it won't happen again. The best we can do is evaluate the present damage, likelihood it could happen again, and whether the work could be done in stages even if that is a possibility. Will the work definitely need to be done? Let's schedule it and finance it so that we have a plan in place to get it done- otherwise it just won't get fixed and I would hate for that to happen to someone only to have the customer call back and have another wet basement. 

Make the Decision in A Clear Frame of Mind

The best time to make a decision is when you are thinking clearly. Right now you may be coming down from experiencing a leak in your basement. Right now is the best time to decide what to do next. Of course right now you aren't in emergency mode but don't be fooled into forgetting the severity. Use this lull in activity to think clearly through this decision. I would hate for you to be about to go on vacation and find water in the basement and not have a plan, not have a sump pump, not have this figured out. Then you have to rush to find someone available to help last minute and make a last minute decision. Sure, something will get done but won't that just be too stressful and rushed? 

Final Words 

I hope that this blog series has been helpful to everyone in some way or another because I know that working through a home decision is difficult and sometimes it just requires talking or working through things with another person. I hope my thoughts and experiences help make your next home repair decision a little bit easier especially knowing that your choices as a homeowner influence your family as well as the next who lives in the house.