Buying house with water damage history. ???

[MacDad]

Hello people.
Just in the market of purchasing a house,
I found a good one from Realtors.ca, haven't went to take a look yet.
Price was good, inside good with some upgrades, etc.
I searched for permit history and there was a water damage history.

APPLIED DATE Mar 07, 2011 / ISSUED DATE Nov 26, 2012
Environmental Restoration Permit
CA$27,261.20 / Alteration - remediation of moisture damage

It was back in 2012. Should I be worried about this or not??
From my non-expert's view, I'm thinking it's safe now,
BUT I'm more worried about re-selling.
Most people will want to avoid this house right?
Although there will be people like me who's still interested,
But it is a hard decision.

What are your opinions or suggestions??

[Ken07AOVette]

Have it inspected. Everywhere. Behind the furnace in the air ducts and cold air returns, check for mold. May have to cut behind the shower or tub, but if it's clean and dry start negotiating.

I dont think a small claim from 9 years ago will affect it much. People buying used houses are not as picky as new, they are generally looking for a better fit than what they have, or rental property if they are from the area.

[Trochu]

What's your concern, mold, repeat occurrence, something else?

I personally wouldn't be concerned about it as it looks like it was taken care of properly.

[YAFORDDIESEL]

hi

with having the dates
did you google any weather related news on that date?
flood wind rain

[Sundancefisher]

we had water damage. Shower leaked. Redid the shower. All was fine.

Maybe ask what the cause was and get the response in writing? Go from there after hearing the answer.

[Hooter]

hi

with having the dates
did you google any weather related news on that date?
flood wind rain

This seems like a good idea. Might give you an indication if the basement flooded or something similar.

[Cement Bench]

is it low land around the house, sump pump quit?

get the reason and check with the neighbors

[spirit4u]

You have the dates of the permit when it was remediated. I'm thinking test samples for any mold spores were taken at this time. Once the samples come back negative for spores they were allowed to start renovations. Maybe you can get a copy of the report and see what the damage was. I know here in high river houses had to sit as a shell for a long time to dry them out.

[MacDad]

Thanks for all the answers,

This happened 2011 I guess, so it was 9 years ago,
And in 2014 someone bought the house from the original owner,
and this guy did basement development in 2015,
And in 2020 now they are selling the house.

I'm "guessing" remediation was done ok,
If I choose to buy this house I'll have the mold contractors do the inspection again anyways so let's say it's safe to live in.

My question is with the water damage history, is that enough to prevent house price from going up in future?
And would "YOU" buy a house with this kinda damage history?

[reddeerguy2015]

Water damage scares me. But it depends where and what happened...

I'd be less concerned about say, a leaky shower pipe or drain that's been fixed, vs a leaky foundation.

Just depends.

[Tungsten,]

Perhaps bsmt development was done to hide something?Is their pictures from before.

[Cold lake guy]

Is it in town or country?

[JustBen]

I would run away. It's a buyer's market and there are plenty of options out there.

[Cold lake guy]

Thats very true....I wouldn’t buy now anyway. The repo market is set to explode:thinking-006:

[MacDad]

It's in Calgary NW.
Good price for the location, and also backing out to full privacy woods.
That's why i'm still considering this property.
Just wondering if it's
good price because there is something wrong
VS
good price because of the history people not eagered much.

Anyone had their house flooded or bought a house with this kinda history and price went down or price not going up than the houses next to you because of the history?

I don't mind the history myself as long as I have the inspection done thoroughly and it comes back with "taken cared of properly".
But I do mind if this will make the house price never go up compared to houses next to this one.

[Cold lake guy]

I’m a plumber home inspectors are useless. Depends on the cause of the flood. Is it from the disaster a few years ago? Look for high water marks in the return air duct, has the furnace been replaced? Take a elevation reading on your phone of the yard go fora drive is it low? Look for birch trees in the natural bush close by they love springs!

[Cold lake guy]

And remember flood restoration is done by the lowest bidder

[Trochu]

I've never heard of anyone pulling the permit history on a house before. Do most people do this?

[owlhoot]

Go to the City and ask if there is any history of sewer back up in the area, I know Medicine Hat has those records,

[midgetwaiter]

APPLIED DATE Mar 07, 2011 / ISSUED DATE Nov 26, 2012
Environmental Restoration Permit
CA$27,261.20 / Alteration - remediation of moisture damage

27k isn’t going to go real far depending on what kind of problem there was so it may not have been serious. Could just as easily be an envelope problem as plumbing in which case I would be more concerned.

[Dozer guy]

I’m in the middle of a basement restoration as we speak this summer had a power outage in a monsoon which cause my float switch on sump pump not to kick on I can tell you 27k in todays time only gets you first 3 feet of dry wall replaced,flooring paint and a few other odds and ends done in my case I had a less than a few inches of water sitting like stated above I would look at elevation proper drainage as well as how much flooding occurred and if it was part of a rain event my case the house is high and decent drainage away it was just a storm that 25mm fell in 2 hours and if my power was not out I would have never had an issue. Anyways good luck in your search

[EZM]

And remember flood restoration is done by the lowest bidder

My insurance offered me the opportunity to choose 2 of 3 bidders and award the work to the contractor of my choice …..

Had an older home which had the storm and roof drains re-enter the house and had a back up - luckily no "poo" but was still a mess with 12" of water in finished basement.

I had everything torn out including furnace and hot water tanks and roof and storm drain re-routed direct to city service. Was >$40,000 …. just for the work. The contents were another $10,000