What to Look at When Buying a Home - Water Issues

With all the rain we got yesterday I thought it would be a good time to talk about some of the things I look at for my clients when searching for that perfect home.

This home is in the perfect location and fits your budget.  Yes you love the character of the home and it is really cute but is it going to be a money pit?

Here are a couple of things to look at in regards to flooding - this is by no means a comprehensive list but should get you started.

• What does the basement look like?  Are there water stains, cracks in the walls or a musty odour.  Is there a sump pump? If you have a sump pump is there a back up energy source in the case of a hydro outage.
• What does the eavestrough look like.  Is it draining right against the house or is the water being drained away.
• What does the physical site look like, is it low lying or high?  Low lying areas are more likely to need sump pumps and extra drainage.
• Are you near a water source.  Is there a history of flooding in this area.
• If you are on a well is it dug or drilled.  Dug wells are more prone to contamination from surface water if there is heavy rains or flooding.

A little bit of research can help along the way.