My husband and I found a town house we were planning on putting a bid in for. We like the home, like the price and location but now have some reservations. One, the water piping system needs to be updated (we planned to ask for $5,000 in closing costs to cover this) and two, when we went to make an offer and read over the information the sellers disclosed we discovered that after heavy rain a corner of the basement gets "damp". Our realtor told us that he pointed this out to us when we saw the place but he never did. We asked him to call the seller's realtor and inquire about the leak but have yet to hear back. Once we hear back from the seller's realtor we will decide if we still want to put a bid in. But, we are not sure what to do now and if buying the place is a potential disaster due to the basement leak. I know a home inspector can check this but could the inspector okay the condition of the basement and still be in for a nightmare if we buy the place?? Is it even worth spending the money to get the house inspected? Help!

A house is only worth what you're willing to pay for it. Just remember, all offers--regardless of price or terms must be written AND presented. And don't let anyone tell you or try and intimidate you otherwise.

That said, a house is a big commitment, and a lot of money. If you're having doubts, I'd seriously think about those and not push them aside over the emotions of excitement of buying a house.

Do not rely on the listing agent and or disclosure. Make your offer contigent on a home inspection. In addition do get this inspected by a builder and or contractor not just a home inspection company if you have that much concerns. Even if your transaction does not close it was money well spend to avoid an extrem expence latter on. However like I said make sure you use a builder and or contract not a home inspector. Most are not quialified to make that inspection.

This sounds sketchy at best. If the place has been on the market for a long time, this is probably the reason why. Trust your intuition on this one, I'd say.

Thank you for the information. The sellers took a week and a half to respond to our bid. We decided to withdraw the offer due to our concerns. Thanks again for all the advice. It was very very helpful!

I am in training for my license but we bought a house (me and my husband) in 2005 that had occasional basement leakage dur to heavy rains. They had a sump pump by the Bilco/bulkhead doors and thats where the water came in. We decided it wasn't a deal breaker. Since then we've discovered there is a crack in the wall behind the stairs (we found out via the home inspector actually - but still not a deal breaker) so they (home inspectors) told us we could go at it in dry weather and make a V out of the crack and fill it with cement....

we haven't done it yet.. it rarely gets wet down there.. just after a big storm.. and its only in that one area.... doesn't affect anything and the water goes away quickly wth the sump pump. We live on a hill so the water starts higher and comes to us and the keeps going....

I see you made your choice but wanted to let you know just because there is water doesn't mean a nightmare.... only would be annoying if you wanted to finish the basement....