Don`t bother reading this is you can`t handle the truth....'some' realtors, not all!!!

Through my 27+ years of basement waterproofing/foundations,dealing w/hundreds of realtors, HI`s etc, i`ve come to realize there are some realtors who just don`t give a hoot about the seller/buyer.

Year after year, decade after decade, other contractors `n myself are asked OFTEN to go to some address, leave an estimate for a leaky corner, when we can see 1,2+ walls have vertical/step/horizontal cracks in walls, mold & efflorscence growing on basement walls, sometimes a wall+ is bowing in etc. Just happened 4 times in the last week!

Many of these basement walls have been painted w/Drylok `n patched from inside which does "NOTHING" to stop/prevent water from entering through cracks `n other direct openings on the Outside of houses. It`s almost like, gee...if we have a little waterproofing done(corner), we can state that in our favor if any future problems arise, ya make the seller happier they don`t have to spend whats 'Really' needed to fix All the problems(leave for buyer,hope they don`t see/notice)

Or some will use the 'corner' estimate and take that cost off the price of house and again say something like "hey, this is all we saw/were told needed to be waterproofed"... crap like that. You KNOW it`s true,lol

Some realtors worry about what the home looks like/how presentable etc.... & rightly so! They`ll hire/find someone to paint this or that room, change some new door knobs etc etc etc,but quite a few refuse to acknowledge problems/cracks in basement walls. What, somehow that extra living space/storage space called a basement does NOT matter??

What we`ve seen very often is your failure to be totally honest with All involved & winds up more & more buyer`s having to go back on the sellers,litigaton... And RIGHTLY so! Why should the Buyer have to pay for pre-existing cracks,bowing walls,mold `n efflorescence due to water entering etc?

Evene if they hired an HI who either lacks knowledge-exp. in waterproofing/foundations, or actually couldn`t see the walls, finished basement...many of us are uniting to back BUYERS who repeatedly are the one`s left having to pay for problems that weren`t fixed correctly,weren`t disclosed etc. It`s not right folks.

Hey, why can`t 'SOME' of you just find the honest contractors to fix what needs to be fixed?

It`s so darn obvious, some just want that commission and rather not wait for correct work to be done in fear of losing your $$$

And HI`s, man....hey, some, Not all, have not a CLUE as to what to look for, what needs to be fixed etc when it comes to basements/foundations.

Just happened again, retired guy in St Clair Shores MI had hm inspection....was told by the supposed 'very experienced' HI that the reason this basement was leaking was ALL due to improper slope of grade outside, this is NONSENSE! I don`t know who teaches you people these myths, darn it. lol

Hey, listen closely.....this retired guy after taking the HI $350 advise, wound up doing what was recommended and...on NEXT dcent rain, still leaks, still gets water on basement floor in ALL 3 areas, know why?

It`s because these are 3 CRACKS in the basement wall and, 2 basement windows have openings around them, hello? THIS...is how `n why water is Entering the basement, NOT because of this continuing/most redundant MYTH of raising the grade `n sloping or extending gutters and several others.

He should have been given the correct information, the facts....so he could have lowered the bid on the house. No way to miss the cracks and problems with bsmt windows, unless one doesn`t know/care what to really look for or, has some 'preconceived' myth about why most basements leak.

Most basements leak...not all, because there are cracks `n other direct openings in the basement wall and/or above the wall incl`h open mortar joints, openings around basement windows, doors-thresholds etc. Recommending-doing these surface water diverting techniques does NOT...seal/waterproof/correct these outside openings....grrr.

Soil pressure and tree roots against the Outside of basement walls cause many cracks in basement walls which cause....leaks! It also causes wall to bow, `n possible buckle/collapse.

What is lateral & hydrostatic pressure? Where is it? What can help relieve/lessen this pressure?
.....6th, 7th paragraphs
http://www.yodergroup.com/concrete.asp

http://www.bobvila.com/ArticleLibrary/Task/Inspecting/FoundationFailure.html

if you really want to help your clients you`ll read `n try `n understand the facts, the truth, and not keep shuffling around the same old junk.

http://www.al-home-inspections.com/news-articles/article-4.html

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/images/moldguide.pdf

http://na.hansonbrick.com/en/techNotes/pdf/efflorescence.pdf

http://www.mipca.org/Termites.htm
how do they enter? They...do Not need direct wood-contact!

radon, does it enter through cracks/gaps etc in walls, small pores in hollow-block walls? You better believe it...
read 3. Characteristics `n Sources
http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/physic.html

Some need to held liable for misinforming,misleading buyers and, the sooner the better.