Anonymous wrote:I've only lived in newer suburbs, but all of the houses have them. I have also had neighbors swear up and down they don't have one because they have no idea what a sump pump actually looks like. But if there's a basement, there's a sump pump.

Completely untrue.

I have only lived in a house with a sump pump once, and that was a town house.

Our current house does not have one. Walk out basement, well graded yard, elevated on a slope up, and bone dry.

The only water issue we have ever had was relared to a clogged gutter during a torrential storm.

Is the basement a walk out OP?

My house has one (well actually two) because I'm at the bottom of a hill in my neighborhood and my whole street has a high water table. Some homes don't have them in my neighborhood but most of them are on hills.

I think it should be ok, but I would definitely check for signs of water coming in. The worst possible thing to do would be to put all your stuff down for it to be ruined due to water problems due an unexpected rising water table. Sump pumps are good to have when it comes to dealing with water.

I have never lived in one, and I wouldn't want to buy a house with one. It means the basement floods enough to make it worth it, and I don't want to deal with that.

Ours does not have one or need it. It depends on many factors. Our house is on a huge slope so the water runs away from the house. Our neighbors at the bottom of the hill have them and get flooded but we don't.

I've only lived in newer suburbs, but all of the houses have them. I have also had neighbors swear up and down they don't have one because they have no idea what a sump pump actually looks like. But if there's a basement, there's a sump pump.

Anonymous wrote:Probably 90% of houses don't have them.

100% of the houses I've lived in have had them.

I've never heard of a house not having a sump pump unless it's more than 50 years old. This area is a swamp, after all. You might get lucky with the grading but you'd better look carefully to make sure they've never had a water problem.

Probably 90% of houses don't have them.

Never lived in a house with a sump pump. Never had to get one. You don't need it if water is not a problem.

We move often for dh's job, and have only lived in one house with one, out of probably close to 10 houses around the country.

Many houses don't have a sump pump. Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it's weird. I guess you learned something today.

Wouldn't you only have a sump pump if there is a water problem? We don't have one either and I would never think of getting one unless there was some kind of problem with leaks - but then I would want to fix the leak, not get a sump pump.

Our basement doesn't have a sump pump. It's also bone-dry. Why would you need a sump pump if water isn't a problem?

The basement in finished, except for the utility room. I've never heard of not having a sump pump, but our realtor says it's not uncommon . . .