Given the renovations to the house my guess is that they have attempted to mitigate this and failed. Meaning it's a difficult problem a new owner wouldn't be able to fix reasonably either.

It would be worth getting a professional to evaluate and to get estimates from a reputable waterproofing company. It helps that the basement is unfinished which allows an more transparent and unobstructed view of what is happening when it rains. Assuming you could get sufficient assurances that the problem was solvable, I would be OK buying the house. That said, I would not finish the basement until you solved the problem and went through multiple storms without any water intrusion. We had an unfinished basement where water would seep in maybe once a year or less during really heavy rains. We tried every DYI fix including regrading and rerouting downspouts, which definitely helped but not completely. After 10 years we finally relented and spent $35K on a complete perimeter trench and sump pump system that included a transferable dry basement guarantee. That was two years ago and we've had no more problems since. It also allowed us to finish out basement into a really nice space.

I walk past this house all the time and it is even nicer looking in person.

I like the house and I think it would be worth having an inspection by a waterproofing company to see what the fix would cost. However, I'm surprised the owner didn't proactively do that which makes me think they did and aren't disclosing the cost or something else problematic about it.

Anonymous wrote:The house isn’t worth it. I like the dark wood very much, cabinets and details, but the sea of white is awful. What are they covering up with all that awful white paint??

I'm not following your logic. The interior walls are all white. Which is a very common interior paint color. It looks crisply and nicely painted and the interiors are light and airy. Very well done, I must say.

Anonymous wrote:The house isn’t worth it. I like the dark wood very much, cabinets and details, but the sea of white is awful. What are they covering up with all that awful white paint??

Huh?

I looked at the house on google street view and don't see any slopes or hills, the lot is rather flat and in a flat area, so it is intriguing. Suspect this is a case of a leak that comes in when there's a heavy downpour. I have a similar situation where about 5-6 times a year with a heavy downpour I can get a small leak in a basement room. It's never worsened in the five years I've lived here and I don't use the room and it's not worth the effort to spend thousands and thousands over a minor problem, especially when you know there's no guarantee spending the money will fix it. Sometimes let and live is ok as long as it doesn't get worse.

The house isn’t worth it. I like the dark wood very much, cabinets and details, but the sea of white is awful. What are they covering up with all that awful white paint??

If a sump pump would address, would be worth it.

Having lived in an old house where the basement was unfinished and all below ground and water ran across the floor in rivulets when it rained hard, I would pass.

It wasn't the end of the world for us, but it was a nusiance and shocking the first time it happened.

Renting a house like this where you can use bakers racks for storage? Sure. Buying it for 1.3 or 1.4? I wouldn't take that on.

I lived in a rental house that had this happen when I was a kid and it was a horrible mess. We didn't know about it and cleaning up after it was a disaster and a lot of stuff was ruined (we'd very recently moved into the house so a lot of stuff was in boxes in the basement). My mom lost some keepsakes from her mom (my grandmother died young) that were destroyed and she was devastated.

I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole.

Do not buy the house. Full stop.

We lived in a rental last year that had a very slight amount of dampness in the basement, and the whole house smelled like old house. And it was almost unbearable after a rain. Fortunately, that was a temporary situation for us while we figured out where to buy.

As someone who purchased a house with unknown water problems, I would not buy this. If it was an easy fix, they would have done it.

I agree with PPs: if this is bad enough that it has to be disclosed, I would pass. Any home you buy could have some unforeseen problem that comes up, but in this case you know in advance.

Reminds me of a house we visited with our realtor once with a huge bulging crack in the basement wall covered with a tarp and dehumidifier running. Otherwise the house was gorgeous. Not worth it.