The Benefits of Basement Waterproofing Before a Home Sale

There are a lot of glamorous things you're supposed to do to a home before you put it on the market. Add a sculpted garden to increase curb appeal. Renovate your bathroom to add interest without spending a ton of money. Take out a non-load-bearing wall to create space and the impression of size in the main living area. But what about the details that really matter? Selling a home that looks good but then falls apart in it's new owners hands a few months after the sale isn't just bad manners, it's nearly criminal.

That's why, before you sell your home, you need to take care of the unglamorous details with just as much attention to detail as you do the glamorous ones. If your home has a cellar, then basement waterproofing should be high on that list.

When you get your basement waterproofed, you are securing the house against one of the most insidious forms of damage that a house can sustain. You might not even realize until you get into the waterproofing process that your basement even has any mold damage. Patches of fungus can hide behind desks, curtains, and even under carpets and inside walls.

That's why, when the basement waterproofing contractors come in, you can expect them to pretty literally tear the place apart (and you might want to do it for them before they arrive) -- it's necessary to make sure all of the mold gets removed before the waterproofing begins. There's no point in waterproofing if the mildew is already in full effect, after all.

The thing is, mold isn't even the worst thing that a leaky basement can do to your home -- it's just the grossest. If water can get into your basement, there's a solid potential that it's getting in through a crack in your foundation. That means that your entire foundation might just up and split one day, with potentially disastrous effects on the structural integrity and general levelness of the entire house.

Getting your basement waterproofing isn't just a cosmetic thing. The health hazards of the mold and the property damage hazard of a split foundation are both things that you have the potential to be held liable for if you sell a home knowing that there's a leak in the basement. For your own safety, a pre-sale waterproofing of the cellar is just common sense.

Fortunately, it's not difficult -- especially if you're already dealing with the typical hassle of selling a home. All you have to do is take all of your stuff out (which you're probably doing anyway) and pay some professional basement waterproofing crew to come in and do their thing. It generally won't take more than an afternoon, and once they're done, you can sell your home secure in the knowledge that you're not pawning off some hidden dire problem on the people you sell to. That's a good feeling.

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