Homemaker, if you are still hanging in there, our experience has been as follows: water through the wall after a rain storm has been the result of a clogged gutter or downspout or downspout drain (which takes the H2O away from the house to a dry well), which allows water to accumulate against the house, or a diversion of water against the house (like the paving of a drive). So during the next deluge do go and look at what is going on, even if you have to crawl under the deck. We found clogs in the most unlikely places. The joys of an old house. We also found that water through the floor was the result of a rise in the water table or undergroud diversion. Not all basement floors are built the same way. If you have a "monolith" type, the floor was poured first and the block was set on that using the floor as a footing. You can't dig up a monolith type floor or even trench around the wall, without compormising the foundation so do have a really good inspector look at it before a contractor has a go. Finally, can you see where the water is coming in though the wall? If not, do take the dry (or not so dry) wall away and, again, watch through a rain storm, you may have a crack or hole that wants hydrolic cement.

You can accomplish a lot by cleaning out the window wells, fixing the grade and redirecting the downspouts. When I wanted to raise the level of the soil around the house (for improved grading and to put in gardens), I put in a plain galvanized window well and capped it with a plastic window well cover. In spite of heavy rains lately, it's dry as a bone in there (the floor of the window well is about 3-4 inches below the outside window sill). See the link below for pics. Of course, if any of the property slopes toward the house, these things might not be enough. However, the silt coming into your basement would have me running away into the night. Must be quite the crack to allow silt to come in. Or a lot of water behind there, to even get the silt flowing! This doesn't seem like something that can be fixed from the inside. Here is a link that might be useful: back yard pics, new house

Janie, hope you see this post. Good for all buyers/sellers to read, really! Home inspector went out Thursday. I also hired a chimney inspector and a termite and moisture inspector - all there at the same time at one point. I'm going to paste a list of my request of repairs that were sent to the owners LA which are just some of the problems/suggestions that were from the report. At least 9 broken/split shingle tabs, one hole and several popped nails was observed on the roof, have shingles reviewed/repaired by a qualified roofer to prevent leakage. Note: Shingles was observed in the crawl space. Some of the shingle tabs are broke along the rake of roof in a couple areas, have repaired to prevent water from seeping into roof sheathing. A few of the nails have backed out of the ridge vents, have secured by roofer Squirrel damage to plumbing vent boot - nail hole where they've eaten away the rubber Replace and repair. Chimney needs to be cleaned and crown needs to be sealed due to cracks. (see above)* The deck framing has pulled away from each other on outside corner, there is a joint along of the front framing that is not supported. One support in the middle of the deck that is leaning badly and two of the corner posts are landscape timbers and should not be used as a structural member having framing/post review/repaired by qualified contractor. Could collapse. Back of House/Deck - part of ledger board was and isn't supported properly. Needs to be fixed, could collapse. Needs to be bolted, not nailed. The rear deck is not bolted to the home, have lag bolts installed by a qualified contractor. The condensate drain is not connected to the air handler and has come apart at one of its couplings, have reviewed/ repaired by contractor to prevent condensation from draining into crawlspace. A couple of the foundation vents are at the soil grade level, during heavy rains this will allow water to pour in through vents, have vent wells installed where the vent is at grade level. Some crawlspace vents are broken and need to be repaired or replaced. The downspout extension to the right of the front porch is draining near the foundation vent, have moved away from foundation. Crawlspace -The dryer vent is plastic where it passes through the floor and is not connected to the metal duct in the crawlspace, (just hanging there, with lint coming out). Have plastic vent replaced with metal and re-connected in the crawl by a qualified contractor. Lint needs to be cleaned out, potential fire hazard. Water Heater -The temperature/pressure relief valve is not piped to the exterior of crawlspace, if this valve should open or leak you would not know it. The floor joist under the bathroom near the crawlspace door has been severely cut for the waste drain, this will allow it to sag over time, have repaired by contractor. FOUNDATION CRACKS - There is a large crack on the right side of the foundation, the stepped crack is at least 1/4 inch wide and the brick is displaced at least 1/4 of an inch, recommend review by a structural engineer to determine cause and if any repairs are suggested besides repairing and sealing. On the right side of the home, the wood beam is not in contact with the column/pier, this may cause or have caused some settlement in this area since it is next to he large crack in the foundation, have repaired by contractor. Above garage in attic needs to be supported by 2x4 where beams come together, one of the gable end supports is not supporting the ridge rafter (needs shimmed), have repaired by contractor. One open chase in attic was observed on the far left side of home (over master bath), if a fire was to start in the home it could quickly spread into attic, have covered/insulated by contractor. The bathroom exhaust vents are not routed to the exterior, this allows excessive moisture into crawlspace, recommend routing to the exterior. Garage-put storage door back on (I can do this if you have the pins available I think) The door leading into the garage did not latch when closed, have adjusted/repaired. The garage door did not reverse when met with resistance (usually just an adjustment), have repaired for safety. A large knock-out has been removed for a small wire in the top of electrical panel, if a fire was to start in the panel it could spread quickly into the wall. Have clamp and reducing rings installed by electrician. The heat pump is connected to a 40 amp breaker, the data plate states a maximum breaker of 30 amps to protect the unit, have replaced by electrician. There is a electrical wire in the crawlspace(near the dryer vent/under kitchen/hall) that is not properly capped or installed in a junction box, have repaired by electrician. The switch did not operate the ceiling fan in the front right bedroom, the light and fan works but did not shut off with the switch, have reviewed by electrician. The ceiling fan in the front right bedroom wobbled badly when tested, have reviewed by electrician. ****************** The chimney inspector said he was unable to tell if any of the flue tiles were cracked because the fireplace was dirty. My response to the sellers were the following: As for the chimney, as I mentioned in a prior email, the inspector was not able to view the flue tiles due to the fireplace being dirty and having cobwebs and spiders. If there is any flue tiles cracked, to fix this would be "thousands" from what he said, and if there are cracked tiles, a possible fire hazard when using the fireplace. If the fireplace was clean, he could have reported if there were any issues at the time of inspection. I cannot go forward without knowing if there are any flue tiles cracked before closing. He said that he would be willing to re-inspect the chimney for free and put a camera down there at no extra cost once the chimney has been cleaned to make sure there are no cracked flue tiles. His estimate to clean the chimney is $130 and to seal the crown $150 ********************* This above wasn't all that was reported in the inspection that needed attention. Below is the list I sent that I would eventually take on and be responsible for doing: Brick in front porch has settled, driveway and sidewalk all have cracks from settling, repair and seal to prevent more damage Front porch soffits need to be adjusted & soffit missing in rear corner, left side. There are three (3) areas of siding that are loose and need to be fixed. Gutter -some gutter guards are missing and need to be replaced. Gutter needs to be cleaned out in areas. Crawlspace, insulation is falling and some pieces are on the ground which needs to be replaced and repaired, held up by metal wires Return duct needs cleaning Garage- door opens and closes fine, has a gap on one side, needs a new weather strip Garage- Very minor rot observed at the bottom of one of the garage door panels, have sealed. The sprayer did not function properly for the kitchen faucet when tested, have reviewed/repaired by plumber. Tree limbs that overhang the roof should be cut to limit squirrels access to roof. Squirrel damage evident Minor suspected carpenter bee damage was observed to a couple of the exterior wood window sills, have repaired and or treated if problem continues. Between the front porch and the garage, the soil grade is in contact with the vinyl siding, there should be at least a 6inch clearance between the siding and ground to prevent water seepage into band joist during heavy rains and for periodic pest inspection, have repaired. Note: Staining to the band joists was observed in this area from the crawlspace Settlement cracking was observed in the front bedroom door frame/sheetrock, no obvious reason for settlement was observed under this area, have reviewed if desired. The 2 smoke detectors did not operate when tested, have smoke detectors installed in the hallway and bedroom areas for life safety. Some minor damage was observed to the window trim at the bottom of the rear exterior door, have repaired.. The air handler in the crawlspace is very rusty at the bottom and may leak during the summer months, observation recommended. (will try to keep an eye out for this) The majority of the crawlspace did not have a vapor barrier installed on the crawlspace floor, recommend installing to reduce and maintain low moisture levels in the crawlspace. (will have installed) The heat pump is 24 years old, typical life expectancy is 15-20 years, although it is working properly it will likely need to be replaced in the next couple years. Roof is beyond typical life expectancy and will need replacing in a couple years *************** So there you have it. Again, I will say THANK GOODNESS FOR HOME INSPECTIONS. Not only do I know what's wrong with this house that the inspector(s) could visually see, but now, so do the owners. We are now in a wait and see phase. Waiting to hear to what they are going to agree to fix on the list I have sent. I have not asked these people for ANYTHING at all that is not on the inspection report and many of the problems that need correction have to be done due to safety. Here's a man that smokes and neither of the two smoke detectors work! Also, the lint and dryer vent problem can easily start a fire. THe major issues are the chimney and the foundation - others are all easy to fix. If the chimney is cleaned and it shows no issues in the flue, than it's just down to the foundation failure - and we wait and see. After going through all this, here's my 2 cents for sellers and getting an inspection PRIOR to putting your home up for sale... If you get a home inspection done prior to putting it on the market, you will not only know what issues are there, but what issues you know MUST be fixed before any bank would agree to give a potential home buyer a mtg on the home. You will save money in the long run! The reason I say this is... If the sellers of the property we are looking at did an inspection prior to listing the house for sale, they probably wouldn't have gone down as far as they did in price during negotiations. Obviously, they didn't know the REAL condition of the house - and if they had gotten the inspection, they would have known and priced accordingly, knowing what HAD to be done. Instead, they came down probably more than they now think they should have, now having to come up with more $$ to fix the problems if they want the deal to go through. If they aren't fixed, I walk. And from what I understand, they are in love with another house and really want to sell, but I'm sure they didn't see these problems coming. The inside of the house is great- as you can see from the repair list - many issues were in areas not easily accessible or in easy view. Have to say, I'm glad they didn't know beforehand in my case - they wouldn't have reduced the price as they did, I'm sure. It saves time - Knowing what the inspector found and fixing what you can prior to listing it for sale makes the buyers/banks inspectors findings that much less. Buyers will be more apt to purchase a home that has less issues I think - it just looks better on paper. You can have the cleanest and most well taken care of home on the interior, which seesm to be the case here, or at last it seems so, but knowing that there's dryer lint hanging in gobbs from the detached duct shows me, whether it be her or prior owners, someone did NOT clean out the lint filter in their dryer! Doing it before hand also saves you time because the less there is to fix, the faster you can close!!!!! Don't be penny wise, pound foolish as the saying goes. This is something I say for all buyers and sellers. As you can see if you read the posts I wrote above, this wasn't my first home to have a contract on recently - this is the second one. And honestly, from the looks of the home, I would NEVER have thought there would have been this many issues with the home. We saw a few of them, I wrote them down, but NEVER thought it would be like this! I had all of the same inspectors come out again as last time, though I paid the full inspection amount this time vs last time when I didn't have the inspector send me a written report and his summary, it just wasn't needed as I saw all I had to see on his computer at the inspection. You may not need a totally full inspectors report. Maybe there is so little that needs to be done on your home your inspector will allow you to view his findings on his computer while you write down the problems. My inspectors charged $280 but during the first inspection charged me half, I paid him the full $280 this last time - again, I hate wasting money, but it was well worth it! I hope I've provided some useful information! Hopefully this deal will go through, if not, I'm hoping that with the next house that maybe the inspectors will have a repeat customer discount, a buy 2 get 1 free offer, or something of the like - now, wouldn't that be nice! Hopefully, it won't come to that. Best of luck to all who are buying/selling a home!!!!

Wow, Mary, I'm so sorry that happened to you! I think I read about your problems over on the manufactured homes forum, or was that someone else? My ex and I bought a stick built house in 1988 in Sacramento. A home inspection was, of course, required. A couple of weeks after we moved in, I happened to be in the backyard while hubby was showering. I looked over and saw water just gushing from the window sill and coming down the exterior of the house like a waterfall. It cost a little over $10,000 to fix, and was only that little because our new neighbor loved fixing things and had every power tool known to humankind, lol. It took a month of weekends for hubby and neighbor to fix it. We sued the home inspector and recouped all our costs plus punitive damages, which we split with neighbor guy. Good thing ex is an attorney! :-) Thanks for the advice, Chris. It looks like ~$300 is the going price, and in the grand scheme of things, I think it's worth it if, as Steph recommends, I find someone with experience in manufactured homes. In this case, the inspector doesn't have to please any realtors, sellers, or buyers. Since I've already bought the house, lived in it as a houseguest with my friends for the entire month of September, and know everything my friends know about the house, I can be very specific about what I want her to look for. As Chris said, it will be helpful for prioritizing. I'm hoping to refurbish the entire house top to bottom. I have an eight to ten year plan. I love a good ten year project! I started going back to college in 2007 and hope to graduate with my PhD in 2017--a ten year project, haha! (I'll have had 13 years of higher education! You'd think I'd know something by now, haha!) I have a list of what I think are priorities, and rough estimates of what everything will cost. My first project, next September, will be an asphalt driveway and carport. Because of my mobility disability and the necessity of using a walker, and because I can't get soaking wet entering/exiting my home and car, a dry, smooth surface and dry carport is a necessity before next winter. I'm going to replace all the electrical wiring and plumbing regardless of current condition, only because they're original to the house and will need upgrading at some point anyway. I'm also redoing all the floors because they're hideous, lol, so while I'm at it, I'll do all new floor insulation. There are no leaks, and I had the roof snow coated in October, which is guaranteed for ten years. So a new roof is down lower on the priority list, but still in the ten year plan. I'll blow insulation into the "attic" when I do the roof. The siding and skirting are much newer than the house and are in beautiful condition, so replacing them would be almost last on the list. The gut remodel of the kitchen/living room, major remodel of both bathrooms, and closet systems and cosmetic touch ups of the bedrooms will be in the middle, somewhere after electrical, plumbing, and floors, but before roof and siding. It's a ten year project because I'm paying as I go, in cash, as money becomes available. That's MY plan. I want the home inspector to tell me if my priorities are right or if I need to do something sooner rather than later. The yard will be an ongoing project. I've figured out how to do an aesthetically pleasing yard using various kinds of rocks, drought resistant plants, and ornamental grasses, for very, very little money and very low maintenance.