Here are a few ways water damage can become expensive quickly. Foundation cracks can be caused when there is flooding that gets underneath your house and has nowhere to go. That can lead to buckling floorboards, and floor joists that rot and cause the floor to sink. It can also cause settling in your foundation that leads to cracks in your walls and ceiling. Leaky pipes in the walls can cause water damage causing mold to grow on the drywall inside your walls. This can lead to rot and decay, causing structural issues.
Any way you look at it, if not caught quickly, water can cause a lot of damage in quite a few ways. Your homeowner’s insurance may not cover the damages. This is what happened to Fred.
Fred’s Story
Fred is a 35-year-old accountant in Greenbelt, Maryland. His house, in a low-lying area, had never had a flooding issue before this past Spring. Spring had brought unusually torrential rains that caused flash flooding in his area. Unfortunately, the flooding had breached the foundation under his house, with nowhere to go. Fred did not have vents in the foundation and that would lead to extensive repairs down the road.
After the flooding had receded, Fred began to look for any damages related to the flooding. He ran a dehumidifier under the house and assumed that everything was just fine. Fred did not realize that the damage was more extensive than he had first realized.
The water had seeped into the walls in the foundation and cracks would soon start to form. A few months after the flooding, Fred started to feel like the floor in one of his bedrooms was becoming unlevel. He started keeping watch on the floor and sure enough, the flooring had started to buckle inward toward the middle of the room. This prompted Fred to go outside and look around for any other water damage that he might have missed. As Fred walked around the house, he started noticing that the foundation of the house had developed some pretty big cracks.
Fred decided to call and get an inspection to see just what damage there was under the house and what it would cost to repair.
Inspection
Fred found a contractor online and set up an inspection. When the contractors crawled under the house they found a lot more damage than Fred expected. The floor joists in the rear of the house were starting to collapse. They were deteriorating from the water that had run under the house every time it rained. This is what was causing the flooring to sink inward inside the house. The joist would need to be replaced and it was beginning to look like the flooring would as well.
The contractors found other issues besides the joist and flooring. The crawl space had not been ventilated very well. This plus the water contributed to the mold that had begun growing under the house. All of this would need to be cleaned and ventilation installed for better airflow under the house. What started as just a little flooding problem quickly escalated into an expensive repair for Fred.
After the inspection, the contractors laid out an estimate of cost, labor, and timeframe to complete all the repairs. The floor joist estimate was near $10,000, new flooring cost estimate $2,400-$4,000, depending on the type, $5,500 average cost for cleaning the mold and encapsulating the crawl space and anywhere from $1,200 to $4,500 for ventilation in the crawl space. Already repair costs were adding up and this was before the estimate on fixing the cracks in the foundation. Fred was looking at weeks of repairs and possibly being displaced while most of the work was going on.
Fred’s Solution
Fred contacted his homeowner’s insurance, but because he didn’t have flood insurance, they would not cover the expense. Feeling discouraged at the prospect of thousands of dollars and disruption to his job, Fred went online to research other options.
While researching, Fred found Akin Developers. He saw that Akin offers a no-cost, no-obligation offer for homes in almost any condition. Fred decided to reach out to us and see if Akin could help him. After his initial phone conversation, we set up a meeting to take a look at his home. We met with Fred and after inspecting his home, we offered a fair price, which Fred accepted. Fred’s house closed in about 10 days. He was able to look for a new home in an area less likely to have flooding issues.
Flooding can cause several damaging issues to your home. Unseen damage from flooding such as mold and structural damage can wreak havoc over time if not addressed. It’s always good to know what your homeowner’s insurance will cover in the event of flooding and the history of flooding for your home. Knowing what your homeowner’s insurance covers for flood damage can keep you from ending up in Fred’s situation.
Should you find yourself in Fred’s situation and need to sell your home quickly for cash-whether with flood damage, mold, distress, or in perfect condition-contact us here at Akin Developers and see what we can do for you too.
