Selling a House With Water in the Crawl Space in New Jersey

For over 20 years, Jersey Shore Crawlspace Enhancement has assisted home sellers identify and address potential issues ahead of closing.
Request the Evaluation
Selling a House With Water in the Crawl Space in New Jersey
What the inspector writes down

What comes up in a buyer's inspection under the house and in the attic?

The inspector writes down moisture, and what moisture leaves behind. A buyer's inspector opens the crawlspace hatch, notes standing water or a damp vapor barrier, looks at the joists for growth, and checks whether the insulation is still where it belongs. In the attic the same person looks for stained sheathing and blocked ventilation, and for insulation that has settled. Nothing gets fixed on the spot. The buyer's agent turns the write-up into a repair request or a credit request.
  • Water and moisture. Standing water and a wet or torn vapor barrier are the crawlspace items that show up on inspection reports. Pumping out water and clearing what it ruined is also the highest-volume work we do.
  • Mold-Like Substance. Growth on floor joists or attic sheathing is written up as a condition to be evaluated further, and that line is usually where the buyer's request list starts.
  • Fallen insulation and open vents. Kraft-faced batts hanging from the joists and unscreened vents are easy for an inspector to see and easy for a buyer to ask about, under the house or in the attic.
What comes up in a buyer's inspection under the house and in the attic?
Three ways to get ahead of the list

How does an inspection finding become a repair request, and what are the seller's options?

The buyer's agent reads the inspection report, pulls out the items that worry their client, and sends your agent a list. Each item asks the seller either to fix it before closing or to give a credit so the buyer deals with it afterward. Your agent has to answer inside the inspection period, and the answer needs a basis.

You have three ways to get ahead of that list, and the earlier you choose one the more room you have to work with.

  • Address before listing. A pre-listing Crawlspace Evaluation documents the crawlspace, basement, and attic with moisture readings and a photograph of each finding. Any work that follows comes with paperwork you hand your listing agent on day one.
  • Disclose and price. The report is yours. Give it to your agent, attach it where your attorney says it belongs, and let the asking price reflect conditions you have already named.
  • Respond under contract. When the request arrives, we evaluate against the buyer's list and return a written proposal your agent sends back as the seller's answer, as work completed before closing or as the basis for a credit.
How does an inspection finding become a repair request, and what are the seller's options?
What comes back, and what transfers

How does JSC turn a buyer's request list into an answer your agent can send?

We read the buyer's inspection report and the request list, then evaluate the items on it. What comes back is the written evaluation report, a photograph and moisture reading for each finding, and a scoped proposal for the work we recommend. Left and right are anchored to someone facing the home from the street, so the buyer's inspector is reading about the same corner you are. Your agent forwards it, and the other side gets a document that answers their own inspector item by item. In a typical case, a three-bedroom ranch in Brick goes under contract, and the buyer's inspector notes standing water at the rear left corner when facing the home from the street, with Mold-Like Substance present on the joists above it. The buyer's agent asks for the crawlspace to be dried and treated before closing. We evaluate inside the inspection window and propose a clean out, a 20-mil string-reinforced vapor barrier, and a Mold Treatment. The seller's agent sends that proposal back as the response, the buyer accepts the work in place of a credit, and the closing date holds.
Icon
Scoped to the buyer's list
The proposal answers the items the buyer raised, in the order they raised them, so nothing in it reads as an upsell. Anything else we observe is noted separately.
Icon
Photographs of the finding and of the finished work
Every condition in the report has a photograph, and the completed work is photographed the same way. Your agent sends before and after images of the same corner.
Icon
A 10-year warranty that transfers
Vapor barrier, French drains, drainage matting, insulation, and Mold Treatment carry a 10-year warranty that transfers to the buyer at closing. Your agent can put that line in the response to the repair request and in the listing.
Icon
Timing around the contract dates
Once the contract allows inspections, we can usually be under the house within a day of your call, and the written report follows within 24 hours. Give us the contract dates when you call and we schedule around them.
contact

Contact us to schedule your evaluation today!

Our team evaluates your home, explains what's causing the condition, and walks you through your options. Schedule an evaluation or call us directly.
sales@jerseyshorecrawlspace.com
(888) 499-6847
1775 Route 34, Building D Unit 14, Farmingdale, NJ 07727
Location Type(s) within your Property (Choose all locations that are present)
Sales@JerseyShoreCrawlspace.com
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
sales@jerseyshorecrawlspace.com
(888) 499-6847
1775 Route 34, Bldg D, Unit 14,
Farmingdale, NJ 07727

FAQ

Who pays for the crawlspace work a buyer asks for?

Whoever the two sides agree on. A repair request is a negotiation. The seller can complete the work before closing, offer a credit at closing so the buyer handles it afterward, or decline and let the buyer decide whether to proceed. The pre-listing evaluation itself is ordered by the seller, and the report belongs to the seller.

‍

How fast can you evaluate a home that is already under contract?

We can usually be under the house within a day of your call, and the written report follows within 24 hours. Call the day the request list arrives and give us the contract dates, because the inspection period is short and we schedule against it. A pre-listing evaluation has far more room and is the easier path.

‍

Will your report satisfy the buyer's inspector?

The buyer's inspector does their own walk, and we do not control what they write. When the inspector writes up a condition to be evaluated further, our report is that evaluation, and both agents negotiate from one documented set of conditions. A dated report, photographs of the finished work, and warranty paperwork are what the other side asks for.

‍

Do I have to disclose what your evaluation finds?

What you are required to disclose is a question for you and your real estate attorney under New Jersey law. We are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice. The evaluation report is a document you own. A specific, documented disclosure holds up better in a negotiation than a vague one, and the report gives you the specifics.

‍

What if I would rather give a credit than do the work?

You can, and the evaluation still helps by sizing the credit. The proposal gives your agent a documented basis for the amount. A credit leaves the condition in place for the appraisal, so raise that with your agent first. After closing, the buyer can call us and the same proposal is the starting point.

‍

Does the warranty transfer to the buyer?

Yes. Vapor barrier, French drains, drainage matting, insulation, and Mold Treatment carry a 10-year warranty that transfers to the buyer at closing. For the Mold Treatment that is the Ten Year Mold Treatment Warranty. Dehumidifiers and sump pumps carry their own warranties. Hand the paperwork to the buyer's agent with the closing documents, and mention it in the listing.