Brought to you by Scott P. Rogers, Funkhouser Real Estate Group, 540-578-0102, scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com
Brought to you by Scott P. Rogers, Funkhouser Real Estate Group, 540-578-0102, scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com
Monday, March 8, 2021
Sometimes during a home inspection, I wish I had a time machine.
We'll see a crack in a basement wall -- but we don't know how long it has been that way.
The general logic often then goes like this...
- If the crack is recent or is continuing to shift or change, this could be a serious issue that needs to be remedied in a way that is bound to be expensive.
- If the crack has been this way for years, without any change at all, it is likely to be a less serious issue that can be remedied in a way that is more affordable.
Yes, I know, those are sweeping generalizations, but...
Because we don't have a time machine, most buyers end up needing to assume that every crack in a basement wall falls into the first category -- recent, and continuing to shift or change, and needing immediate and expensive remediation.
But what if today, you installed a crack monitor for your basement wall -- and monitored it quarterly for the next five years -- and then when you were selling your house you could provide documentation that the crack had not changed at all (hopefully) in five years of monitoring...
That, my friends, could change the game for a home seller with a crack in their basement wall.
So -- check your basement walls for cracks -- and if you have any, consider installing a crack monitor!
The photo above is the CRACKMON 4020A Concrete Crack Monitor Kit, which includes three crack monitors and the epoxy adhesive to install them. You can purchase the set for $100 on Amazon and that $100 could be some of the best money you spend on preparing for the future sale of your home if a prospective buyer finds themselves fretting over your cracked basement wall in the future.
