musty basement?

Homegrown Tomatoes · July 15, 2008, 03:54:58 PM

Talked to my new realtor in WI today... she's shown the house 3 times in the last week. However, she said a couple of people have said that the basement smells "musty". I'm a little worried as to why. We never had moisture problems there, so now I'm wondering if we should get a dehumidifier going down there...any suggestions?

glenn kangiser · July 15, 2008, 04:05:32 PM

There are people like my sister who specialize in taking care of problems like that -- not always cheap - they have fans and sprays etc. Ones like those who repair flood damage -broken pipe spills. Insurance co's will know good ones I think.

Could be just that no one has been there to air it out for a while?

July 15, 2008, 04:10:54 PM

that's what I'm thinking... after all it is summer and really humid up there. Everything smells musty if the air isn't going just from the high relative humidity. Usually turning on the ac for a little while dried everything out.

StinkerBell · July 15, 2008, 06:29:05 PM

Opening a couple boxes of baking soda has helped me in the past.

glenn kangiser · July 15, 2008, 06:30:43 PM

...but what about the basement, Stink? hmm

July 15, 2008, 07:14:30 PM

What a low flying zoomer!

Daddymem · July 15, 2008, 08:00:22 PM

We get that around here too, even in our newly built house. Either run a dehumidifier down there, or if you can daylight, run a fan to move the air around and exchange with the outside air. Those usually work pretty well.

glenn kangiser · July 15, 2008, 11:37:10 PM

StinkerBell · July 16, 2008, 12:12:30 AM

July 16, 2008, 01:16:47 AM

I do not know what area of WI your house in in but I live in the SW corner (Grant County) and we have had torrential rainstorms this year. Our local community and many others, especially in the southern tier of the state, have been devastated by flooding and have ground that is terribly saturated. People that have never experienced damp in their basements are having issues with it this year. My brother has lived in his home for over 20 years in Waukesha and this is only the second time the sump pump has ever kicked on and it ran on and off for a solid week. That may help explain any 'musty' smell.

About your Realtor, we are on our 4th realtor so I feel your pain. Unfortunately, I don't have much hope for this one either. He said he "knew many people" that he could bring through but hasn't brought ONE yet (odd how that happens, apparently all of these "people" fall off the face of the earth). All of the showings are from other offices and the Realtors don't know anything about our place other than what the information sheet says. They have never done a walk-through with us to take note of any of the special features that we have.

If a Realtor wants to sell a house they should be passionate about your place or not take the listing. They should also show up early, open windows, put a dehumidifier in the basement if necessary, turn on lights and "try" a little harder. In this market they have to do whatever it takes - especially in your case since you are not there. It was easy when it was easy - now it's not and a little extra effort is required.

We had a little rental house in a town 4 hours away and that realtor was always early making sure everything was perfect - - oddly enough he sold that house in 4 months. Hmm, what was the difference do you think? That guy was passionate about his business, worked a lot, answered every phone call, emailed an MLS, advertising, website hits and show status each week. We were out of towners and they had amazing customer service and we knew where we were in the process at all times. The house was sold last December and trust me - the market wasn't great then either!

I'll keep my finger crossed for both of us!
Jean

glenn kangiser · July 16, 2008, 03:05:46 AM

Quote from: StinkerBell on July 16, 2008, 12:12:30 AM

Wha.... Oh - Hi Stinky.

Homegrown Tomatoes · July 16, 2008, 03:20:50 PM

Thanks, Jean. Our house is in Kenosha county... I've heard from friends up there that we've had tons of rain this year, so that may be the problem. I am just hoping the roof is doing OK. It wasn't leaking when we were still living up there, but it is an older roof and could definitely stand to be replaced. This is our second realtor, and I really like her. She does a much better job on making the house sound appealing in the listing, and she knew the family who lived there before we bought it (she was the listing agent when we originally bought the house, so she knows just how much hard work has gone into fixing it up.) She's also prompt at returning calls/emails, which I really appreciate. It's been listed now going on 5 months. Our new realtor showed it three times in the last week and a half, so not too shabby.

i wish we were up north · July 16, 2008, 03:46:59 PM

That sounds so promising! People must be feeling that things are picking up. I hope the general population does so we can get these places sold.

I need to have mine sold as my job ends May '09 and I don't want to have a mortgage and no income - severance pay does run out!

Homegrown Tomatoes · July 16, 2008, 04:36:59 PM

Well, hopefully you'll sell long before then. My husband's company is currently paying our rent, and they say that they'll "work with us" if it goes beyond six months, but we don't know exactly how much/how long they're going to keep shelling out the money like this. It wasn't really an option for me and the kids to stay up north while he moved down here because: 1) I was 7 months pregnant at the time of the relocation, 2) I was going crazy being cooped up for the winter, 3) I couldn't handle being cooped up and crazy with the kids and without my husband, and 4) most of all, I didn't think I could keep the house ready for showing toward the end of the pregnancy with all our stuff and kids' stuff in there, so it was best just to move out for the sake of selling quickly. Of course, after seeing some of the places I've looked at down here, I guess most people show their house any ol' way... I've looked at several that were pits! Reeking dirty dishes piled in the sink, etc. I know what you mean about not wanting to pay a mortgage when there won't be money coming in... I'm concerned about having to pay a mortgage, rent, and double utilities. It wouldn't leave a lot to live on, especially considering our landlord won't let us plant any food in the yard, though we've skirted it somewhat by planting containers.

July 16, 2008, 06:53:47 PM

~~Try's with a new approach~~

Musty order in your basement? Evict glenn from it!

glenn kangiser · July 16, 2008, 10:43:19 PM

I'm a troglodyte. I'm supposed to smell musty.