Does Water Damage Decrease Home Value? (Yes, But We Have Answers!)
Yes, water damage lowers the value of your home.
However, water damage restoration can keep both property damage to a minimum. The degree that water damage reduces the value of a property can be limited, but you need to quickly detect it and contact a water restoration professional.
Let’s take a deeper dive and answer the question once and for all: does water damage decrease home value?
How to Check Your Home for Water Damage
Leaks aren’t always evident. In fact, they can be rather subtle. It is critical to detect and repair them as quickly as possible. Every homeowner should be able to locate a leak. Stay alert to these clues that could indicate water damage:
- Unusual smells. A continual leak creates the ideal humid environment for mold to thrive in. You may notice black splotches on the exterior of the wall, but mold typically grows inside the wall where you can’t see it. A musty odor is a warning sign. If you can’t find the source easily, it’s critical that a professional look for mold behind the walls, ceilings, and floors.
- Wall discoloration. This could be the result of water escaping under the drywall and soaking through to the front. The color of water stains on ceilings and walls is usually yellowish or brownish color.
- Dripping noise. While some leaks are completely silent — for example, if water is running along a wall stud — other leaks can occasionally be heard. The sound is giving you a clue as to where the leak is coming from.
- Bloated wallpaper or bubbling paint. Both of these symptoms indicate that the wallboard is damp and that the paint or wallpaper is no longer sticking properly. A bulging in the wallboard, in some cases, indicates that the water damage is more significant and that the wallboard will need to be replaced.
What Kind of Damage Can Water Cause to My Home?
When a storm or flood causes significant water damage to your home, the structural integrity of your property may be compromised. Finding and repairing these structural flaws in your home’s walls, floors, ceilings, and crawl spaces can aid in keeping your home’s value from dropping.
Checking the foundation of your home should also be a top priority following an event that results in water damage. Basement floods can cause irreversible damage to your home’s foundation if not recognized.
Mold can start to grow as a side effect of water damage, it is crucial that you check your carpets and walls to stop the mold from spreading.
Final Thoughts
So, does water damage decrease home value? Your home may not lose value depending on the quality of the repairs made. But it will if you don’t take immediate steps to completely and promptly repair the water damage using a professional restoration company. And don’t forget to have your plumber immediately stop the source of any problem.
Related Resources
- Are sewer backups covered by insurance?
- Does water damage decrease home value?
- Does homeowner’s insurance cover water damage?
- The 3 types of water damage
- Signs of water damage in walls
- Prevent water damage to your home
- How to deal with minor water damage
- Mold in basement: 4 areas to inspect
- Foundation water damages: signs, causes, prevention
- Toilet failure is a leading cause of water damage
- Does homeowners insurance cover water damage?
- Common causes of water damage in the home
- How to fix minor water damage on baseboards
- Water Damage Page
Call 1-Tom-Plumber
Don’t hesitate to contact us here or call us at 1-Tom-Plumber (1-866-758-6237) if you have a water damage problem. It’s important to call your plumber immediately. We can also pull in a water damage restoration professional to restore your home to its proper value.
1-Tom-Plumber’s certified team of plumbers and drain technicians respond immediately to any emergency plumbing, drain cleaning, or water damage problem. We also handle the excavation of underground water lines and sewer main lines. Our immediate-response team is available every day and night of the year, even on holidays.
