Most people are unaware of issues in their crawlspace because, quite obviously, they don’t live in their crawlspaces nor ever even stick their heads any further than the crawlspace door for that matter. It is because of this that they really don’t know of any potential issues until the prospective Buyer’s home inspector goes under and does a thorough examination. This examination of the crawlspace almost always includes the inspector taking moisture readings of the wooden joists and, depending on the time of year, humidity can and usually does create “elevated moisture” readings. This is the news that all real estate agents dread hearing because it can often result in an expensive mitigation process to get those readings back to normal levels.
What are normal levels you might ask? Moisture readings below 20% are considered to be good or normal and, the lower the better of course.
In addition to humid weather outside, there are other factors that contribute to high moisture readings. Things such as low/no air flow in certain areas of the crawlspace due to not having enough ventilation (perhaps the crawlspace vents are blocked due to plants/vegetation/landscaping); a high water table or damp soil and standing water as a result of prolonged periods of rain or heavy rain just prior to the inspection can result in high moisture readings in the wooden joists; water leaks around plumbing pipes; condensation dripping from air conditioning ductwork, etc.
All of these things can be corrected in order to get the moisture levels back down to below 20% but, some of the problems will result in more drastic and costly fixes such as a complete crawlspace encapsulation or a sealing/whitewashing of the duct system in the crawlspace.
It’s important to discuss proactive measures before listing your home for sale in order to not be caught with any unexpected, unpleasant surprises AFTER you have already come to a negotiated sale price for your home. I often refer to the home inspection as “round two” of the negotiation process but, wouldn’t it be great if you could be aware of any potential crawlspaces issues ahead of time? Good counsel from your real estate professional will go a long way to aid in making the inspection process smooth, especially as it pertains to your crawlspace. For additional information, feel free to reach out to me at mdehavenrealestate@gmail.com or 843-343-7640.
