How Does Flood And Water Damage Affect A Property’s Value?

Wallowing through a drenched property or draining water from a flooded basement isn’t uncommon for most property owners. Property damage by water can be a sophisticated and expensive predicament.

Be it a large-scale disaster, annual snowmelt, or a minor flood; water can cause immediate or lasting effects on the value of your property. However, you’ll need to know the current value of your property to tell the difference. This post goes into detail on how flood and water damage affects the value of your property. Keep on reading to learn more.

How To Determine A Property’s Value

When you want to buy or sell a property, you’ll need to know your property’s market value. You can’t place it at the price of the other property owner. Yet the value of your property may go down due to some factors that may affect its value. These include:

  • Flood and water damage;
  • Size of the property;
  • The location and neighborhood;
  • The condition and age of the house;
  • The market prices; and others.

Determining your property value may not be as simple, so you may need to hire an expert to help. If you want to do it yourself, here’s a guide on determining your property’s worth:

Do A Comparative Analysis 

You may want to compare the market prices for similar or comparable properties in your neighborhood that have been sold in the past few months. Knowing the costs of these properties will help you adjust your price accordingly. Remember, the comparable property has to be similar to yours in age, style, and amenities.

Utilize Valuation Tools 

You can use online valuation tools to determine the value of your property. It’s the simplest way of calculating your property’s worth, and you get an estimate almost immediately. These tools rely on the recent property sale in your area to determine yours.

Hire An Expert 

Hiring a realtor or an appraiser will make your work much more manageable. They usually have experience in carrying out comparative market analysis (CMA). You can compare different property values in your location and, with the help of an expert, adjust your house’s accordingly.

Consider Using A House Price Index Calculator 

The house price index calculator (HPI) is also a quick way to get your property’s value. It uses a scientific approach to examine recurring property transactions to estimate the price of your home.

What’s Flood And Water Damage

Floods are natural disaster that submerges land and all properties due to water overflow. They may be due to heavy rains, a storm surge, or rapid snowmelt. On the other hand, typical water damage may result from clogged gutters, blocked toilets and drain pipes, malfunctioning air conditioners, and others.

Luckily, you can prevent damage from water and floods or minimize the impacts. You may want to click here to check out the specific services of a water restoration damage company near you and how they can help you if your property is water-damaged.

How Do Flood And Water Damage Affect Property’s Value

Water Leak. Water leaks down the rooftop floor.

Minor water problems and damage might not affect a home’s value significantly, particularly in the current competitive real estate market. Yet water damage can affect the ability to sell your house for a reasonable price or necessitate significant repairs before selling. Indicated below are some ways water damage affects your home’s value:

Damages The Floorboards And Walls

Musty, dumpy, and moldy smells are significant signs that there’s water damage in your house. A damp smell is easy to detect and you can hardly miss it. It commonly occurs with mold on walls and floors. If your property has them, you should call a professional before the damage becomes worse.

Problems With The Foundation 

Most foundation problems may not result from water damage; nevertheless, they can be magnified by a flooded basement. The water may seep through small crevices in the foundation walls, thus weakening it. Keep in mind that a weak foundation will negatively affect your property’s value.

Structural Damage 

Water is a slow but strong destroyer; if left unattended, it can cause severe structural damage to your property. For example, if you notice cracks in your walls, rusty metals, rotting wooden walls, and swollen dry walls, they’re signs that water has damaged your building to a great extent. And prospective buyers will not want to buy such a property.

Warped Ceilings And Walls 

If the paint on your walls and ceiling is flaking, bubbling, or cracking, that’s a sign of water damage. It could be due to a damaged air conditioner (AC) or a leaking water heating system. As a result, you’ll have to repaint the walls and replace the ceiling for you to sell the house at a reasonable price.

Damaged Electrical Wiring 

Water will most definitely affect the electrical wiring of your property. Water corrodes the wires leading to faulty connections, and this is a disaster in waiting. The impurities and ions in water may alter the direction of electricity, leading to short circuits and possible explosions.

How To Prevent Flood And Water Damage

Floods and water can wreck your property. You may want to take preventative actions to reduce the chances of damage due to floods and water. These preventive actions include:

Conduct Waterproofing Renovations  

Waterproofing involves lining your home or business with an impermeable membrane to prevent water from entering the property. It protects your property from humidity and moisture inside your house or business structure, keeping flooring, walls, and ceiling from water damage.

Get Flood And Water Damage Insurance 

The effects of water damage are devastating, and most insurance policies don’t cover damage caused by water or natural floods. Nonetheless, you may want to consider getting a separate flood insurance policy for your property through private insurance companies or National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in addition to the standard property insurance policy.

Do Sandbagging Protection During Heavy Rainfall 

Sandbagging is another technique you could use to prevent water and flood damage. It involves building wall barriers with sand to redirect or stop water from getting into your property.

If you live in a flood-prone area, this is one technique you may want to employ. It may not be as effective as waterproofing, but it’ll help reduce the extent of the damage.

These are just a few ways of preventing flood and water damage. Other methods include:

  • Installing flood and water detection systems;
  • Regular drain inspections and upgrades;
  • Clearing debris from ditches and drains;
  • Repair areas that allow water pools around your property;
  • Consider installing a rain barrel for runoff;
  • Landscape in a way that it’ll prevent soil erosion; and the like.

Conclusion

Water damage can decrease your home’s value and affect the resale price. It can be caused by clogged gutters, a malfunctioning air conditioner, a continuously running toilet, and adverse weather conditions such as floods. The damage can be detected through mold, swollen dry walls, and structural damage to your property. If left unattended for a long time, these effects can destroy your property, thus affecting its resale value. Luckily, this post offers different preventative methods you could use to avoid damage from floods and water.