Washington DC/Baltimore

[MTY]

We are looking at a house with a basement that has been flooded a couple of years ago. A broken water pipe was professionally replaced and the flooring, wall and ceiling in the basement were all removed. When we visited it, there is no visual sign or smell of mold/moisture. 

We have never dealt with flooding before but a friend said do not buy the house if the basement is that badly flooded. 

Has anyone here experienced flooded basement? How bad is it if the wall and ceiling needed to be removed. And how likely will there be hidden issues and how can you inspect it? 

Thanks!

[philip-gvinter]

It's pretty hard to inspect behind drywall. Is there an unfinished part of the basement that can be looked at? If there is an unfinished part is there room for somone to put a camera behind/above the drywall in the finished area from the unfinished area? I would also want any and all paperwork for the flood remediation. I would be less worried about foundation issues and mostly worried about mold or water damage to wood. If everything was properly dried out and the old drywall removed and replaced you have a fairly low chance of a significant problem unless the flooding was so extreme as to get all the way up to the floor joists and compromise those. I would also get an air quality test done looking for mold, if that comes out clean and there is paperwork showing the flood repairs than you should not have any more to worry about than with another house. The reassuring thing in this situation is that the cause of the flood was addressed and is not ralted to ongoing and difficult to mitigate water entry problems.