The talk on the news wires is that central Virginia's real estate market will remain highly competitive in 2019 and homes listed between mid-March to mid-April traditionally sell the fastest. If 2019 is your year to sell, you may be grappling with what repairs you should address first to get your home ready for market.

FIGHTING A FIXER UPPER

Homeowners should want their crawl space repaired because it will impact on their Resale Price. Buyers think of a house with a dirty, moldy, damp crawl space as a ‘Fixer-Upper’. And because you are now a ‘Fixer-Upper’, the Buyer will mentally knock off 10% from the asking price. So, if your home is on sale for $200,000, a 10% drop in price is down to $180,000.

That’s a twenty-thousand-dollar loss. Or a house sale price of $300,000 drops down by $30,000 to $270,000 - Those are big losses and got me chewing on my fingernails!

The Dangers of Crawl Spaces

The problem with crawl spaces is that they are traditionally built with vents on them which allows the outside air to enter, but not escape. The original thinking was that cross-ventilation would take place, and the air would exit the crawl space. This does not happen, instead, that outside air lingers in your crawlspace.

It becomes damp from ground and wall moisture, additional issues can ensue like mold spore growth, wall discoloration, and dreaded critter infestation.

This cold and often damp, musty or moldy air eventually escapes upwards through the main floor and into your home.

Don’t forget that your crawl spaces are built using a lot of wood, especially to bolster the floors of the home. And what happens to wood when exposed to moisture and humidity? It begins to rot, get moldy and become weak. Weakened floor joists are not able to best support the weight above them, and so the floor above the crawl space becomes ‘bouncy’, soft and will begin to sag, damaging the structural integrity of your home.

The best advice one can give is to not let these problems linger, as they will worsen over time and cost more to fix.

So, whether 2019 is your year to sell, or not do yourself a favor and have your vented dirt crawl space assessed.

You can improve the structural integrity of the house, improve the quality of the air that you breathe as well as your family’s health and, as an added bonus, are that the resale value of your home will be increased too!

If you’re looking for contracting experts in Spencer, Bassett, Collinsville, Fieldale, Ridgeway, Stanleytown, and surrounding areas, look no further than Fortress Foundation Solutions. We are the premier foundation repair and waterproofing professionals!

Call us today at 1-434-473-7012 or contact us online for a free estimate!