Pump/crawl space moisture issue

[jessi73]

Hello!
I put an offer on a house and will be having someone look at the problem in a few days but any extra advice/suggestions would be great! The house has a crawl space with a sum pump which has been turned off for a long time (it interfered with her tv or something). I went down there and the soil is moist, orange in the middle, dark on the outer part. The walls are also damp in some places. I didn't see or smell any mold or rotting wood but apparently, when it rains the water will go up a bit, then back down, and this has been going on for at least 8 years with "no problems" but I don't know how much damage this could have caused to the foundations. There are no downsprouts and there's one vent but it's blocked with fiberglass - and the crawlspace is about 5 feet deep and 15x10, the house being in an area of extensive clay soils as I have just found out.
I don't know if this sounds like a definite 'no-no' to anyone familiar with this stuff or if it sounds like a 'maybe, but...' - any comments would be greatly appreciated as I am just now learning about all this stuff...
Thanks!

[Cass]

Personally I would not even entertain making an offer on a home with this problem.

I have worked on to many homes with the same thing and the homes are aways damp, musty, or eventually have mold problems. The mold could be in places you can't see. The present owner may have done something to mask or hide a musty smell.

It would be a rare home owner selling a home that would tell you they had a problem.

Damp walls are an indication of a lack of venting.

Not having a problem for 8 years means nothing even if true.

My recommendation is look for another house.

[jessi73]

Hi Cass!
I just wanted to say thank you very much for your advice! We found this out after the home inspection and have finally decided to not go through with buying the house... anyhoo, THANK YOU again for your help, it was greatly appreciated during this stressful time!
Take care and happy plumbing :-)