I want to claim water damage from a leak in my house. I've heard this is a red flag for ever selling your house. Is this true?

It does have to get disclosed. even if it is fully repaired, etc., it has to be disclosed.

It’s only an issue when buyers can be picky. In Northern California right now it would be ignored as long as the dry rot inspection cleared with no concerns.

We had to pay a higher insurance rate when we bought a house that had a water damage insurance claim less than 5 years prior.

@Judi Would it matter if the water damage was from a flood as opposed to something like a hose or pipe inside the home breaking?

I had some water damage to my last house during a bad storm, I did claim it on my flood insurance (the water was from the outside). In retrospect I probably would not claim it again since it was only about $1,000 to fix it. When you move you do have to disclose it to the buyers. I sold my house a few years after it happened, so I was able to say I never had another problem once it was fixed. When you buy your new house if you move and try to get insurance you will be asked if you have had any claims in the last 5 years.

The concern is not only water but also mold. So, I recommend fixing the leak ASAP, whether you are going to do the claim or not, so you can answer the disclosure about mold honestly and say you never had that problem. When I had water intrusion I cut the drywall from the floor up two feet where the water came in, took out the insulation, let it dry for several days, sprayed it with something (the guy fixing it did it) to help prevent mold (I think it was just some water down bleach honestly, but I am not sure) let it dry a couple more days, and then replaced everything.

@chyna, ours was from a pipe breaking.

@chyna The cause of the water damage makes all the difference, at least to an insurance company. With the recent flooding in Colorado, I was lucky, but I had a friend who had basement flooding from sewage backup. The insurance company said since it was from a FEMA, since it was considered a natural catastrophe.

So the difference between non-flood water damage and flood-related water damage can mean the difference between having a claim accepted or rejected.

@Judi, Talking about selling the house, as was mentioned above, if you have the repair done, make sure there is no mold. If there is any mold, make sure to have it properly remediated when the damage is repaired.