Would you consider buying a house with damp caused by a (now fixed) leak?

[lovehope2013]

Hope this doesn't sound weird. My husband and I discovered a leak behind our washing machine in September which had, clearly over many months, caused the (interior) wall to become very damp.

We got a dehumidifier in and have been drying it out but it's slow progress. It is showing signs of improving though.

We have been talking about moving house as we are trying for a family and want another bedroom.

I have been gently browsing Rightmove and today found my dream house on the market. So perfect, everything we want and just about within the price range.

I know it may sound silly but I am just wondering what you guys think about the damp issue in our current place. Do we have to wait until it's completely dry and repainted before trying to sell? Would anyone consider buying a house with this kind of damp issue?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Put a fan to blow on the wet wall and floor 24 hours, pull off any wallpaper, lift the flooring, take up floorboards, have the fan blowing under and behind the kitchen units. The dehumidier will take the water out of the air but the fan will evaporate it from the wall and floor. You will see a big difference after two weeks.

if you've found and cured the source of the problem, and repaired the damage, it shouldn't be an issue. All houses have leaks at some time.

It wouldn't put me off - as we had a similar issue in our current house (we put off fixing a bit of guttering and got a damp patch: I don't remember how long it took to dry out as we weren't moving and just let it get on with it by itself).

It might be worth pointing it out when it comes to survey, so it can be written up as the end of a solved problem, rather than a mystery bit of damp (which would be off-putting).

Ooh thanks for this great advice! The kitchen floor is cement with tiles in (or something like that), should we do anything with this?

Also, what would you think if you saw a house on the market with this kind of damp issue? Or is it just not the done thing?

I'd wait and decorate it as PigletJohn says with a concerted effort you can dry it out in about 2weeks. I'd then paint the area with a stain stop paint as otherwise the watermark will leach through waterbased paints and look like their is still a problem.
We're currently doing that as our house is about to go on the Market as we need to relocate for work and loads of problems we have fixed over the years but never got round to fixing the decoration afterwards, from experience people want problems fixed completely unless your house is going to be a project for them. People might not be bothered but some might be and for a bit of effort it's worth having nobody have a problem with it IYKWIM

Thanks for all the replies, that makes me feel better :-)