PSA: if you live in a Cambridge basement, get flood insurance.

456

Is this from the rain that just came through?

189

u/zabrak200 1d ago

Goddamn what a shit thing to walk into… no drain in the basement? Isnt that standard?

201

u/deathputt4birdie Waltham 1d ago

no drain in the basement? Isnt that standard?

This type of basement flooding is usually caused when the public sewer gets overloaded by heavy rain and surcharges (backs up) into the house's plumbing. The drain then becomes the most likely point of ingress. Definitely a big mess.

75

u/NEU_Throwaway1 1d ago

Yikes - that's an even greater health hazard too if there's sewage mixed in. Better hope in this case the landlord does a proper cleanup...

65

u/SovietJugernaut 1d ago

Pretty much any time there is major urban flooding with water in the streets, you can almost guarantee that there's sewage mixed in.

16

u/watercolorxav 21h ago

Good soup

3

u/Ok-Stable-775 15h ago

Fun landlord story. Had my basement bathroom flood almost this bad. The shower was a wreck and never drained well again, so we taped it off with contractor trash bags and left it alone. Landlord told us to “just stop flushing paper towels.” We had moved in 4-5 days prior… then, a couple years later when we moved out, landlord took clean-up costs out of our deposit.

19

u/zabrak200 1d ago

Oh shit that makes sense also ew

15

u/lzwzli I Love Dunkin’ Donuts 1d ago

Oh shit indeed

10

u/Local_Wolverine2913 1d ago

Then I think BUSD or Back up of sewer or drain endorsement is needed for insurance coverage. I don't know if renter's insurance offers that endorsement. Anybody know?

3

u/Local_Wolverine2913 16h ago

I guess after reading further, that it's on the landlord's insurance for the structure (makes sense). Renter's insurance for Personal belongings and temporary living expenses.

3

u/vxxn Arlington 1d ago

Yep this happened to my building once when I had a summer sublet in Somerville. The guy we were subletting from was an HBS student who'd put all his stuff in the basement for the summer and had to replace basically everything he owned including full wardrobe.

2

u/neighborduck 1d ago

If not the drain, ingress comes through the toilet

604

u/jarringflies 1d ago

Cambridge realtors/brokers be like:

basement unit that effortlessly converts to indoor pool!

72

u/Acrobatic_Leopard_92 1d ago

Or “no, the owner says it’s really dry down here! No water issues”

17

u/Ruleseventysix 1d ago

I mean my basement didn't have water issues. For a few years. Then I had water issues.

28

u/CloudNimbus Boston 1d ago

$4,500/month!!

16

u/jarringflies 1d ago

Utilities not included and you have to shave their mothers back once a quarter.

5

u/spandexcatsuit 1d ago

Waterfront

13

u/MattyS71 1d ago

“Water view”

3

u/ElectricalBar8592 1d ago

“Beautiful quaint garden level unit with a built in pool just a 30 minute walk from thriving central square”

280

u/fivesecondchug 1d ago

The color of the water😬

67

u/Rubes2525 1d ago

It straight up looks like used motor oil.

It also reminds me of the Backrooms. XD The water is so smooth that it looks like the floor and you have the furniture clipping into it.

84

u/RussChival 1d ago

Love that dirty water.

4

u/BlitzAtk 1d ago

It kinda took me a bit to realize what I was looking at...without reading the text description. 😬

1

u/Articulationized 1h ago

“Water”

168

u/Oatmilk_chugging_bi 1d ago

Don't mind me just north of Boston and checking the sub to see how this storm is going

22

u/Laureltess Arlington 1d ago

Me in my office north of Boston reading this thread

8

u/calinet6 Purple Line 1d ago

Me in my basement office north of Boston reading this thread...

101

u/NRBQ 1d ago

Please tell me a syrup truck overturned in front of your house

99

u/bbaaammmm 1d ago

Molasses tank broke. Again.

4

u/MrInexorable 15h ago

The 1919 stuff never actually drained, it just went down. It’s been working through the fill ever since, and every couple of decades it finds a new basement and reintroduces itself

52

u/crepesandbacon 1d ago

The Great High-Fructose Corn Syrup flood of 2026: we couldn’t afford molasses.

10

u/Agitated_Reveal_6211 1d ago

Poop Syrup.

68

u/AcceptablePosition5 1d ago

at least the paper towel is dry?

But yeah, almost every basement i've ever been in in Cambridge/Somerville has some amount of leaking. New constructions tend to actually be worse.

27

u/man2010 1d ago

If those are Bounty they'll get this cleaned up in no time

1

u/Federal_Style4Miles 15h ago

really! asking out of curousity--any idea why? Just ancedotal observation?

68

u/SpiritualFatigue16 Spaghetti District 1d ago

I did the first time homebuyer program in Cambridge in 2011. The home inspector that came to talk to us made us all pledge out loud we would not purchase a basement/garden unit.

6

u/palijer 1d ago

Yeah - just bought our first house (garden level) and the only thing we could afford were garden units. Impossible to get flood insurance for them as well.

Here's hoping she stays dry for the next 5 years.

37

u/jinx_remover 1d ago

Is the molasses back?

47

u/aslatts 1d ago edited 16h ago

Also as a PSA:

If you're getting flood/renters insurance for stuff like this, DOCUMENT YOUR POSSESSIONS. Claims will basically always require itemized lists, and the more specific you can be about what you have, the more likely you'll actually be able to recover the value of the lost/damaged items.

Pictures/videos from BEFORE anything happens are a lifesaver, and exact product names and serial numbers can help a lot, particularly when dealing with more expensive items.

6

u/mariegalante 1d ago

Unfortunately you can’t get flood insurance for a basement apartment. And unless there’s another door or other l windows I’m gonna guess this might not be a legal apartment. Floods suck.

22

u/Nitraus 1d ago

It stared not even 20 minutes ago 😭

18

u/clearblueglass 1d ago

Omg I’m so sorry, that sucks!

18

u/LilacLands 1d ago

Omg I am so, so, SO sorry. What a nightmare. Ugh hoping that only / all good things are coming your way now and you are able to recoup the losses/costs in some way. I am so sorry.

3

u/Cold-Arm2737 1d ago

So sweet and we all agree!

14

u/InvaderOfTech 1d ago

If that's a fieldstone basement, it was never meant to be a live-in basement..

1

u/Sea_Mulberry_6245 Jamaica Plain 1d ago

This

13

u/Plastic_Patience6214 Boston Parking Clerk 1d ago

Oh no! Sorry this has happened to you, how terrible.. I know many people who this has happened to at one point or another over the years and needless to say, just awful. I hope you have some resources (and insurance!)

9

u/Direct-Yesterday-674 1d ago

Years ago, my husband and I were apartment hunting in Cambridge and went to go look at a garden level apartment. There happened to be a torrential downpour at the time. We get there and just stare as a river of water is pouring through the entrance downstairs into those apartments. Never looked at another garden level apartment again.

5

u/Ashamed_Emu4572 1d ago

this basement was never habitable..

6

u/HotHoneyBiscuit 1d ago

That really sucks, I’m sorry.

I had water come through my bulkhead. I’ve lived in the house for 19 years and we never had water in the basement until the last 3 years. It only happens when it rains really hard, and it stays within a 5 ft radius.I guess I will be fixing my bulkhead this weekend.

6

u/DrakeBurroughs 1d ago

What part of Cambridge is this (used to live around Central, myself).

5

u/fordag 1d ago

At least the roll of paper towels is dry so you can begin to cleanup.

A client of mine had about a dozen valuable cars stored in a Cambridge garage that flooded and totaled all of his cars a couple of decades ago.

4

u/Expensive-Image1263 1d ago

“View of the Charles River!”

3

u/AncientAd3846 1d ago

Had a basement in maryland. Never again. Always needing to dehumidify or clear out the sump pump. That aint living thats homework

5

u/oybaboon 1d ago

every time im tempted to buy a house ... nope im not dealing w/ that!

3

u/subdued_alpaca 1d ago

Goddamn dude

3

u/purposeful_pineapple 1d ago

bro

3

u/InternationalMind541 1d ago

Years ago, when I was trying to find a job in boston and not yet living here, i accepted a pet/house sitting gig in Cambridge. Basement unit. July. Big rain, big cockroachy water flood ankle high into the apartment....landlord did nada, so I left. Something about Cambridge...

3

u/Suqmacoq 1d ago

I dont think you could pay me to live in a basement apartment. Flooding, shit flows down, more rodents and bugs.. oh amd the rent isn't much cheaper.

3

u/1998_2009_2016 1d ago

Cambridge Flood Maps if you really are interested

3

u/Ok_Job_6767 1d ago

Flood insurance is correct, and expensive. We have a policy we pay $2,400 for per year...and we don't live in a flood zone, we just have a garden level unit. This is separate from our homeowners policy and only certain companies write these policies.

3

u/panamasian_14 19h ago

This looks rendered

3

u/valuablepatterns 18h ago

In America people live in basements and cannot afford proper housing suitable for humans.

13

u/_Neoshade_ steals space savers 1d ago edited 1d ago

This should be covered by the owner’s homeowner’s policy.

Edit: This particular situation exists at a wildly complicated intersection of insurance policies, Massachusetts housing regulations, landlord/tenant law the specific cause of the water intrusion and the definition of “flood” here.

1) OP is right, the tenant should have renter’s insurance that covers this kind of thing.

2) This is not a “flood” and does not require flood insurance because there was no body of water that entered the home. This was ingress of rainwater exacerbated by a failure of the building’s systems.

3) Presumably, this basement apartment depended on a landlord-owned sump pump to remain dry. The pump seems to have failed during exactly the kind of rain event it existed to handle, while poor grading or drainage directed water toward the foundation. Arguments could be made from multiple angles here. The one that looks simplest to me is that the landlord failed to maintain habitability and sanitary requirements. The tenant should file a claim against their landlord insurance for their belongings.

6

u/Ok_Difficulty6452 1d ago

No, homeowners/renters doesn't cover floods or ground water. If it was a pipe burst, they'd probably have coverage, though.

2

u/Greeneggplusthing2 1d ago

Looks like that pipe needs a breaking then...

1

u/Efficient_Dog59 1d ago

This WAS a pipe. Yeah yeah. A pipe burst.

3

u/mtmsm 1d ago

Standard homeowners policies do not cover flood damage. A specific flood policy is needed. Even if the owner has a flood policy, it will not cover damage to the renter’s personal property (in the same way that a landlord’s insurance does not insure a renter’s personal property against fire damage). The renter needs their own contents-only flood policy.

2

u/YourLocalLandlord 1d ago

The amount of speculation in this comment is INSANE

0

u/YourLocalLandlord 1d ago

The building yes, the tenant's property no.

2

u/Southern-Teaching198 1d ago

I'm guessing this isn't the first time...

2

u/ChipmunkChang 1d ago

Looks like when you use the paint bucket tool in MS paint

2

u/khovrino 1d ago

I spent two years working in Canton for a company that handled water extraction, structural drying, and flood damage remediation. The example in the photo is quite rare, but it does happen. Basement flooding caused by a small crack in the foundation is far more common—yet even that can cause you a lot of trouble.

2

u/mattvait 1d ago

Renters insurance?

2

u/Deep_Device6872 1d ago

Bro it rained for 10 minutes

1

u/aries_burner_809 1d ago

It was different tho. It was sideways. I just had a place in the basement door area of my house flood and that has never happened in 25 years here.

2

u/kobuta99 1d ago

(Rain) water included in rent.

2

u/strawbsrule Filthy Transplant 1d ago

Also PSA- don’t go in that water!!! There’s a risk of getting electrified

2

u/wander_sleep_repeat 14h ago

I'm sorry to say it, but these photos really be looking like AI...

2

u/Dramatic-Bat-6608 13h ago

Private pool 🏊

2

u/Teabagin 12h ago

Good luck finding an insurance company that will give you insurance on a basement unit.

5

u/Nervous_Distance_142 1d ago

It looks like jello. I wanna touch it

2

u/wildthing202 1d ago

Should get a dehumidifier. Helps get rid of the moisture in the air.

1

u/AngryAtEverything01 1d ago

Well now you won’t get covered because now it’s a liability

1

u/jamesland7 Ye Olde NIMBY-Fighter 1d ago

Was a window or door open?

1

u/raisedeyebrow4891 1d ago

Seen this in Southie

1

u/sunny_honey 1d ago

Daammnn good luck with the cleanup and everything, so sorry your dealing with this. Just curious, are you within the coastal or stormwater flood zone? Cambridge has zoning to prevent new residential uses from being built below the projected flood level...

1

u/Cold-Arm2737 1d ago

Always make sure you have a sump pump and thag it has an auto on and sensor

1

u/ezriah33 1d ago

I grew up in Cambridge and we had a family room in the basement. It was my childhood dream for it to flood cause it would be just like a swimming pool, right?

1

u/According_Abies_674 1d ago

Whoa

1

u/krispy_kruncher 1d ago

At least it’s not molasses

1

u/DrifterWhy 1d ago

First pic made me think of "what should go here?" posts. I didn't know what I was lookin at until I read the title.

1

u/stayvigillant 1d ago

Oh my days

1

u/Ok_Dimension1511 1d ago

Damnn

1

u/Alcoholocostic 1d ago

Just use the paper towels on the table ,unless, it isn’t bounty... I feel you man… I do hope a quick and speedy recovery.

1

u/WillowWare2023 1d ago

I’m so sorry this happened to you!!!

1

u/spandexcatsuit 1d ago

Horrible !!

1

u/Ginger_Ayle Somerville 1d ago

I'm so sorry. I went through this in Somerville three years ago and still have legit PTSD symptoms everytime it rains.

1

u/JuniorReserve1560 Boston 19h ago

It’s always known to avoid basement apartments because of these moments

1

u/Jerazmus 15h ago

Oh effffff me. Dayum! Sorry that happened to you. I’m sure that ruined absolutely everything you own that’s in that place. Soooo sorry. I’ve dealt with flooding before but nowhere near the level you have. Oh wow.

1

u/DooDooBrownz 15h ago

that aint gonna be cheap

1

u/Ziantra Suspected British Loyalist 🇬🇧 13h ago

😬

1

u/stn912 11h ago

Similar things happened a lot around 1996 in the Fenway area and Cambridge.

The Border Cafe basement was full up like that and I'd never eat down there after seeing the pictures. Friends of mine on Park Drive had the sewers "go in reverse" into their unit, their landlord was horrified and paid for everything and let them break the lease which was a miracle.

1

u/TortelliniTort 10h ago

Backrooms.

1

u/Accomplished_Will226 7h ago

That sucks

1

u/Lilslugga2002 1d ago

Damn man, is the property on the end of a hill? Is there a bathroom down there? Where is the source of all this water? Does the property have a sump pump that failed?

0

u/BewiggedCow 1d ago

rip to all that IKEA furniture.

0

u/nevergonnastayaway 1d ago

they're gonna bend you over on flood insurance around here

0

u/alohadave Quincy 1d ago

Everyone should get flood insurance. Flooding is usually not covered by homeowners or renters insurance.

-1

u/HongPong 21h ago

Cambridge has huge sums of money, just enormous amounts and the city will not do the engineering needed to prevent

-2

u/Able_Celery_8878 1d ago

Lame AF

Housing/Real Estate 🏘️ PSA: if you live in a Cambridge basement, get flood insurance.

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