<human>: My girlfriend is in a bind: she purchased an old house with an unfinished stone/gravel/concrete basement. The seller said that water in the basement was due to a leaking hot water heater that they replaced. They closed on the house (a year ago) and she has since discovered that the water in the basement appears when we get a heavy rainstorm or snow melt. The water does eventually drain out (I don't know where) and there isn't any carpet, drywall, or wood that appears to gets affected. In an especially heavy rain (like we've been having in Missouri this summer) the water will collect and puddle in the northwest corner, but it isn't like there is an inch of two of standing water in the whole basement like I've seen other people deal with. 

She spoke with a family friend who advised her to get the seller's disclosure statement, which says something to the affect of "basement can get damp." Does she have grounds to go after the seller for failure to disclose? When she goes to eventually sell the home, what is she obligated to disclose? Is this something the home inspector glossed over (this is a whole other issue - we have reason to believe the home inspector glossed over other issues with the house in order for the sale to go through. The home inspector was recommended by the realtor).

I've always been told that moisture in a basement is a death sentence. It kills the value of a home and is expensive to fix. She'll have a hard time selling the house when the time comes. 

It should be noted that almost all the homes in her neighborhood are +/- 100 years old and experience the same issue, unless the owner paid a ton of money to install major drainage/sump. People just don't put stuff that can be damaged by moisture in the basement and don't bother with finishing a basement.

Can you summarize the given text in a few sentences?
<bot>: basement seems to take on more water than was disclosed by seller, is there reason to take recourse? Is the home inspector at fault in any way?