On Tuesday, April 15, 2014 7:32:25 PM UTC-7, Clare wrote:

I won't buy a house that needs a sump pump. Period. If your sump pump
fails, what happens??? The house floods.
When does power fail? During storms.
When does the sump pump run? During storms.

1+1=2 It is THAT simple

Not really. Snowstorms, for instance, don't quickly raise the ground
water level. A proper sump is a foot or two below your basement floor,
so water removal need only be reliable enough that ground water
doesn't rise that far before power is restored.