What could cause leaking in a basement?

My father's house has a small water problem in the basement. He said that when it rains really hard, a pool of water forms at the base of the steps going to the basement (between the steps and the wall, which is about 2' from the bottom step).



He said the water seeps into the room next door a little (imagine a door on the left as you reach the bottom of the stairs). It goes maybe a foot into that area. It doesn't happen with light rains. Only really hard rains.



He's getting ready to sell the house and wanted to get this taken care of. He had one "foundation company" come out recently and they quoted him $6000 to install a sump pump, which sounded outrageously priced and overkill (to me) for the small amount of water that's collecting. My cynical side says it seems like a case of someone taking advantage of the elderly to me.



I want to locate a few companies on Angie's List for him so he can get a few people out there to look at it and get at least three quotes. What type of company should I search for to investigate this for him?



If you have any thoughts about what might be causing this, I'd like to hear as well. I know it's difficult to take a guess without seeing it.



Thanks,



Andy

What could cause leaking in a basement?