Mold/Mildew smell in entire basement

Good afternoon everyone. I have a 2 story house, plus basement that extends underneath entire front porch. I live in TN. Most of the year, especially spring and summer, I have a strong smell in the basement. I would describe it as mildew / mold smelling, but I really don't know if that is accurate. I do have some water problems in the basement. My porch is aggregate concrete and must be sealed every few months. If not, water will leak through somehow. Which leads me to my main questions? For some reason, the original owner(7 year old house), installed insulation in the ceiling of the basement that is directly under the porch. So if I get lazy and don't seal the porch often enough, this water will leak through to the insulation somehow. I'm sort of reluctant to even pull the insulation out, being afraid of the damage I will fine. Should I remove the insulation? Should I worry about installing new, or just leave with no insulation? do you think this is contributing to the smelly basement? What else could be causing that? How can I prevent the smell?

Thanks in advance!

 

Fiberglass bat insulation? If so, tear it out - you have to when it gets wet.

You need to stop the water infiltration before worrying about anything else.