You know it's bad when...
Aug. 27th, 2012 11:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trickykittyMy inspector actually offered to cut me a deal less than 2 hours into the typically 5-7 hour inspection so that I would walk away from the house without him having to write up a 75 page report on how bad the house is.
I took it.
By the way, this inspector is freaking awesome, and he will most definitely get my business when I finally find the right home.
Things we found:
Bees - There is a beehive in the walls of the house. My inspector was almost in tears knowing that the most likely way that someone will be removing the bees will be poison, and he highly recommended cutting into the walls to remove the hive and give it over to a bee keeper. He also cautioned that not removing the hive would cause rancid honey which would attract other critters into the walls. The hole in the brick work was easily 4"x3" and would fit most wild animals. We could hear the hive when we put our ears up to the bathtub tile on the inside of the home, and they were happily guarding the A/C unit on the outside of the home. The hole in the brick was just under the electrical box for the unit, so there's also potential for electrical damage caused by the hive.
Mind you, opening up the wall to remove a hive would have been a bit costly, BUT I WOULD HAVE DONE IT. It would just mean stepping up the timeline for a guest bath remodel.
Bamboo - I knew there was some bamboo lining the back fence area. It's more than just "some." That shit is 10-15ft deep and there are sprouts more than half way into the yard. The owners cut the sprouts out on the side of the house to make it look like there were only crepe myrtles lining the sidewalk. Heh heh - no. We also noticed from the side fence area that it is in fact bamboo owned by this property, but that it's (not surprisingly) invading the back yard neighbors. There would be potential for clean up costs if they really tried to push the issue.
Dead Animals - There was fur and skeleton of an old opossum next to the kids' trampoline in the back. That carcass was left there while children played in the back yard! It's one thing to overlook a bird carcass, but you can't tell me no one ever noticed the dead opossum. There was also a nearby recently created rat carcass. The inspector warned that rats also like bamboo, and if it weren't for the Great Danes, the house would possibly also be rat infested. We never got far enough to find out that it wasn't.
2 active water leaks - There's leaking to the outside walls keeping the foundation moist in a bad way, not to mention any wall or flooring damage on the inside of the house that we can't see.
Mold - All under sink areas had water damage and mold, with the kitchen under-sink area being almost black. There was also water damage behind the guest tub and into the master bedroom baseboards.
The front of the house had a good 2" separation from the flower beds. So while the back of the house is getting good foundation watering from the water leaks, the front of the house is dry as a bone.
Cracks - I had seen a couple cracks on the regular walk through, but while taking our time looking around, there were cracks and wall separations everywhere. The inspector could feel a slope in the floor in the master bedroom.
The converted garage "done right" wasn't - The water heater didn't have any draining to the outside of the house, and it's current location is now technically in the middle of the house, just waiting to flood the house up. The ceiling had a noticeable droop. There's no flashing around the tops of the exterior windows of the garage conversion.
The flat electric stove top turned on, but it had some damage that I'm not sure if it's okay to cook on or not.
The inside A/C unit condensate line was leaking and had been leaking for so long there were calcium deposits on the casing itself.
The inspector opened the breaker box in the converted garage and instantly closed it again laughing and saying that it needed to be replaced.
Ditto the old wall heater in the guest bathroom.
The ground gradient slopes toward the house, both in the front yard and the backyard.
We never got so far as to look at the roof or attic.
I was expecting to eventually sink money into some remodeling to get the house feeling like me, but I'd be better off building a house from scratch.
I really hope the bees are in fact properly removed, but already there are some getting into the guest bathroom and dying while trying to escape back through the closed window. It was so horribly sad.
I took it.
By the way, this inspector is freaking awesome, and he will most definitely get my business when I finally find the right home.
Things we found:
Bees - There is a beehive in the walls of the house. My inspector was almost in tears knowing that the most likely way that someone will be removing the bees will be poison, and he highly recommended cutting into the walls to remove the hive and give it over to a bee keeper. He also cautioned that not removing the hive would cause rancid honey which would attract other critters into the walls. The hole in the brick work was easily 4"x3" and would fit most wild animals. We could hear the hive when we put our ears up to the bathtub tile on the inside of the home, and they were happily guarding the A/C unit on the outside of the home. The hole in the brick was just under the electrical box for the unit, so there's also potential for electrical damage caused by the hive.
Mind you, opening up the wall to remove a hive would have been a bit costly, BUT I WOULD HAVE DONE IT. It would just mean stepping up the timeline for a guest bath remodel.
Bamboo - I knew there was some bamboo lining the back fence area. It's more than just "some." That shit is 10-15ft deep and there are sprouts more than half way into the yard. The owners cut the sprouts out on the side of the house to make it look like there were only crepe myrtles lining the sidewalk. Heh heh - no. We also noticed from the side fence area that it is in fact bamboo owned by this property, but that it's (not surprisingly) invading the back yard neighbors. There would be potential for clean up costs if they really tried to push the issue.
Dead Animals - There was fur and skeleton of an old opossum next to the kids' trampoline in the back. That carcass was left there while children played in the back yard! It's one thing to overlook a bird carcass, but you can't tell me no one ever noticed the dead opossum. There was also a nearby recently created rat carcass. The inspector warned that rats also like bamboo, and if it weren't for the Great Danes, the house would possibly also be rat infested. We never got far enough to find out that it wasn't.
2 active water leaks - There's leaking to the outside walls keeping the foundation moist in a bad way, not to mention any wall or flooring damage on the inside of the house that we can't see.
Mold - All under sink areas had water damage and mold, with the kitchen under-sink area being almost black. There was also water damage behind the guest tub and into the master bedroom baseboards.
The front of the house had a good 2" separation from the flower beds. So while the back of the house is getting good foundation watering from the water leaks, the front of the house is dry as a bone.
Cracks - I had seen a couple cracks on the regular walk through, but while taking our time looking around, there were cracks and wall separations everywhere. The inspector could feel a slope in the floor in the master bedroom.
The converted garage "done right" wasn't - The water heater didn't have any draining to the outside of the house, and it's current location is now technically in the middle of the house, just waiting to flood the house up. The ceiling had a noticeable droop. There's no flashing around the tops of the exterior windows of the garage conversion.
The flat electric stove top turned on, but it had some damage that I'm not sure if it's okay to cook on or not.
The inside A/C unit condensate line was leaking and had been leaking for so long there were calcium deposits on the casing itself.
The inspector opened the breaker box in the converted garage and instantly closed it again laughing and saying that it needed to be replaced.
Ditto the old wall heater in the guest bathroom.
The ground gradient slopes toward the house, both in the front yard and the backyard.
We never got so far as to look at the roof or attic.
I was expecting to eventually sink money into some remodeling to get the house feeling like me, but I'd be better off building a house from scratch.
I really hope the bees are in fact properly removed, but already there are some getting into the guest bathroom and dying while trying to escape back through the closed window. It was so horribly sad.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-08-29 02:36 am (UTC)Cut-tag.
EVER.
Sorry about the house, tho.
*hug*