The house was warm, so I knew there was a furnace.

The water was hot, so I knew there was a water heater.

I just couldn't find them!  The layout of the (lovely) basement made it hard to get my house geography.  The six "bedrooms" were placed in a weird array.  The former laundry room was no more, in favor I guess of rent from another "bedroom" and the local laundromat.  But I was undaunted in my search.

I knew where they should be, I just couldn't see how to get to them!

Finally, behind a "bedroom" bureau, I saw some peg board on the wall!  HA!  It was screwed tightly to the wall but I did peek in.

The furnace!  The water heater!  And I saw another door.

That door was in the garage, hidden behind a tool shelf.  Though heavy I moved it.  Wow, the door worked!

What you can't see here are dimensions.  I could barely fit between the two units to get to the front of the furnace.  That front is about 15" from the peg board.  Finally getting the cover off, I could see that it was extremely dirty and rusty inside, and the blower was quite dirty.

I was worried that the filter had not been replaced in a while, like, um, a loooong while, and politely went to remove it.  Instead of finding a very clogged filter, I was happy to discover that there was none!  Well, that how-often-do-we-have-to-replace-the-filter problem was solved!!  Just remove the little sucker!  And hide the furnace room...  Out of sight, out of mind!

You also can see that the water heater is stressed, with some flame out happening when it turns on.  And the vent from the water heater was angled downward.  And it's been there a while!  Well, those are just minor problems anyway.

The rest of this lovely home was just as laugh out loud!!  I believe it will cost as much to bring the house back into an American condition, as it does to buy it.  Welcome to my world in Northern Virginia.

My recommendation:  When you can't find something, it helps to have a compass with you, a map of the terrain and a good guide.  Gimme a call!