Home : Blogs : Joseph Lang - Southern California Home Inspector : Home Inspection Informational Blog

Clean it up guys!

Just a note for listing agents. Remember to ask the sellers to clear out any clutter as much as possible and have all accesses to attics and crawlspaces easily accessible so the home inspector and have a good visual inspection without any obstructions. Here are some pictures of what I've come across.

clutter1

clutter2

clutter 3

Posted by Joseph Lang - Southern California Home Inspector on 10/15/2007 07:58 AM

Comments (33)

home inspections, listing agents

Generate short URL

Post is included in group: Inspection & Real Estate Nightmares

33 Comments on Clean it up guys!

OCT

2007

Yuck, That house should not be on the market. I have a feeling the house I am looking at for a client might be like that.

Excellent blog and it is sop much fun to work with people like this

Wow, I should of kept some of the pictures I have of some homes. Removing clutter not only makes it easier to move once you sell, but helps to sell the home, great point about inspections too!

The ironic thing is that sellers get offended when you tell them that they need to remove the clutter (nice way of putting it).

and this home sold???? Unbelievable. Clearly, they don't do maintainence.

Wow, Joseph - these homes are not only not ready for inspections, they're not ready to SELL! The listing agent, sellers, or both, need some guidance...

a little more than clutter -I'd say.

I am guessing that your buyer moved on. I am not sure how peole even live like that.

This is hard to believe. Obviously the seller does not want to sell and the agent has no clue!

The pictures are from 3 different houses. One of the buyers was an investor, so he could see the vision through the mess. The other ones were just messy houses. Not sure why they weren't cleaned up.

Wow. What a mess. Hopefully these homes were cleaned up. I have turned down at least one listing because I didn't think the seller could keep the house presentable.

OCT

2007

I believe it....we see it all. It's crazy how some people live.

NOV

2007

That makes for a difficult inspection!

NOV

2007

Nick... talk about limitations of a visual inspection!

DEC

2007

Yes, it would be pretty hard to get to some of the areas, and that just might be something that needs inspection :) good points for all of us to remember to make sure you can do you job :)

DEC

2007

Kathy, thanks for stopping by.

DEC

2007

I charge a fee for returning to completie inspections that can't be completed during the original time frame.

I sell my time and knowledge. I don't work for free.

I make sure that the buyer knows this upfront and ask them to discuss access issues with their agent so the seller's agent and seller know what is expected.

While it doesn't always work, I try to get the attached document to them so they know what is expectecd.

http://b4uclose.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/pre-inspection_requirements.pdf

Pre-Inspection Requirments

It doesn't always work, as you can see below.

Blocked access to attic in Kentucky Attic access blocked in Kentucky Home INspections

What more can I say!

DEC

2007

Erby, thanks for stopping by and sharing the pics.

DEC

2007

Gee, how did you get into my house? LOL at one time it truly was that bad. Now there's probably 9 feet between things on my floor and those things are nice furniture!

JAN

2008

Debbie, thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year!

I did not a listing because the seller thought my commission was to high. His house was such a mess and so over crowded and cluttered that when he went FSBO I did not call him. I could tell by what I see in the window that nothing had changed.

Carol Nova Star

Carol, some people just don't get it. Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year.

MAR

2008

This is pathetic. I can't believe someone woujld put their home on the market looking this way!

MAR

2008

Darleen, you just never know what some people are thinking.

MAR

2008

Nice post Joseph. It gives me an idea.

MAR

2008

Wesley, thanks for stopping by. Hopefully it's an idea for a post and not for your house :-)

8 years of beer cans...

MAR

2008

Thanks to Michael Thomas for the visual to the song 99,000 bottles of beer on the wall.

Now we see what happens when you take them all down !!!!

Michael, now that must have been a sight to see.

Rick, very funny LOL!

MAR

2008

That looks like a house I just sold recently. It was god awful to do the home inspection but he inspector did what he could and made sure the buyer understood there were a few things he couldn't check properly.

MAR

2008

Wow, that guy really deserves the title of beer drinker. 24 cans a day for eight years. I'd have to recover for a couple of weeks after drinking 24 cans.

Gene, luckily you got it sold.

Erby, maybe he just opened the can and then poured it down the drain :-)

OCT

2008

Looks like some of the garages I've seen. LOL.

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?

Joseph Lang - Southern California Home Inspector

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

More about me…

Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection

Address: Rancho Cucamonga, CA, 91701

Office Phone: (909) 989-5114

Email Me

Get the Home Inspection Vidoe - inspectorjoe1's Channel widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)

Links

Archives

Find CA real estate agents and Rancho Cucamonga real estate on ActiveRain.

Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.