Julius Squeezer
That was probably the most interesting home inspection I've ever attended.
The definition of "adventure" is a home inspection with Jay Markanich.
No, I'm not exercised by spiders and snakes. The spider, a very large one, has been dispatched. I'll gladly "dispatch" the snake too. Of course he'll have to be lured into the open so the cellar won't be all bloodied. Dispatching a very large snake requires the implementation of that 12 gauge from the cargo area of my 4Runner.
The owners, either the sellers or buyers, simply need to take the time to find the pathway the snake uses to enter and exit and seal it well.
We did see mice traps set outside, but clearly that snake is well fed and I suspect that the snake's main entre' is mice.
Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, Serving home buyers in Maryland and Northern Virginia, 540-822-9907.
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I knew he was there. Evidence of him was all over this cellar.
Julius Squeezer.
Either this guy had discarded a lot of previous, very fine, suits, or he was living with a lot of cousins. Skins were everywhere!
And his presence was not unexpected! This home is a very nice, century-old Victorian, with a lot of original touches and many additions. There is a large cellar, exactly as you would imagine, with a stone foundation and dirt floor.
The house sits on 6 quiet, mostly-rural acres. It's a beautiful setting with outbuildings and a stable. The buyers have horses, so they were looking for this kind of house. While there two different deer sauntered by, so we were out of town!
The Realtor said that she heard this is a Sears Catalog home. Until then I had always thought of the Sears homes as craftsman style, and smaller. But looking it up I found that during the early part of the 20th century Sears sold many Victorian-style homes.
After I snapped the photo, a little head popped up! Look closely at the photo above and you can see something dark in the upper-right corner.
Big Juli moved warily, smelling me frequently.
But he posed for a nice profile photo!
I guess he was 6 to 8' in length. This is his domain. He has the run of the place and has access to areas I could only see, or imagine.
And given the numbers of suits laying about, he is well fed!
I called for the Realtor who wasn't fazed. She showed no excitement until a big spider showed up, nearly 3" from toe to toe.
She did him in with no doubt of his demise! "My client hates spiders!" The buyers were not present, so Lenn demonstrated true agency!
My recommendation: most people would react viscerally to the presence of a snake, or snakes, on site. In this case, it/they probably keep the mice to a minimum! Most, however, would prefer that the snakes keep to themselves in the cellar! Obviously Julius Squeezer is a happy boy.
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC
Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia
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