I am not a fan of greeting a buyer and then showing them bad news from the parking lot, but in this case the buyer got that sinking feeling, before we went inside.
It was the sinking stairs and stoop that caused that feeling!
To make it worse, Flipper FIXED it!
This is the view I got from my car as I pulled up to the house.
I knew from my conversation with the buyer that this was a flip.
They felt there were some things "just not right with the house."
When the buyer says that, you know you are in for a fun ride!
The house is 32 years old.
This is likely 32 years worth of settlement of the sidewalk and stoop.
It doesn't look like it happend recently, or quickly.
But even from the car I could see the other problem.
And that's the stoop near the door.
What did Flipper do?
He leveled it off!
All better now!
How did he do it?
Went to the hardware store, bought a bag of mortar and slathered a layer onto the top of the stairs and stoop.
Now it's level.
Mortar and concrete don't do well when a thin "veneer" coat is attempted.
This patch is done within the last couple of months and it is already cracking. It's cracking everywhere. It will not survive the winter.
WON'T THAT LOOK CUTE AS SECTIONS COME OFF IN CHUNKS LEAVING HOLES HERE AND THERE!
My recommendation: when the buyer, and Realtor, have that sinking feeling but want to pay for a home inspection because they really want something in a particular area and this is all there is for sale, it might just represent a bit of wheel spinning! The front stairs and stoop were only the beginning of this journey to Wonderland! This is one contract that maybe should not have been written.
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