I have written about clutter many times, and so has every other Home Inspector here on Active Rain. It still amazes me that people would not care enough about the sale of their home... which was their idea in the first place(most of the time) to make sure there are no snags and the transaction is completed successfully without any hitches! I recently sold my home and I gotta say, I made it perfect for every phase... all the way as I was backing out of the empty house for the last time. I see people that appear to be so nonchalant it makes you wonder!
In this first picture, you can see the garage is pretty filled with "stuff". You can barely see the top of the water heater if you look to the back corner it's trying to peak out. Who's gonna climb back there to get to that?
Good guess... I moved a bunch of stuff and climbed over the rest. I'm not supposed to but...
In the picture on the right you can see the electrical panel, which I must remove the cover and inspect the wiring and breakers... but you can't get to it! I wish I had xray vision like uh..... Super Inspector!
Again, climbing and moving stuff.
And finally, the attic access... there is no door!
Not to mention, you have to partially close the garage door just to see it! Poor planning. There is an inset in the garage ceiling to accommodate the air handler, not leaving much room for attic access.
The reason it's so bad that the access door is missing is if there was a fire to break out here in the garage, and there's plenty of kindling and fuel in there... it would easily spread to the attic and the rest of the house very quickly!
People sell their homes for many reasons. If you're doing it, do it right. Sellers should be getting guidance and tips from their Realtor during this period. When I get the call these days, I try my best to prepare them by telling them what I need and expect when I arrive at the property for inspection. Most of the time I do not get to speak with the seller beforehand or at all in fact. So, when I am speaking with my client and setting up the inspection, I ask them to speak with their agent to speak to the other agent about having the property ready for inspection.
Shouldn't this stuff all be common knowledge?
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