I've asked it before in this blog, and I'll ask it again, "What Are You Selling?" Granted, none of the below houses are actually for sale right now, but they will be at some point.
This first house faces a main street, and I pass by it almost everyday. I've often wondered why someone would completely cover up their house so you can't see it. Not only can you not see the main features of the house, but do the home owners not realize how much they're inviting termites and other bugs into their home? By having the vines all over their house, they're giving termites many more avenues into the home instead of just down at the slab. When they enter at the slab, that's when they're most often caught, because you can see their trail. When you can't see their trail, you may never know about an infestation until it's too late.
What's interesting is that it's not very common to have vines growing on a house in this much capacity. As I mentioned, I see the first house almost everyday because it faces a main street. To get to the actual house, you must drive down a back street within a community, and guess where the other two pictures came from?? I drove down one street and then turned left to curve around to this house, and both the other houses were right there. Three houses like this in one small area is very unusual.
What are these home owners thinking? Maybe they decided they didn't like the brick color and they wanted to cover it up. Maybe they decided since they couldn't afford a stone accent to go with the brick, that they would have vines as their cheaper accent.
I have no idea what runs through people's minds when they do this to their home, but when I show houses like this, I usually advise my buyers that it will be noted in their inspection and termite reports because of the potential issues, and that I highly suggest they get rid of it.
Inspectors, am I wrong?
Do you have vines running all up your house? What do you say to Buyers when they ask what problems could arise? What do you tell your Sellers at your initial Listing Appointment if you feel it might be an issue?
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