The day started out like any other. I get a call from a client that wants to see a property. I checked to make sure their pre-approval was still good since I hadn't heard from them in a couple weeks. I checked the MLS to see if the home is vacant or if I need to set up an appointment.
GREAT... Both homes are vacant, this will be an easy one...WOW, it is an REO, I just know that Photoshop was used in the MLS, but hey, I got to try. I ran a few errands prior to the scheduled time to meet the client at the first house. I get them done early and show up at the house about 15 minutes prior to our appointment and decide to preview the property prior to my client arriving.
I walk in, not great, ok, not good at all. The sign inside says, hey the backyard makes it worth the price alone... Translation - Tear this house down and build a new one in its place. (At least that is what I took from it.)
The hardwoods are in good condition though. As I walk though the kitchen into the living room, I see a small, maybe five foot long, hallway going down to a room. I assumed it was going to a bedroom, but in reality it leads to a bathroom. A little weird, but hey, it was an older farmhouse, they sometimes have personality like that, that is part of their charm.
As I walk in the bathroom, I look around, see a couple holes that have been kicked in to the wall of the shower and immediately do a discount of the price for each little repair I see.
BUT, THAT IS WHEN THE HAIRS ON THE BACK OF MY NECK STOOD STRAIGHT UP! There was a noise from directly behind me like a cabinet door closing. The only problem is, I'm still alone and down a 5 foot hallway in a house that is all hardwood floors. I didn't hear anyone come in or cross the hardwood floors. What the heck is behind me and am I about to die? (Insert clean underwear reference here.)
I slowly reach in my pocket, grab my keys preparing to jab someone with my keys and then run and run like I haven't done since I was beat up in school.
So, I slowly start to turn and to my surprise, there is nothing behind me... How is this possible? I know I heard it! I'm not crazy! (Billie or Fran don't say a word.)
So, I slowly peek around the corner thinking the sound must have carried and it was coming from the living room, but I could see nothing was out there. So I proceeded slowly and then it happened... from above me... SCRATCH, SCRATCH, SCRATCH!
RUN FORREST RUN! I wasn't going to look up or back at that moment in time, I was going to leave and then come back with flashlight, gun, knife, sword, tazer, and heck, someone a lot bigger than me would be good right now. I will admit I was being a big wussy. (Hey there is a reason I hire inspectors to go in to crawl spaces.)
Whatever it was, it was large enough that when I went back in with my wife on the phone that she could actually hear the scratching through the phone. I decided that I would make a lot of noise to try to scare it away... Nope, it wasn't going to stop. It wanted out of the wall and I wasn't going to be the one to help it.
I hightailed it out of there at that moment in time and when my client arrived we listened from the door, some 35 feet away from the wall that this happened. We could hear it from outside so we both decided to just close the door, lock it up, and call the listing agent and tell them this wasn't the house for us and they need to call an exterminator.
I like to consider myself a Boy Scout because I am always prepared, but I guess I wasn't prepared yesterday, because I didn't have a clean pair of underwear with me.
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