Sometimes the smallest things can turn out to be some of the
most important. Recently, I had a property listed for sale. It seemed like a no-brainer to sell in
the current La Grande market. It was a
great buy for the price range. It was in the price range ($135,000) that is in
the bull’s-eye of buying activity. It
had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a partial basement with a family room and a big
yard. The seller was even going to leave the play structure! Everything seemed
to indicate that this house would be sold quickly and the owner could move on
to Portland to the new job and life would be good for them. Everything went according to plan. We got an offer in the first 60 days of
having it on the market. Not just an offer, but a really good offer from pre-qualified
buyers. The owner was ready to pack his
bags and wave good bye to La Grande. Told ya! What a great real estate agent
I presumed myself to be. The home
inspection was ordered and we all assumed it would pass with flying colors.
After all, this house is in great shape and there very little that could go
wrong, right? Wrong.
Out of the blue, the seller and I got slugged right in the
gut (figuratively, of course!) as we read through the paperwork informing us
the buyers had unconditionally withdrawn from the transaction, citing the
inspection as the reason. As with any transaction that fails because of an
inspection, the report was delivered to us to review. The home inspection indicated there was water
in the crawl space under the house. Not
a huge issue, but something we needed to address in order for the bank to loan
on the house. Then we saw the notes in
the report about a substantial wet spot in the carpet on the floor of the
basement family room. NOW we started to worry a little. What
the heck is causing that? Then, we read on into the report as the inspector
described a large break/crack in the foundation wall and he advised the buyer
to get a structural engineer’s opinion.
That was enough for the buyers.
They walked away from an otherwise beautiful home, and rightfully
so. I certainly would have advised them
to do the same.
After the seller and I gathered ourselves and got over the
shock of the report, we began pondering the potential cause. The house looks so good. It’s super clean. The paint is fresh. This
appears to be a model home and yet we lost a great deal and had an inspector
tell someone to get a structural engineer.
Those things can be the kiss of death when trying to sell a home. We contacted a building contractor to look at
the house and give us an opinion of what caused this. Do you know what the problem was? You’ll NEVER guess… The cause of the problem was a missing elbow
at the bottom of the rain gutter downspout! Really? That little thing that got
thrown off when the seller hit it with his lawn mower? Really?
Yes, really. The downspout had
been draining water straight down the side of the house and it was running into
the ground right next to the foundation wall.
Over time, along with the hot and cold of the seasons, the foundation
broke and started letting water into the crawl space, which in turn soaked the
carpet in the family room downstairs. It
all could have been prevented with a $3.00 downspout elbow.
Don’t let this be
you. Fall means more rain. More rain and falling leaves. Check your
gutters for clogs from leaves and visually inspect them to make sure they are
all there and working properly. If they
aren’t, get ‘em fixed! It’s usually not
costly and will prevent disasters like this one.
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