I recently found myself touring a property with my agent. The house was in good condition with an updated interior. It hit almost all my check marks and was in budget.
The agent told me that he was talking to a another client in California and was going to show him this house next week. My initial response was to say, "No-no-no good sir! I want this place for myself!". The house wasn't perfect; it had a small yard and was farther from city center but everything else was so pretty!
Upon completion of the tour we returned to our cars outside. By this point I'm pretty much down on my knee proposing to this deal and making an offer. Then I actually looked down at the ground near my feet. There was a turd on the driveway. Gross, but no big deal. Did the neighbor have a dog? That's unfortunate timing right?
I then noticed all this white material on the ground surrounding said turd. Was that toilet paper? I then realized that what I saw as a singular turd was just first in a stream of excrement that ran down the length of the drive way. My agent looked down in horror and then looked at me. We both stared at each other silently for a good 20 seconds. He then laughed nervously, "Wow, looks like the sewer line clean out must have ruptured."
No sh*t sherlock!
It was then that I realized how much I didn't like the house. The yard really was cramped, the neighborhood didn't look inviting, and the floorplan felt weird. You can safely assume I wont be moving there soon.
I feel like there is a life lesson or two in here somewhere. Have you had an experience where things looked great until a discovery or inspection radically changed your perspective on the property? Would love to read your stories below.
