Scary Stories From The Home Inspector’s Notebook

Every week, the detail-oriented folks at Green Scene Home Inspections will give CandysDirt.com readers an education in inspection. Want to see what they see? Tune in for “Upon Closer Inspection.”

With Halloween coming up,  we asked the inspectors to share some of the scary things they’ve encountered in the field. From a home inspector’s perspective, “scary” can mean a lot of things — dangerous conditions, creepy critters, and surprise guests.

Here are some scary stories from our inspectors:

Surprise! You have squatters!

Many real estate investors purchase distressed properties so they can rehab and flip them, so we often inspect houses that are truly falling apart, such as the home above. Our client may want to know whether the home has good bones, or if it’s a teardown.

Inspector Cody shared a time when he entered a distressed property to find that the current occupants were squatters in various stages of drug intoxication, with needles and paraphernalia all around. He said something like, “Oh! Hello …” and slowly backed out.

Angry Divorcees

Another inspector said one of the scariest things he’d encountered was a bad break up.

The sellers were apparently going through a contentious divorce, and when Inspector John arrived, it looked like all of the husband’s belongings had been sort of thrown on the lawn. While he was inspecting the home, the husband arrived home and a loud argument ensued. Awkward… 

Creepy Crawlies

Crawling around under houses and peeking in every nook and cranny means you’re going to run into all sorts of critters.

We heard stories of a giant rat, a rattlesnake in the crawl space, a black widow spider, and this inspector who seems to be plagued by active, angry stinging insects everywhere he goes. Above, catch the hornet’s nest he thankfully saw before accidentally disturbing its occupants.

Watch Out For Cujo

Another truly terrifying tale came from an inspector who was attacked by a homeowner’s dog. He was able to get away with ripped pants and a nasty bite, but one of our colleagues in Fort Worth wasn’t so lucky last year. He was attacked by three pitbulls after entering their yard and barely escaped with his life.

It’s very common for dogs to be at home when we conduct inspections, but they are supposed to be secured by the owner in an area that doesn’t interfere with the inspection.

Wishing you a safe and Happy Halloween from your friends at Green Scene!