Home Inspection Report, 18 Tamarack Lane
The buyer who commissioned this report sent it to us with a short note: “We didn’t buy the house. I’ve redacted my name and the inspector’s license number. Everything else is exactly as he wrote it.” Photo references have been removed.
PRE-PURCHASE HOME INSPECTION REPORT
Property: 18 Tamarack Lane, Wescott, Maine Client: [redacted] Inspector: R. Castonguay, Licensed Home Inspector Date of Inspection: Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 3:40 p.m. Weather: Overcast, 52°F, light wind off the water Occupancy: Vacant per listing agent (see Section 9)
Description: One-and-a-half story Cape Cod style single-family residence, built 1962 per town records, approx. 1,450 sq. ft., three bedrooms, one and a half baths, full unfinished basement. Wood frame on poured concrete foundation. Asphalt shingle roof. Vinyl siding over original clapboard.
This report describes the visible condition of the property on the date of the inspection. It is not a guarantee. Items are rated Satisfactory, Monitor, Repair, or Safety Concern.
SECTION 1 — ROOF AND EXTERIOR
1.1 Roof covering: Asphalt shingle, est. 18–20 years old. Granule loss and curling on south slope. Repair. Budget for replacement within 3–5 years.
1.2 Flashing at chimney: Lifted at upslope corner. Repair.
1.3 Gutters: Clogged with leaves and pine needles. Monitor.
1.4 Exterior walls: Vinyl siding generally sound. Minor cracking at northeast corner. Satisfactory.
1.5 Windows: Original wood double-hungs, painted shut in several locations. Monitor. Note: I counted windows from the exterior as a matter of routine. North elevation: four upper, three lower. On the interior I counted five upper windows on the north wall. See Section 6.
SECTION 2 — STRUCTURE AND FOUNDATION
2.1 Foundation walls: Poured concrete. Typical shrinkage cracks, none wider than 1/16 inch. Efflorescence on east wall. Monitor.
2.2 Basement stairs: Wood, open risers, handrail loose. Safety Concern, handrail should be resecured.
2.3 Further note on basement stairs. I count steps on every set of stairs I inspect; it is part of checking riser height consistency. On descent I counted fourteen steps. On ascent I counted thirteen. I repeated this four times with the same result. Riser heights measured consistent at 7¾ inches. Total rise measured with tape from basement slab to first-floor subfloor: 100¾ inches, which corresponds to thirteen risers. I am unable to account for the fourteenth step on descent. I have marked this Monitor because I don’t have another category for it.
2.4 Floor framing: 2×8 joists, 16” on center. Sound. Some notching at plumbing. Satisfactory.
SECTION 3 — ELECTRICAL
3.1 Service: 100-amp overhead service. Adequate for the home’s size. Satisfactory.
3.2 Panel: Breaker panel located in basement. Several breakers are handwritten-labeled in pencil by a previous owner: KITCHEN, FURNACE, UPSTAIRS, BATH, WELL PUMP. One breaker, the bottom right, is labeled DON’T. It is in the OFF position. A strip of yellowed masking tape has been wrapped around it to hold it off. I did not operate it. I traced its circuit using a tone tracer; the tone did not come back to any outlet, fixture, or device in the house that I could find.
3.3 While I was tracing the circuit, the masking tape on the breaker labeled DON’T was moving. Slightly. As if being pushed from behind. I recommend this breaker remain OFF. Safety Concern.
3.4 Outlets: Mostly ungrounded two-prong. Repair. Recommend evaluation by licensed electrician.
SECTION 4 — PLUMBING
4.1 Supply: Private well. Recommend water quality test.
4.2 Water heater: 40-gallon electric, manufactured 2011. Near end of expected life. Monitor.
4.3 Fixtures: Kitchen and bath faucets functional. Toilet in half-bath runs. Repair.
4.4 Note: Upon arrival at 9:00 a.m., the listing agent confirmed the house had been unoccupied since March. The water heater was set to the vacation setting. The kitchen sink had water droplets in the basin and the faucet was warm to the touch. The towel on the oven door handle was damp. I am noting this as a possible leak. Monitor.
SECTION 5 — HEATING
5.1 Oil-fired forced hot air furnace, approx. 1998. Serviced 2019 per tag. Recommend service before purchase. Monitor.
5.2 The thermostat in the living room was set to 68°F. Listing agent states it was set to 55°F for the vacancy. Agent has not been at the property since August.
SECTION 6 — INTERIOR
6.1 Floors: Original oak, worn but sound. Satisfactory.
6.2 Walls and ceilings: Plaster. Hairline cracks typical of age. Satisfactory.
6.3 Upstairs: Two bedrooms and a half bath under the eaves, as described in the listing. Upstairs hall is approx. 9 feet long. At the end of the hall there is a third bedroom door. The listing describes two bedrooms upstairs and one down. The town assessor’s card describes two bedrooms upstairs and one down. The floor plan I sketched on arrival from exterior measurements does not have room for a third upstairs bedroom; the north wall of Bedroom 2 is the exterior wall.
6.4 The third upstairs bedroom (labeled here Bedroom X) is approx. 10’ × 11’, with one window facing north. That window is the fifth upstairs window referenced in 1.5. From inside Bedroom X, the view out the window is of the backyard and the water, consistent with the north elevation. From outside, there is no window there.
6.5 Bedroom X: Walls papered in a small blue floral print, faded. Single bed, made, with a white chenille spread. Nightstand with a lamp, which was on. A dresser. A pair of women’s slippers beside the bed. A glass of water on the nightstand, about half full, with no dust on its surface.
6.6 Bedroom X closet: Door opens normally. The closet is a standard shallow closet with a rod and shelf, approx. 2 feet deep. At the back of the closet is another door, painted the same blue as the trim. I opened it. Behind it is a hallway. I measured the hallway with my laser measure. It reads 41 feet. The house is 28 feet deep.
6.7 I did not enter the hallway. I want that in the report. It was dark, and there was a smell of cold water and old wallpaper, and at the far end, at about 41 feet, there is another door, and it was open about an inch, and there was light behind it, and someone was standing in the light. I could see the edge of a shoulder and part of a blue floral dress.
6.8 I closed the closet door.
SECTION 7 — ATTIC
7.1 Access via scuttle hatch in upstairs hall ceiling. Insulation: approx. 6 inches fiberglass batts, below current recommended levels. Repair.
7.2 Ventilation: Gable vents only. Some evidence of past moisture on roof sheathing. Monitor.
7.3 Above Bedroom X there is no attic. My flashlight shows the roof framing continuing uninterrupted across the place where Bedroom X should be. I could see down into the backyard through a gap at the eave.
SECTION 8 — BASEMENT
8.1 See 2.3. I went down the basement stairs a fifth time, slowly, holding the rail, to look at the fourteenth step. It is the last one. The bottom one. It is a step lower than the slab. My foot went down onto it in the dark and it was soft and cold, like wet earth, and there was a sound under it like water moving. I stepped back up quickly onto the thirteenth. From the thirteenth step, my flashlight showed concrete. I did not go down again.
SECTION 9 — OCCUPANCY
9.1 The property was represented to me as vacant. At 2:55 p.m., while I was writing up notes in the kitchen, I heard footsteps upstairs, crossing from the direction of Bedroom X to the top of the stairs. They stopped there. I said, “Hello?” Nobody answered. I called the listing agent, who was waiting in her car in the driveway. She came in. We went up together. The hall was empty. The door to Bedroom X was closed. When we opened it, the bed had been turned down and the slippers were gone.
9.2 The listing agent asked me not to include 9.1 in this report. I have included it.
SUMMARY
The house at 18 Tamarack Lane is a structurally sound 1962 Cape with an aging roof, outdated electrical, and a water heater near the end of its service life. These are ordinary issues and could be addressed for an estimated $25,000–$35,000.
However, it is my professional opinion that the house is larger than it is and that it is occupied. I cannot recommend the purchase of this property under any circumstances.
ADDENDUM (written the following Monday)
I returned to the property on Friday morning to recover my moisture meter, which I left in Bedroom 2. The listing agent met me with the key.
There are now six windows on the upper north elevation, viewed from outside. The new one is between the fourth and fifth. It has a blue floral curtain. The lamp behind it was on.
My moisture meter was in Bedroom 2, where I left it. Next to it was a folded sheet of notepaper. On it, in neat, old-fashioned cursive, was written: May I have a copy of the report? I’d like to know what’s wrong with the house.
I have not sent it. I don’t know where I would send it. I’m attaching it to this report because I don’t want it in my truck anymore.
My invoice is enclosed. There is no charge for the addendum.