Wet revelation

In 1999, Kelly and I got married and moved in right between two hurricanes: Dennis and Floyd. We spent our first night in our Garner home right as Floyd was passing over. I’ll never forget us hunkering down in our sleeping bags on the floor of the den as the wind and rain howled. We wondered what kind of luck we had moving in the middle of a tropical storm, but it showed us some things early in our home-owning experience that were better to know immediately.

Like how the roof of our Garner home leaked.

We were told that our roof would need replacing between 0-5 years and it turned out it was on the low end of that scale. As in day one. Though we should have known better having seen the ceiling stains, we bit the bullet and got the roof replaced. Money well spent.

Fast forward to our latest move. We spent all weekend moving into our new home in Bennett Woods. It also rains all weekend: start to finish (and then some). We figure we’re well sheltered in our new home.

We would be wrong. Yesterday afternoon I wandered through the attic to fetch something when I noticed a puddle on the attic floor: a leak! The flashing on the roof apparently isn’t properly secured, leading to a drippy situation. We are not amused.

The signs were all there, too. During inspection, I noticed the particleboard flooring is crumbled under that spot. An 8 foot tall batt of insulation is missing from a nearby wall, and the drywall below the leak is coming slightly apart. These are all leak-related, but I didn’t see it.

Nor did our home inspector, which confounds me to no end. A guy who’s supposed to have an eye for these things – who does this for a living – couldn’t put these clues together, either. That I can’t understand.

We also found another leaking area near the bonus room window. Under the sill there is a stain ballooning out on the wall where water is leaking in. We don’t think that one’s recent but there’s no telling.

We’re kicking ourselves for not insisting the seller’s pay for a home warranty ($580). Now we may have to foot the bill for fixing it. Bother.

Its still a great home, mind you, and we would’ve still bought it. It just would’ve been nice to know these things up front. Right now, on the roof thing at least, we’re feeling we got somewhat played.

The moral of this story: find out which home inspector the real estate industry absolutely hates, and hire him or her!