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Key Spots and The Miss

Whether or not historic, attics and basements tell stories. While buyers get excited about the kitchens and fireplaces, it's the attics and basements where realtors and inspectors quietly focus.

These areas tend to peel back the onion on home condition. Stains on the attic ceiling or basement walls? Is the electrical clean or a disaster? How old is the furnace and a slew other answers await in the "up and down" of homes.

Historic homes can pack welcome surprises in these often forgotten spaces. So far, my favorite was bittersweet. During sale preparation, I went up a rickety (sway and all) ladder to the upper level of an 1800's barn attached to a 1700's Dutch barn. This was one of several "sweet spot" historic listings.

Scattered about the floor covered in dust were hand hewn beams with knotting most likely from the early to mid 1800's.

Perhaps I looked intoxicated as I stepped down the ladder as I could barely contain myself. My client looked at me funny and said "What? The beams?" "They've been there ever since we've owned it. Take as many as you want." I couldn't even get words out as visions of these stunning long forgotten beams in my home danced in my head.

We were about to introduce the property to the market. I was too busy preparing and lining up the marketing launch to get muscle in to help get these dense wood beams from the loft of the barn. Then we launched and I was that much busier with back to back showings.

We swiftly had our buyer. There was an extensive amount of garbage both outside and inside the barn. "I want it all" the buyer shared. She wanted to decide what was garbage and what was historic treasure in those mounds.

I mentioned the owner had offered me some of the beams but I hadn't had a chance to get. Basically, in a nice, but direct way, she said "tough." So it was as my clients best interests outweigh my own.

This is an example for sellers of what can happen if items meant as exclusion are not noted at the front end.

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