I Refuse To Do A Home Inspection!

      As a Home Inspector in Hilton Head, SC, I have  observed that the level of housekeeping can drop drastically once a contract is written. It does not seem to matter how expensive the home is. By the time I get to the home, I often find quite a mess. If not just a mess from moving out (boxes and personal items everywhere), then the housekeeping itself makes me cringe. I can understand and sympathize with clutter from moving out, however just having a filthy dirty home I cannot understand. Other peoples dirt (OPD) is something I suppose we get use to as Home Inspectors but sometimes it is pretty vile. I particularly get upset when I encounter a home that is filthy and notice evidence of children living in the home (should I call social services?). While providing Home Inspection services, I have had to wade through food on walls and floors, pet droppings on floors, kitchens so filthy and cluttered I could not see the sink or counter-tops, toilets filled with various things (left to your imagination) extreme mold, and more. And then there are the hoarders, with rooms where doors cannot be opened because of trash (personal items). I cover a pretty wide geographical area to provide my services. One home in particular happened to be the farthest I have traveled to provide a Home Inspection. This home also had to be one of the worst examples of hoarding I have seen. Plus there was evidence of a cat living there (numerous unpleasant reminders on floors, and obnoxious odor permeating the whole house). The litter box I observed was overloaded and just happened to be in the spot where I had to stand for at least 5 minutes while removing the electrical service panel to check the panel interior. I never did see the cat. I wonder if the owner even saw the cat.   I have been tempted to refuse an inspection based on the filth or hoarding, but have somehow managed to press on and get the job done. 

Sometimes you just have to vent.

John