This was, by a wide margin, the best-maintained house on the report list that month. The mechanicals were newer, the roof had eight years left, the drainage was correct, and the previous owners had kept receipts for everything.
The attic hatch was in the spare bedroom closet, behind a stack of storage bins. It would have been easy to skip.
3 items, ordered by priority.
Both upstairs bathroom fans terminated in the attic space rather than through the roof or soffit. Four winters of moist air had condensed on the underside of the sheathing. There was visible dark staining across roughly 40 square feet and the beginnings of substrate deterioration on two rafters.
Storage in the attic had compressed the batt insulation, and the baffles at the eaves were blocked in several bays. That reduces ventilation exactly where it is needed and makes the moisture problem worse.
A small item, but a direct path for warm humid air from the house into the attic. Under $100 in materials.
Correcting the venting, clearing the baffles, and treating the affected sheathing came to just under $2,400. Left alone for another three or four winters, the sheathing replacement alone would have been north of $9,000, and the roof would have come off with it.
The buyers proceeded at the agreed price and had the work done in the first month.
A beautiful home on the outside. Inside, several issues every buyer should know about.
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Outdated wiring, DIY fixes and a hidden hazard that could have been expensive.
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