Creepy Basements

As a real estate agent, I have the "privilege" of seeing lots of basements. Yuck. Seriously - I'm not a big fan of basements to being with: they can be wet, they're always dark until you turn a light on, and half the time even when you do turn on a light, it's still dark!

I will admit to letting my buyers go down there without me first, until I know if they're serious about the house. If it looks like it's under consideration, I'll go take a look and make sure I don't see any problems. But if it isn't - forget it.

Last week, I happened to take a buyer to a deceptively small ranch, with a full unfinished basement. First question: where's the light switch. Ah! right at the top of the stairs. So - since she seemed interested in the main level of the house, down we both went. Only to find....a snake in a jar on the table in a corner of the basement......

Seriously - if you're a seller, try to inventory what you've got hanging around down there at your own house. Basements are bad enough, especially when they're unfinished. But it doesn't help if you're going to turn it into a trip through the Ghouls Museum!