If you’ve ever sold a home, you’ll remember how nerve-wracking the home inspection day was as you waited anxiously for the results. You want the buyer to love your home, but you also hope the inspection report shows only minor fixes, easily remedied and no cause for concern.
But it’s more than that. When my husband and I sold our home, we hoped our inspection report would show the care we had taken of it. The pride of ownership we had. We had brought both our children home from the hospital to that house. We had repainted it inside and out. We had planted every plant and cleaned every gutter countless times. Our fingers were crossed.
Recently, Roy Waltrip and his wife JoAnn went through the same process. Twice. Originally from Iowa, Roy’s and JoAnn settled in Olympia after a transfer by Roy’s employer, Georgia Pacific. The Waltrips built a home on five acres in Southeast Olympia in 1996 and built a life living in the country. When Roy reached 38 years with his company, he decided retirement was the next step. JoAnn joined him, leaving her job at East Olympia Elementary where she had been the cook for many years.
While the Waltrips loved their home and life in the country, they were getting older and care of the property was taking time away from their grandkids (and great-grandkids). The couple decided to downsize and had no trouble attracting a buyer right away. The interested family loved the house, put in an offer and ordered a buyer’s inspection immediately, not waiting for the sale of their current home — a contingency to close the deal. The inspection came back with only minor issues, which Roy and JoAnn quickly fixed.
Sadly, the deal fell through when the buyer’s home didn’t sell. The Waltrips were back to square one. However, a new offer came in right away. “We thought the inspection would be a breeze since we had already gone through one and fixed all the issues,” shares Roy. This time, though, their inspector was Dwayne Boggs of Boggs Inspection Services.
“Dwayne found an entire list of issues with the house. Some were minor things the first inspector had missed, but Dwayne also found some huge issues that really needed our attention,” Roy explains.
One item Boggs found was a shower drain leak in the crawl space. “This was a big leak and I can’t imagine how the first inspection missed it,” says Roy. It wasn’t a new leak, either, and it required significant structural repair under the house. During the course of the repair, the plumber discovered the entire shower had been plumbed incorrectly in the first place, causing the leak, and was able to correct the issue.
Despite the hefty price tag for the repairs, Roy and JoAnn were happy to complete the work to close the sale. “I would never want to leave our home in a state of disrepair for the new owner,” says Roy. He built his home and lived in it for nearly 20 years. He and JoAnn felt good knowing it was in good repair for the next family to create memories in.
Selling one home usually means purchasing another, and Roy and JoAnn found a home in Lacey that fit their needs for retirement. When it was time for their inspection, they called Dwayne Boggs.
“We were so very appreciative of the fact that his service was so much better than we expected,” says Roy. “We were impressed with him the first time we interacted with him and even more so the second time.” Roy followed Dwayne for the entire inspection and asked questions throughout. “He was great at explaining issues to me and giving me the honest answer on whether they were a something of concern or not.”
The bottom line? Roy and JoAnn Waltrip felt good about selling a home that had been inspected, and repaired, properly. And moving into their new home, they were confident their new home was worry-free, perfect for their retirement years.
“If I was ever to buy another house, or if any of my kids were, I’d have Boggs Inspection Services inspect it for sure,” says Roy. “It’s a bit of a no-brainer.”
To schedule an inspection with Boggs Inspection Services call 360-480-9602 or visit them online or on Facebook to learn more.
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