TOPIC: This Is Never A Good Sign - Presentation Is Everything

It's never a good sign on a final walk through to meander around to the back of new construction to see the stair well look like this.

This is the builder's final presentation for the buyer before their settlement!  And it looks like this.

The yard was being watered, which was fine.  That accounts for the water.  But still, is this what you want your buyer to see?

Do you see where it looks like water might have been getting into the left door?

It seems so.

This is why chefs pay so much attention to the presentation of their meals!  They want you to see something on the menu, have a picture in your mind, and when it comes to the table their presentation exceeds your mind's eye!  Then you will want to come back!  Sometimes builders don't think like chefs.

This demands that I should look into the drain.

It was no surprise to see it filled with trash.

That's pebbles, chunks of broken PVC, wood chips and dirt.  It's an embarrassing mess.

Of course I wondered if it could take a lot of water at once.  It does rain now and again.

Could this clogging have accounted for the staining at the door?

Well, the hose was conveniently nearby. Why not find out!?

Disconnecting the sprinkler head, I ran the water into the drain for a while.

And it drained!

How impressive is that!  What do you know, a drain that drains!  This flows into the sump pump pit, which you have to think is similarly full of trash.

The drain still needs cleaning, at the least.

My recommendation: Before your client is to have a final walk through, contact the builder and ask if the house is presentable.  This particular house had not been cleaned yet.  That wasn't scheduled until later in the afternoon.  It was full of trash bags, pieces of drywall, dust, dirty, smudges, you name it.  Not the best presentation for the buyer.  Everyone looks better when it appears that they care.

Hey builder - be a pro!  At least make the effort!