Monday 4 March 2013

What's in your Closet?

Closets are a vital part of a home’s storage space, something we all need and most of us would like more of; but when buying a house, it generally isn’t the most exciting feature you will look at.   Despite the variety of closet types – coat closets, clothes closets, linen closets, storage/utility closets and the odd pantry - it has been my experience that most buyers, when viewing homes, only give them a cursory glance; mostly to determine size and space or to note the presence or lack of shelving.
I, myself, have been guilty of not giving the humble closet its due attention and on several occasions it has resulted in some unexpected surprises. 

The most exciting - an almost near death experience, occurred during a showing of an old farm house east of Ottawa.  After touring through the home once in its entirety, and being sure to note the lovely walk-in pantry in the kitchen, we were ready to head to the next appointment. (It’s important to note that when we looked in the pantry, I had actually stepped into the closet in order to demonstrate its size to my buyer). On our way out the front door, I realized we hadn’t seen the basement mentioned in the listing info.  Back into the home we went and started opening all the main floor doors again, ending, finally at the pantry.  Again I opened the door and stepped inside.  There’s nothing here, I said. I can’t imagine where this basement would be.  Cory popped her head in the doorway and at the same time, switched on the panty light.   There… right at the edge of my toes, was the steep wooden staircase to the basement!  One tiny step forward and I would have found myself on an uncomfortably bumpy ride to the dirt floor below.  Needless to say, I learned an important lesson that day, well two, actually… the first: always be careful entering pantries in older homes, and more importantly, the second lesson, always turn on the light!

In spite of seeing many vacuums, food stuffs and sequined skirts, I have yet to encounter any skeletons in any of the closets I have viewed….but I am keeping my eye out for them… them and stairs!!!   I’ll keep you posted!

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