"Spider Tai Chi" in Old Basements

First of all, I've lived in old houses most of my life. I live in a 1927 house in Burlington right now and it has its faults but I love it just the same. This was a record wet spring in 2011 and in our basement, we had riverlets of water running from the back wall to a depression in the floor on the front wall. We pumped it out, ran a dehumidifier, and mopped the floor. That's just the way it was. And we accept that. We want our buyers to go into a house with eyes wide open too.

We see a lot of basements. Frankly, I think in an old house, it might make sense to go straight to the basement. Our buyers can fall in love with an old house and all its charm, details, nooks and crannies, and then the basement sinks the deal. So, why not find out up front? But this is not the way buyers want to see the house, looking at the ugly aspects first. So, we go all around the first floor and then to the second, all ooh-ing and ahh-ing.

Then it's time for the basement.

Here's how it can go with any one or all of the following scenarios: We open the basement door and we are hit with a musty smell. We crinkle our noses anticipating what we are going to find. "Smells wet," the buyer says. We cautiously go down stairs that are at an angle and have no railing to hold onto. The basement is dirt and muddy. Or there is a concrete floor and standing water. The foundation is stone and stones are falling out with crumbling mortar. There are signs of dry rot. We walk into a seldom used area and walk straight into a face full of spider webs. Yuck!

Here's how I deal with the spider/cob webs because I really hate getting them in my face. I take my hands and I wave them in front of my face. I "wave hands like clouds" as if I am doing Tai Chi but I do the waving in front of my face as I walk forward, not sideways like the Tai Chi movement. My clients think it is hysterical. I call it Spider Tai Chi. And it works. I actually prefer to do it with a file folder or paper in my hand as that catches the spider webs and not my hands. Cobwebs can be removed, but it sure gives us a creepy feeling when we walk into an invisible wall of them!

I love old houses, but I do not like old houses with wet basements, dry rot, standing water, or spider webs that wrap around my face when I walk through them!

Sellers -- check your basements for spider webs. Here's how to get rid of them: Take a broom and cover the bristle end with panty hose after cutting off the legs. Brush the broom around the basement ceiling, walls, and into what may appear like empty space. Then fold the panty hose over itself and take it off the broom and throw the hose away.

Buyers -- try to see past the spider webs and look at the most important parts of a basement: structure, electrical, plumbing and heating,and dryness. Your inspector will give you a good evaluation of the systems and structure if you choose to buy the house. Don't let the spider webs discourage you.

And check out the internet for Wave Hands Like Clouds -- spider Tai Chi works!