The $17 moisture meter that caught a $4,000 leak before closing

Found a hidden damp spot behind a basement wall in a 1920s fixer this Saturday just by poking a cheap pin meter into the drywall, and the seller's agent tried to tell me it was 'normal for old houses', so has anyone else had a seller push back on a real finding like that?

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thomas_roberts1mo ago

Got the same pushback on a house I looked at last year, and it turned out the "normal for old houses" line is just what agents say when they hope you won't dig deeper. It's the same move as when a car dealer tells you a little seep is "normal for the age" or a landlord calls a soft spot in the floor "just settling." People who stand to lose money from a real problem always have a cozy little phrase ready to wave it off. The cheap meter worked because it gave you a number, and a number is way harder to argue with than a bad feeling. Trust the tool and trust your gut over whatever story the seller's side is selling. You probably saved yourself thousands, so good on you for poking around instead of taking their word for it.

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