A home inspector in Oregon discovered a hidden room above a garage during a routine inspection, a find that could increase the property's value and surprised both the buyers and sellers.
Discovery During Garage Inspection
Ryan Edmiston, a property inspector with over 25 years of experience, was checking a garage ceiling when he noticed an access hole. Peering inside, he saw a ladder and realized there was a room above. The space appeared to have been used as an office by a previous owner but had been sealed off for years.
"I popped my head up in an access hole in the garage ceiling, but there's definitely another door as I can see a ladder right there," Edmiston shared in an Instagram video.
Hidden Access from Main Bedroom
The room was accessible from the main bedroom through a bookshelf that moved aside. Edmiston said the current owners had lived in the house for five years without knowing the space existed. "I don't think anybody has been here in years, possibly decades; it definitely smelled that way. There is no air movement in there," he told Newsweek.
He described the find as "fun to find something new," noting it could boost the property's value by providing additional usable square footage.
Buyers' Reaction
The prospective buyers were thrilled. Edmiston recalled: "We were standing in the bedroom, and I gave the wife my flashlight and said pull on that bookcase. She looked terrified, but when she opened the door her and her husband thought it was the neatest thing."
In the comments on his Instagram post, one person wrote: "I knew what house you were in the second you walked up to that bookcase! A friend lived there in the 80's - 90's and that was a playroom we spent hours in. Such a cool hidden room! Looks exactly like it did in the 80s! Thanks for the dose of nostalgia." Another commented: "The craziest find at one of my inspections! That's why we use your Ryan. You don't just find the problems... You find more square footage!"
Not the First Hidden Find
Edmiston said this was not the first time he had uncovered a hidden area. "That's not the first time I've found hidden areas in a house, but that was the best preserved time capsule that I've found in my 10 years of inspecting," he told Newsweek.
