Freshly painted top to bottom. Quietly unsafe underneath.

The 2021 repaint sealed windows shut in several rooms — the dining room, the family room, the master, two more bedrooms, and the loft. They could not be opened.

Bedroom and living-space windows are a required second way out in a fire. A window painted shut over an egress opening is a life-safety defect — and it is hiding in the exact coat of paint that made the house show so well.

On the upstairs furnace, the blower-door auto shut-off — the interlock that cuts the unit when its access panel is removed — had been taped over and disabled.

That switch exists to keep the furnace from running with its door off. Defeating it is a deliberate shortcut, and a freshly painted walk-through would never reveal it.

Under the kitchen sink, the electrical conduit at the base of the garbage disposal was disconnected and damaged, leaving wiring exposed.

Exposed wiring inches from the sink plumbing is a shock and fire risk. A certified electrician should re-secure the conduit and protect the wiring.

On this three-story home, sections of the deck and balcony guardrails had not been built with proper support posts anchored to the structure — some sections had no posts at all. Earth-to-wood contact was also noted at the bases.

A guardrail you can lean on three stories up has to be structurally anchored. These looked finished but were not safe to trust — a serious fall hazard hiding behind a tidy exterior.