I stood in the doorway and watched him aim the red laser at the baseboard by the coat rack.

“The total square footage counts the enclosed porch, doesn’t it?” Vanessa asked him.

“Only if it’s got a permanent heat source,” Arthur said.

“We can have a baseboard heater in there by Friday,” she said.

“That isn’t how an appraisal works,” I told her.

“It works however the bank inspector decides it works,” Vanessa said.

Arthur jotted three numbers on his grid sheet and headed for the stairs.

“Are all five bedrooms upstairs being used?” Arthur asked.