Comments on: Kids and Dogs Not Included

By: Emerald63

Emerald63 — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 22:46:12 +0000

@anodean: I see your point - the realtor's photos don't include any advantageous views of the nice patio area, only the not-so-nice one under the overhang. That open-air area, as well as the wrought iron fenced garden, are both appealing. Leaving them out was a pretty big miss by the realtor.

By: anodean

anodean — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:46:09 +0000

I think I can understand why the owners ventured these personal pictures of the yard in summer: I wonder when we’ve seen something so demonstrably nice made to look so off-putting. It took me quite a while paging between the two sets of outdoor photos to believe it was the same yard rather than before-and-after, a few more to work out where you’d have to stand to take pictures that would make it look so bad – and the one taken curbside was the worst of them all. Aren’t realtors supposed to care about getting that one right? If it was truly only the dead, cloudy-day-light, how hard would it be to swing by when the sun was out? Sheesh.

By: Emerald63

Emerald63 — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 21:16:45 +0000

Listed in January yet the pics have a lush green lawn. Those have got to be pics from the owner. Good idea for a winter listing except… putting your kids’ faces out there with where they can be found is dumb – not security conscious at all. If the family’s already moved out it’s not so bad, but still not the best idea. Didn’t they have any pics of the backyard without the kids? (I don’t think the dogs would’ve minded stealing the show.) Can’t decide if they’ve moved or not – there’s a pic of the boy in the family room, but not a stitch of kiddy stuff anywhere else.

Onto the house… Nice place. Not outstanding but definitely no slouch, either. A bit colorless for my taste, but that’s easily remedied. The part that wouldn’t be is the kitchen. I adore cherry wood but there’s a lot of it in a narrow, somewhat dark space. I just don’t get why mid-tone wallpaper and back-splash tiles were used. Not only does it make the space seem darker it gives a flat effect – there’s no interplay of light and dark, with one highlighting the other by way of contrast. Likewise, the basement office is a nice set-up but there’s too much of one tone and not enough light. Both areas are fixable, but a buyer shouldn’t have to do anything that expensive when they’ve just plunked down over $400K. Paint and carpet? Yes. Paneling and tile work? Nope.

Also, Marty, why would there be a $10K price drop within a month of the original listing? Is this typical or unusual?