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WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? A Glimpse At a Home in Richmond, Virginia

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?


Sometimes, when seeing a house, it's impossible to imagine what
another person's rationale could have been.


All you can say is,
"WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?"

 

Suppose that you live on a hilly, quiet, tree lined residential street, your long, curved driveway looping past the front of your traditional style home.  Your house, sited in just the right place at the top of the hill, features the Living Room and Family Room in front with carefully placed windows to capture the view.

 

Your own gracious home might look Traditionalhomepainted yellowsomething like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Your view looking across the street might be something like this:

bushes in front of a house

 

Now - wait just a minute!
Looking more closely ... 

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?



  

 

Can it be possible that the people across from your property actually PAID CASH MONEY for doing that "RE -SOMETHING" to their house?

 

     House with ugly addition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 QUESTIONS FOR THE MILLENNIUM:
What effect on the sale of your Client's home would result from the view of that house
across the street? How would that influence the property value of your home? Perhaps some experienced ActiveRain members would know how to deal with this situation?

Have a happy day -
Lynn

 Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

TeamCHI - Complete Home Inspections, Inc.
Complete Home Inspections, Inc. - Brentwood, TN
Home Inspectons - Nashville, TN area - 615.661.029

Good morning, Lynn. Interesting view. Still trying to figure out what the covering on the house is...

Apr 19, 2011 08:03 PM
Vance Booher
Re/Max Select, SRES - Greensburg, PA

Hi Lynn.  I think it's time to think about a thick planting of screening evergreens!  Just out of curiosity, which came first, the stately colonial or the "whatever it is"?  Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Apr 19, 2011 08:04 PM
Ronald DiLalla
Century 21 Discovery DRE 01813824 - Anaheim, CA
No. Orange Cty Real Estate

If this was here in Southern California I would plant a row of Italian Cypress trees..in a few years you wouldn't see it.

Apr 19, 2011 08:19 PM
William Johnson
Retired - La Jolla, CA
Retired

Hi Lynn, I can certainly appreciate this post, I had a buyer last Fall decline a whole neighborhood because of a oddly designed house down the street. The odd part was the home that I showed was a perfect match for the needs of the whole family and what they ended up was just average in comparison. 

Apr 19, 2011 08:44 PM
Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375

William Johnson 
Hope you are well. My last entry to Debe Maxwell, CRS contest for updating posts!  All the best - Lynn

Jun 30, 2018 01:51 PM
Carrie Trotter
National Property Inspections - Dayton, OH
Home Inspector

Like others, my first thought was to plant a hedge row to "enhance the view". My second thought - go introduce yourself to whoever lives there. You never know - you may meet the most interesting people who you want to get to know better!

Apr 20, 2011 12:43 AM
Jim Courtney
OklaHomes Realty, Claremore Oklahoma - Claremore, OK
CRS, GRI, AHWD

Is that thing actually attached to the rock home next door? It looks like it might be some sort of church or temple with that ornate front. I'd like to see the house closer just to go...Wow! :)

Apr 20, 2011 02:15 AM
Barbara Hensley
RE/MAX Properties - Rockwall, TX
Homes for Sale in Rockwall County, Texas

Lynn - Not only what are they thinking....but who are these people?  I think they need help quickly!  They need an extreme make-over!

Apr 20, 2011 02:36 AM
Gary S. Thompson
Masters Utah Real Estate - Cottonwood Heights, UT
Broker Associate, Realtor, CRS, SRS, SFR, e-Pro

Maybe it's a museum? interesting and kind of funny too. :)

Apr 20, 2011 03:16 AM
Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375
Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside - Atlanta, GA
Concierge Service for Our Atlanta Sellers & Buyers

Dear Michael,
Nice to see you here!

That was my question. What material? Maybe stucco?
Have a happy day -
Lynn

Apr 20, 2011 06:36 AM
Rebecca Lewis
ODAT Realty Services, Inc - Grayson, GA

Lynn - They obviously weren't thinking at all. Wonder which neighbor they don't like? It's a shame the whole neighborhood has to suffer. William (number 4) certainly understands this.

 

Apr 20, 2011 06:43 AM
Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375

Rebecca Lewis 
Great Comment! Thanks---

Jun 30, 2018 01:52 PM
Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375
Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside - Atlanta, GA
Concierge Service for Our Atlanta Sellers & Buyers

Dear Vance -
Welcome!  Glad to have your visit. Hope you'll be back!
The idea of screening is a bit problematic because the "normal" house is on a crest.
The slope goes down from the house to the street and the other is on flat land!
The issue for me is what William (#4) reports - their "right of quiet enjoyment" affects neighbors.

Have a happy day -
Lynn

Apr 20, 2011 06:51 AM
Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375
Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside - Atlanta, GA
Concierge Service for Our Atlanta Sellers & Buyers

Dear Ronald,
Thanks for stopping by!  Glad to see your name here. Hope to see you again.
Sort of the same reply to you as to Vance above -- How can you screen when you are above?
I guess one could plant the trees across the front of the neighbor's house on the flat.
Then hope and pray they grew to be over 100 feet tall!

Have a happy day -
Lynn

Apr 20, 2011 06:56 AM
Mona Gersky
MoonDancer Realty, Dillsboro,NC - Sylva, NC
GRI,IMSD-Taking the mystery out of real estate.

Hi Lynn, two comments:

I love the name ODAT, One Day at a Time - perfect for real estate.

Also, I looked at a couple of houses this week...What were they thinking????

Apr 20, 2011 04:49 PM
Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375
Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside - Atlanta, GA
Concierge Service for Our Atlanta Sellers & Buyers

Dear William - 

It is a complete puzzle to me what any agent could say to these folks if they wanted to list the normal yellow home up on the top of the hill.

Your clients settled for less home rather than live in the NEIGHBORHOOD with an odd house! Imagine what would happen if it were across the street.

I wonder what the appraisers on AR would say about value in this case?

Have a happy day-
Lynn

Apr 20, 2011 06:45 PM
Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375
Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside - Atlanta, GA
Concierge Service for Our Atlanta Sellers & Buyers

Dear Carrie -

Thanks for coming by!  We love to see new faces!  Hope you will come back ...

What material do you think they used for the roof? Perhaps old-fashioned stucco?

Have a happy day -
Lynn

Apr 20, 2011 06:47 PM
Sondra Meyer:
EXP Realty, LLC - Corpus Christi, TX
See It. Experience It. Live It.

Well, Lynn:

1. This might be a great ad showing the benefits of deed restricted subdivisions. 

2.  It reminds me of the story that a friend told me about when he attempted to add a second story to his home.  The poor wife.....

3. I just saw your comment above....that's the roof?  I assumed it was covered with a temporary plastic or tarp.  The suggestions above about planting a hedge of fast growing trees might be a good one. 

Apr 29, 2011 04:12 PM