The Magical Mystery Tour of Manassas and Gainesville
Never been much of a Beatles fan, but I don't dislike them. They were just before my time. I was born in 1970. Play a Bee Gees song and I'm grinning from ear to ear. Last night's home tour through and Gainesville left me and my first time Buyers scratching our heads. Now I can't get the song "The Magical Mystery Tour" out of my head. Of course, maybe I should be singing, "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees. After these Buyers got a kick in the gut when the Seller voided their contract one week before settlement, we're doing all we can to keep our heads up.
We had three homes to view last night. First one was in Gainesville. A teeny, weeny townhouse that was somehow a dwarf compared to its attached neighbors. And oddly, it was the only townhouse in the row that did not have a garage. The photos made this home look gorgeous, but there was no getting around the fact that total square footage was three digits. For all it's beauty, there was no getting around the lack of space. There were points during the tour that the three of us looked like the Stooges bumping into one another.
The next home was in the same neighborhood and much bigger. You wouldn't know that by stepping into the foyer which was loaded with at least four different bright yellow lollipop signs advertising "Cash for Gold," "2% Loan Modifications," and so forth. Looking at the various feels-like-a-scam business signs, the vibe in the home was decidedly not good. The home itself was fine, not that anyone was really looking. The tenants were the issue. One was an older man sleeping in the basement, half dressed. The younger roommate was upstairs, in the dark, counting piles of cash. There were pre-wrapped stacks of something next to him on a card table. My Buyers and I didn't exchange a word. We got to the parking lot after the tour and instantly exchanged words about how this home was begging for a police raid. There's no getting past the lifestyle of the tenants despite what could be a nice home. No one saw an iota of the home. Just the inexplicable, out of the ordinary and most likely illegal activity going on in the home.
Ready to be wowed and saved from our misery, we made it to our final destination in Manassas. Another townhouse. This square footage was promising, the largest of the night. But upon pulling up to the home we realized that the Listing Agent has snapped an exterior photo of the very inviting next door neighbor's home. The one we were there to see was, well, frumpy. We walked into a bachelor pad and the mess that goes with. The deck had trees literally growing up through the spaces between the railings and floor boards. The smell of water in the basement and upper level were overpowering. I was suprised there wasn't a waterfall in the home.
Last night was just one more kick to the gut for my Buyers and me. Maybe the one that looked so promising in the MLS in Bristow will be ready for showings today. I hope so. We need a game changer because we are losing the excitement of a first-time home purchase here.
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