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Don't let an outdated fashion keep you from buying the otherwise perfect house!

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner CalBRE# 01433049

Runway entranceOnce upon a time in a land far away, homes were built with the basic essentials, four walls and a roof. Then came multiple rooms, multiple levels, indoor plumbing and electricity. Man's creativity also added shag green carpeting, trash compactors, heated tile flooring, lazy Susan cabinets ... the list goes on and on.

Houses can last several decades if they are taken care of and in many cases, hundreds of years. So when a buyer goes out house hunting, they will most likely be subjected to what was innovative and "cool" when the home was built. The problem is, what was fashionable then is most likely "oh my gosh, what were they thinking" now.

A home I recently sold had one of those "cool" 1970's features that I call a fashion runway. Many homes were being built with a sunken living room, but if you had an elevated runway, the whole house would be sunken ... IMAGINE THAT!!

Removed runwayIn the first photo, the front entry deposits you onto said runway where you can step down to the left into the formal living room, to the right into the formal dining area, or you can proceed forward and step down into the hallway that will take you to the bedrooms or the kitchen depending on which way you turn.

The first time I entered a home with this particular floor plan, I felt like I was teetering on a tight rope even though the runway was about 5 feet wide. For some reason, drop-offs on both sides without a railing gives a person a false sense of security.

The buyers didn't like this cool 70's feature, but it didn't keep them from buying the place. The solution? Remove the runway and lower the front door. The second photo shows the runway removed, the door lowered and tile replacing the carpet in the formal dining room.

Don't let an outdated fashion keep you from buying the otherwise perfect house! Let your agent help you visualize what you might be able to do to remedy a current "fashion flaw" in the design of the home you are attracted to.

A runway? Whose crazy idea was that!

 

Posted by

 

Cynthia Larsen (707-332-2560) is an independent real estate referral broker in Sonoma County, California as well as a Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist.

CA Broker License #01433049

Comments (15)

Lori Gardiner
RE/MAX River's Edge - Bristol, RI
GRI, SRS, ABR, e-PRO

Hi Cynthia,

Great post! Thanks for sharing.

Sep 14, 2011 06:48 AM
Carla Muss-Jacobs, RETIRED
RETIRED / State License is Inactive - Portland, OR

Nice before and after.  Isn't it great when buyers can envision the home as they want it, not as it is! 

Sep 14, 2011 06:56 AM
Cynthia Larsen
Cotati, CA
Independent Broker In Sonoma County, CA

Thanks, Lori.

Carla - for some reason, not many buyers can envision the changes they could do to a home, especially when another persons furniture is in it. I LOVE it when a buyer can see past "what is".

Sep 14, 2011 07:03 AM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

It's hard for many to look beyond the markers of age and at the structure, and more importantly, the possibilities.  Great post.

Sep 14, 2011 07:07 AM
Malcolm Johnston
Century 21 Lanthorn Real Estate LTD., Trenton, Ontario - Trenton, ON
Trenton Real Estate

What's wrong with a runway in the house? I think it would be kind of cool, I could walk up and down it modelling my clothes for an appreciative audience. Who knows, one day they might be in fashion again like flared jeans.

Sep 14, 2011 08:14 AM
Liz and Bill Spear
Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com - Mason, OH
Transaction Alliance Cincinnati & Dayton suburbs

Cynthia, Great that your buyers could see past the "defect".  Too often paint color and wallpaper are enough to derail a purchase.

Sep 14, 2011 10:30 AM
John M. Scott
BRE # 01442690, Scott Keys Properties - San Francisco, CA
Broker / Owner San Francisco Bay Area

Wow Cynthia, at first I didn't even think the photos were of the same room! Then I noticed the ceiling sloping in the first, and figured it out. I've never been on a raised runway...

Sep 14, 2011 11:13 AM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News

I take it the runway wasn't concrete that needed to be jackhammered?

Sep 14, 2011 12:12 PM
Cynthia Larsen
Cotati, CA
Independent Broker In Sonoma County, CA

Chris Ann - especially when the wood paneling is still up :)

Those would be bell bottoms, Malcolm, bell bottoms.

BLiz - oh I know, wallpaper can turn off a buyer faster than popcorn ceilings!

John - I didn't know I was going to do a before and after on this house, otherwise I would have taken the photos from the same angle. Yep, same room, quite a difference huh?

Cindy - oh my goodness, I didn't even think of that. No, the runway was wood framed.

Sep 14, 2011 12:33 PM
Rodney Mason, VP of Mtg Lending
Guaranteed Rate NMLS# 2611 - Atlanta, GA
AL,AR,CA,CO,FL,GA,IN,MI,MS,NC,SC,TN,TX,VA

I've never seen one of those before.  It does like a little odd.

Sep 14, 2011 01:47 PM
Donne Knudsen
Los Angeles & Ventura Counties in CA - Simi Valley, CA
CalState Realty Services

Cynthia - I remember those, my aunts house in Hollywood had one of those runways throughout her house.  My borrowers are almost always buying dated homes that need updating and many of them have such incredible visions of potential.  For those that can, it can be such a benefit to their home search.

Sep 14, 2011 04:33 PM
Cynthia Larsen
Cotati, CA
Independent Broker In Sonoma County, CA

Rodney - odd is right!

Donne - an entire subdivision was built with several of these models, many investors walk into these homes and know exactly what to do to bring them into the 21st century. I never did like sunken rooms.

Sep 15, 2011 04:33 AM
Charita Cadenhead
eXp Realty - Birmingham, AL
Serving Jefferson and Shelby Counties (Alabama)
Looks like Twiggy may have lived there. Fortunately the buyer had vision and money for the change.
Sep 15, 2011 02:01 PM
Andi Grant
310-508-4354 | FirstTimeHomeBuyerRealEstate.com - Los Angeles, CA
Helping 1st time buyers and home sellers in LA!
Oh yes "step-down living room" and "step up dining" would've had buyers flocking in times' past. Super great vision on agent and buyer's part.
Sep 16, 2011 07:14 PM
Cynthia Larsen
Cotati, CA
Independent Broker In Sonoma County, CA

Charita - Twiggy!! I haven't thought about her for decades!

Andi - vision is so vital when buyers look at a home that someone else has lived in.

Sep 17, 2011 05:17 AM