As REALTORS, everyone of us at one time or another has wondered “What Was The Owner Thinking?”. We’ve all got our particular real estate irritants when out showing…mine is unreachable homes by normal modes of transportation…yet the advertising “come hither” shows jaw dropping outstanding views with only casual reference as to the access.
No doubt there are REALTORS in Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Louisiana wondering what I’m talking about. They have their own irritants that I’m not be familiar with. REALTORS in Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia and other mountainous states know exactly what I mean. During the building boom, people were putting houses where nothing living had been except perhaps goats and eagles. Sometimes it worked out. Ethical builders recommended long roads with switchbacks. Often it didn’t work out so well…as a resale. Sure, the original seller could arrive in a beefy 4 wheel drive vehicle and never gave a thought that at some point an emergency vehicle might need to reach the house.
NEWS FLASH ! ! ! Buyers are intensely more practical. They are buying a new house and don’t want to buy a new vehicle to be able to reach their new house. They are considering things like the cost of insurance, or if a fire truck, rescue squad or the police can access this house located at the top of a 12 to 15% grade.
Don’t you think it’s poor planning when buying or building a house to not consider the reality of selling the house at a later date?
This isn’t a rant…it’s not like the only houses for sale are perched at the top of a precipice. This is more a lament for sellers who just weren’t thinking about the future when they built these houses. The buyers I worked with last weekend were game to try anything to find what they wanted. We drove on some incredibly difficult approaches and Mr. Buyer did perfectly with his driving. They wanted to see the modestly priced beautiful house with the jaw dropping view but we could only get within 500 feet of the house. We valiantly climbed the rest of the way. The buyers good humouredly pointed out how far other buyers had made it. I expected to see bleached bones and rusted vehicles of those who didn’t make it at all.
Gorgeous house or so my oxygen deprived brain interpreted it and the view definitely fabulous. List price approximately $200,000. If it had been located even 500 feet down the driveway the sellers might have been able to list for $350-400,000. There are so many “what ifs” but the main thing with this house was “so what”. Our buyers would never have felt relaxed there, every trip in and out would’ve been an ordeal. Friends and family wouldn’t have visited and God forbid there would ever be a disaster because rescue would be delayed.
Avoid the “What Was The Owner Thinking” syndrome … you or your heirs will have to sell sometime.
Comments(69)