Home : Blogs : Patricia Kennedy : Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection

The WOW House In A Plain Brown Wrapper

On Monday, favorite clients called and asked if we could get in to see one of the few houses we'd not yet seen that are in their target neighborhood and price range.

Why hadn't we gone in? Probably it was the main MRIS photos, which showed a quite plain Jane facade on a house above a million dollars.

I did a drive by that confirmed the modest street presence. This house had a face that only an owner could love. The virtual tour, which we had looked at, made the interior look attractive, but I thought it was just a great camera with a wide-angle lens.

We arrived and climbed a bunch of steps to the front door - a deal breaker for buyers with bad knees? But as soon as the front door opened, I could see that another old cliche was about to kick in - maybe something the nuns used to say about it being as important to be pretty on the inside as to be pretty on the outside?

This house certainly got the pretty on the inside down.

The wood floors were stunning - white oak with a gorgeous finish. The fireplace mantel was perfect for the living room. A few steps up was a lovely formal dining room, a little library, an amazing kitchen and family room.

There were French doors leading to a pretty rear garden that was designed for the purple thumb - with minimal maintenance required. And there was a rear alley and parking pad, meaning they wouldn't have to lug laundry and groceries up the front stairway.

My clients made an offer that is now in counter. And it was really hard trying to figure out the price part of the equation. The house looks so modest, and there isn't much they'll be able to do to change it without spending lots of money. The workmanship in the renovated kitchen is spectacular, and the house appears to have been well-maintained.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. We've been going back and forth all evening, and we're taking a time out so everyone can sleep on it.

Wow! A couple of years ago, it would have been "you snooze, you lose."

Times have changed! And with this one, I sort of feel it in my bones! I think we'll be able to make it work.

Posted by Patricia Kennedy on 01/03/2008 09:26 PM

Comments (16)

curb appeal, pricing, negotiating

16 Comments on The WOW House In A Plain Brown Wrapper

Let's try this again.....good luck with the offer and hope everything works out....and yes, times have changed. That's okay though...we MAKE it work :)

01/03/2008 09:29 PM

by Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman (RA), e-PRO HAWAII Real Estate & HAWAII Relocation (Century 21 Liberty Homes -Mililani, Hawaii)

Patricia, your post just goes to show why people will never totally buy their homes off the internet. Had you not gone through you would not have known how incredible the inside was.

01/03/2008 09:30 PM

by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR (Results Realty)

Patricia- Congrats on getting an offer on the table. Sounds like a wonderful house! Katerina

01/03/2008 10:37 PM

by Nestor & Katerina Gasset, Realtors® Wellington Florida Luxury Homes (International Properties and Investments, Inc.)

Patricia - Isn't it wonderful when we surpise ourselves. Let us hope your new year kicks off with this deal.

01/03/2008 10:56 PM

by John MacArthur The MacArthur Group (Long and Foster Real Estate, Inc.)

Patricia, Good luck with this one. I think the sellers and buyers will have a meeting of the minds before tomorrow is out. Homes like this demonstrate why I like to do previews when I can for my out of town buyers. Photos often lie. Sometimes the home is worse, somtimes better.

Ginge

01/03/2008 11:39 PM

by Wilmington NC Real Estate Ginger & Roger Sala Keller Williams (Keller Williams Wilmington North Carolina)

Patricia, I like pleasant surprises and it looks like you and your buyers certainly got one. Here's hoping the deal goes through quickly without any glitches!

01/03/2008 11:56 PM

by Linda Scanlan (A Fan of AR)

Patricia, We all need to remember that looks are deceiving. Good luck with your offer.

01/04/2008 07:25 AM

by Marc Grossman, GRI - Central Florida Real Estate Specialist (Keller Williams Premier Realty)

Patricia, lots of luck to you in making this sale. How odd that only an exterior picture was shown on the MLS when the "wow factor" was behind the door.

01/04/2008 07:40 AM

by "Antoinette" Scognamiglio ~ GRI Morris County, New Jersey Homes for Sale (Prudential New Jersey Properties)

Good Luck !! WOW! You know the sign rider "I'm Beautiful Inside".... well its gotta look beautiful OUTSIDE for anyone to want to stop!

(I'm beautiful on the inside too - but I could lose a few pounds after all that eggnog!)

01/04/2008 10:12 AM

by James Downing - REALTOR® - Washington DC Real Estate (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)

Can't judge a book by it's cover! :)

01/04/2008 10:16 AM

by Kelly Sibilsky ~ Lake Zurich RE/MAX Real Estate Agent (RE/MAX Unlimited Northwest)

Sally, right now, I'm feeling like a little bulldog with someone's ankle in my mouth, but they can't shake me off! It will work!

Marchel, Lenn Harley did a post a while back with the virtual tour photo next to one that she took when she went to preview the place. Even I have taken photos that made a place look a whole lot better than it would look in real life. And that's before Photoshop! And you never know when you'll find Dogpatch next door or across the street!

Thanks, Katerina! Now I'm trying to get the thing off the table and into our processor's in box!

And John, by the time I go to sleep tonight, I'm hoping this one will be done. I'm waiting for the last fax to fly!

01/04/2008 04:35 PM

by Patricia Kennedy (Evers & Company)

Ginger, my fingers are tightly crossed. We are having transmission issues due to a busted fax machine, and I am glad that someone invented Kinko's! And in this case, photos didn't lie. The virtual tour showed a plain outside and pretty interior. It was just hard to believe something that plain could be so fabulous once inside!

Linda, thanks, and I'm feeling optimistic. We did start out pretty far apart.

Marc, you are very right! And thank you for the good luck vibes you're sending this way!

Antoinette, the virtual tour had beautiful interior shots, but a lot of people probably didn't get bast the main photos, which was of the front facade - not that it was hideous or anything. It was just not congruent with the price tag.

James, I totally feel prettier on the inside right now, and I share your love of egg nog. My sister brought HOMEMADE egg nog to Christmas dinner. Oh! My! God!

And Kelly, you are actually reminding me that I have to see about having my book cover redesigned!

01/04/2008 04:48 PM

by Patricia Kennedy (Evers & Company)

Seems like the owener was a simple person. simplicity sometimes hurts in this business,

01/05/2008 12:12 AM

by E Jeffrey Dolfinger (24/7 Realty)

This just happened to me. We were out seeing property on New Years Day and we came across a house that wasn't on our list. Turns out we had discounted because of the exterior photo and price. Long story short, we submitted an offer yesterday and are expecting to hear back this morning.

You're right though, a couple of years ago it would have been a snooze you lose...

01/05/2008 09:00 AM

by Craig W. Barrett - Hughesville MD Real Estate (RE/MAX 100)

Perhaps it could be marketed as "I'm so ugly outside, even the burglars won't stop!" LOL!

01/05/2008 01:43 PM

by Gregory D. Maley - Metropolitan Washington, DC REALTOR (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Chevy Chase)

Patricia - that is a good lesson for all of us! I would have probably done the very same thing!!!

01/07/2008 09:48 AM

by Barbara-Jo & Bill - - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty)

Leave a response…

Name:

Notify me of new comments:

Comment:

What does the graphic say?