The good, the bad, the Valley

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Kate in the Valley, who guest-blogs for us about her house-hunting experiences once a week, knows what she likes in a house. She also knows what she doesn’t like:

‘After seeing scores of homes, I’ve noticed that certain common features (all within a seller’s control) make a big difference in how attractive their home is to me. Below is a list of some features that I find most enticing and most discouraging in a property. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it’s a fair start.

THE GOOD:

(1) A nice big covered front porch. The vision of Mr. Kate and I spending summer nights sitting on our porch, waving to passing neighbors, is virtually irresistible. If you’ve put inviting patio furniture and pretty potted plants out, I’m sure to give your house a little extra consideration.

(2) A high quality shaded deck out back for entertaining. On a small tract house, usable outdoor rooms help me forget about the limited square footage but, for an outdoor deck to be usable in the Valley, it really needs to be shaded.

(3) New(er) plumbing, electric, roof, and a/c. It’s so nice if you’ve already done this. I’ll pay extra to not have to deal with contractors tromping through my house in the first few weeks that I live there.

(4) Credits. For example, if you have a big ole dead tree in your yard and you do not want to remove it yourself then put a tree-removal credit right in the MLS description. I’ll think you are honest for admitting the flaw and reasonable for offering to cover the cost even if you won’t take care of the problem yourself. But more importantly, I won’t be distracted by the big ole dead tree in the yard when I’m thinking about making an offer on your house.’

Read below to find out the no-no’s -- what turns Kate off.

‘THE BAD:

(1) A swimming pool on a postage-stamp sized lot. I don’t mind a five to six thousand square foot lot, so long as you didn’t replace your back lawn with water.

(2) Expensive but inappropriate upgrades. More than once, I’ve stood in a front entry hall and seen marble, porcelain tile, cherry wood, and peg-and-groove flooring all intersect in a hideous Home-Depot-Flooring-Close-Out patchwork. It’s also not okay to put expensive granite or marble counters on top of rickety 1949 cabinetry; I’ll have to rip it out to put proper cabinets underneath. Do it right, or don’t do it all.

(3) Cheap, poorly planned, possibly un-permitted, additions. If the only access to the backyard is through a bathroom, that’s creepy. Equally undesirable is a coat closet converted into a bathroom that opens into the dining room. But worse still is the granny flat/dark room/sound studio that used to be a garage. It’s not a ‘bonus’ room, it’s an impaired garage. You know what would be a bonus? Returning your garage to its original purpose so that you can take down the hideous car port that ate your front lawn.

(4) And, for the love of all things holy, get rid of that glass block you put in during the 80s. You live in a ranch house not on the Miami Vice set, fix it.’

Thanks, Kate. Now we know.
Read Kate’s blog here.
Comments? Your own personal favorites and un-favorites?