Are some of the interior doors painted gray? It works, but is something that I noticed. How's the lot, if that's important to you? Commute to work and daycare?
Eta - are the countertops marble in the kitchen? If so, they can etch and stain easily, fwiw. I love the look of them, though.
I really like it. I'm not sure I'm with them on "finished basement" - "loft style" seems like a bit of a stretch, they just spray painted the ceiling. I'd question whether that's truly considered finished space as such. But the main floor looks lovely and open, seems like plenty of space.
It looks lovely. The front is boring - I'd want to update it's curb appeal. but inside is very nice and updated.
So two things you said stood out to me:
I don't know how to know that this is a good long-term house without having seen the stuff that will be listed over the next couple of months!
That's ALWAYS going to be the case, though. There will always be other houses coming on the market. If that's what you're thinking, though, then maybe this isn't the house for you. When we saw the house we're in now - I didn't care about other houses anymore. I knew that this was the house for us!
One of the comps was SO BEAUTIFUL, $5K less, and 300 sq ft bigger. That threw us for a loop, like are we getting screwed here? Of course that house isn't on the market, sigh.
As you can't get in and see it, though, you don't really know the full story of why it was priced or sold at that amount. It's never going to be 100% equal/'fair'. Especially at that price point. It could even have been an issue that the sellers just needed to SELL and were willing to take a slightly low offer.
Yes, take comps into account. But it will never be perfectly equal.
I don't love the outside, but the inside is pretty, and the renovations are nice. The covered porch is beautiful.
What is with the bathroom/room that has the open ceiling? Is that in the basement? I've seen it done nicely in restaurants and stuff, but I am not a fan of it in this house.
I really like it. I'm not sure I'm with them on "finished basement" - "loft style" seems like a bit of a stretch, they just spray painted the ceiling. I'd question whether that's truly considered finished space as such. But the main floor looks lovely and open, seems like plenty of space.
Yeah I was a little put off the first time we saw the basement. "Loft style" LOLOL. They left the ductwork exposed rather than installing a dropped ceiling. OK. But we think it's fine for a guest room and mancave/playroom space.
That house is beautiful. And I agree with @this, it would be super easy to add some curb appeal to the front. The only thing that I don't like is the carport instead of a garage, but that might be common for your area.
At 3080 sq ft, I don't think you need to compare it to the house that is 300 sq ft bigger. 3080 is plenty big enough, I don't know if an extra 300 will make THAT big of a difference, you know?
The front has no curb appeal whatsoever, but the inside and back yard/deck are amazing. You could add some curb appeal if you cared, but for a long-term house. I love it.
The inside is GORGEOUS. Is not having a passthrough instead of an enclosed garage kind of normal in ATL?
It depends. Lots of much older houses (like 1930s-40s) have detached garages. H would love that, but the neighborhood where we're looking was developed in the 60s, the era of carports. And newer construction mostly has attached garages.
Post by MadamePresident on Mar 1, 2016 10:52:19 GMT -5
I think it's a nice house. But if the things you don't like about it, are things you cannot change then I could be worth it to wait. Especially if you don't need to move now.
My initial thoughts were that it doesn't have much curb appeal (although ranches aren't my preference), but the inside is absolutely gorgeous. I am loving the colour scheme and the choices of lighting throughout. And the master shower would definitely put that into "yes" territory for me! Love that back deck/porch too!
Couple dealbreakers for me - the kitchen layout. Too wide and not enough counter space (I wish they expanded into the sitting area). And I would want a tub in my master bath. But if you can overlook those things and the lack of a garage, it looks like a lovely house!
Re: Commutes--My commute is long-ish (45 min) and H's is horrendous (1+ hour) right now. Unfortunately our jobs are far apart, so there's not anywhere we could move that would make both of our commutes short. We chose this neighborhood because it keeps my commute the same and shortens H's significantly. So we're only considering houses for which we're ok with the commute.
We will ultimately have to move M to a new DC because it will be too long of a drive to get to his current place long-term. I am pretty bummed about that. But the neighborhood where we currently live isn't sustainable for our commutes. The last 5 miles (i.e., the 5 miles from the neighborhood where we're looking to where we live now) take H upwards of 30 minutes.
Post by countthestars on Mar 1, 2016 10:56:29 GMT -5
Beautiful!
Is the deck screened in? I don't love the gray doors but that's an easy fix if you don't like them The floor and ceiling in the basement would bug me Is there a pantry?
That house is beautiful. And I agree with @this , it would be super easy to add some curb appeal to the front. The only thing that I don't like is the carport instead of a garage, but that might be common for your area.
At 3080 sq ft, I don't think you need to compare it to the house that is 300 sq ft bigger. 3080 is plenty big enough, I don't know if an extra 300 will make THAT big of a difference, you know?
Ok, so can I ask for some more MMM advice here--we're kind of stumped with the adjacent sitting areas. I know that they used to be two separate rooms that were opened up. But there's still a wide doorway separating them, so they can't function as a single room. The space seems kind of awkward to me, like there's two tiny sitting areas rather than a comfy place to hang out and watch tv. Any ideas on how to decorate the sitting areas?
It looks like a great house. I don't know how many kids you are planning on having but does the last bedroom in the lower level bother you (it wouldn't bother me since we are done having kids, but might if we were going to have another). Are the other bedrooms a good size?
I'm one of the weirdos like @tambcat that, after living in an open floor plan place for several years, prefers a separate kitchen, but I know I'm in the minority. Is there no microwave? Obviously not a deal breaker but just something to consider taking up space on the counter if it's not under a cabinet or whatever.
Anyway, bottom line, I really like it.
We're thinking two kids. So the bedroom in the basement would be a guest room. (Until M becomes a teenager and hates us and asks to move downstairs LOL.)
There is a big pantry in the mudroom (adjacent to the kitchen) that has a spot for a microwave. A little awkward but not a huge issue to me.
I'll add- we have a carport too. As long as there is other storage (there is a small shed attached to the carport and we have a larger shed out back), I don't really see the need for a garage. We wanted one but now that I have a carport - I actually love it. Keeps the car protected from rain and snow but it's easy to get in and out of.
AND there is not fear of junking up the carport and not being able to fit a car in it.
Oh and I, too, am not crazy about the outside but my house is ugly as hell from the outside, lol. I'm more interested in the inside, the floor plan, the flow, etc.
The sloping yard, too, would give me pause, but I don't think it would be a dealbreaker. Would you be near a park?
In this area it's hard to find flat lots. For this area of town, that lot has a good slope and is not a drop-off into a ravine like a lot of yards.
The neighbors have a retaining wall in their backyard, so we could consider doing that to flatten out part of it.
The slope isn't really that bad IME. And yeah, Atlanta in general isn't known for its flatness.
That house is beautiful. And I agree with @this , it would be super easy to add some curb appeal to the front. The only thing that I don't like is the carport instead of a garage, but that might be common for your area.
At 3080 sq ft, I don't think you need to compare it to the house that is 300 sq ft bigger. 3080 is plenty big enough, I don't know if an extra 300 will make THAT big of a difference, you know?
Ok, so can I ask for some more MMM advice here--we're kind of stumped with the adjacent sitting areas. I know that they used to be two separate rooms that were opened up. But there's still a wide doorway separating them, so they can't function as a single room. The space seems kind of awkward to me, like there's two tiny sitting areas rather than a comfy place to hang out and watch tv. Any ideas on how to decorate the sitting areas?
I would actually consider making the sitting room with the white couches the dining room, and the dining room a play room/ kid space. I didn't look close enough to see if the basement has the space for a play room, but as someone who has a playroom on the second floor, I sometimes wish we had a playroom closer to the kitchen so I can make dinner and still have DD close enough (she doesn't like to go upstairs to play by herself).
A lot of it is NMS (open floor plan, white cabinetry) but if you like it, that's what matters. I think you could do better on curb appeal, but that's easy enough to change on a non-descript ranch.
I love the back yard, the mudroom, and the tile choices.
The major thing that gives me pause is the basement. There is no ceiling in the basement. That means that it's going to be very loud in those rooms when someone is walking around upstairs, in addition to having to look at all the wiring and HVAC, and the concrete floors aren't really comfortable for bedrooms/playrooms. Depending on the height of the ceiling, these are things you could change, or maybe if it's just a guest suite and a playroom downstairs you don't care and that's fine. But if you planned on using that space the majority of the time, I would make sure there's enough clearance that you can add a proper ceiling and change the flooring if you want to down the line.
Ok, so can I ask for some more MMM advice here--we're kind of stumped with the adjacent sitting areas. I know that they used to be two separate rooms that were opened up. But there's still a wide doorway separating them, so they can't function as a single room. The space seems kind of awkward to me, like there's two tiny sitting areas rather than a comfy place to hang out and watch tv. Any ideas on how to decorate the sitting areas?
I would actually consider making the sitting room with the white couches the dining room, and the dining room a play room/ kid space. I didn't look close enough to see if the basement has the space for a play room, but as someone who has a playroom on the second floor, I sometimes wish we had a playroom closer to the kitchen so I can make dinner and still have DD close enough (she doesn't like to go upstairs to play by herself).
We thought about that, because the idea of a play space near the kitchen is really appealing. But there's nowhere good to put a tv if we use the front space as the living room. And we really like to watch tv!