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I saw one small renovated home, the nice thing was that it had a small built in pool, the bad thing was that it had no washer and dryer hookup. I think there may have been a water connection outside for the washer and one to the bedrooms has a 220 plug, so maybe that was for the dryer but I didn't see a vent hole. It also had a one car garage. The crazy thing was that next door was an old abandoned house with the porch door missing so it looked like people had broken in. I don't get why people would put money into a home is a not great area with an abandoned squatter looking home next door.
I saw one small renovated home, the nice thing was that it had a small built in pool, the bad thing was that it had no washer and dryer hookup. I think there may have been a water connection outside for the washer and one to the bedrooms has a 220 plug, so maybe that was for the dryer but I didn't see a vent hole. It also had a one car garage. The crazy thing was that next door was an old abandoned house with the porch door missing so it looked like people had broken in. I don't get why people would put money into a home is a not great area with an abandoned squatter looking home next door.
Maybe the house next door wasn't so bad when they installed the pool. More likely, it was just dumb owners who HAD to have a pool. And I'd be willing to bet that they refinanced to get that pool, using the house as an ARM. And, maybe, went into foreclosure around 2009.
When house hunting in Maryland, we saw a "five bedroom, two bathroom" house, a long driveway and two car garage, for $400K in an affluent area. That should have been our FIRST clue, but the pictures made it just look outdated but with an updated kitchen, so whatever, right? Then we got to the house.
Going in through the front door and you're in a large living room space. Not so bad. There was a single hall that led from the middle of that room, with some sort of alcove off to one side that we didn't explore yet. On one side of the hall was one bedroom and a bathroom, outdated and not attached. On the other side of the hall was one bedroom with a door on the right-hand wall. Open the door and BAM. You're in ANOTHER living room space, with a vintage 1950s kitchen and a small eating area off to one side. The ONLY way to get to that part of the house was through the bedroom. There was no dishwasher, although the listing mentioned one, and we'd only seen two bedrooms, so we went off to find the the other bedrooms and see where they might have stashed a dishwasher--away from the kitchen?
No. Going back through the bedroom and down the hall, we decided to take a look at the walled-off alcove. A TINY kitchen had been built there, with apartment-size appliances including a tiny dishwasher--whatever filter the realtor taking those pictures used LIED, even worse than usual! The fridge was practically a mini fridge. I've never seen any that size sold in the US, ever, but there WAS a dishwasher that could fit maybe four plates, a couple bowls and cups, and a handful of utensils at most.
This "kitchen" hid a door at the back of the space. It led to a set of steep stairs with a third bedroom at the bottom off of a small hall. At the other end of the hall, which was maybe five feet long, was the washer-dryer hook up space (but only if you stacked) and the water heater and HVAC unit. We were about to give up on bedrooms four and five when my husband realized that you could SQUEEZE past the water heater/HVAC set up (as long as you didn't have much extra weight on you--like no more than twenty extra pounds) to an open space beyond. Apparently the hallway (?) continued at that point, and there were the other two "bedrooms" and a minuscule bathroom, none of which had egress windows or closets.
We were pretty sure of four things. The basement finishing was in no way legal/permitted, so MD either has sketchy listing rules or the broker was a bit rogue. The house would NEVER have passed the inspection/appraisal process for VA. The house needed a to-the-studs gutting and redesign. And that house was DEFINITELY a human trafficking and/or druggie haven.
In about 2011, we looked at an older condo (great view) in an upscale harbor area (1800 sf). Every conceivable surface was covered in mirrors (even the kitchen cabinets and doors!). At the time, the units were selling for $300-$375K. I figured a complete renovation would run about $200K (plus there was limited parking and storage) - so we passed.
Since then, most of the units in the condo have been renovated and are currently selling in the $600K-$700K range. It might have been a reasonable investment, but, every time we pass the building, I wonder what the deal with the mirrors was.
In about 2011, we looked at an older condo (great view) in an upscale harbor area (1800 sf). Every conceivable surface was covered in mirrors (even the kitchen cabinets and doors!). At the time, the units were selling for $300-$375K. I figured a complete renovation would run about $200K (plus there was limited parking and storage) - so we passed.
Since then, most of the units in the condo have been renovated and are currently selling in the $600K-$700K range. It might have been a reasonable investment, but, every time we pass the building, I wonder what the deal with the mirrors was.
I know a wall of mirrors will make a room look larger, but mirrors everywhere sounds like a mental problem.
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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Or a porn stage.
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