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Those old aluminum windows would concern me. I bet they get COLD and the replacement expense would be enormous since they are all likely custom sizes. I could see replacement for that house pushing $70k.
I’ve heard that kids on large lots in places like Oakton create paths between the various properties and go between. That would be for 9+ year olds though. If you are looking for kids all gathering until the street lights come on in a cul de sac, this definitely isn’t a good bet.
Personally? I think Great Falls is overrated. Some of the houses are really cool. I don’t like the winding two lane roads that make it take forever to get around. I don’t like it taking an extra 10 minutes just to leave my neighborhood. But other people love that.
I grew up as an only child on a farm in the woods and my mom actually has Lyme so I’m very aware of the dangers and caution. And that is a concern. I think our main concerns are resale - in 20 years are people going to want this 60+ year old home? Or are we going to spend all this time and money to sell a year down? And is this house going to be a money pit? I’ll be the first to admit my husband and I are not handy, spending all weekend cleaning gutters and fixing decks isn’t really in the cards. But I do love this house!!
My quick and personal thoughts off the top of my head:
• I love the look and style of the home.
• I would love 5 acres.
• I would rather be on public water or have that as an option.
• The upkeep on this looks to be expensive. A lot of decking and balconies. You can see residue or mold on the balcony on THIS PICTURE which concerns me a little. Also there are tiles/bricks on that balcony which may or may not need to be replaced at some point.
• The property is in the middle of a down slope. Water is a homes natural enemy. It looks like they have mitigated some of the water issues as you can see from the gravel so maybe they have no problems.
• Flat roof? See water.
• Also I cannot see what is at the bottom of that slope from the pictures. I would want to visit on a rainy day and see what was going on.
• The kitchen needs updated and I personally prefer a gas stove.
• Spiral stairs? Kill me now.
• Some of those bedrooms, while nice, seem rather small. They do not even have full beds in a couple of those?
• Closet space. If you go check it out look at the closet space.
• Textured ceilings? Not a fan. Those are so 70's/early 80's. Also a lot of not so good people would put them in because it was easier than making a smooth ceiling?
• Kitchen and dining area are small, but nice. Not a lot of kitchen storage.
• The small kitchen and dining area, plus I think that is a smaller oven/split oven(?) will make it hard to host Thanksgiving for a lot of people in your new home unless you cater a little or make it small?
• I love the wood ceiling in the kitchen!
• No exhaust fan above the stove.
• Not a fan of the two tiles meeting in the kitchen dining area. That is actually pretty minor.
• I do not have but would want a mudroom in my next house. This house mitigates that a little with two main entry ways with tiled floors.
• You will have to budget some money in for tree work. Maybe not at first but sometime you will need tree work. But I LOVE the trees.
• In THIS PICTURE there is a building in the top right. I am trying to figure out what it is? Is it part of the house? Is it a garage? Is it an even cooler outbuilding?
• Where is the washer/dryer?
• Hot tub? To me that is just a problem. Not necessarily a negative.
• Outdoor patio's and areas look beautiful.
• As much as the beautiful design of the house the furniture makes this pop. The owners have good taste and a lot of quality MCM pieces to go with it. Think of how you are going to furnish this.
Sorry if this sounds too negative. I am just trying to give you things to think about. Overall the look and feel of the home is awesome. 5 acres? Sign me up? The price? I think it is very reasonable. Nothing I have listed is a deal breaker at all.
As for resale in 20 years? Who can say? But I will say it is 5 acres within 23 miles of the White House. They can make a lot of houses in 20 years but they ain't making more land.
Good luck!
Last edited by Old Guard; 11-12-2019 at 05:27 AM..
If the only way to access the upper floor with all the bedrooms is the spiral staircase, I'd pass on it. Those things are at best a PIA and at worst an accident waiting to happen. However, if you do decide to go ahead with the purchase, I would definitely recommend getting a whole house generator, even if you have to install a large propane tank to run it. It's no fun being without water or some appliances during a power outage.
My quick and personal thoughts off the top of my head:
• I love the look and style of the home.
• I would love 5 acres.
• I would rather be on public water or have that as an option.
• The upkeep on this looks to be expensive. A lot of decking and balconies. You can see residue or mold on the balcony on THIS PICTURE which concerns me a little. Also there are tiles/bricks on that balcony which may or may not need to be replaced at some point.
• The property is in the middle of a down slope. Water is a homes natural enemy. It looks like they have mitigated some of the water issues as you can see from the gravel so maybe they have no problems.
• Flat roof? See water.
• Also I cannot see what is at the bottom of that slope from the pictures. I would want to visit on a rainy day and see what was going on.
• The kitchen needs updated and I personally prefer a gas stove.
• Spiral stairs? Kill me now.
• Some of those bedrooms, while nice, seem rather small. They do not even have full beds in a couple of those?
• Closet space. If you go check it out look at the closet space.
• Textured ceilings? Not a fan. Those are so 70's/early 80's. Also a lot of not so good people would put them in because it was easier than making a smooth ceiling?
• Kitchen and dining area are small, but nice. Not a lot of kitchen storage.
• The small kitchen and dining area, plus I think that is a smaller oven/split oven(?) will make it hard to host Thanksgiving for a lot of people in your new home unless you cater a little or make it small?
• I love the wood ceiling in the kitchen!
• No exhaust fan above the stove.
• Not a fan of the two tiles meeting in the kitchen dining area. That is actually pretty minor.
• I do not have but would want a mudroom in my next house. This house mitigates that a little with two main entry ways with tiled floors.
• You will have to budget some money in for tree work. Maybe not at first but sometime you will need tree work. But I LOVE the trees.
• In THIS PICTURE there is a building in the top right. I am trying to figure out what it is? Is it part of the house? Is it a garage? Is it an even cooler outbuilding?
• Where is the washer/dryer?
• Hot tub? To me that is just a problem. Not necessarily a negative.
• Outdoor patio's and areas look beautiful.
• As much as the beautiful design of the house the furniture makes this pop. The owners have good taste and a lot of quality MCM pieces to go with it. Think of how you are going to furnish this.
Sorry if this sounds too negative. I am just trying to give you things to think about. Overall the look and feel of the home is awesome. 5 acres? Sign me up? The price? I think it is very reasonable. Nothing I have listed is a deal breaker at all.
As for resale in 20 years? Who can say? But I will say it is 5 acres within 23 miles of the White House. They can make a lot of houses in 20 years but they ain't making more land.
Good luck!
Thank you! Good call on the water standing on the roof, I'd definitely have to see it in a downpour. The yard itself has drainage "path" kind of things, and the gutter has a huge downspout off the back patio area. There is a creek at the bottom of the hill on the property which is pretty cool, I think.
My husband also hates the ceilings and we'd have to get them redone.
I believe the existing kitchen is an addition, hence the 2 floorings. I didn't notice it until I looked at pictures after visiting. If we were to add a garage I'd like to expand the kitchen a bit. I say I could live with a small kitchen, but I know I'm lying to myself.
The washer/dryer is on the main level off the main hall.
There are 2 outdoor buildings for storage currently.
And I completely agree with you on the furniture. The guy is selling the furniture as "negotiable" with the house and I would want most of it! I also realize that part of the reason I love the house so much is because it is decorated so perfectly. If the house were empty when we went to visit it, would I feel the same?
Nice. I would like to say that this area seems fairly decent to get MCM furniture of varying pricing and deals. Most of the furniture in this house blows me away though.
I actually would not mind a creek but you do have to see what it would be like in a flood. 10 feet up on either side seems like it would be way higher than the water should go?
Are you happy with the closet space? I mean its 5 acres and has curb appeal. If it is every day livable I think it is a strong contender?
I think our main concerns are resale - in 20 years are people going to want this 60+ year old home?
People will still want 5 acres in Great Falls which will be worth way more than the structure on it. Even now the land is 75% of the assessed value.
House does show its age in many regards...the ceilings, herringbone flooring, the kitchen is probably from the 90s and that stove combo in the tiny island looks ridiculous. Countertop microwave in a million dollar house, no hood over stove/range, etc. Not sure how much of the sitting room wall could be removed to make a real island, but a double oven/microwave could go where the pantry is, maybe move the cooktop to the outside too the potential is there (as mentioned should have a range hood).
I was looking at the property history and noticed that the owners have dropped the price several times. It has now been on the market for 161 days---That, right there says that it is still over priced. If the owner is serious about selling, s/he should be willing to negotiate when it comes to work that needs to be done.
I agree about the trees. Some appear to be touching the house which means there is the potential of insect penetration. Also, animals such as squirrels or raccoons can easily get to the roof. If there is a way for them to find a potential entrance point, it will happen.
Also, it looks like some of the decking is in poor condition. Thus, it's very important to have all the decking thoroughly inspected.
All that said, I, too, love the look of the house and all the mid-century modern furniture in it.
I agree something like this would be very tempting but.....it really boils down to finances/lifestyle choice and the tradeoffs this is likely going to entail. I would come to the conclusion this will be a very expensive house to maintain and update over the years. You are also likely not going to sell this quickly if the need arises. If you can envision enjoying this house SO MUCH more than a less expensive home and are really convinced this is the lifestyle/expense you can live with for a really long time.....
I like great falls - reminds me of one of my all time favorite places - Mountain Brook, Alabama (Birmingham). That being said....
Wrestling with Georgetown Pike on a routine basis would (does) drive me nuts. I live in leesburg and work in a Tysons. I like to use Gtown Pike and come into tysons from the back near my office. Man, I see people every day playing human f.rogger with turning left onto gtown pike. Jams up twice a day (commuting hours).
Interesting house for sure and can see why you like it. It’s unique - which means a unique and limited buyer pool. It speaks to a smaller segment than some other designs. The setting is beautiful! But the kids will indeed be absent of “hangin’ out” with their friends in the neighborhood -‘I see quite a bit of mommy/daddy duty with play dates and car time.
5 acres in Great Falls for $1m? That’s the true value here. If you buy it, I’d suspect your next buyer would probably view it as a tear down redo McMansion (or actual mansion). They’ll want the land and deduct offer by cost to demolish and remove.
I foresee lots of wood maintenance and suspect a property inspection report will discover a decent amount of hidden wood rot already, given the dense tree line so close.
But in my option, the deal killer is the roof. No flat roofs for me, ever, period. Only on commercial properties such as office buildings and hotels, where the roof is far far far more substantial than anything residential could ever handle. We get feet of snow at one time around here. Little/no pitch, means it sits there and melts into/onto the roof. No chance for wind or gravity to help slide it off.
The house a little franklin right design to it, which is cool.
Not trying to knock it too hard - just my thoughts.
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