Bank-Owned Beauty

We fell in love with and lost a bank owned property last month.  It gave us this grand idea that we could find a beautiful foreclosure home and walk away with a mortgage not much more than our current town home.

This month, a new one came on the market that had previously been listed as a short-sale.  Sadly, the owners lost their home to the bank and it was being offered as a REO property.  When we had seen it as a short-sale, it did not interest us.  They had a few photos of the living area painted in eccentric colors, and just in general the home looks a bit tired and worn.

How wrong we were.

Not bad right?  Especially for $298K.  Zillow estimates this home is worth $350K - $475K.

After the home foreclosed, an agent hired somebody to paint all of the walls eggshell white: so there are no yellow, orange, or red spaces and it is a blank canvas for what is asking to have custom designer colors.

It was built in the 60's, but the previous owners had done a lot to bring it into the new century including a very chic, modern, and gorgeous remodel of the kitchen.

Not to mention the breakfast nook and bar, tigers-eye granite counter tops, custom tile back splash, recessed lighting, maple cabinets, double convection oven, pantry space, 3 foot wide drawers, and 5 burner gas stove.

. . .droool. . .

This kitchen is the reason Dave and I had a hard time deciding that we would *not* be putting an offer in on this house.  Well, this kitchen. . .and the mud/sun room, formal dining room, and living room.

Again, ignore the color.  It is now eggshell white.  The light fixture is surprisingly modern and elegant in person, as is the tile which looks dated in this photo (hence the reason we overlooked this home when it was offered as a short sale).  This is the formal dining area, and I to the right of it an open, wasted space that is begging to be closed off and turned into an office.

The living room is a large, open space with a vaulted ceiling, moss rock fireplace, and sliding glass door to an outdoor patio.  The carpet is new, and the white walls are begging for a creamy shade of tan and one brown accent wall.  The 'mantel' is a pine tree sliced in half: gorgeous and simple.   To the right of the fireplace is a sitting window just begging for some beautiful pillows and plants.

Downstairs is a large room with French doors and a separate entrance that would work beautifully as a music studio.  Ignore the pink carpet that has also been replaced.

 In the basement is also a large laundry room with a randomly placed toilet, and that is where this home starts to fall apart.  Instead of a full bathroom downstairs, they have a toilet placed in the corner which in itself is kind of creepy.  Back upstairs some other issues are addressed: more reasons why we will not be placing an offer on this home.

This gorgeous hardwood room with a fireplace is considered a family room (despite the fact that there is a family room in the basement in addition to the studio room and laundry).  We can't imagine any other use for it than as the master bedroom, which would involve some strategic remodeling.

This layout of the home in the bedroom / master family room is as follows:

See the problem here?

a.  The master / family room is wide open and doesn't have much in the way of closets or bathroom access.

b.  Bathroom #2 is a teensy little sink and toilet, so the only shower in this 3000 square foot house is in bathroom # 1, which looks like this (needs updating, bad. . . ).  It's hard to tell in this photo, but the bathroom is a mess.

So, looking at it strictly from a practical standpoint, this home would require some renovation to make the bedroom area really truly work.  With two children running around (someday), this set up does not work well.

SO. . .our thought:

So, it's a lot of work.  The home is beautiful and move-in ready, but what we decided was that really we had been sucked in by the price and that gorgeous kitchen.  It was making us look past things that really are deal-breakers: that is, a lack of bathrooms, goofy layout, a messy yard, and no views whatsoever (lending to a closed-in feel).

We can do better, we know it.  I may not get a kitchen that beautiful , but I'm glad we aren't settling. . .because with this house (as much potential as it had), we would be settling.

Ahhh. . .we'll keep looking.