Stupid real estate tricks
2007-12-13 15:40:12.505595+00 by
Dan Lyke
8 comments
I was sure I'd already said this, but apparently various real estate folks haven't got the message yet: Pouring wood chips around the house is only a substitute for real landscaping if you don't run the pieces of bark up into the siding and decks and other wood.
If you do, then the informed buyer will look at the property and see all the work they have to do to shovel that dumptruck's worth of fill out in order to protect the structure.
Or perhaps the problem is lack of informed buyers?
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2007-12-13 17:12:08.288301+00 by:
ziffle
The problem is people assume 'perception is reality' -- only flutterby could segue from Kant to house repair.
Another wonder is 'sto' applied to ahouse and then dirt is backfilled up to it, making it very pretty along with the wood chips.
#Comment Re: made: 2007-12-13 18:25:04.26124+00 by:
Dan Lyke
Oooh. "Sto" is a stucco finish? Yeah, definitely don't do anything to make my foundation inspections harder, at best it'll make me think you're hiding evidence of a potential sinkhole...
#Comment Re: made: 2007-12-13 18:34:56.954669+00 by:
ziffle
[edit history]
STO must be tested for moisture content and must not be near water or dirt as it wicks the water and rots the walls out. There was a class action against it.
#Comment Re: made: 2007-12-13 19:01:50.408897+00 by:
Dan Lyke
Thanks.
And on the Kant<->Real Estate connection, I think it's pretty solid: Although the language used can help us to understand the thing, it's important to remember that neither our conceptual models of the thing, nor our perceptions of the thing, are the thing itself. And that the thing exists outside of those perceptions and conceptual models.
Sometimes that thing is rotted siding with a fresh coat of paint and a truck load full of bark chips.
#Comment Re: made: 2007-12-13 20:17:25.959007+00 by:
ziffle
Dan: well you are not a Kantian then. A=A or "a rotted house IS a rotted house"
Primacy of existance over the primacy of consciousness.
Why not rent the house, with an option to buy for 10 years at a price of X and first right of refusal at the option price? Then you can fix the rotten house all you want, and when house prices go DOWN which will happen but you do not want to face :) you will be able to buy the house for less than the option price. The seller knows prices are going down so he wants to sell not option it however.
(must remember to use Firefox since it has a spell checker built in)
#Comment Re: made: 2007-12-13 20:48:33.316786+00 by:
Dan Lyke
Ziffle, I'm distinctly non-Kantian, but I do think much of human understanding of reality can be explained by mechanisms similar to what Gödel did for mathematics.
Actually, the particular house we're most interested in right now is in good shape, except for the roof, which needs replacement but is still recent enough to be sheathed correctly, and the K&T wiring (which appears to be in good shape, just K&T).
Well, and just a touch of wood chips that'll have to be shoveled out of the way.
And, yes, I also know all the reasons why buying right now is a bad idea.
#Comment Re: made: 2007-12-14 09:55:05.66693+00 by:
meuon
[edit history]
"...all the reasons why buying right now is a bad idea." - Or a good one.
Nancy sometimes watched the 'how to sell' HGTV-ish shows, they can be a riot, and it's amazing what they do that makes big dollar differences in a sale to -most- people,
#Comment Re: made: 2007-12-19 20:57:43.222116+00 by:
topspin
I'm surprised this isn't on Fox News yet......