Real Estate craziness (not mine.)

[Carrie12345]

There’s a house that was on and off the market for years and I was in love with the whole time.  It’s weirdly shaped and desperately needed some remodeling, so it was initially way out of our budget, usually priced in the $350k zone.  It was put back on and sold for $400k, after I had already signed to build. (2021) A month later, it was back on the market for $585, and eventually came down to $549.

I got a notification last night that it was updated, so of course I had to look.
Near-full remodel.
A terrible, ugly, over the top for no reason, shockingly bad remodel.  They took beautiful tongue and groove wood paneling and paneled EVERYTHING.  Every wall in every room.  Nearly every ceiling, except for the drop ceilings that they kept in some areas. And then put what appears to be LVP in most rooms, in tones that clash with said wood paneling.  And then they completely left the terrible kitchen layout alone.
Listed at EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. My insides are crying.

 

 

[Soror]

OH...... that is ugly. 

I wonder how much they put into it? Those seem like odd choices for a flip house to me but what do I know.

[Carrie12345]

1 minute ago, Soror said:

OH...... that is ugly. 

I wonder how much they put into it? Those seem like odd choices for a flip house to me but what do I know.

I have to assume they dropped a TON on all that wood. Unless it’s possible that it’s fake? I don’t want to link or post a ton of pics, but that stuff is EVERYWHERE in over 4,000sf. The above is a daylight basement shot. But it’s everywhere except the bathrooms and a few of the bedrooms. Even on 2-story walls and the enormous vaulted ceiling. Kitchen walls, basement walls…. Looking at it made me feel trapped inside a shipping crate.

I am no designer. My current house is by no means “styled”, and I’m terrified of making my new house look stupid. So I’m generally not one to talk, but ack!  I did have dreams of doing an adorable remodel on that house myself. It was pretty bad before; lots of pink and mirrors.  But I am stunned that this was an intentional choice. Made for the purpose of selling!!!  And in a market where they could have just run a carpet cleaner and maybe rolled some paint.

To be fair, they were struggling to sell. But I guarantee it was because our average is 3/2-4/3 in the $250-350 range. We don’t get many lookers for 4000sf at over half a million dollars.  I can’t imagine who told them the answer was to work their way closer to a million!

[Faith-manor]

Uhm, that hurts to look at. It had to be expensive, and came out not a lot better than a 1970's paneled from top to bottom even the station wagon kind of look. It is just really hard for me to imagine that price tag.

[JustEm]

I'm not gonna lie, I found the house you're talking about and can understand why you loved it. I love the interesting layout. I actually don't hate all the wood paneling but oh man that flooring with it is terrible and all the dropped ceiling. 

I can't imagine wasting all that money on the wood paneling though and then picking such an awful floor.  With a lot of colorful art on the walls the wood would just be wall for me, but I do live in a house with a good part of the downstairs that same paneling, which i didn't like when I move in😀

I also found what it looked like before all the wood paneling and awful floor and while in need of updating it was so much better than what it is now.

Edit to add: I certainly don't like the wood paneling but it could have been acceptable without the floor choice

Edited April 1, 2022 by hjffkj

[Carrie12345]

Just now, hjffkj said:

I'm not gonna lie, I found the house you're talking about and can understand why you loved it. I love the interesting layout. I actually don't hate all the wood paneling but oh man that flooring with it is terrible and all the dropped ceiling. 

I can't imagine wasting all that money on the wood paneling though and then picking such an awful floor.  With a lot of colorful art on the walls the wood would just be wall for me, but I do live in a house with a good part of the downstairs that same paneling, which i didn't like when I move in😀

I also found what it looked like before all the wood paneling and awful floor and while in need of updating it was so much better than what it is now.

Lol. I figured someone might. The before had so much more potential, imo. I really would have purchased it if the timing had worked out. 

[Innisfree]

Yikes. Somebody made some bad decisions.

 

[JustEm]

3 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

Lol. I figured someone might. The before had so much more potential, imo. I really would have purchased it if the timing had worked out. 

I couldn't help looking for it. I love odd real estate pictures.

[mommyoffive]

Wow that is terrible!  Let us know if ever sells.

[happi duck]

i agree with @Soror Those are shocking choices if it's a flip.

I've had a favorite house since childhood.  The internet made it possible for me to finally see inside.  I was so disappointed.  Someone had remodeled to the point where it didn't match the outside at all and looked like every other flipped house.  I wish I could've seen the original interior.

[ktgrok]

I'm going to assume the person who bought it was rich and senile. Did this and then ended up in a nursing home. Because other than true dementia, this makes no sense. 

[Harriet Vane]

1 minute ago, ktgrok said:

I'm going to assume the person who bought it was rich and senile. Did this and then ended up in a nursing home. Because other than true dementia, this makes no sense. 

Either that or perhaps a guy I know. This person has been the crazy guy in my bunch for a looooong time. Always a get-rich-quick scheme and always trying to do something "cutting edge." Cuts corners on weird things and overspends on weird things. Always thinks whatever he made or did is worth vastly more than it is. Always bragging, always overstepping boundaries and expecting a lot from those around him.

I could totally see him doing something like this.

[Carrie12345]

4 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

I'm going to assume the person who bought it was rich and senile. Did this and then ended up in a nursing home. Because other than true dementia, this makes no sense. 

I’d love to have heard the conversation with the contractor.

I had a contractor who REALLY didn’t want me to do what I was suggesting with my current house.  He offered me a plan that was very different from my vision at a price he told me I shouldn’t really be considering for my neighborhood.
And my current builders have flat out refused some of the things they disagreed with me on, like pre-working our attic to be finished later. And fought me on two basement exits. (I won that one.)

So now I’m picturing an old person throwing 3x the actual cost at a reluctant but hungry person.  Sad. But funny. But sad.

[itsheresomewhere]

I admit I like the paneling.  But I hate the color of the flooring.  

[JustEm]

38 minutes ago, happi duck said:

i agree with @Soror Those are shocking choices if it's a flip.

I've had a favorite house since childhood.  The internet made it possible for me to finally see inside.  I was so disappointed.  Someone had remodeled to the point where it didn't match the outside at all and looked like every other flipped house.  I wish I could've seen the original interior.

the same thing happened to my favorite house from my childhood.  The outside was so incredibly beautiful and detailed. It came on the market a few months ago for the first time in my lifetime and it is just awful looking.  They destroyed the inside details and just made it look like every other flipped house.

[JustEm]

18 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

I'm going to assume the person who bought it was rich and senile. Did this and then ended up in a nursing home. Because other than true dementia, this makes no sense. 

I don't know.  There is a flipper in this area who continuously turns out the ugliest end products that don't even make sense design wise.  Like the almost 5000 sq ft house in my neighborhood they did.  They put brand new hardwood floors but picked this reddish color that is so outdated. The bathrooms were remodeled but looked like a bathroom from the early 2000's. And they had all the space in the world to make the kitchen really amazing but they kept it the original lay out which was maybe a 12 by 12 space. So, it looked ridiculous when every room but the powder room was significantly larger that the kitchen that they also picked outdated cabinets and counter tops for.

[Spryte]

Wow. That’s painful to view, in just one pic. Can’t imagine an entire house.

Wait, now I want to see more. Morbid curiosity.

The paneling and floor look like they belong in two separate houses. And that ceiling. 

[happi duck]

3 hours ago, hjffkj said:

the same thing happened to my favorite house from my childhood.  The outside was so incredibly beautiful and detailed. It came on the market a few months ago for the first time in my lifetime and it is just awful looking.  They destroyed the inside details and just made it look like every other flipped house.

Flipped interiors lose so much charm especially with interesting exteriors.  I feel like someone who loves the outside would have much more work to do inside to make it work for them.  It also seems that someone who loves the flipped look would hate the "old" or "weird" exterior, kwim?

The other flipping thing I dislike is taking small houses and giving them flip finishes that don't work in small spaces.

 

[stephanier.1765]

Um, my jaw just dropped. Just why?

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, hjffkj said:

I don't know.  There is a flipper in this area who continuously turns out the ugliest end products that don't even make sense design wise.  Like the almost 5000 sq ft house in my neighborhood they did.  They put brand new hardwood floors but picked this reddish color that is so outdated. The bathrooms were remodeled but looked like a bathroom from the early 2000's. And they had all the space in the world to make the kitchen really amazing but they kept it the original lay out which was maybe a 12 by 12 space. So, it looked ridiculous when every room but the powder room was significantly larger that the kitchen that they also picked outdated cabinets and counter tops for.

Wonder if he was buying old, out of date stuff at a discount?

[Grace Hopper]

8 hours ago, Innisfree said:

Yikes. Somebody made some bad decisions.

 

Or made their choices based on what was on clearance sale. I think some of these flips are done by young guys who do not ask their mothers, wives, or girlfriends for any input on their design choices.

[JustEm]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

Wonder if he was buying old, out of date stuff at a discount?

probably 

[itsheresomewhere]

15 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

Or made their choices based on what was on clearance sale. I think some of these flips are done by young guys who do not ask their mothers, wives, or girlfriends for any input on their design choices.

Or they asked the family members who had really interesting taste.  There is a house near me who I know the people who flipped it.  The mom fancy’s herself a designer.  Think the 80s and hippies with a bit of self tanner.  Houses here fly off the market quickly.  This one took some time and the new buyers had a dumpster the first week they owned it. 

[Annie G]

We call that remuddled.   Ugh. It hurts to look at it. 

[teachermom2834]

I’m going to assume the guy had a bunch of that flooring leftover from another project. My dh has a way of talking himself into anything looking good.

[prairiewindmomma]

Dang that's ugly. The only way out of that without changing the flooring is to spray paint the paneling white and put in a proper ceiling.

That's super sad that they ruined that house.

[wintermom]

The wood panelling is going the wrong way. It should be up and down. That is just weird. Imagine the work to pull it all off and redecorate a normal way. 🤪

[KungFuPanda]

Maybe he was colorblind?

[Faith-manor]

I came back to see if it improved with time. I feel like it poked my eye out!

[Carrie12345]

8 hours ago, Spryte said:

Wow. That’s painful to view, in just one pic. Can’t imagine an entire house.

Wait, now I want to see more. Morbid curiosity.

The paneling and floor look like they belong in two separate houses. And that ceiling. 

It’s a shame you can’t receive messages. 😉 

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, Carrie12345 said:

It’s a shame you can’t receive messages. 😉 

Well I can.  😂

[Spryte]

2 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

It’s a shame you can’t receive messages. 😉 

Oh, oops! Is my box full? I’m off to clear space now — right now! — because I am really hoping for a message! 😁

ETA: Oh my. I looked at the pic again. Thinking it couldn’t be as bad as I remembered. Oh my. It’s stunning, absolutely stunning how they managed to ruin a house. 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Spryte

[Lisa]

That is so ugly! My eyes hurt!😝

[fraidycat]

He heard Chip & Joanna use shiplap a lot and now they're famous and rich and stuff, so more shiplap will make him more famous and more rich. 
 

Or something?? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Maybe he was going for infamous for murdering a house and viewer's eyesight. Two birds, one stone kinda thing. 

Anyway, ack! That is awful.

 

[lmrich]

NO!!!!! that is awful. 

[Catwoman]

That house is tragic! It’s hard to even imagine so many bad choices all in one house!

[Laura Corin]

Husband says it looks like a roller skating rink where you might run into the pillar. 

[Faith-manor]

11 hours ago, Catwoman said:

That house is tragic! It’s hard to even imagine so many bad choices all in one house!

Tragic is a very good word!

[mommyoffive]

On 4/1/2022 at 8:18 PM, Carrie12345 said:

It’s a shame you can’t receive messages. 😉 

Wait you have more pictures!!

[YaelAldrich]

1 hour ago, Laura Corin said:

Husband says it looks like a roller skating rink where you might run into the pillar. 

This was exactly my thought!  Ill conceived roller rink.

[Faith-manor]

No matter how many times I come back to this thread and look, it does not improve. What is that definition of insanity again! 😂

[Excelsior! Academy]

More money than sense.

[Carrie12345]

Latest (and first, really) update - they dropped the price $50k.

It only has 67 saves in 28 days on Zillow, and mine is only to keep tabs for fun!

[fraidycat]

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

Latest (and first, really) update - they dropped the price $50k.

It only has 67 saves in 28 days on Zillow, and mine is only to keep tabs for fun!

I'd bet that most are.