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wagnerpe

how important is cub appeal (style of house)

wagnerpe
11 years ago

Just curious what people think. I'm willing to look past an outdated or just "not my style" exterior if the inside is good for our family. My husband refuses to even look at (what he deems) "ugly" houses.

The biggest offender in my neighborhood - mansard style roofs; they are neither my nor my husband's favorite. They look very 1960 - 70's to me. I'm not saying the landscaping isn't nice or that they are in any kind of neglected state. It's simply the style of the home - so nothing the seller could do about it and nothing we could do about it without dropping major dollars on a facade renovation.

Just because it's not my dream home style, I would look at them and consider one if the inside was great; he won't get past the listing on Redfin.

What do you think.

Comments (20)

  • LuAnn_in_PA
    11 years ago

    Curb appeal and style of house are two very different things to me.

    A house could be exactly my style and still have zero curb appeal....

  • lazy_gardens
    11 years ago

    If the house is unattractive to one of you, don't bother to look at it.

    The time and $$$ it takes to install a new facade could be spent on something better.

  • nini804
    11 years ago

    The exterior style is *very* important to me...I could not live in a house that did not appeal to me architecturally. So I guess I am like your husband! Curb appeal, which to me means cosmetic touches and landscaping, is something I could fix if I liked the location and style of house.

  • DLM2000-GW
    11 years ago

    I don't need curb appeal to look at a house, but I need to see the possibility of curb appeal. If I really loved a location and the interior of a house, I'd look for ways to make the outside work for me, getting professional input if needed.

    Take a picture of the house in question and post it on the Decorating board - ask for curb appeal help. Also, try googling for updating a mansard roof home Some mansards are proportioned weirdly but others have nice lines and just need updating.

  • wagnerpe
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Great idea to post on the decorating board. I just think - take that roof down - but maybe there's a better way! I'll post the listing over there and see what they say.

  • Komeht
    11 years ago

    very. . .I'm not going to live in any ugly home. Ever.

    If there was something extremely unique about the lot - I might consider it.

    Otherwise - don't even show it to me, I'm not buying.

  • jakabedy
    11 years ago

    I'm with the others who say the house has to appeal to them architecturally. The bad part of that is it really restricts my choices when house hunting. The good part of that is . . . that it really restricts my choices when house hunting. I'm one who tends to analyze things to death and "shop" so much that the inventory has changed by the time I'm satisfied I've made the right choice. So having a smaller number of possibilities actually helps me with the decision making.

    In your particular case, your DH just can't stand the 60s-70s mansard houses. He can't stand them from the street, so just imagine how he'd feel if he had to live in one. I'm sure you've got plenty of other options, so I'd just look at the bright side and be glad you've eliminated at least one small sub-class of houses from the conversation!

  • tilenut
    11 years ago

    Agree with the others. Why choose something that you don't like and can't change? Your home is a huge investment. And it is, well, your home. You want to feel pleasure at the sight of it when you return to it.

  • kudzu9
    11 years ago

    In my almost 50 years of owning homes, I've found that the style of a home -- inside and outside -- has a significant effect on my outlook and disposition. I would never again live in a home that was unattractive in any way, regardless of its other qualities.

    This post was edited by kudzu9 on Fri, Mar 15, 13 at 12:41

  • pink_overalls
    11 years ago

    Agree with the others. You want to be proud of your home.

  • virgilcarter
    11 years ago

    Also agree with other comments. I would never consider buying a house whose exterior or interior was unappealing architecturally unless I was prepard to pay whatever it took to fix it to my liking.

    Life is too short to live anywhere that is unappealing and frustrating, if there is any choice whatsoever.

    Good luck wiht your project!

  • StPaulGal
    11 years ago

    It is huge, huge, HUGE!

    I bought my house last summer for just a hair under $110 per square foot. The average for my neighborhood is more like $175 a square foot. Houses here are most often 3 BR, 1.5 bath; mine is a 4/2.5. The only real difference? My house has a rather plain-Jane exterior. I have old white aluminum siding in a neighborhood of stucco and brick. The place also came with terrible aluminum awnings, which I removed immediately. I firmly believe that simply replacing the siding with stucco would add $50-70K to the sales price of this house, and that is something that comps would fully support.

    I was thrilled to find my house at a discount for its "ugly" face, but even as a bargain hunter there were plenty of properties I wouldn't even consider for aesthetic reasons. Any long, narrow, boxy houses were an instant "no." My new house may have a no-frills exterior, but at least it still has charm!

    Here is my "ugly" house on the day I closed, before I got rid of the awnings.

  • StPaulGal
    11 years ago

    ...And here is my next-door neighbor's house--you can even see the edge of mine in the picture--which sold in the same time frame for $171 per square foot.

    This post was edited by StPaulGal on Thu, Mar 14, 13 at 23:42

  • OttawaGardener
    11 years ago

    StPaul, I like your house! I don't like the stucco one next to it. We bought a ranch house (what we call a bungalow in Ontario) with faded white aluminum siding, an aging forest-green shingled roof, and shutters. We replaced the roof, removed the shutters, and I repainted the exterior (I confess that I've repainted it several times... cream, blue-grey, and now a light brown). My gardens now soften the siding.

    I would not buy a house that wasn't appealing or at least neutral (as I saw our house).

    By the way, our house sat on the market empty for 6 months, and we paid much less than houses around us sold for. We're still the littlest and least expensive house in the neighbourhood, but I love our home.

  • xamsx
    11 years ago

    StPaul, I like your house! I don't like the stucco one next to it.

    I was thinking the same thing!

  • robo (z6a)
    11 years ago

    My super nice realtor gave us some good words of wisdom -- if you walk into a house (or in your case, outside of) and one of you instantly hates it, turn around and walk right back out. Don't waste your time trying to convince someone to like something they hate as there are plenty of other fish in the sea. So true in our case. We walked into a house DH loved and I despised from the minute we walked in the door and were about to have an argument about it right then and there before he butted in. We eventually found something that had everything DH liked about that house and more in a better neighborhood.

    Of course the realtor also knew we were serious non-first-time buyers with cash and no cold feet so he might have felt more comfortable saying that!

  • StellaMarie
    11 years ago

    IMO there's a big difference between "not really my style" or feeling neutral about a style (as Ottawa suggests above) and actively disliking a house.

    For example, I'm neutral on ranches/ramblers and not a big fan of split levels. I love and adore 100 yr old Craftsman-style houses. Original trim and other details make me swoon. But I think I would pick a well-maintained ranch on an awesome lot in a great location over a gorgeous (IMO) place in a less ideal location. I might even talk myself into a split level for the perfect location. ;)

  • virgilcarter
    11 years ago

    Yes, well considering an existing house is based on a variety of issues, isn't it? For example:

    --Location
    --Property, lot or exterior spaces
    --Architectural character of house exterior
    --Architectural character of house interior
    --Suitability for one's life style
    --Condition of repair/maintenance necessary
    --Budget
    --And on and on

    Each of us has our own list, implicit or explicit, which we use as a yardstick.

    The suggestion of avoiding any house that one "hates" or simply has no strong feeling for, is sound advice.

  • StPaulGal
    11 years ago

    Wow, thanks guys! It's nice to hear that not everyone considers my house to be an ugly duckling! This is my first home, and I really do love it, even if it could use a slight bit more character. (In addition to getting rid of the awnings, I have also removed the screen door, and plan on painting the main door something more exciting than white-on-white)