DIY TV series - not for everybody
June 22nd, 2008 categories: Edits, What Not To Do
A client was really excited to see the house close to Kierland Commons in North Scottsdale with a huge lot and a fabulous garden; it had an elegant interior as well, all looked spectacular on the pictures…
I looked at the pricing archives of the property and found out that the price was already reduced $150k since 2007 and the home has been on the market for more than 300 days. In such an attractive area, this was suspicious; even in this market.
A clarification to our question was revealed as soon as we opened the door…
The first thing you could see in the immense space filled with soft light filtered through a row of windows just under the ceiling, was the travertine floor where every other tile had high corners. In other words the person whom put down the tile did not keep them level. See the picture below.
Though everybody sees what is wrong, the reaction is: “what is that??” asking one through another.
Next comes the kitchen… here a number of ‘onmygoshings’ did not indicate any feelings of desire toward this new and shinny kitchen.
The details of the do-it-yourself job stood out as would a polar bear on Phoenix. Really good quality cabinets were put in by someone who never saw a level in their life. These are not mistakes you have too look for; there are obvious gaps between cabinets. Who ever worked on this kitchen, did not have a possibility of noticing even 5 mm deficiency. The black granite counter top had rough cuts in the places where you would never expect to see roughness, like the joints. So lets call it a “misunderstanding”.
Next is the fireplace, made of faux rough stone. In this case the picture is truly all that is needed.
The result: the buyer, like most buyers, do not want to do a remodeling. They want a move in ready home.
The Reaction: thought this is a remodeled home with good materials like travertine floors and granite counter tops and wood kitchen cabinets it has the opposite effect that it should. The finish will leave a buyer in awe at the truly bad installation job. The cabinets can be corrected. That’s not a big cost. The granite counter top must go. Then the travertine floor must go as well. In total this will be very expensive to repair and it’s probably one of the main reason this home has been lingering on the market.
The other thing is, potential buyers will question themselves, “what else has been remodeled in such a shoddy way, maybe the electrical work, maybe plumbing?”
At a distance this is a wonderful home and it presents itself well, until you get closer, walk up the crooked pavers and enter the door and see the rest of the bad details inside.
This is still a great house to buy, for someone who wants to do some remodeling to a newly remodeled home but remember corrections are often more difficult and expensive then doing it right in the beginning.
Maybe, in some cases, the DIY TV series are not that helpful after all!
