Ugly House Photos

Our readers enjoy Before & After house photos.  Usually the After photos look better than the Before photos.  Maybe not so much in this example.

Here we see the After shower of a remodeled Phoenix home.  A modern design was used to create this curvy Flintstone shower.  Let’s look at the practicality of it.  First, the shower seat will receive 40% of the water and looks like it will hold soapy water without draining.  Phoenix water is loaded with minerals and will leave hard watermarks when it evaporates.  Second, where do you put your shampoo, soap, and loofah sponge?  Third, there’s no light inside.  You’d have to face outward to see things at night (we’ll get to that at the end of this post).  Fourth, will the water splash out into the bathroom?  There’s no lip.  If you’re then forced to add a shower curtain, it will further reduce visibility.  Fifth, thanks to one of our readers for pointing it out, you’ll likely get wet when pre-heating the water due to the control handle’s location.

Let’s check out the front of the house now.  This is the Before in 2004 when it sold for $127,000.

It was listed for sale in 2007 for $349,000 (didn’t sell) and here it is again in 2008 (didn’t sell) with lattice and a gravel yard.

The view behind the lattice.  Worth $222,000 more?

How it looked in January 2010 as a foreclosure home (no surprise); it sold for $56,000.  They removed $293,000 worth of lattice?

And then the new owner remodeled the home and listed it this summer at $195,000.  What do you think of the new modern design?

Here’s another angle so you can appreciate the cut metal facade.

Here’s how the house looked inside in 2008.  Note the beautiful wood floor.  And use the middle wall with the mirror as a reference point.

By January 2010, the wood floors were ruined.  How did that happen in 2 years?

And here’s the After photo from summer 2010.  They removed the wood floors and the archway.  If that’s their idea of modern lighting…

This was the kitchen in 2008.  Hardly worth $349,000 but better than summer 2010?

The kitchen in summer 2010.  When you cook, you get to look at a blank wall.

No other storage space seen.  No cabinets over the sink.

The hall bathroom from January 2010.

The bathroom from summer 2010.  Attention deficit disorder tile pattern?  Check out the showerhead!!!  Why is it so far over from the right?  Shouldn’t it line up with the tub?

The previous owners added on the house.

This is the master suite in summer 2010.  They polished the concrete floor.  Please note how you can see the shower from the bedroom.  Remember, with no lighting in the shower, the person will have to face out to see.  Be sure to wave to everyone.

Here’s that modern shower again.  There is a drain.  But does splashed water spill out into the bedroom?

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It’s a proven fact that buyers love dead branches in real estate photos.

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Is it topiary?  Bonsai?  Or just heavily manicured?  Two olive trees in Phoenix.  Yeah, we know; if it weren’t trimmed, we’d complain.  Just thought it was interesting to share.

If you’d like to see some animal topiary bushes, we posted this two years ago.

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We’re trying to find something nice to say about this house.

They saved money by not paying for a building permit for the room addition?  The back door is eco-friendly?  They recycle?  The electric panel is accessible?

They save time & energy by not having landscaping?  They didn’t waste money on a concrete driveway?  It’s a big lot?

The refrigerator is included with the sale?  The house has gas service?  The gas line serves as a cup holder?

The cabinets look new?  There’s a window above the sink?  Nice.

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No wasteful watering of grass or plants in this back yard.  Think of all the extra time you’ll have.

It does have mountain views.

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Another home needing staging advice and assistance.

Christmas decorations (lights, candy canes) still up in May.  Half dirt, half grass lawn.  Weight bench in the front yard.

Christmas tree is up.  Lots of family photos.  Cutesy sayings (”I Love You 2 Gore”??) (”Love Always & Forever”).  If they cleared everything out but the furniture, this would be a very nice room (nice floor, nice paint, nice size).

In case they get lost, the signage tells them the next room is the family room.  [Editor: I blocked out their name.]

Very dark family room.

They painted the walls with black paint.

When buyers see the clothes rack, they will assume the closets are too small.  Cluttered dresser doesn’t help.

There’s a big tree in the child’s room.

One of those glass vessel sinks.  But you can see all the plumbing underneath.

They enclosed the patio so that they could fill it with clutter.

More junk from another angle.

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Good times in Lansing, Michigan.

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Guest house?  Storage shed?  Workshop?  Home office?  Hiding place from all the junk?

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How do you spin this?  “Endless possibilities”?  “Unique eco-friendly fence made of paper”?  “Room enough for a pool”?  “Water conserving landscaping”?  “Shade filled yard”?

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Very basic strips of wood placed in a lattice formation around the front porch.  A first glance I thought it was cheap, but on further looks it seems to have an interesting mid-century modern feel.  I kinda like it.

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