Fugly listings

[biliruben]

There are pools out there. Personally I find them a negative, as I have a dog and a small child. I don't think I'm alone. Why would you waste your yard on something you can use a few months out of the year?

[Charles Dean]

Properties with pools in the NW are only attractive to people who have never owned a pool or have never known anyone who has owned a pool. Especially in ground pools.

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[Charles Dean]

True, a small part of the population does swim year round, but not outdoors that whole time.

A pool in the NW is only usable from mid may to mid september. If you keep your pool heated up here any other time of the year, you're a fool.

[ira s]

In the several appraisal classes i took, I learned that in the Seattle area, not only does a pool not add value, but to find the value you need to subtract the cost of filling the pool in.

[Charles Dean]

[perfectfire]

[david_mcmanus]

Couldn't you also apply the pools argument to central air as well? It's only a nice-to-have 4 or 5 days out of the year. I've lived in places where central air was a need. You don't even want the bills for running that in the summer in the South. My in-laws, who live here, tried to get me to put one in our home because the home they had purchased had it. I told them I'd go and stay at the Four Seasons if it ever got too unbearable instead of dropping an ungodly amount of money on something I'd rarely use.

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[Dave0]

My grandparents in whatcom county had a pool when I was growing up and it was nice. They also had a ton of extra land and built a building around the pool so it was indoors. I'd say an outdoor pool on a normal sized city lot is a negative, but if you have the land and can make it indoors, it's a definite positive.

[redmondjp]

Ha ha ha, RCC!

Funny, you mentioning central air on probably the hottest day of the year.

Yes, just like that tuxedo--you don't use it except for a few times a year, but when you do use it, you really need it!

I grew up in eastern WA and used to spend all day outside with the temperature in the 90s or low 100s, but I'm really out of practice now!

Back to that fugly listing above, holy crap, almost $600K for that fixer ???? Folks, listen up, what we have here is proof positive that we've got a long way to go. And while on the rant, what's up with the discrepancies between some information in the listing and KC records?

Listing says: 2007 taxes are $2566
KC property records say it is: $2828 ($2566 was for 2006)
Listing SHOULD say: taxes for this coming year are $3076 (still seems low relative to the asking price)

Listing says: electric heat
KC records say: gas

[david_mcmanus]

[Alan]

Central air should probably have a maintenance checkup once a year too. It isn't a big expense but it is still there.

[Lake Hills Renter]

I don't really see the need for central air in the Seattle area. I'm from Texas, so I'm familiar with areas where central air is indeed needed. And I hate the heat so I tend to have less tolerance. I have a window unit AC that I put up in the computer room in the summer and use it generally when the daytime high is over 70 (to keep the hard drives healthy). That room also serves as a nice place to escape the heat when it gets to be too much (which for me is >80 degrees in the house). But even for me and my heat intolerance, central air seems overkill. I spend around 3/4 of the year with my windows open.

[WestSideBilly]