Why is this house sitting? Arlington edition

[Anonymous]

It's teeny tiny

[Anonymous]

It is an overpriced 2-bedroom home. Period.

[Anonymous]

I don't think the yard is a real issue. These pictures were taken a few weeks ago before things started to green up. Our yard looked bedraggled then too, but it's filled in and greened up a ton since then. I think that's just the end of winter look. And if you hate to the putting green, I bet you could ask for an allowance to have it removed. Any landscaper could do that. The fence isn't great, but it would work for a dog until you save up to replace it with wood. Not a huge deal.

The real issue is the lack of a viable third bedroom. That's a very, very expensive problem.

[Anonymous]

I bet the stairs are going to need real railings to pass inspection. Those big holes won't fly with kids.

[Anonymous]

Some of the fencing may not be theirs. Owner likely had dog, see fenced driveway.
Having to go up or down stairs to use a bathroom is problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the street view. Strikes me as a teardown, so I wonder if there's an issue with the easements that is making it unattractive to a developer, or if they need to wait for the seller to come down on price.

This is one of those properties that is awkwardly straddling the line—it’s currently a bit too overpriced to be a teardown, while also being unappealing with too much work ($$) to bring it up to standard to appeal to real live-in buyers.

I agree, but I think the 2 real bedrooms is the real issue. Most people move to Arlington for the schools which means they have kids...a 3 bedroom SFH is sort of the bare minimum. A true basement bedroom might be passable, but this is just an open basement rec room being passed as a bedroom.

+100

If you have two kids do you put them both upstairs and just hope you can fit a queen bed in that tiny bedroom on the first floor? Or do you have one upstairs and one downstairs?

Are you considering the sun room the 3rd bedroom? From the listing I think they are considering the basement rec room a “possible guest suite.” Seems a stretch.

[Anonymous]

It's 1,500 sf. It's minescule for nearly $1M. And zero curb appeal.

[Anonymous]

I walked the 3D tour and I see now how terrible this floor plan is. It’s not even completely about size. I’ve seen very charming homes that were tiny but flowed well. This house has a horrible layout and zero charm. I wonder if it was originally 3 bedrooms upstairs and remodeled to become 2 larger bedrooms. The main floor is not welcoming and there’s no real dining space.

[Anonymous]

It’s basically only one bathroom and two bedrooms up.

Bad schools.

Priced too high.

Right off Carlin springs.

[Anonymous]

Not a desirable part of north Arlington which is why developers aren’t biting. A 6500 sq ft lot would sell at this price in almost any other area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a desirable part of north Arlington which is why developers aren’t biting. A 6500 sq ft lot would sell at this price in almost any other area.

The house below is nearby to the one we are discussing and it sold to a developer for $925K in December for the lot. I think there's another reason developers are staying away (easement issue perhaps like a PP mentioned?)

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/501-N-Jefferson-St-22205/home/11242628

[Anonymous]

It also looks like someone did a kind of cheap renovation on it, so now they’re trying to recoup the costs AND make money, but they didn’t really add any space or amenities, they just painted walls, refinished floors, and re-tiled the bathrooms and put new LVT in the basement.

[Anonymous]

We tried to sell a home (different area) with 2 bedrooms upstairs and two in the walkout basement. It was difficult.

We loved layout because we have 1 child and the house felt cozy. We did not make much profit when we were finally able to sell it.

The back and front of this house is a major turnoff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s basically only one bathroom and two bedrooms up.

Bad schools.

Priced too high.

Right off Carlin springs.

I don’t love this Home, but Ashlawn and WL are amazing schools – it gets not so great middle school with Kenmore but no middle school in Arlington is really all that.

[Anonymous]

Crime is getting out of hand in Arlington. People are avoiding.