For buyers of luxury real estate: Minutes of an open house.
by Mr. Janos, realtor, 603-438-9134
Facing the floor to ceiling triple window in the study of this luxury home built by Delbar Builders, I’m beginning to envy the future owners of this property. Today is a windy day and while waiting for inspiration to write this post, I’m watching the swaying tops of the tall oak trees sheltering this house. A quick recognition hits me; I wouldn’t mind living here, set up my office in this room, gaze down the winding driveway, then past the cul-de-sac and watch the flapping national flag on the portico of the house in the distance. No traffic, no noise, just the green of the grass, the weaving of tree tops, the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds chasing each other.
Then a car drives up the driveway: a young couple visiting my open house. They come in through the three-car garage and are immediately awed by the layout of the kitchen, the granite counter tops, the cherry cabinets and decorative vent hood. They live in Windham and are thinking about getting into a bigger home for their growing family.
Jim takes a step down into the two-story family room and is already placing his plasma TV over the mantle. Amy is admiring the extra deep windows and French door from the eat-in area to the deck, together they explore the front to back dining room and living room separated only by decorative columns. She is wondering how best to use and furnish this space and agree that it would be the place for large Thanksgiving parties with friends and family just like in her aunt’s house.
He is already poking at the triple window with the oval transom on top and wants to find out if people prefer vinyl or wood. The consensus is that that most people want low maintenance, no painting and wood is not coming back any time soon.
Climbing the hardwood treads of the turned staircase in the impressive two-story foyer brings the couple to the master bedroom. Jim likes the huge walk-in closet with wire shelves and is grinning; there is room here for him too. Amy is already in the luxurious bathroom caressing the smooth granite top of the double sink. He is complementing me for the on-line panoramic pictures of the custom shower while she is exploring the extra deep jetted tub.
When we move over to the wing with the three bedrooms over the garage, he recognizes that there are two staircases in this house and marvels how it feels like being downstairs when overlooking the family room from above. She loves the privacy of the master bedroom suite while being close to her young children.
In the bedrooms the utilization of space over the garage really impresses him. He comments how inefficient most floor plans are, with a monstrous game room or even worse; a super-sized master bedroom spanning three car stalls below. In all that space there is three bedrooms and a full bath here, and Amy quickly discovers that every last square foot is finished and used as closet or storage space. Jim also likes the views from the upstairs windows, although worries that curtains may be necessary when the adjacent lot is built on.
Down they go to the basement and have a brief argument about how best to use it. She mentions in-law apartment, he quickly replies: no, this is a workshop. Workshop it is (for now). The ceilings are 9 ft high, furnace, water heater and well tank, central vac are neatly out of the way. With two large windows on the left side, yes this space could be anything. They are both surprised by the extra stairs from the garage down to the lower level (for in-law or workshop) and appreciate that there is no bulkhead here.
Suddenly, we hear foot steps upstairs, I race up to meet the new visitors, leaving the young couple to their own devices to resolve their little contention about the lower level. It’s funny how open houses work: either nobody or multiple parties come at the same time.
The new arrivals are from Massachusetts, have an older home there and are considering to move to New Hampshire into a new upscale home. This couple is in a little bit of rush today, Mary is going to a party and explore the house together first. Later, Fred goes outside, checks out the mahogany decking on the farmers porch, he admires the workmanship of the beautifully finished fur ceiling. He inspects the round Portico columns and bends down to check the cobble stone pavers in the walkway to the front door and garage side entry. Then Fred decides to explore around the house, while Mary is lingering in the kitchen.
She opens most drawers, cabinet doors, glides her finger over the granite counter tops and comments that there is no pullout cutting board here. Mary has already discovered the pantry cabinet with the slide out shelves and is contemplating what kind of hardware she would pick that would go well with the cherry cabinets. She also likes the idea of choosing their own carpet colors for the family room and the bedrooms upstairs.
He is back from his backyard explore and is beaming after discovering the twin air exchangers for the central air. Now, Fred is on a quest to check the basement and his wife follows him. He is handy and would want to finish this space himself to take advantage of the 9 ft ceiling height and daylight windows on the lower level.
The young couple returns to the kitchen. They are pondering what price range would be ideal for them. He knows a lot about the real estate market, they have been doing this for a while. He has narrowed down their price range to the $600-750k range to stay near the sweet spot of home prices in Windham. They are concerned about the inventory of homes for sale and taxes going up. We discuss the long-term benefits of having a new high school in town and the effect of increasing real estate taxes. Overall Jim and Amy will be major beneficiaries of the high school and the anticipated appreciation of the homes in town.
On leaving, they pick up a copy of the article “Buying a home? Take your pick” that was published in the August issue of the WindhamLife Magazine about the recent real estate market trends and statistics.
The couple from MA emerges from the lower level and leave determined now that they need to put their house on the market. Fred and Mary seem to think that although this is a buyer’s market, homes like this one won’t last long.
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Disclaimer:
Characters in this post are imaginary; any resemblance to real persons is an act of coincidence.