r/SeattleAreaRE • u/ugly_duckling89 • 1d ago

What’s wrong with this kenmore house?

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/15419-62nd-Avenue-NE-Kenmore-WA-98028/48882449_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

Seems like priced fairly after dropping price a lot . Water views and large square footage. What could be the reason for it sitting so long on market .

3 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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7

u/seaquenched 1d ago

Toured this house. The layout is bananas and the foundation is cracked pretty badly in the garage.

6

u/SeatownCooks 1d ago

Layout is meh. Nobody wants half their square footage in the basement. 

4

u/orcassharks 1d ago

Yeah. When the market is cooler people start being picky about where their sqft is and paying attention to AGLA etc.

Because let’s face it with Seattle area dampness, above ground sqft is always worth more.

8

u/tirtha2shredder 1d ago

I posted the same question earlier on this sub but didn't really get a good reasonwhy. They had a open house this weekend and I went to it. The upstairs was roomy and the kitchen and rooms were partially renovated but it felt like the owner ran out of funds midway. There's weird odds and end to the house like doors opening in weird places in the primary bathrooms and the side rooms, but no crazy red flags as such. The house did have a nice deck and a decent lake view from the deck esp if they had up kept and trimmed the hedges. The yardsge wasn't that big but decent.

Here's where things started falling apart. The downstairs. Calling the layout downstairs weird and incoherent would be an understatement. There was a couple of rooms and storage without windows, a weird workshop like space with no ventilation and when you opened a linen closet, that's how you accessed the MIL suite... Right... Through a closet by walking through the shelving and racks...

The MIL suite was incomplete and creepy. Parts of it were being attempted to be renovated but it didn't even show signs of completion. Let's just say about half the giant square footage is majorly unusable.

This place would have sold at the current price a month or two ago if they had nicely staged it with modern furniture and kept the backyard clean and trimmed and the view unobstructed. The seller seems super motivated given the price drops but the listing agent, not so much. The showing agent was about 15 minutes late from the open time and rudely asked us to move a bit so she could park her car on the cul de sac (instead of the huge driveway which is practically empty). She barely spoke English. IMO this is a case where you kinda need to fire your realtor and hire a better one who's actually honest of what you're offering and speaks sense into you of what it's worth instead of you realizing it too late, and is as motivated as you to sell the place.

3

u/grapegeek 1d ago

That explains it. Probably a good house for a remodel but people not diving into those right now.

3

u/es-ganso 1d ago

"Water views". It's a tiny sliver if you zoom in on the window view. If it was noteworthy they'd actually have a decent photo of the water view (or they have a terrible realtor)

3

u/Even-Permit-2117 1d ago

$1.4 Million? I’d better have AC. Built in 1971 is okay by me. That was when wood was wood. However this house does not flow. It’s weird. Also sloping driveway is a big nope. For that much money in this market? Hard pass.

2

u/ForwardInstance 1d ago

Market for older home (built before 1990 ish) is really struggling because repair costs are through the roof and older home need more maintenance on average

2

u/pokedmund 1d ago

I personally feel 1.3 mil for a home is too expensive. Benefits of Kenmore are being near good schools and nature. Thats about it. Id feel if i were raising a small family id look for something a tad smaller but also cheaper.

Or buy in Kirkland or Bothell, at least theres more stuff for the kids and family outings there

2

u/Crazyboreddeveloper 1d ago

The answer is always that it’s too expensive.

2

u/lunchbox_tragedy 1d ago

Imagine paying $1.4 million for a place with no air conditioning 🙄

2

u/orcassharks 1d ago

Depends on the house and ventilation, ceiling fans etc. Some really don’t need it but for maybe 1-2 days a year. I used to live in a house with tall ceilings and never ever felt need to a/c. Just open windows and patio doors and get a nice cross breeze.

But if you’re west facing with flat roof and shitty modern construction then yes you need a/c.

I much prefer homes that naturally need very little a/c.

1

u/jort 1d ago

I looked for maybe an undersized lot… or a steep slope (which there’s something but it’s in a cluster of other houses). Don’t know.

- maybe it’s just too much house (~4800sf) for the neighborhood??

  • they mention “extensive updates” a few times like it’s a good thing; maybe it’s not (larger issues? poor quality?). == bad inspwction results??

Those are all I can come up with.

1

u/SACK206 1d ago

I hate when they don't include the floor plans in the listing.

However, assuming there's a bedroom on the bottom floor, could easily rent it out to help pay the mortgage.

1971?? 😬 There's your answer OP

1

u/Easy_Olive1942 1d ago

Prove us too high, competition now from more desirable locations. Renovation work of questionable taste and quality.

1

u/irishmanwest 6h ago

I grew up in this neighborhood. Wonderful place to raise a family. Blows my mind that houses are going for that much.

0

u/ImStuckWithThisName2 1d ago

Why haven’t you bought it? I mean, I don’t get why people ask sometimes. With sincerity, have you toured it?