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Which one of you tastefully pretentious bitches of a certain age put their weekend house on the market?

It's hitting all the right designery Cliff Notes-- carefully stacked art books, framed pictures of your celebrity run-ins, a curated bar selection, the Hermes throw, a Warhol leaning casually. Why, it could be Kirker's dream house! I actually think it's pretty nice, but snark away, tasteful friends!

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by Anonymousreply 131July 13, 2019 2:04 AM

Cute!

by Anonymousreply 1June 18, 2019 1:40 PM

It’s mine. Lovely little salt box, but I’ve outgrown it.

by Anonymousreply 2June 18, 2019 1:44 PM

Why so cheap?

by Anonymousreply 3June 18, 2019 1:49 PM

Didi, however did you manage with something so...petite?

by Anonymousreply 4June 18, 2019 1:49 PM

A house that old comes haunted. I prefer to create my own ghosts.

by Anonymousreply 5June 18, 2019 1:52 PM

Lovely.

by Anonymousreply 6June 18, 2019 1:52 PM

Whoever is responsible for stacking the art books on the dining table should be viciously slapped!

by Anonymousreply 7June 18, 2019 1:58 PM

I think it is quite nice.

The "Dinner Party for Books" is silly and looks cluttered.

The enormous photos of famous people make the living room look like an open People magazine.

Other than that, it is lovely.

by Anonymousreply 8June 18, 2019 2:02 PM

That was Consuela my housekeeper, Sylvia. She thought they were cookbooks.

by Anonymousreply 9June 18, 2019 2:05 PM

Yes, a lot of eye rollingly pretentious staging to make even the most fussy queen snicker. By contrast, the stacks of books on the dining room table give the impression that some fundy family home schools their litter of six kids there.

by Anonymousreply 10June 18, 2019 2:10 PM

This is tasteful to the point of precious. I assume the choices worked for the owners, but it is really odd to have the dining room table in the entry and the office where the dining room table would most logically be. I also love the large bed that has about 18" between the foot of the bed and the wall. Really?

by Anonymousreply 11June 18, 2019 2:10 PM

Books on table are horrible. No good stager would allow all the personal photographs. Too many throw pillows. It's a good try for a newbie gay stager but needs a bit more refinement.

by Anonymousreply 12June 18, 2019 2:24 PM

At first look I knew it was in New England.

by Anonymousreply 13June 18, 2019 2:29 PM

I agree with r11. The dining room table being a few feet from the entryway isn't a good look to me and the bed is way too small for that bedroom. They did quite a bit with the staging; the house is basically two or three large open spaces on the first floor. And the second floor is hampered by the sloping ceilings. I seriously doubt that a buyer off the street could make that house look anything close to what it looks now. Those spaces are challenging to say the least with the lack of closet space and the elongated open living areas. The outside is awful. A gravel driveway and sidewalks -- seriously? Not appealing to an older person who might not be too far away for mobility issues. Plus the yard is busted and the house itself has little exterior presence -- most of the decorating money was spent inside. It would cost a lot of money to correct those issues.

Still, it's very nicely presented for what it really is.

by Anonymousreply 14June 18, 2019 2:31 PM

R14, Your comments about the outside baffle me as a New Englander. The gravel drive and walks are typically New England, particularly if the house has a well. You want the water to seep down to the aquifer. You don't want it running off the property.

I don't understand why you think the yard is "busted". Aside from one patch of dead grass, it looks fine. The house is surrounded by woods. Trust me, nothing looks more out of place than a manicured lawn around a house nestled in the woods. I am not sure when the photos were taken, but I bet much of the yard was still dormant. We don't get spring growth until May at best. This year it was late May-June. Granite is plentiful, at least in NH; so, it is quite common to see it used for steps, garden borders, mailbox posts, etc.

The exterior of the house looks exactly what a 1790s house should look like. It is a tradition in New England for a house to be painted all white, even the trim.

by Anonymousreply 15June 18, 2019 2:59 PM

Is that OPRAH in the photo?

Like they are TOTALLY good friends with her.

The whole house is like living in Instagram.

by Anonymousreply 16June 18, 2019 2:59 PM

Thank you r15 for clearing things up. I live in the Midwest so I'm not familiar with New England house traditions. It's classic New England then; now I get it. However, the gravel around the house while environmentally sensible would be a nightmare for an older person -- and I'm talking 50's and up. Are paved areas unheard of in rural New England? The granite is very pretty. And I might have been too hard on the exterior but the exterior areas don't look too inviting -- I didn't see any place for outdoor entertaining. I get that this house is old and traditional but they did a really good job of updating the interior given its limitations (storage seems to be an issue though), couldn't they have updated the exterior areas a bit more? People with mobility issues, who ride bikes or want to grill outside won't buy this house which also needs a garage given the inclement weather for at least half the year. Like I said before, there is a reason the price is so low.

by Anonymousreply 17June 18, 2019 3:19 PM

R17 my husband and I would be ideal candidates for this house, as a weekend home. We both look forward to our weekends to unwind and be unsocial, and don’t have mobility issues (early 4Os). By the time we are retirement age we’ll probably relocate to a more eldergay friendly location anyway.

by Anonymousreply 18June 18, 2019 3:30 PM

R17, if you look, there is a barn/garage with the driveway leading to it in picture 24. Appears to be a parking area at the front, and the driveway is screened by a big hedge. I guess it would be nice to have a patio off the back door, but it seems there's plenty of room for outdoor entertaining. It's a simple house in the middle of nowhere, so that is what really explains the price. The price is actually high for the area because the house is so done up. Just take a look at some of the adjacent homes, if you scroll down. Paved driveways are not unheard of out in the country, but I'd say the majority are gravel.

by Anonymousreply 19June 18, 2019 3:39 PM

R17, a driveway with gravel, although it may not be the most suitable for people with mobility issues, is what one has if one comes from old money or if one knows the right thing to do. Driveways with bricks, paved stones, or (God Forbid!) paved asphalt are for the parvenus and nouveau riche. Trust me. Kate Middleton's family has a paved driveway at their home.

The house and property are lovely. Many homes in the area open up to the dining room. I agree with the books on the dining room table. Are the owners operating a bookstore? What bothers me are the pictures of JFK and Nelson Mandela. Are the current owners relatives of either two men? They are not personal photos. Horrible choices!

by Anonymousreply 20June 18, 2019 3:55 PM

It's right on the corner of Route 8, so that's a lot of traffic whizzing by.

by Anonymousreply 21June 18, 2019 4:01 PM

R17, actually, gravel is better for those of us with mobility issues. Flat surfaces; asphalt, flagstone, brick, cobblestone; can get very slippery with rain and snow. Also, since it is porous, there is less of a chance of having hidden ice under a layer of snow.

Outdoor living can be somewhat limited in New England. Between black fly season, mosquitoes, gnats, and ticks, eating out of doors is not the option one might think it is.

by Anonymousreply 22June 18, 2019 4:06 PM

It’s too white inside. Looks sterile.

by Anonymousreply 23June 18, 2019 4:07 PM

[quote]there's a reason it's only $389k

Yes, and that reason is it's in the middle of no where on the border between CT and western Mass. They aren't marketing it to seniors with or without mobility issues. They need one floor living, a warmer climate and something to do in their spare time.

by Anonymousreply 24June 18, 2019 4:08 PM

It’s 1/4 of the price of my house in LA, and twice the size. Hmmmmm

by Anonymousreply 25June 18, 2019 4:09 PM

This a home for a couple or a couple with a baby. Not enough room for school aged kids. And why is everyone banging on about elders with mobility issues? No one retires in the middle of no where in rural New England. The winters are much too harsh.

by Anonymousreply 26June 18, 2019 4:14 PM

The office is my favorite room. lol. The kitchen has about zero counter top space though. Otherwise lovely place. A bit too cold and sterile for my taste. Needs more color. And fewer pretentious pics of famous people. :)

by Anonymousreply 27June 18, 2019 4:24 PM

I saw at least two large photos of JFK, are they Kennedys or just Kennedyphiles?

by Anonymousreply 28June 18, 2019 4:24 PM

I just could not live in a house with that low of ceilings, too claustrophobic and I am only 5ft 11 in, I can't imagine someone tall living there.

by Anonymousreply 29June 18, 2019 4:28 PM

[quote] No one retires in the middle of no where in rural New England. The winters are much too harsh.

Weirdly, that is not true. We retired to NH. Our church is probably 75% people who retired here from NY, PA, or NJ. Mind you, if one retires sat 65, one has several years, if not decades before the senior living facility. And, you can hire someone to handle the snow for you, just like hiring someone to mow the lawn. Oddly, the next step seems to be to move to a senior living facility in Mane.

This house is similar to ours, except ours is 1740. Perfect for two people. The yard is not too much to keep up. We got our house cheap for that reason. Too small for a family, but perfect for a couple.

by Anonymousreply 30June 18, 2019 4:33 PM

It's not geographically correct -- surprising that these very extremely old homosexualists would have ended up there. Perhaps one of them inherited it from their Aunt Bee when she died back in the 1950s. And the staging is more than pretentious -- it's silly. The books on the table, the huge bed in the tiny room, the lack of any personal taste -- if these photos are the best they can do for the house, imagine what it's really like.

by Anonymousreply 31June 18, 2019 4:38 PM

I see the total assessment tax-wise on this dinky property is $196,800 , as a non American this seems a phenomenal amount. I understand there are certain deductions one can make but it must still amount to a hefty bill. What's the story there?

by Anonymousreply 32June 18, 2019 5:05 PM

R32 you know that’s not the amount of tax paid, right? It’s a percentage of any amount, annually.

The annual property taxes on this are a little over $6,000 per year. That’s really low; by comparison, we live in a suburb of NYC and pay $20,000

by Anonymousreply 33June 18, 2019 5:10 PM

R33 No, I'm in the UK. Yikes, $20,000! I have a house in London and the taxes are only £2,500 a year ( around $3000 )

by Anonymousreply 34June 18, 2019 5:17 PM

It’s very nice, but just a bit too curated. The selection and placement of the accessories and art are just a bit too on the nose and designed by the numbers. Even the stuff that’s supposed to look unexpected or quirky seems like it was voted on by committee.

by Anonymousreply 35June 18, 2019 5:55 PM

The large format photos on the walls downstairs are to make the low ceilings feel higher than they are, no?

by Anonymousreply 36June 18, 2019 6:04 PM

Didi, sweetie? You left a squeeze bottle of Vagisil or lube on the nightstand in the master bedroom. Might want to have the real estate agent photoshop that out.

by Anonymousreply 37June 18, 2019 7:14 PM

A photo taken with Oprah on the book shelf and a Nelson Mandela portrait on the wall, that house definitely does not belong to a datalounger.

by Anonymousreply 38June 18, 2019 7:25 PM

I'm seeing Diane Von Furstenberg, not Oprah, which definitely tilts us back to a Datalounger.

by Anonymousreply 39June 18, 2019 7:46 PM

The house is cheap because that region of CT is BFE. It's pretty isolated, heavily wooded and sparsely populated. It's lovely, though, if you enjoy a woodsy, rural setting and you don't need lots of options for food and entertainment etc.

by Anonymousreply 40June 18, 2019 7:53 PM

I like it, but it needs a pool.

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by Anonymousreply 41June 18, 2019 7:53 PM

It looks like a branch of Half Price Books.

by Anonymousreply 42June 18, 2019 7:58 PM

It looks like Frog Cott, which is not a compliment.

by Anonymousreply 43June 18, 2019 8:11 PM

I love these posts - what's amazing to me is how quickly gay people can look at an interior and say - that's a gay man's house. It only took me about 3 photos in. It is one of the few defining traits we have it seems.

I have to wonder if straight people could do the same. I don't think they could.

by Anonymousreply 44June 18, 2019 11:36 PM

Damn your, r37--you beat me to it! LOL!

Lube on the night table--gauche!

by Anonymousreply 45June 19, 2019 12:24 AM

I don't think that's supposed to be a dining room table in the entry hall--more like a table that's too big for the space. There's a (small) dining table in the kitchen that would do for dinners except when there are more than a couple houseguests. I agree with whoever said the office area would be better suited as a dining area, and move the office upstairs.

Twin-size beds in the guest bedrooms?

by Anonymousreply 46June 19, 2019 12:38 AM

Ha, Isn't it funny that we can tell it's a gay man that lives here, R44? I can't put my finger on what it is exactly, but I know it when I see it. This is a similar vintage somewhat close by, but you can completely tell it's a straight frau. It's nice, but in the hands of a gay man, I bet it could be pretty spectacular. NO aqua Adirondack chairs, Linda! How many times do we have to go over this?

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by Anonymousreply 47June 19, 2019 12:39 AM

R24 and R40 are correct. This house is fairly cheap because it’s in the middle of nowhere. If the location were somewhere desirable such as Kent, Washington, Sharon, or even Cornwall, the price would be at least twice what they are asking.

by Anonymousreply 48June 19, 2019 12:50 AM

At least there isn’t a goddamned cat sitting on the kitchen counter!

The home is beautiful, by the way.

by Anonymousreply 49June 19, 2019 1:01 AM

I'll take any chance I can get to use one of my favorite terms, "dining foyer".

by Anonymousreply 50June 19, 2019 1:02 AM

But Ruth, do you pronounce it "foy-yer" or "foy-yay?" Only one way is "classy."

by Anonymousreply 51June 19, 2019 1:14 AM

Only 1 shower? I think it needs a full guest bathroom.

by Anonymousreply 52June 19, 2019 1:18 AM

"Foy-yer" is just fine.

by Anonymousreply 53June 19, 2019 1:28 AM

They should have used a flat paint on all the ceilings. They are too low for sheen.

by Anonymousreply 54June 19, 2019 1:30 AM

Where’s the bidet?

by Anonymousreply 55June 19, 2019 1:33 AM

Look in the barn, R55. All the tastefully pretentious people do that these days.

by Anonymousreply 56June 19, 2019 1:36 AM

It looks like the house Andre Leon Talley was filmed in for his documentary.

by Anonymousreply 57June 19, 2019 1:41 AM

You could really make good money building book shelves on the East Coast.

by Anonymousreply 58June 19, 2019 1:42 AM

Sweeties, you don't buy a house based on the pillows or books on a table. Look beyond the staging. Is it too much to assume some of you might have an imagination?

by Anonymousreply 59June 19, 2019 2:54 AM

If you're a recluse type or you enjoy nature walks and stuff like that, Northwest CT is perfect.

by Anonymousreply 60June 19, 2019 3:00 AM

Love Litchfield County. Beautiful houses and towns. Though Colebrook is pretty far up there - almost Berkshires. Used to live 2 towns away and realized you can live in southern Litchfield Co and save an hour driving each way to/from NYC.

Amazing deals all over Litchfield for weekend homes. All the jobs disappeared and the state is going slowly bankrupt so weekenders are the only ones buying. My old house resold for less than I sold it for 10 years ago.

by Anonymousreply 61June 19, 2019 3:10 AM

Lovely. But the inhabitants will have to be under 6' tall.

by Anonymousreply 62June 19, 2019 3:18 AM

Not crazy about the exterior but the interior is extremely tasteful. Relaxed with the perfect amount of pretentiousness. Love it.

by Anonymousreply 63June 19, 2019 3:30 AM

I know many are unfamiliar with houses as old as this, but the ceiling height isn't that bad. A standard exterior door is 6'8'. These have been replaced and are not antique. From the pictures, you can tell that the downstairs ceilings are at least 7'6' or even a little higher, not much lower than a standard 8' ceiling.

by Anonymousreply 64June 19, 2019 3:33 AM

The house is lovely, but it is staged using every trick in the book. I’m gay but I just don’t have enough velvet rage to tweeze out those over the top arrangements. Can’t we just be sloppy sweaty guys with little to no taste? Black leather furniture and a shower for six, done (thank you Karen Walker).

by Anonymousreply 65June 19, 2019 4:00 AM

I’m always amused when realtors take photos that focus on the owner’s stuff rather than the house itself. Closeups of pieces of furniture, etc. Why?

Plus in this particular house there’s so much clutter/stuff it obscures the house itself in many cases. They need to get rid of a lot of their crap and take new pics.

by Anonymousreply 66June 19, 2019 4:20 AM

The stove and the sink are opposite from each other with the kitcen table between them. How the heck do they transport heavy pots of water, sauce, etc. Carrying a hot pan or pot to the sink has got to be an accident waiting to happen.

For as staged as this place is, it bothers me how the towels in the bathroom are so sloppily hung.

by Anonymousreply 67June 19, 2019 4:25 AM

Trying to figure out how the Nelson Mandela art fits into the puzzle.

by Anonymousreply 68June 19, 2019 4:28 AM

I love it.

by Anonymousreply 69June 19, 2019 4:30 AM

A picture of JFK? I guess one of them is Irish Catholic.

by Anonymousreply 70June 19, 2019 4:32 AM

Nice house. The ceilings are too low.

by Anonymousreply 71June 19, 2019 4:52 AM

Love it. In 1750, people weren't into trying to heat lots of empty space. The ceiling heights don't bother you, just stop thinking about it unless you are over seven feet tall!

by Anonymousreply 72June 19, 2019 6:08 AM

[quote]I’m always amused when realtors take photos that focus on the owner’s stuff rather than the house itself. Closeups of pieces of furniture, etc. Why?

Agree. A lot of RE photographers do this and its incredibly annoying. People looking at houses don't want to see a close up of a soap dish or a pretty wreath on the front door.

Even more annoying is when a listing has several photos of the town, landmarks of the city, a local lake or the beach that's a mile away. Bitch, no one wants to slog through fifteen stock photos from the chamber of commerce.

by Anonymousreply 73June 19, 2019 9:32 AM

Goddamn, that place is clean. Scary clean.

by Anonymousreply 74June 19, 2019 10:10 AM

Paint covers problems. The shingles look like they need a little work. Rooms to choppy and ceilings to low. Does water wash down on the house?

by Anonymousreply 75June 19, 2019 10:43 AM

R67 Thank you! That towel hanging absolutely stopped me from looking further at this place. It definitely looks used, not new. If they can't replace a dirty towel, what else has been overlooked?

by Anonymousreply 76June 19, 2019 11:43 AM

Nice house

by Anonymousreply 77June 19, 2019 11:48 AM

I love everyone complaining about the ceiling heights. Just how tall are you? Our old place had a cathedral ceiling. For me, that is what I would never, ever have again. Major waste of heating and changing the light bulbs in the recessed lighting was a pain in the ass.

As I mentioned above, our new house is 1740. During the winter, we primarily use a wood stove, but we also have oil heat. I love the low ceilings particularly when it is below zero. Well, particularly when we get the oil bill.

by Anonymousreply 78June 19, 2019 11:49 AM

If this is in Litchfield County, this is probably a weekend get away home for someone in NYC, maybe someone in the entertainment industry. The interior is very tasteful, true, but doesn't look New England rural enough. It could be in Palm Springs or anywhere else. The gravel drive would not be a problem if this is only used occasionally. The simple, spartan landscaping make perfect sense and is age/area appropriate.

by Anonymousreply 79June 19, 2019 11:59 AM

[quote] Whoever is responsible for stacking the art books on the dining table should be viciously slapped!

Completely agreed. It takes the stacked book thing ridiculously beyond its original intention.

by Anonymousreply 80June 19, 2019 12:17 PM

I agree the price is eyebrow raising. Are they “motivated” sellers?

by Anonymousreply 81June 19, 2019 12:19 PM

Oil heat, a septic system, the gravel driveway, a well and the tax valuation are all red flags, especially for a second home. And it is really isolated as a place to live full time.

Oil heat = deliveries by the heating oil people. Tough to do if that gravel drive isn’t plowed and when it is, you’ve moved all the gravel The queens above dumping on paved driveways have never shoveled one that’s gravel. Septic systems fail when they’re not maintained and need to be pumped out. The mechanical systems for the well need work, too, and during a drought you may have no water at all if the water table falls. Well water needs to be filtered and tested frequently in addition to being pumped and stored.

And the town’s valuation at half the asking price most likely means the assessor hasn’t been there since the re-do. Meaning if it sells for $399,000, the new tax bill will double based on the selling price in a year or so.

Nice to look at past the staging, but nowhere I’d want to live.

by Anonymousreply 82June 19, 2019 12:23 PM

[quote]I can't put my finger on what it is exactly, but I know it when I see it.

Gee, let me run a finger down those carefully edited photo book spines, and let us help you.

Greg Gorman? PING!

Private Collection by Ken Haak? PING PING!

Male of the Species by Arthur Tress? PING PING PING!!!!

All that's missing is the abstract fisting lithograph. Why?

by Anonymousreply 83June 19, 2019 12:39 PM

R82, bollcks. I shovel a gravel drive every year. It isn't the least bit difficult. As I mentioned above. You can also get someone to do it for you. It isn't any more expensive than getting a landscaper to mow your lawn. Having a snow plow on one's truck is how a lot of tradesmen make money during the winter when it is too cold for construction, etc. If you live in an area with frequent freeze/thaw or frost heaves, a paved drive will last about 2 seconds. There is a reason for gravel or dirt country roads. Maintaining a paved road in a Freeze/thaw situation is very expensive.

Oil delivery people are pros. Their trucks are not afraid of a little snow, and they have really, really long hoses. It is not as if the truck needs to be able to park three feet from the exterior valve. Most homes have a oil tank that will get you through the winter, particularly is you augment it with a wood stove. (Cord wood is actually cheaper than oil. First thing I would do if I moved in would be to install a wood or wood pellet stove.)

Septic tanks need to be emptied every three to five years for a house that size and two people. There aren't a lot of mechanical systems involved with a well or septic and it really isn't more complex than an air conditioner.

Once the well water has been tested at the time of sale, it does not need to be tested again. There is most likely a rope filter that is constantly filtering the water. They cost about $13.00 and need to be changed every 4-6 months. Hardly a hardship.

Bottom line, whomever had the money to renovate that house took care of those issues. They clearly were not the type who we going to play Green Acres.

by Anonymousreply 84June 19, 2019 12:58 PM

The curated interior is nicely complimented by the modest exterior - create your own palace but don’t try to show off to strangers.

by Anonymousreply 85June 19, 2019 1:03 PM

[quote]Oil heat, a septic system, the gravel driveway, a well and the tax valuation are all red flags, especially for a second home. And it is really isolated as a place to live full time.

Are you familiar with New England? All of those things are standard in the NE area. Oil heat and septic systems are especially common.

[quote]Oil heat = deliveries by the heating oil people. Tough to do if that gravel drive isn’t plowed and when it is, you’ve moved all the gravel

The oil guys park their truck on the street and run the hose to the oil cap. The trucks have super-long hoses.

[quote]Septic systems fail when they’re not maintained and need to be pumped out. The mechanical systems for the well need work, too, and during a drought you may have no water at all if the water table falls.

These things hardly ever happen. That's not a common occurrence at all, and people call the septic guys to get their tanks pumped out. You only need to do this maybe every couple of years. New England doesn't have droughts.

by Anonymousreply 86June 19, 2019 1:50 PM

PS, to my post at R84, the two things that any householder buys in New England are a snow blower and a gas generator. For those who know nothing about country living, the snow blower is basically a gas powered "lawn mower" for snow. Very few people actually shovel snow by hand. The generator is for for the possible power failure during a snow or ice storm.

by Anonymousreply 87June 19, 2019 1:52 PM

True, everybody and their brother has a snow blower in NE. They're very easy to use.

by Anonymousreply 88June 19, 2019 1:54 PM

R86, I love that you confirmed everything that I said in R84, but we certainly do have droughts and wells do run dry. It is extremely rare, but it does happen. A lot of it depends on how many wells use the same auqifer.

by Anonymousreply 89June 19, 2019 1:55 PM

I don’t like the darkness of that landscape. The woods encroach everywhere and there’s no sense of open space. I feel like Ichabob Crane is lurking in the shadows. Yes, I know he’s a fictional character from upstate NY, but still.

by Anonymousreply 90June 19, 2019 1:56 PM

r89 I've lived in NE for most of my life and I've never heard of a well running dry. If it does happen, it must be extremely rare, as you said.

by Anonymousreply 91June 19, 2019 1:57 PM

[quote]I don’t like the darkness of that landscape. The woods encroach everywhere and there’s no sense of open space.

Welcome to New England!

by Anonymousreply 92June 19, 2019 1:58 PM

Wells run dry.

by Anonymousreply 93June 19, 2019 2:00 PM

R91, unfortunately it is becoming more common in Southern NH where we live. We are fortunate that we do not share our well with anyone. There are a few restaurants that only use disposable plates and cups because they are connected to well water and cannot waste the water on dish washing.

Scroll down to the graph at the middle of the page and you can see that 2002 and 2017 were particularly bad years.

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by Anonymousreply 94June 19, 2019 2:03 PM

The grounds are pretty, but I hate those little bushes next to the house. Looks like a medical center.

by Anonymousreply 95June 19, 2019 2:25 PM

Ichabob Crane?

Oh, dear.

by Anonymousreply 96June 19, 2019 2:25 PM

W&W, r83.

by Anonymousreply 97June 19, 2019 2:27 PM

[quote] Looks like a medical center.

Looks like a classy veterinarian's office.

by Anonymousreply 98June 19, 2019 2:28 PM

When is black fly season in New England?

Is it all spring and summer?

by Anonymousreply 99June 19, 2019 2:46 PM

I am going to assume the taxable value is different across states/cities. Taxable value for my property is always 50 percent of actual value. Sometimes there is a half to one percent fluctuation based on equalization factors. But pretty close to 50 percent every year.

by Anonymousreply 100June 19, 2019 3:02 PM

"Rooms to choppy and ceilings to low."

Oh, dear and oh, dear, r75.

by Anonymousreply 101June 19, 2019 3:29 PM

R82 mentions all the things I learned when I bought a weekend house in Litchfield. Most important was oil heat - there are no gas lines for gas heat. Oil heat is INSANELY expensive relative to almost every other form of heat - except maybe electric. And the antique houses tend not to have great insulation. My monthly oil bill in winter was $3,000! And I wasn’t even there during the week and left the heat at 55. But it gets really cold up there and the winter lasts 2 months longer than NYC. The heating costs ultimately made me sell the place.

Absolutely beautiful area and houses - but pay attention to those details. Septic and well also is a pain in the ass. My well froze twice. And it had contamination with bacteria - which you can treat but you never feel quite safe. And when I went to sell I had to install a whole new septic system -$50,000. I was so grateful to get out of that house without losing money. Decided that next house had to be in a slightly more developed areas with gas heat and public water and sewer. I miss the beauty of Litchfield - but suggest watching the movie The Money Pit before indulging the fantasy.

by Anonymousreply 102June 19, 2019 3:33 PM

r102 your experience isn't very common.

by Anonymousreply 103June 19, 2019 3:36 PM

Pleasant house but so horribly decorated that it will turnoff potential buyers. They're probably warned not to wear their shoes in the house, not to track in dust, not to touch any of the "books" (since many of them are probably just spines to make the owners look literary), and perhaps not even to talk as voices might disturb the carefully orchestrated feng shui.

Yuck.

by Anonymousreply 104June 19, 2019 3:42 PM

In terms of well and septic R103 ? May be true - I bought it “as is” from an estate.

But in terms of heating, everyone there has oil. Admittedly oil prices have declined - but still really expensive way to heat those old New England houses. I don’t understand why they don’t put in gas lines - at least on major roads. Also means you need to have propane gas delivered for a gas stove. It’s a major issue in New England.

by Anonymousreply 105June 19, 2019 3:48 PM

Lots of people are doing solar or electric now.

r103 I don't mean to be rude but I cannot believe you apparently didn't have the well, septic and other stuff checked out before you bought the house. That's the first thing you're supposed to do, especially in an area that has a harsh winter climate.

by Anonymousreply 106June 19, 2019 4:14 PM

R106 is correct. Also, as I have mentioned several times, most people in New England augment their heat with wood or wood pellet stoves. I can't imagine how you racked up $3,000.00 in winter unless you left the windows open or you had a 7 bedroom Victorian.

Propane is hardly a "Major Issue". It gets delivered to your tank the same as gas. Guy drives up with a very long hose and fills the tank. No issue at all.

I really cannot believe the number of delicate flowers that can't survive in New England. Yes, it involves changing your behavior to suit the new environment, but it isn't brain surgery and most locals are more than willing to teach you what you need to know.

by Anonymousreply 107June 19, 2019 4:27 PM

Notice the creepy skinny CT trees.

by Anonymousreply 108June 19, 2019 4:36 PM

[quote]I really cannot believe the number of delicate flowers that can't survive in New England.

I know. Living in New England isn't difficult at all. Here in CT, and especially in Litchfield county, we have a lot of NYers who have always had the heat, septic etc. taken care of for them so they don't really know you should get everything inspected before you purchase a house. Or on the occasion that something needs fixing, they are totally clueless about how to go about it. And realtors just want to make a sale so they're not offering that information.

by Anonymousreply 109June 19, 2019 4:44 PM

WTF? Get outta here.

by Anonymousreply 110June 19, 2019 4:50 PM

I definitely made the mistake of not doing enough research on mechanicals when I bought my house. I just fell so hard for it when I saw it and it was so cheap, I made a rookie mistake. Though did make a profit, lessons learned all around - including that no one needs 5,000 square feet of house. Seemed decadent and like a dream fulfilled at the time, but like most capitalist dreams, it was a misleading, unfulfilling possession. Now I appreciate my 1BR apartment and the simplicity of apartment life. I can Airbnb a house for a few weeks a year anywhere I choose. Though I still obsessively scan Litchfield County listings looking at the beautiful cheap houses.

by Anonymousreply 111June 19, 2019 5:26 PM

Airbnb is what I do, also. I love houses, and staying in different houses when I travel is just something I enjoy.

by Anonymousreply 112June 19, 2019 5:38 PM

So many stacked books!

/swoon

by Anonymousreply 113June 19, 2019 5:43 PM

Unless you have a 50000 sft house, there is no way you’re paying $3000 a month for oil. That’s ridiculous. My husband grew up in a comfortably middle class home in CT that had both oil and septic as most houses in the NE do, and they never had to pay such ridiculous prices. Please.

by Anonymousreply 114June 19, 2019 5:56 PM

Oil is like car gasoline. Prices vary dramatically. 10 years ago, price for heating oil spiraled - more than doubled in price over a few years. So yeah, $3,000/month. I have the receipts Whitney.

I’m sure it can be managed by using a wood stove and covering the stone walls with insulation. But the basic point is oil heat is the most expensive heat source and New England, which has some of the coldest winters in US, still relies on oil unlike every other part of the country.

by Anonymousreply 115June 19, 2019 6:13 PM

R115, all those lessons learned and you still aren't educated properly. Oil heat for the most part, is still the most economical way to heat which is why the vast majority of New England continues to heat this way. Electric heat is far more expensive, though quite inexpensive to install. The vast majority of condominiums in New England were built this way. Heating with gas can be more economical, but those prices ebb and flow, just like oil and retrofitting a home to be heated that way outweighs the savings. A wood or pellet stove as you mentioned is certainly going to reduce your heating costs, though in your case, a 5000 sf house likely would never feel warm.

Covering the stone walls in insulation is ludicrous. Basement walls are not a drain on the heat loss you seem to think. The uninsulated/poorly insulated walls in an old house are. Having insulation blown into the walls and blanketing the attic with fiberglass batting is the way to combat this. If you look at the geography of New England and Connecticut in particular, you'll see it does not get the brunt of the cold and snow it once did, nor does it get as cold as say Maine or much of the Midwest. My family still lives in Connecticut and had maybe 3 plowable snow storms last season.

What ends up happening for many in New England is that you can turn off your furnace by May and have no heating costs through until November. The summers at their hottest only peak in the 90's, and then only for a few days. If you've got a breeze, and most older homes were designed to take advantage of cross ventilation, you likely won't even need air conditioning, and that's how HVAC costs balance out for the year against places that don't have a cold winter. As people have become more accustomed to a perfect 72-degree climate controlled existence, some have found it necessary to have central air in places that previously never had it. I say, get a fan!

by Anonymousreply 116June 19, 2019 6:47 PM

Don’t think I’ve ever heard of oil being the most economical way to heat. Generally it’s a battle between electric and oil for the worst way to heat. In the past 20 years, gas has been consistently at least less than half the cost of oil - the attached shows oil as 4X as expensive as gas. Costs can be mitigated - but I’ll stand by the fact that oil is one of the worst ways to heat a house.

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by Anonymousreply 117June 19, 2019 7:05 PM

Not sure where you're getting your numbers, R117. I just checked online, and my oil company is showing $2.65 a gallon. The first local propane company I clicked was $2.95 a gallon. That actually seems high for oil at the moment, as I paid under $2.00 a gallon during the heating season this year. Electric prices in CT have surged to almost .20 a kilowatt, which is the second highest in the nation. The average is around .12 a kilowatt.

by Anonymousreply 118June 19, 2019 7:26 PM

Can we go back to critiquing the house, please? For those of us who have no intention of buying a house in New England, this isn't the most stimulating of conversations.

by Anonymousreply 119June 19, 2019 8:30 PM

No. I want to talk systems. $3k a month for heat and $50k for a septic system aren’t right. You would be closer if you divided by ten. I don’t care if you have receipts for the oil, you didn’t measure while they pumped it, did you? People stole from you.

The house is nice. The ceiling height absolutely is an issue. Just because it’s the norm in houses of that era doesn’t mean it has no impact on the price today. If it’s just a weekend house you won’t get used to it. And your guests certainly won’t. It’s not a fatal flaw, but it’s an issue. The renos appear to be largely superficial, but they haven’t ruined the house with cheap renos.

It might be a lovely house. But I can’t tell because the photos are showcasing the decorating (which isn’t THAT good), not the house. Either the realtor isn’t good at creating an online listing or the owners have overridden the realtor. Probably both.

by Anonymousreply 120June 19, 2019 10:34 PM

OP again. OK, R120. Let's talk systems. While I've not agreed with R115 in some of his posts, dealing with a 5000sf old house that needed a ton of work, these costs seem possible. I take care of my mother's finances and home in CT. We had to replace her 75-year-old septic to the tune of 20k 2 years ago. It was a fraction of the size of R115's house. Engineering costs drove the bulk of the cost. I have the oil tank filled about 5-6 times, during the winter months. For a 1500 sf house that she lives alone in, that's about 6k for the season. Granted, she likes it warm and burning wood is too much trouble for her. A three hundred dollar monthly oil bill during the season and 5k septic replacement are completely unrealistic. Your comment on low ceilings affecting the value of the house? No. No appraiser will say, oh, we're taking off $10 a square foot for THAT! It just means the pool of buyers who want an antique home will be different than those seeking a new build in a cul-de-sac.

by Anonymousreply 121June 19, 2019 11:27 PM

Some of the pics crack me up. Like what is the point of including a closeup of these cluttered bookshelves? Is that supposed to make someone really, REALLY want to buy the house?

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by Anonymousreply 122June 19, 2019 11:53 PM

Is that Lech Walesa (knitting?) in the bathroom? (Photo 21)

by Anonymousreply 123June 20, 2019 12:14 AM

OP, R120 here. I was being facetious when I wrote that it would be closer if you divided by ten. You are correct, that would be unrealistic. But I think the 3k and 50k numbers are even farther from the market realities. The size of a septic system is dependent on local regulations, but is usually based on the number of bedrooms. Your mom’s much smaller house might have just as many bedrooms. The codes in any municipality are going to be conservative. For a house is in a less regulated area, the septic will be sized for reasonable use at the discretion of the owners. I know you know this, OP, but for others - this means how many dumps get taken every day/week/month. So the system for a 1600 sq ft 3 bedroom won’t be that much more expensive than the one for a 5000 sq ft 4 bedroom. I don’t know the circumstances of your mother’s home, but to simply replace an existing system, engineering costs should be minimal.

$3000 a month for heating oil is just batshit. There are people living in neighboring homes with similar oil heating systems. They are regular people earning regular wages. They do not pay $3k/month for heating oil. You think Joe the plumber (or prison guard or English teacher whatever) pays $15k++ to heat his house for the winter?

by Anonymousreply 124June 20, 2019 12:19 AM

R122 It's so that you can see that the owners know OPRAH. And if you buy this house, maybe someday YOU can know OPRAH!

by Anonymousreply 125June 20, 2019 1:14 AM

Hallelujah Lord, I feel it. I feel it!!!

by Anonymousreply 126June 20, 2019 2:03 AM

Where is Colebrook? I read it first as Colechester.

by Anonymousreply 127June 20, 2019 2:08 AM

Colebrook is in the northwest corner of CT. It's on the MA state line. The town next to Colebrook (on the west) is Salisbury, which is popular with wealthy NYers. Salisbury is on the NY state line. It's a lovely and picturesque area, but as has already been said it's off the beaten path and pretty isolated. And it's kind of a hike from NYC. The wealthy NYers who have homes in that corner of CT aren't the types who have to work full-time, Monday-Friday kinds of jobs.

by Anonymousreply 128June 20, 2019 2:51 AM

Oh ok. Thank you, r128. My grandpa lived in Lakeville, but that was over 30 years ago(died in 1987). I'm not familiar with that part of Connecticut.

by Anonymousreply 129June 20, 2019 4:01 AM

[quote] I love everyone complaining about the ceiling heights

R78, if you aren't the least bit claustrophobic, you just won't get it, however if you are even a little bit claustrophobic, those low ceiling will bug you, make you feel uncomfortable, boxed in. There is still plenty of room above your head unless you are extremely tall, but when you are up and moving around you notice it and it affects you. I know I could never live in a house with that low of ceilings, I wouldn't even try.

by Anonymousreply 130July 13, 2019 1:55 AM

Colebrook is a bit off the beaten path in tony Litchfield county. To the south is downscale, blue collar Winstead, but to the west is Norfolk, where Yale has a summer music festival of some repute

by Anonymousreply 131July 13, 2019 2:04 AM
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