Recent Lowlights

Everybody has their likes and dislikes, those things they react to viscerally, discount hastily, into which they invest too much or too little.

I try to be open-minded, and not carry any irrational bias into a property viewing.
Most things after all, can be undone. Front yard driveways can be taken up, stucco can be removed, ill-constructed lean-tos can be demolished. One needn't be a pollyanna, cheerleading for every sad-sack property and lame-o listing; but, one also needn't throw out the baby in the bathwater.

Still there are a few things that perenially burst the gonfalon bubble.

The hot water heater in the front yard. (A milder variation is, the hot water heater that's just plain uncovered.) Sometimes it accompanies a major shift in use, and a major re-plumb, wherein front rooms have become kitchens (or what is described next). But who wants to re-program an entire house?

Washer/dryer hookups in the living room. (A lesser variation is the dining room.) The first time I saw this, I wondered if the owners were running a laundry service. Ironing boards abounded, a television was mounted high on a wall, and the floors were covered with white ceramic tile. Alternatively, the utility hall was converted, by way of a curtain hung lengthwise--to conceal a bunk bed--into a rinconcito for the mother-in-law. Her earthly belongings, clothes, beads, and a stack of People En Espanol magazines filled the top bunk. She sat below reading the issue entitled Los 50 Mas Bellos.

Exotic animal rooms aka the Herpetorium. Snakes as big as your thigh. With yellow eyes. A room full. A million dollar plus house in the West Adams heartland, a Craftsman mansion. The big game trophys and taxidermy were a bit odd, but not nearly as discomfiting as a bedroom bedecked with heat lamps, bounding with boas. Just try telling a young mother, "and this could be the nursery...."