Siblings, Separated By Sales Price

I'll let you know when I stop drooling with envy.

#7, by a landslide...warm and cozy! #15 made me want to don a pair of sunglasses to combat the glare from all of the white paint!

I'm with justonce. Besides, you could always buy a new kitchen and bathroom for #7 for WAY less than the $600,000 differential. But I'd be shocked if either house actually sold for anything approaching asking price.

#7 had more character and warmth. The interior of #15 seemed almost pre-fab.

Wow, no question from me - #7 hands down. Aside from the orange paint in the eating-areas, and what must be a bad kitchen since there's no picture of it... which are both fairly easily fixed... it is so hard to get beautiful woodwork like that anymore. Just look at the foyer and stairway, with its built-in entry seat! And cute little pendant lite, if not original then probably from Rejuvenation! #15 is too much white, too much like a hospital for my taste.

Give me the "untouched" first house any day of the week!

I vote for 7. Anytime.

7 is like a naturally beautiful woman who knows it, quietly. She is the synthesis of sexiness and warmth, and she is easy to live with.

15 is like a woman who was born graced with the same native attractiveness as 7, but her parents had their own demons, so they gave her an inferiority complex and now she is neurotic and applies tons of makeup. She harasses her husband all the time and shops with her friends and yaps on the phone with them incessantly.

JP, you are a riot!

but you forgot the part about the inevitable nervous breakdown (i.e., bad wiring/plumbing/craftsmanship)!

I live two blocks away. This thread has taught me to make no renovations and it will be easier to sell when I want to move.

JG. Save your cash and buy that Nash Metropolitan you always dreamed of. The one in turquoise and white.

Guess it's unanimous! I am sure the fancier one will find its buyer, but to me it has retained no soul or character. What's the fun in that?

J Perlstein, I would add that #15 is the type who'd be addicted to unnecessary plastic surgery!

I was thrilled to read that the owner of #7 felt no need to "stage" her house before selling it. I am glad that she didn't cave in to this relatively new trend. BTW, the house is stunning.

To say #15 has no character is a stretch. It still has the moldings and beautiful floors, it is just that it is monochromatic and looks staged. #7 has its owners' belongings and therefore looks lived in. The real question is whether #15 is worth $600k more than #7.

wester61 - moldings and nice floors can't do the heavy lifting for an entire house, apparently.

Count me in for #7 as well. How could they cover up those dark wood trims w white paint? Plus, part of the draw of the second is the furniture, which isn't included and can be purchased for much less than the difference between the two.

1 15th #7 - old and beautiful.

#7 is so stunning. I don't know why anyone would want to cover up the homely charm for white! I love the wood around the windows and the floors. Though i will say i like the outside of #15. It is more appealing to me, but at the site of the columns, any excitement was diminished

s2007 I missed the part where it says that #7 was not staged. I think it was, but it's just a better staging job since it looks more natural. That's why it wins my vote. I'd also get rid of the dark red/orange walls. I might paint the moldings white. They'd still be beautiful and it would lighten up the house. But it's not a fair comp since we didn't see both kitchens and baths and also # of baths & bedrooms.

Isn't the last slide before the outdoor shot of the second house a kitchen, which presumably belongs to #7? Looks new/updated to me.

I like the charm of #7, but it looks to be smaller than the other. What's the difference in square footage? What's going on with the 2 basements (finished or not)?

For all the plastic surgery comments, I bet the developer of the second house upgraded the plumbing/electrical, maybe put in A/C, so it may be reconstructive surgery rather than a little Botox.

we've owned three houses in Montclair. we sold the first two properties for substantially more than what we paid for them. we didn't do any renovation to either, except for some very minor maintenance. both of our houses were warm, bright, and inviting. we didn't "stage" either, at least not professionally.

as for these houses, i LOVE the kitchen in the updated one, and i disagree that this is an "easy" fix to make.

but as everyone else has pointed out, the personalization of the "original" house would be simple and MUCH less expensive than 600k!!! one thing that is so often overlooked by buyers is the cost of heating/cooling/maintaining these old houses. in both instances, that's probably an issue. and in the case of the un-updated one, there are most likely scary unseen maintenance issues lurking. still, most likely not 600k-worth.

Hi Amelia,

I took the following statement as the house was not staged:

"Ive lived in this house 26 years,? said Jeanne Stahlman, the seller. ?I fought my Realtor about ?staging? it, because I feel this house has so much personality. It?s unfair to take that away.?

I took that as meanning the owner likes her own sense of style and decorating and felt that the house would show beautifully without paying some one to make it more "showable".

Sometimes "staging" only means "cleaning up"... last year our wonderful realtors went thru our house room by room, making piles of stuff that needed to be put away... they even asked us to take out a chest of drawers and a couple of other small pieces of furniture, and what a difference it made! Even my friends wondered whose house it was when they saw it online! (OK I guess we were crammed in there pretty tightly.)

Anyway, I don't know if that "sold" the house or not, but it sure looked more inviting than when we tried to sell 10 years ago and all the realtor did on open house day was bring in a vase of flowers and turn on all the lights.

15. The open floor plan on the upper level is nice. The fire place in the Master is a nice touch, and looks original from the once over on the slide show. I did not like the fire place on the first floor by the foyer, it seamed out of place. Im partial to kitchens, since I cook- and number 15 has a nice layout for the kitchen. I cant afford either, so since price is not a factor for me, I choose 15!

critical points have been left out of the original article, namely that:

#7 has FOUR BEDROOMS and only 2 full baths. #15 has FIVE bedrooms and 4 full baths. in my experience, it's MUCH harder to add a bedroom and/or an upstairs bathroom than anything else. so, that could be a big factor for a potential buyer.

furthermore, the taxes aren't THAT high for #15 given that it appears to be definitely more spacious.

all that said, it's sort of apples and oranges here. i just don't think the same buyer would even be looking at both places.

i've been in both homes and walked away with a much different opinion than most who commented. while both homes were built by the same builder, house #15 is a much grander home. while i don't have the lot size, #15 seemed to be on a wider lot.
Now to talk about the homes, #7 is in need of a great deal of work, the photos are deceiving. The price is where it is because in it's present state it would need a person who wanted to take on a project. House #15 while retaining the feel of a home built in the 20's has the features most home buyers are looking for. I felt it had the best of the old with the best of the new. Therefore the difference in pricing.
If house #7 was rebuilt by the same developer who did #15 it would have it's own beauty and charm and attract a different buyer.
The warm cozy feel that some spoke of comes from a family living in it and making it a home.

s2007,

my humble apologies. i DID miss the part about staging since I didn't click on the link, i just read the baristanet blurb.

What is the current tax rate per thousand dollars of assessed value?
I think these houses are under appraised if thats all their taxes are. My house was assessed at $565k and the takes were in the $13s. somethings not right here-the taxes dont match the asking price.