The furniture detracts from the Philadelphia and Evanston houses.
The stuff on the walls detracts from the Santa Fe house.
Simpler or no staging would help all of them.
I love the Santa Fe home
The Philadelphia home is gorgeous but needs to sell the furnishings with the home.
Santa Fe is also a very attractive home but I worry about the sunken entries and eating areas. They may be roofed over but heavy, driving rain can cause problems. Also, sell it furnished.
Evanston home. How many steps from Lake Michigan and at what elevation? This one I would want to furnish myself.
The taxes are high on all three but if you buy any of them, you can afford the taxes. A $2.3 M price rage implies some wealth available.
This collection of homes make the article worth reading but once again, we need a lot more photos and maybe even an aerial shot of each home. Something to consider, Times.
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I had such high hopes for the Chestnut Hill house, after seeing that gorgeous stone exterior.
Alas...
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I hope that Evanston house has a large front yard to distance itself from Sheridan Road. If not, you will be breathing exhaust fumes during every rush hour.
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$37k taxes for the Evanston house helps to explain why the price per square foot is so low. Property taxes are a terrible way to raise local funds
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@ianstuart
"Property taxes are a terrible way to raise local funds"
What do you suggest is a more efficient way to raise local funds? A bake sale?
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@ianstuart
As liberal as I am $37k/year in taxes is outrageous on so many levels. I would love to see that tax statement and where that much money goes.
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@Left Coast I imagine in a more equitable society where fair progressive taxes are implemented, municipalities may acquire the monies in a more efficient manner without relying so heavily on local property taxes. Meantime, until we become that utopian nation, taxing according to assessments is commonplace. In states where townships expect good schools and services, tax rates reflect that need. California, NY, NJ, IL. In wealthier enclaves, tax collection is stable since they depend on the higher income earners. As long as humbler housing is assessed fairly, that's fair enough since they usually share the benefits of better services. What I see is that middle class families are expected to pay higher and higher rates while income remains stagnate. That's a lot of financial stress on households that need more liquid assets to get by. This is government responsibility, ensuring living wages. It's been a pretty long dry spell. The Evanston household expanded the footage. The tax rate is likely not too scary for them.
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I would like to see some interior and exterior pictures.
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There’s a slideshow at the top of the article.
The Philadelphia house is lovely, and mostly well done. I wonder about the original floors, the new hardwood (? engineered?) is probably not anywhere near what the original was.
I think the decorator made a mistake with the dining room wallpaper, (it looks expensive) and I can only assume that the table was put there for this article to fill an empty space. Not well done.
I am amazed at the prices of American real estate.
In my city the choices in this price market are far more limited. Actually non-existent.
Poorly constructed, high rise condos go for more than $1,000/sq. ft. Even the 600 sq. ft. ones. Large, single family homes in good shape on some kind of 5,000 sq. ft. lot are more than $1,500/sq. ft.
We don't get to deduct mortgage interest from taxes, but we don't pay any capital gains on our principal residence either. I am not sure what the cap. gains.rules are for you.
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I agree with you about the owners' having replaced the original floors. Why on earth --?
The only kitchen I could live with is the one in the Santa Fe house. Even if I could afford two and a half million for a house, those over-large kitchens kill any interest I'd have. And they're hard to undo.
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