I discovered this home nearly a year ago. I took a shortcut through Eastchase Parkway to Green Oaks and happened to take Meadowbrook Drive when my eyes spotted this monstrosity. The location is almost perfect; Meadowbrook Drive is a quiet residence street between 3 major cities minutes away from Interstate 30. What's not so perfect? The curb appeal.
Curb appeal is everything. It's one's first impression of the home, small or large. Curb appeal can include anything from landscaping to architectural upkeep: pretty much what people see from the curb. The listing photos on the residence's website, yes the home has its own website, are much different from the current look of the home.
Yes, if you drove by today, you would find overgrown grass, towering weeds, and an overall dull appearance to a mansion with potential. Although I am not sure the state of interior, I did drive by and take a few quick pictures of the current upkeep of the mansion...or should I say, non-upkeep. First, here are some pictures of the mansion on its listing website:
Wondrous grand entrance from the circle driveway
From the front circle driveway, other driveway leads to 5 car garage
One of the best pictures out there of this estate
Now, here are some pictures I took in early January 2011:
(Pics enlarge when clicked)
Front gate entrance, the gate was wide open, no For Sale sign, leaves everywhere, and Christmas lights still line the trees (the X-Mas lights have been there for years)
Front gate entrance to the right of the picture, dirty brick wall surrounding estate, dead tree leaning against wall along with overgrown bushes and leaves
Front gate wide open, leaves, and dirty walls
Here is the current front view. A lot different from the picture above! As you can see, the weeds are waist high, the grass hasn't been mowed in months, maybe years, weeds are growing through the concrete driveway, and more problems damaging curb appeal.
As I commented earlier, this mansion has great potential. It's your typical mansion, large in size with private amenities. In my opinion, if cleaned up, the mansion would sell within a matter of months. I'm not sure who is in charge of the upkeep, the realtor or the home owner. Whoever it is, they need to realize the mansion is missing one key feature: curb appeal! It's all about first impressions, people. Say a family, a wealthy one, was searching for a new residence. They stumble upon 8465 Meadowbrook Drive on the internet and drive by to give it a quick look. Upon arrival, they find this scummy mess and immediately loose interest in the home due to low curb appeal; however, if the home had been cleaned up, who knows, they may have called for a tour. You will always have trouble selling a home with bad curb appeal, ALWAYS! I would love to see this home cleaned up!
Thanks for reading,
