Castle for sale in OH; only lived in for two years

[Deleted]

Jun 3, 2022 21:09:30 GMT -5 nidena said:

The story of the Kessler Manion.

That's really well-written.  She uses phrases like "gerbil-habitat vibe" and "gothic-by-way of Tudor".

I wonder if the owners of the place in Ohio abandoned it for the same reason the Kessler Mansion owner did- upkeep just became too expensive.  A newly-built house doesn't show visible signs of neglect for about 2 years but then if you don't keep up maintenance it shows.  Light bulbs burn out, the roof develops a leak or two, there's visible dust in places that haven't been cleaned regularly, weeds grow in the garden.

The poor secretary who inherited the place should have known to decline the inheritance.  I think you can do that.

[dannylion]

That's not really a "castle;" it's more of a chateau.  Castles have outer defensive walls with battlements and moats with drawbridges and are generally built of stone inside (no lovely wood floors) and are cold and drafty and inconvenient with no indoor plumbing.  Certainly no sailboat-themed bathrooms.  There is generally a dungeon.  And at least one ghost.  This looks like a lottery winner's fantasy of how old money lives.  

I like the kitchen.  

[dannylion]

Jun 3, 2022 21:09:30 GMT -5 nidena said:

The story of the Kessler Manion.

Thanks, nidena!  The backstory explains that horror perfectly.  It looks like a pimp's fantasy because it is a pimp's fantasy.  

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Jun 3, 2022 6:12:21 GMT -5 Cheesy FL-Vol said:

That price point is probably pretty spot on. I do see a lot of work that looks like it may have been done by specialized craftsmen. Some of the oddities (the room with twin beds) can be rectified with paint. The ceiling in the kitchen is cool, but the heavy columns are weird. They are likely needed structurally to support the arched ceiling.

The custom furniture "to his liking" is completely irrelevant to figuring out how much to try to sell for. A prospective buyer would hopefully dicker that price down considering how much customization a new owner feels they need to get rid of.

Over a decade later, he's selling the property for $2.59 million, which the listing says is "less than half of what it cost to construct."

[Rukh O'Rorke]

well - I sure wouldn't turn it down if it was offered as a gift, but it is definitely not to my taste. Too busy, too many patterns going all at once.

I can't put my finger on anything that isn't nice - and everything sure looks like quality, it's just trying to do it all at once, patterned marble counters and busy wall paper in the boys bathroom as an example.

So - look at the kitchen, everything looks good individually, but together, wacky. The brick ceiling is very nice, but why have twisted columns - straight and simple would have made the ceiling be more focal. the patterned marble of the twisty columns and countertops is different. Again - not a deal breaker taken on it's own. then the floor is a mix of wood and dark terracottaish tiles. then the pattern on the chairs. too many patterns, too many 'extras'. There's about 6 things "going on", and any 2-3 of them together in a room would work.

Also everything is petty dark. I think that is common in Italy where the outside is bright and sunny all the time, ohio, not so much.

[Deleted]

Jun 4, 2022 16:24:57 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

well - I sure wouldn't turn it down if it was offered as a gift, but it is definitely not to my taste. Too busy, too many patterns going all at once.

I'd turn it down as a gift, too. What the heck would it cost to keep it heated and air-conditioned, maintain the lawn and garden, pay property taxes, etc.? Even if it came with a perpetuity to maintain everything I think I'd turn it down. I like clean and uncluttered and either of these places is overdone even before you put in a stick of furniture.

[Opti]

This is the house next door. Its not selling either if you look at the property history.

www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/358-Riverside-Dr_Rossford_OH_43460_M36333-64414?ex=2940987242

[Opti]

This is its listing in realtor.com

www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/372-Riverside-Dr_Rossford_OH_43460_M36302-71341?ex=2940574981

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Jun 5, 2022 7:00:29 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Jun 4, 2022 16:24:57 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

well - I sure wouldn't turn it down if it was offered as a gift, but it is definitely not to my taste. Too busy, too many patterns going all at once.

I'd turn it down as a gift, too. What the heck would it cost to keep it heated and air-conditioned, maintain the lawn and garden, pay property taxes, etc.? Even if it came with a perpetuity to maintain everything I think I'd turn it down. I like clean and uncluttered and either of these places is overdone even before you put in a stick of furniture.

oh - I'd take if for sure!

Do a vegan BnB to try for it to pay for itself.

[tskeeter]

Jun 3, 2022 10:26:54 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Jun 3, 2022 10:07:33 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

One show I watch when I have access to cable is HGTV's "My Lottery Dream Home".  I don't really approve of the theme because I feel that lotteries are a tax on the poor and the desperate, but it's interesting how different people approach it.  One person who won $1 million will choose something in the $250,000 range- just a nice place to live, nothing flashy.  Then there are the ones who blow $800K of it on something with a pool, acreage, gardens and a large central area that's 2 stories high.  I'm too darn practical.  How do you clean the corners of those ceiling, let alone replace lights up there?  What will heating and AC cost?  Who's gonna mow the lawn and keep the pool chemicals balanced?   I'd really like to see where they are 5 years from now. 

I have a Cathedral Ceiling.  If I have a choice, buy a "next" house...I want 9 ft ceilings.  I regret the Cathedral Ceiling every time the battery needs replacing in the smoke detector in the highest point of the Cathedral Ceiling above my staircase going into the basement.  Last time the smoke detector started Chirping the battery was dead, DH was out of town.  I had to haul in a heavy ladder from the garage, extend it and pray I did not fall off the ladder while replacing the battery at 3 am.  

Got one of those, too.  I bought a 10 year life battery for the smoke detector.  And change it every 7 or 8 years during the daylight hours.  Wresting with long, heavy ladders in the wee hours of the morning just isn’t worth the couple of bucks I might save by leaving the battery in until it dies.

[Deleted]

I remember riding past this house often when I was a child. link

It’s not a mansion, but it’s kind of infamous and a source of curiosity because it looks so weird and out of place, and it seems to have been empty more often than not. Most people in the area know exactly what you’re talking about when you mention “that weird house on Mendenhall”. That link says it was built in the late 60’s. For some reason I’ve always thought it was built when I was a young child, but I wasn’t even born in the 60’s.