REVIEWED ON 12/20/19

I was excited to view this house because Highland Forest is a particularly nice cul-de-sac street within the Weddington Chase neighborhood and the street features some of the highest sale prices in the neighborhood (one house sold for $840,000 in the past year) and because I love the color scheme of the stones/brick on the facade and also the motor court driveway.  But unfortunately this house left me cold.  When I viewed it last week it was listed for$729,900 and it has since been reduced to $714,900 after only 3 weeks on the market.  I think the house has an unfinished, undecorated, slightly neglected feel which negatively affects the shopper’s experience/impression.  The kitchen seemed small and unexciting for the size house and price point.  On a positive note, the cabinetry and appliances were attractive. However the counters were a little dated.  Additionally the sitting room off of the kitchen seems like a challenge to configure furniture-wise which negatively affects the utility and comfort of the living space.  The home contains a lot of different types of flooring and carpet which buyers generally object to as it makes the home feel disjointed and that improvements were made helter-skelter rather than with an overall plan and theme in mind.  The pool is very pretty but the back yard looks into multiple homes’ lots so there is reduced privacy.  During the summer there are more leaves on the trees so that would help in that department but in general the backyard has an exposed feeling that perhaps even leaves wouldn’t fix — it just depends on the buyer’s preference and what they will tolerate.

I will be curious what this home sells for…my guess is $700,000.

Strengths: Marvin Ridge schools, nice (heated) pool,cul-de-sac street, a lot of square footage for the money, downstairs full and half baths, downstairs guest suite, plantation shutters, nice front door, great curb appeal, formal living room and front office are light and bright, 8 foot interior doors.

Weaknesses: Exposed backyard with limited privacy,unfinished feeling, slightly dirty feeling, master bath needs facelift, kitchen is ho-hum, awkward family room configuration with door and columns and fireplace, a lot of undefined space on 3rd floor, too many types of flooring and carpet needs to be replaced.