Rose Cottage Ltd

“A WHAT?”

An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top.

Like Egyptian pyramids, whose shape is thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, an obelisk is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon. Ancient obelisks were often monolithic, whereas most modern obelisks are made of several stones and can have interior spaces.

Celtic Cross Obelisk

Bring your garden to life with wonderful three-dimensional pieces by award winning sculptor Michael Kraus. All of Michael Kraus’ sculptures are created by hand, using a varied collection of antique and modern tools that he has collected and researched over the years. Upon examination, his carvings exhibit traces of chisel work that are intentionally left as part of the overall aesthetic of the piece.

Dimensions: 12″ x 4″ x 23″
Delivered in a Decorative Gift Box

Song Bird Obelisk

Dimensions: 6″ W x 5″ D x 24″ Tall
Delivered in a Decorative Gift Box

Just two of the stunning obelisk models available at Garden.com.

And for those who need further obelisk examples…how about the Washington Monument?

But you’ll need to travel to Rome to visit the area with the most examples.

Rome is the obelisk capital of the world. The most prominent is the 25-meter (82 ft), 331-ton obelisk at Saint Peter’s Square in Rome. The obelisk had stood since AD 37 on its site on the wall of the Circus of Nero, flanking St Peter’s Basilica.

This listing is fictitious by the way – providing it to make a point…

Beautiful established country estate property in Greene County. Built in 1998, this 8,000 sq ft home has 6 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. Master is ensuite with jetted garden tub and his and her walk-in closets. Open plan living with 15′ ceilings in living and formal dining areas. Eat-in kitchen with quarry tile floors, granite counter tops, and all stainless appliances. 4-Car garage, Olympic-size swimming pool, extensive landscaping, and paved 1.5 mile gated drive all on 4.5 acres.

Price: $3,900,000.

Okay, I may have left out some of the usual details one might find in a real estate listing, and of course one would expect more images,but the first question I would ask is:

Where the HECK is Greene County?

A quick check of Google provided me with five Greene Counties in the US. Am I looking at a property in Wisconsin or Virginia? How about Missouri, Ohio, or Pennsylvania?

At least this listing revealed a price! Why would any real estate listing not do so? Is it the old adage that the first to mention a number is always the loser? I don’t think so.

Like it or not we’re living in a global and fast-paced world. Even if you are writing listing copy for your local Homes & Land magazine, just stating “Greene County” is not sufficient unless you are hoping or assuming that no one outside Greene County sees this listing.

Rather self-defeating from the get-go.

Assuming I can find out where Greene County is and that (especially if found online) this Greene County is my preferred-state Greene County, I’ll still want to know the asking price. My knowledge of the market – especially if this is a new location for me – may be minimal. Is this a $3,000,000 house near Arlington, Virginia or is it a remote Wisconsin $999,000 property? The price difference could be that much from state to state and from precise location to location.

The same thing often happens when listing agents list a property as being in “Such-and-such” subdivision.

Okay…

I could live a mere one or two counties from there and have NO IDEA where the subdivision is located. I might see the word “subdivision” and be totally turned off thinking high-density, quarter-acre lots when in fact, all homes in the mentioned subdivision are on at least one acre.

There is only but so much copy space for real estate listings and I understand that you can’t predict what any person’s “important” info might be but, if location, location, location is so important, make sure prospective buyers aren’t left guessing what it is.

I have to admit I LOVE watching “Million Dollar Listings” on Bravo TV. I’m less impressed or interested in the social lives and sexual orientation of the realtors shown than I am in the drive and determination they have for their profession.

As a real estate investor, most of the properties I’ve ever researched or purchased have been rural. There are often no “comps” – which is how the New York and Los Angeles realtors can value a property down to an accurate square-foot price – often before they get there. When researching rural real estate, you often don’t have this capability. The more unique your proposed property, the less “comps” or comparable properties that have recently sold, you will have to use in valuation. In New York or LA or in any other urban or even suburban location, comps are easy to find. Then you just adjust higher or lower based on specifics your potential choice has or doesn’t have.

So if you are looking for rural property you won’t be worried about whether or not there is a 24 hour door man and security entrance, and the question of on-site parking may not seem much of a “perk.” If you’re looking at a raw land purchase, “Is there water/sewer and electric on the property?” or “How much main road access does the property have?”

If you’re looking at a rural property say as a vacation or second home you’ll want to know things like:

++ Is cable/high-speed internet available?
++ Does the property have a well or is it on a well/septic of its own?
++ Is any driveway accessible year-round? (Critical for mountain, snow-likely land purchases)
++ What’s going on on all the properties around my property? (Hopefully no meth labs or hog processing facilities!)
++ Are there any zoning issues or restrictions?

Other than the last, you can be sure New York realtors won’t be asked any of these questions – although they have others specific to big city living.

What I think is a positive of rural real estate is that you will probably find you have less competition for your piece of country. Instead of searching for a property in a most trendy area of New York – meaning that’s where everyone ELSE wants to be right now, you’ll more likely have time to spend on finding the right property and will avoid being outbid before you have a chance to act.

So where do you go to find your place in the country? Ignoring cost and location for a moment, what makes one property preferable over another?

Rose Cottage will be diving deeper into the subject of rural real estate heading forward and will be highlighting some outstanding rural properties on the market. Some will be “dream” properties in the multi-million dollar range – others will be properties with beautiful views and that are good value AND listings that tell us most of if not all we need to know.

It’s going to be F-U-N!

Most likely, the last blooms of this amazing Hibiscus for 2013…

I’m off to Lowe’s today for a few items and will be looking to see what their garden center has for me for Fall 2013 (September 22.) Believe it or not, it is time to start thinking about fall planting of bulbs, and to identify any mulching/protective landscaping to prepare for winter.

If you have outdoor furniture or barbecue items that need covers, or are looking for end-of-summer clearance deals, Exterior Accents is having a sale right now. If you’ve been procrastinating, here’s a little Exterior-Accents.com FREE SHIPPING link just for you!