DAVIDSONVILLE, ANNAPOLIS, EDGEWATER, ARNOLD AND SEVERNA PARK REAL ESTATE
The word “estate” is one of those words that can carry a boatload of different meanings. As part of the “Annapolis real estate” caption, it’s one of the positive ones. “Real estate” means physical property that’s anything but imaginary. In fact, the U.S. Constitution initially restricted voting rights to owners of real estate!
As a stand-alone, “estate” can summon up images of large houses surrounded by extensive areas of land. Visions of the nineteenth-century land barons come to mind. Aristocrats riding to the hounds across lush countryside might be evoked. In this sense, the word triggers associations with success, riches, power, and abundance.
But another association is with the end of life—it denotes all the money and property owned by a person when they pass away. This is the less cheerful meaning, although it, too, evokes valuable things—possessions that have value (sometimes great value).
The reason this deep dive into the word is relevant to Annapolis readers is because of the way it is sometimes used in Annapolis listings: “estate condition.” This does not mean that the Rockefellers have decided to put one of their spare mansions on the market. It means “fixer-upper.”
You might think that this is an example of bait-and-switch deception, but that’s really not the case. Realistically, no house hunter who expected to tour a palatial estate would be fooled for long by the description; the listing photos alone would instantly correct any such impression. “Estate condition” is simply real estate-ese for a residence which is in need of extensive renovation, as is sometimes the case when elderly homeowners have been content to reside in familiar (but now out of fashion) surroundings. To the next owners will fall the effort and expense of updating.
Whether your own property is in turnkey or estate condition—or anything in between—do give me a call when it’s time to sell. We’ll make sure its full value is what the house-hunting public gets to see!
DEBORAH LAGGINI, Long and Foster Real Estate, Annapolis, MD 21403
CELL 410.991.6560
EMAIL [email protected]
REALTOR, Annapolis, Davidsonville, Edgewater, and Surrounding Communities