A Second Chance for a Verdun Beauty.

Have you ever seen the movie where the guy walks right past the girl without noticing her just because she's wearing her hair in a bun and has oversized glasses?
You know the drill. Fast forward to the next scene when the girl shows up in a party dress, her hair down and the glasses stowed away in her clutch purse, Not only does the guy notice her, he falls head over heels.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have the real estate equivalent of that girl for your cosideration. Welcome to, 276 May,Verdun, an old-fashioned Victorian beauty ready to dazzle all comers.
Amy Barratt and I listed this house for sale earlier this year. There was one big problem - a house full of university tenants had turned this gracious property into Animal House. No, that's letting them off too easy.  It was like Animal House crossed with an episode of Hoarders. Beer bottles e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.  Overflowing ashtrays, dirty clothes, kitty litter boxes that had never been changed.  The place was grotty beyond compare. It was so grotty that we couldn't get good photos of the interior.The tenants were so uncooperative that we had trouble getting in for showings. When we did get in, we lived in terror of opening a door and finding goodness knows who doing goodness knows what.

Valiantly we pointed out the building's good bones, its high ceilings, elegant staircase and generous proportions. We sang the praises of its six-foot-plus basement and its solid stone foundation.  All buyers saw was filth and disorder. They fled.
Our vendor decided to take the property off the market at least until the slovenly tenants were gone. She was convinced she could make the place sparkle if she just had a little time to apply soap and water and take care of a few renos. I was a little discouraged and skeptical.
Well shut my mouth. The students left July 1, leaving only four pick-up trucks worth of empties, broken furniture and garbage in their wake, Our vendor spent three weeks cleaning, painting and doing touch-ups. She upgraded the kitchen and bathroom, did some rewiring, tore out laminate and replaced it with new hardwood. It is hardly the same place at all. And yet it is.
Voila 276 May, priced at $345,000.  You can see the full listing by entering MLS # 8587771 at www.realtor.ca .
This is a spectacular house and certainly the best-priced four-bedroom in southwest Montreal. It is a two-minute walk to the LaSalle metro stop (green line), around the corner from Wellington St. and the Maxi grocery. It is also super close to the Champlain Bridge, for better and worse.

Ah yes, for better and for worse. You will you enjoy quick access to the bridge from May St., the last street in Verdun before you duck under the viaduct into Point St. Charles.  May St. faces that viaduct and traffic approaching the bridge passes a little above the second storey window though about 60 feet across the way. Hey, I hear the Champlain is coming down one of these days.
If you'd like to read my previous blog rant on the filthy tenants, click here.
We are having an open house Sunday, August 7, 2011 from 2-4 p.m. Please drop by. Sunday's no good? Give me a call  at 515 978-6522 and we'll arrange a visit.