[radio_flyer]

Would a house look better without shutters or with shutters where one is broken in half? Broken shutter is on front of house.

The neighbors where my son's house is offered to buy him new shutters and even put them up "for free" because the house looks soo bad . They have their house up for sale and I guess it isn't selling.......

The outside of the house does look pretty bad.. But plans are in to replace the siding and shutters this spring......

I suggested, that it might look better without shutters than to have broken ones, esp when the broken one is broken in half and in the front of the house....

Son's dad said no... it is too cold now to take them down. shrugs shoulders....

Soooo would a house look better without shutters or with broken ones...

[Perna]

A shutter is not expensive or hard to take down or replace. Go buy "a" shutter or let the neighbors help.

Depends on the house how it would look; the more rambler the house (long horizontally) the less-bad :-) it might look. A taller house though needs the "action" going on up there which plants around the foundation can help with a rambler.

Broken would look bad, people look for sameness for both "sides" just like they do for people's faces. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetr...ttractiveness)

[radio_flyer]

I agree with you Perna.. Just replace the shutter. But son's dad wants to wait till spring.. which I don't think is fair for the neighbor.

House is small rambler. Even as short as I am, I prob could change the shutters.. son's dad only snapped at me and said "don't you hear me or understand me. I am replacing the shutters and siding this spring" and hung up on me...

Since replacing "one" or all "four" shutters is not expensive, and not that hard to do "i think"....they should do it.. or let the neighbors do it if they don't want to replace the broken one. Neighbors want to sell their house..

We did cut down lots of ugly shrubs that were planted to close to the house, last summer.. We planted butterfly bushes and some other stuff and some flowers. the flowers were soo ugly..lol.. really didn't look any better than the original.. This spring/summer we will plant different flowers////

[Perna]

And your son isn't replacing the shutter, why? If your son is married and you get along well with your daughter-in-law, I'd be tempted for the two of you to just, git-r-done! It is too bad to be blamed for spoiling the neighbor's chances (although nothing is selling; I live on the water and there are two, three-quarter-of-a-million dollar+ houses up the street that have been on the market for 3+ months now, don't look like they're even getting nibbles and there isn't anything wrong with their looks). Mine's a much more modest price but there are several like it on the market too and nothing's happening).

It's hard being a neighbor. We bought our previous house belonging to the daughter of our neighbors (wonderful older folks) and they told us really nightmare stories of the renters that had been in the house earlier. The lawn needed mowing, had gotten to be really tall, and one rarely saw the renter husband so the owner's/neighbors thought he was sick or something so a bunch of neighbors got together with lawn mowers and went over to mow and he came out on the porch with a beer and cussed them out, ordered him off "his" property.

[radio_flyer]

My son isn't married. He is still trying to get his CS degree, which means he works part time and going to school...

Son's dad bought the house. Of course when son graduates he will have to pay the mtg. Until then, the house is basically a rental. Students from the university are renting the basement and two of the bedrooms upstairs.

Son's dad was not thinking when he bought this house. He paid over $460,000. I scratch my head thinking why did he pay so much for a small house that needs sooooooo much work.. And how in the world did he expect his son to pay a $3,750 mtg payment .. anyway....

I would fix the shutters if I had the money.. I am pretty much pennyless. I didn't play the "game of life" all that well which pretty much means, left me at the bottom of the barrel..

I will mention to my son to at least replace the broken shutter . The outside of the house looks really, really bad. Since not only shutters but new siding is needed, he should at least replace the broken shutter...

anyway... will see what happens

Thanks Perna