FAIL: Spray-On Concrete Landscaping??

When building a home in the Tennessee Smoky Mountains, one of the first considerations is also one of the very most important.  That question is: How "buildable" is this particular lot or property? My latest Gatlinburg foreclosure assignment is a large (4 bedroom, 2 bath) log-look chalet here in one of Gatlinburg's most popular locations, Chalet Village.  Although it is on a VERY steep lot, the home is quite attractive except that it has an extremely curious feature - Spray-On Concrete Landscaping.  Hopefully this idea won't catch on but it was probably an engineer who came up with this.  Somebody said "We've got to do something to retain this steep mountain-side bank.  Grass won't stay, even hydro-seed won't work here...  I know, let's spray concrete on the dirt to build a shell that will hold the bank in place."


Like so many ideas that might sound good on paper (but I'm not sure that this one ever did!), this didn't work so well in practice.  In fact, it didn't work aesthetically or functionally.  In working with Gatlinburg area real estate for 15 years, I can't say that I've seen it all but I have seen most of it by now.  This is one idea I would rather not see again.  After all, nothing says woodsy or nature like: "Spray-On Concrete Landscaping"...
Actually, except for the steep drive and large retaining walls, this really isn't a bad property.  It even has a Great Smoky Mountain National Park view.  Here are some more pictures of the better parts of this property:





We don't have a price on the Gatlinburg Spray-On Concrete Landscaping home yet but if this is what you've been looking for, it will be a remarkable value!!

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