Couple's home becomes ‘unsellable' over one feature
In an episode of Unsellable Houses, Bob and Karolyn were considering selling their home after 30 years.
Real estate experts Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb were called in to help the pair prepare their home for the market.
The home situated in Washington's Snohomish County boasted sweeping views and an entertaining space, however the twin sisters were surprised by one detail in the home — carpet in the bathroom.
The TV personalities couldn't help but laugh when they pointed out the dated green carpet extended into the bathroom.
'And the green carpet is continuous,' the siblings said in unison.
'I mean, why would you end it at the doorway? No logical reason,' Lyndsay joked.
It wasn't the only problem.
The experts noticed a tripping hazard with a large step between the shower and bath, also the only tiled portion of the bathroom.
'A lot of tiles around the bath, you're losing a lot of space. It makes it feel tighter than it really is,' Lyndsay said.
The outdated bathroom was a major obstacle for Bob and Karolyn selling their home.
The couple decided to renovate, giving Leslie and Lyndsay a $76,000 budget.
The twins removed the tiled shower, ripped up the carpet. They also installed underfloor heating as a solution to Bob's fear of getting cold feet.
The brand-new bathroom featured a walk-in shower, freestanding bath, a stylish bamboo ladder to hang towels from, as well as a stool, plants and bath caddy with candles.
Leslie and Lyndsay revealed the bathroom's transformation which left the couple stunned.
'This is so pretty!' Karolyn said.
Leslie and Lyndsay estimated the renovation made a huge difference increasing the value of the couple's home from $3.06m to $3.22m.
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"After a summer of giving programmes, hiking trails and interacting with the public, I sort of fell in love with it," he said, going on to serve for 41 years in the NPS as a ranger and superintendent in parks across the country, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Yosemite, Shenandoah and Kings Mountain National Military Park. He said park staff had "a great mission and a great purpose". "As they say, our breath starts turning green because we love the job so much." Phil Francis said the parks' mission and purpose made it easy for rangers to "love their job so much". ( Supplied: Phil Francis via the National Park Service ) Mr Francis was the deputy superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for 11 years. ( AFP: Patrick Gorski ) The NPS staff have "an array of responsibilities to protect and preserve", says Mr Francis, who serves as the executive council chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks after retiring in 2013. 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"National parks cannot properly function at the staffing levels this administration has reduced them to," said NPCA's president and CEO, Theresa Pierno. "And it's only getting worse." Staff stretched thin A park ranger at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. ( Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee ) The secretary of the interior pledged in February to add nearly 8,000 additional seasonal positions to the NPS, but halfway through the summer, only about 4,500 have been filled. It came too little, too late, says Ms Brengel, accusing the secretary of the interior of "band-aiding the situation". She said that the order from Mr Burgum to keep the parks open, combined with the seasonal hiring process beginning too late, meant that staff were being pulled from their specialised projects. "So instead of trail maintenance or revegetation, staff are being placed on visitor centres because they don't have enough people," she said. An NPS seasonal interpretation ranger leads a natural and cultural history discussion about the park in Glacier National Park. ( Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee ) Rangers move dirt and unearth beaver tracks near an information exhibit in Glacier National Park. ( Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee ) Invasive oxeye daisies are pulled from the shores of Lake McDonald at Glacier National Park. ( Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee ) An NPS seasonal interpretation ranger leads a fossil walk program in the Grand Canyon National Park. ( Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee ) It also means law enforcement staff are being moved to work in the visitor centre and forgoing other functions, she added. Mr Francis also pointed to the dangers of losing the more experienced park rangers. "Everybody is trying to be an asset — but it's not the same as someone who's been working there for 20 years." The NPCA said the loss of older rangers to early retirement buyouts represented "not just a staffing shortage, but also the loss of decades of institutional knowledge and specialised experience". In July, multiple fast-spreading wildfires forced evacuations in parts of the Grand Canyon. ( Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee ) Impact on economy and tourists America's National Park System exists as less than one-fifteenth of 1 per cent of the federal budget — despite contributing over $US55 billion to the nation's economy. The local economy in Utah had grown from "frozen burritos at the gas station" to a world-class food and dining economy that relied on the millions of tourists who streamed into the parks every year, Ms Brengel said. "Even the smallest park unit in America benefits the gateway community, the community just outside of it," she said. "If the visitation ever comes down, even in the next year or so, it would hurt so many people's business model," she added. "The price to pay for making bad decisions on the parks is pretty high." In July, Mr Trump signed an executive order called Making America Beautiful Again by Improving Our National Parks, calling on the NPS to charge foreign visitors an increased entrance fee. According to the order, the price hikes will only occur in parks that already charge admission, which is only about 100 of the 433 park units across the country. "The increased fee revenue from foreign tourists will raise hundreds of millions for conservation projects that improve our national parks," the White House wrote. Mr Francis said the fees wouldn't be enough to compensate for cuts to staffing and budget, though he wasn't opposed to the idea as long as it didn't turn off visitors. "Parks are for everyone," he said. The parks "preserve the full spectrum of our national identity", says NPS. ( Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee ) A National Park Service ranger conducts a walking tour in the Everglades National Park in Florida. ( AFP: Joe Raedle ) Visitors ride horses near the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains in Grand Teton National Park. ( Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee ) Yellowstone is most famous for its scorching-hot geysers. ( Reuters: Kaylee Greenlee ) Those with green breath can't look away Ms Brengel said that current staffing levels could not be maintained. "We can get away with it for this summer, but people will start to notice by next summer," she said. And while many would turn and run from such a problem, those with "green breath" can't look away. Protests have broken out across the country, while advocacy groups and rangers alike — dubbed Park Protectors —say Congress needs to "step in to reject these ideas of both understaffing and underfunding the parks". On August 23, Park Protectors across the country will take part in a nationwide one-day event organised by the NPCA, which they say will be a "national moment to show love for our parks and demand accountability for the devastating impacts threatening them". Demonstrations broke out across the country. ( Reuters: Yuri Avila ) "Something nature has taught me resonates in this moment: creatures together accomplish what lone ones can't," said Mr Wild.
