Tour Talk: New Country property listings in Sebastopol
It was a glorious sunny day for touring West Sonoma County and seeing the latest properties to come on the market for the Sebastopol MLS. I am continually amazed at the breathtaking beauty of our back roads and the incredible variety of terrain, vegetation, trees, views and micro-climates that make up Sebastopol and Graton. So many nooks and crannies offering everything from 1910 farmhouses to contemporary estates and Tuscan style villas, vineyards, horse properties, garden paradises (where was the experimental farm of Luther Burbank?), apple orchards, organic farms, dairies –both cow and goat–and idyllic country retreats. Not to mention redwood groves and ocean views. And this was just today’s tour! 😉
Today we started with a delightful end of lane listing at 8349 Lewanna, off of Elphick. For $699,000 you can have a 1232 sf home on just under an acre. A modest home which could use updating but the views are spectacular:a panorama of the SE Santa Rosa hills and the home looks directly over a sprawling vineyard. Properties don’t come up often on this lane and the setting is truly unique. With a property like this you have the benefit of what I call “borrowed acreage” –you can look at it and pretend it’s yours but you don’t have to take care of it or pay for it. Small parcels bordered by little ones can be delightful in this way.
Next we drove way out Burnside Road to view Cary Fargo’s latest cool listing at 4910 Burnside Road. This is the quintessential old farmhouse with fir floors and a tilting chimney, spring and tiny studio and pond. Lots of chamomile and herbs tumbling around and we spotted a doe and fawn leaping away. The spring has a hand dug 10 foot deep well and tiny well house covering it. Not much as been done to this house except for some blue tiles that appear to date from the 70’s in the kitchen and a massive open beamed ceiling in that room. Lots of wainscoting and original character and KILLER views of Mt. St. Helena.
The 3 plus acres appear to be very usable and Cary said there are some potential building sites on the property so that perhaps the cute farmhouse could become a granny unit and leave room for a larger main home. Check with Sonoma County PRMD on that and any other building possibility. DEFINITELY a great property for someone with vision, taste and skills, and priced at $689,000. One of two extremely special properties today.
There were a number of really interesting properties today depending on your needs–from a lovely contemporary style home on a lane off Tilton Road with lovely gardens and just over 2 usable acres, great views and a garage with a studio/office with bath above for $837,500. Nearby, an extremely artful 2993 sf home on yet another lane off Tilton on 3.39 secluded acres. An 80’s home that shows beautifully, with several levels, stunning contemplative gardens and oaks, raised vegetable beds. $1,200,000.
The most unique property was Steve Prandini’s new listing on Facendini Lane. This 14 acre property sits on one of the prettiest lanes you will ever see and is balanced between wooded acreage with meandering paths and a manicured apple orchard currently managed by Dutton Ranches, according to Steve. The 2200 sf contemporary style home is 2 BR and 2 BA with some lovely outdoor seating areas, great for orchids and people. Plus more fabulous views of the eastern Santa Rosa hills. This would be a great retreat or family getaway property, idyllically situated between Sebastopol and Occidental and near Graton. The big limiting factor for this property is the fact that this is a water scarce area, so agricultural pursuits and much building expansion would probably be limited. But for the right people (and for $1,300,000) this is an enchanting and peaceful property. There is more to talk about on this week’s tour, feel free to email or call me with questions about these or any other Sonoma County properties.
