Lavigna is a new gated community of detached townhomes in the southwest part of Santa Maria referred to as the “Westgate Ranch” area. There is a lot of recent building in this area: Pacific Crest, Harvest Glen, St. Claire (now rental apartment homes), and Siena (planned). Recently, the City of Santa Maria built out Battles Road which improved accessibility to the area greatly. There are also plans to build out Carmen Lane which will further unite the Westgate Ranch area with the south end of Santa Maria. Even without the Battles and Carmen build out, the area offers great accessibility to Vandenberg AFB with a straight shot out Blosser/Skyway to Highway 135/Broadway.
Lavigna Community
Lavigna offers a community pool with a Lighthouse tower, tot lot, and a community green belt area; it sits directly adjacent to Liberty Elementary School. I just visited the model homes yesterday and they all look appealing. The floor plans range from 1700 sq. ft. to 2200 sq. ft. with at least two offering an optional bedroom downstairs. By purchasing a new town home, you have the luxury of building the townhome out exactly the way you prefer. I would recommend taking a buyer’s agent with you when looking at new homes. We can provide great advice during the process as the sales agents in the office usually exclusively work for the seller/builder. A buyer’s agent can give you advice about which options will help you resell the unit, as well as current comparative sales information for similar re-sale units. Lavigna recently reduced some of their prices and they now range from the low $300,000’s to around $330,000; and home owners association dues are $113 – 122 a month.
Arborwalk
Built in 2004 and 2005, Arborwalk is located at the intersection of Miller & McCoy in the heart of “New” Santa Maria. This gated development is close to shopping, banks, and restaurants and it offers a fitness trail, greenbelt basin, and rose gardens throughout. Once you drive home you truly don’t need your car; you can get out and walk to everything; units in this development earn high “walkability” scores. These detached town homes are excellent for buyers who don’t want the obligations of yard work but still need a little outdoor space for their pet and/or a BBQ grill. Also, these homes are fantastic for investors who plan to market a rental to nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base. Arborwalk is tremendously attractive to potential renters as it sits adjacent to grocery stores, coffee shops, and restaurants.
Greenbelt at Arborwalk Townhomes
Monthly HOA dues in Arborwalk run about $95 per month, and floor plans range from 1600 to 2400 square feet. There are 5 floor plans offering balconies, picket fences, and generous master bedroom suites. There is at least one floor plan that has a bedroom and full bath downstairs. Arborwalk is completely sold, so there are only re-sales in this development. As these units first sold during the housing boom, most of the current sales are short sales or foreclosures (REOs). In the last 3 months of 2008, re-sales prices ranged from $237,000 for a 1650 sq. ft. model to $284,000 for a 2150 sq. ft. home, with a median selling price of $250,000.
Somerset Gardens
For those interested in high end townhome developments, but who don’t require a gated community, the communities of Somerset Gardens, Stonebridge, The Villas at La Ventana, and Foxenwood Garden Villas should be explored. They each offer open floor plans, well maintained grounds, and generous amenities to their residents. If you would like to search for Santa Maria – Orcutt CA properties, I offer three ways to search for property on my websites: SantaMariaRealEstateSearch.com, iLoveOrcutt.com, BuySantaMariaForeclosures.com. Or if you would like to receive email alerts about properties, send me an email request at tni@MintProp.com, or if you would like me to arrange a personalized tour of Santa Maria area properties please give me a call at (805) 878-9879 and I will set it up for you.
*Based on the information from the Central Coast Regional MLS. Neither the Association, the Multiple Listing Service, or Mint Properties guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
Everyone in the Santa Maria and Lompoc housing marlet is talking about short sales these days. They love them, they hate them, they love to hate them, they. . . well you get the picture. There are a lot of opinions on them. One thing is for sure, if you are a short sale seller you should work with an experienced agent and obtain legal and tax advice before entering into a short sale arrangement. Short sales have significant financial, legal, tax, and credit consequences.
