Both the Villas at La Ventana and Somerset Gardens townhomes were built by a well respected local builder, Inland Pacific, who is currently finishing the Pacific Crest development in the Westgate Ranch area. The townhome floor plans offered in each community are virtually identical. There are three basic floor plans in each. These upscale townhomes offer no maintenance patios, gas fireplaces, and two car garages. The standard features in these communities were very generous, so even units that were not upgraded maintain a very elegant feeling.
Plan A, the only one story unit, is approximately 1600 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and features a “great room” kitchen / family room combination. Plan B, the most popular floor plan, is about 2000 square feet and also offers a great room plan, plus a half bath for guests, and a downstairs master suite. Upstairs is typically a loft area which overlooks the great room, but the floor plan varies some depending on the original owner’s selection and can instead be built out as a walled off bonus room. Two additional bedrooms are upstairs along with a bath. This plan features an impressive sweeping windowed staircase off the main entry. Plan C is also over 2000 sq. ft. and offers a more formal approach to living with a separate dining room and living room off the entry, half bath, and a kitchen / family room combination in back. Depending on the options selected, upstairs features a loft or bonus room (or none), a master suite with a balcony, two additional bedrooms and an extra bath.
The Villas are a part of “La Ventana” built in 2006 – 2007 which feature homes with generous floor plans (2000 sq. ft. plus), a shared community clubhouse and pool, and the luxury townhomes at the Villas. The homeowners pay a monthly association fee of $95 per month, and the townhome owners pay association dues of around $150 per month. La Ventana offers excellent accessibility to Santa Maria’s only hospital, Marion Medical Center and the surrounding medical office buildings. As a result, its location is favored by medical personnel. In addition, La Ventana sits directly adjacent to Santa Maria’s newest high school, Pioneer Valley. When they originally sold, the townhomes were offered in the mid $300,000’s, and then later the low $300,000 range as prices continued to decline with the housing bust. There are now a couple of Plan C short sales offered at around the $250,000 range.
Somerset Gardens was built in 2003 – 2005 and unlike La Ventana, it is comprised exclusively of townhomes. It also offers a community clubhouse and pool, as well as a small putting green for kicks. For those who prefer an “in town” feel, Somerset Gardens offers a prime location within walking distance of grocery stores, new restaurants, and department store shopping. Monthly association dues are $167 per month. When offered new, the prices began in the low $300,000’s and went upward along with the housing boom. Currently, asking prices on re-sales in the development vary from $250,000 to $335,000, with two short sales and one “regular” sale being offered; there is one Plan B available and two Plan As on the market.
*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.
There is a common scam run on websites (Craig’s List in particular, but not exclusively) whereby properties that are listed for sale with an agent are fraudulently advertised for rent. Typically, the person running the rental ad tells potential renters that they are overseas working (in the armed services or as a missionary, etc.) and they advertise very cheap rent. They ask the potential tenant to send a cashier’s check for the first and last month’s rent and/or a prepayment of several months of rent in exchange for them mailing the keys at a later date. Unfortunately, once your money goes out of the country, there is very little you can do to recover it. These people are very clever; they will access property records and create fake email accounts with the real property owner’s name.
You would be surprised how many times I am asked this question with amounts varying from as little as $5000 to $50,000. And my answer to that is an easy no. I even had someone ask me about an $81,000 home in Foxenwood Estates! When I ask these potential buyers where they are getting this type of information, they point to the various foreclosure related websites. After sampling a few, for properties that are in pre-foreclosure (i.e. a Notice of Default has been filed) the amount of the payments that are in arrears, or the amount of the second loan owing on the property shows up as the list price, when in fact the home may not even be listed with a broker.
