May 8, 2008

Get Away From It All

In today’s fast-paced life, sometimes we just want to get away from it all. Move to the country, so to speak. It can be very difficult to do that in the immediate Bay Area, or even in the 9 Bay Area counties, without having a long and painful commute. Spending your life sitting in traffic on a freeway is probably not the best use of your time (unless you are learning a foreign language on tape/CD). But there is one alternative on the Peninsula that is still in the “affordable” range. In fact, we entertained the idea of settling in this area 13 years ago, and came very close to buying. Not too far from the mass of humanity on the Peninsula is La Honda. A small, little burg seemingly cut off from the world, and yet we timed the commute to our children’s school in Redwood City to just under ½ hour (and that was without freeway driving). You meander through Woodside on roads lined with huge Sequoia trees and head up into the hills. The area of La Honda is large, and admittedly some areas are more remote and would require a longer commute, but there are payoffs. You usually get land with your home. By land, I mean more than the postage stamp we are used to in the burbs or the city. Parcels tend to be above 10,000 sf and up to several acres. While there are neighborhoods with multiple housing units, in many cases you cannot see your neighbor at all, and the views….are incredible. As it is today with the #1 on our leaderboard. Unfortunately there is no street address, but given all the facts, I think it is worth mentioning.

The home sits on just over ½ acre, built on a hill, surrounded by trees, with some great views. At 2,380 square feet, with 4 bedrooms, and 2.5 baths, this home is good-sized and only 29 years old. Listed for 87 days, it has taken a big price cut (massive, if I might use that term). Originally priced at $1,050,000, it was initially reduced to $975,000 (a paltry 7%), but then the owners went whole hog and slashed the price to $750,000. That’s a $300,000 price reduction, or 29%. The owners are moving to a new home, so they are motivated.

If you have never considered this area, you should take a leisurely ride up there one weekend to check it out. You should be pleasantly surprised.

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