A lineup of all of this weekend’s open houses can be found at sbopenhouses.com, courtesy the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. Here are five of the most intriguing ones:
Back on the market after a six-month break and a $250,000 price cut, the 1936 Chester Carjola Tudor at 854 Park Lane ($7 million) looks like the kind of country estate Cary Grant and Irene Dunne would’ve retreated to in a classic Hollywood film, and I loved it at first sight. The floor plan would’ve also made more sense back in the 1930s, however, and there’s a whiff of deferred maintenance. Bring your household staff and a contractor…. / Open Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
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The 1940 house at 663 Lilac Drive ($7.95 million) in Montecito appears to have been surburbanized a bit over the decades, but there’s clearly still magic there. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t paint the green away before listing it. / Open Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
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At first, I was a mystified by the listing for 2825 Hidden Valley Lane ($2.3 million), because Google Maps didn’t quite jibe with the description of “two separately walled and gated private compounds […] Compound One has a romantic Spanish style casita [while] Compound Two is [a] shovel ready parcel has permitted plans for a new, ocean view main residence situated behind its own privacy gates.” But the “lot lines” feature on Zillow helped: the street runs through the two lots. And perhaps the northern one, visible in satellite view, has been torn down. All the more reason to go to the open house—and take a drive up Hidden Valley Lane, while you’re at it. The street is a charmer. / Open Saturday, 1-4 p.m.
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2932 Hermosa Road ($1.8 million) in Samarkand has definite curb appeal, and the recent redo involved a lot of good choices. The 1929 house is small, though—four bedrooms and two baths—with the master on its own level downstairs, next to the garage. / Open Saturday and Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
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The 1912 cottage at 428 Corona Del Mar ($3.25 million) got a $350,000 price-chop in November, but I suspect it’s still a tad overpriced. Nonetheless, the place has scads of charm, and East Beach is a few houses away. I hold out hope that someone will buy it to live there, rather than put it on the vacation-rental market. / Open Sunday, 2-4 p.m.
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