I spent part of this sunny Santa Barbara Friday touring two new listings: One in my neighborhood, and one 10 minutes down the road–which, as locals know, is just about the maximum distance we’re willing to drive to do anything. Good thing my kids’ school is a two-minute drive from my house, Trader Joe’s is around the corner and the beach is eight minutes away.
Fixer-Upper With Beach Access
Let’s start with the one in the Santa Barbara Shores neighborhood, known for its easy beach access, butterfly preserve and proximity to the airport flight path (a selling point if you have toddlers). This four-bedroom, three-bathroom fixer-upper is listed for $1,299,000–which, sadly, is a steal for the area.
I moved from Seattle to Santa Barbara about a year and a half ago, and if this had been one of the only listings when I was looking at houses, I would have bought it. It was in similar shape and a similar price to the house my husband and I did buy–and that we then fully gutted and remodeled. The advantage of this fixer-upper over my fixer-upper is that it has one bedroom and bathroom that were probably added on just a few years ago; those don’t need fixing up. But it does need a few walls taken down, some moss-green carpet pulled out, a full kitchen renovation, and a serious landscaping job. For someone who wants to be in the Shores, though, it’s a great opportunity. And lots of people do want to be in the Shores: The ones with toddlers who get a major kick out of staring up at airplanes all day, and especially the surfers.
Two Stories With a Pool
My first reaction to this house, located a few blocks away from my house and in the same school district: Wow, it’s HUGE! In reality, it’s just slightly over 2,000 square feet. For my neighborhood, that’s massive; most houses are around 1,400 square feet, which is all you need when you can spend about 350 days of the year living outside. This listing also has two stories, which is also uncommon in my area, and now makes me think: Eh, I don’t want to have to walk up stairs to grab a toy for my kids. There’s also a small ADU in the backyard, which is also uncommon and also a selling point.
My second reaction: IT HAS A POOL! I WANT IT! Like the Shores fixer-upper, if I were moving to the area and this was for sale, I’d probably buy it. Because even though living in a California ranch has made me anti-stairs, I realllllly want a pool. Yes, I know, it costs a ton of money and takes a lot of maintenance and is probably a major headache. But that feeling of jumping into a pool on a 79-degree Tuesday in January? Worth it. Only problem is that I’d need to add a hot tub for those rare days when it drops below 60.
My third reaction: The price is right. Sure, it’s listed for $1.8 million. But it’s big (for Santa Barbara)! And it has a pool (but not a hot tub)! And it would require a little work, but much less than the Shores fixer, and much less than a lot of the neighboring houses. So really, you’d be saving money.
Both of these houses cost a lot of money. They’re for people who can afford to pay seven figures, and people who believe the privilege of living in Santa Barbara is worth that kind of money.
