House Hunting: Onward and Up the Hill

After driving through Topanga on the way home from Soccer the other weekend, Heffe and I played a little game of guess how far from the PCH our most recent house interest is. I was sure it would take ten to fifteen minutes to cruise up the hill, but he was right. It took no more than five. And what we found up there was an incredible little neighborhood, and a promising home for sale.

The neighborhood, known as Marquez Knolls, features a slew of perfectly pristine midcentury ranch homes of varying affect. The ocean and horizon tilt and turn with the curvy roads and rock outcroppings jut out of a hill lined with the pinot vines of a hilltop winery. It all makes me feel real excited about puppy walks and nearby trailheads.

I made my way over to the agent’s open house on Tuesday to test our assumptions, and found it to be pretty feasible. We immediately scheduled a second tour for Heffe. There are 4 legit bedrooms, a lovely walkway that I immediately noted would be ideal for outdoor entertaining and it all sits on a rather large corner lot. The home is perched well above street level and some old dowdy hillside bushes. Taking advantage of the yard space will require some creative thinking. Even our agent commented that the current landscaping needed a deep rethink. I’ve pulled a Google streetview for your reference and for mine!

The home was built in the early seventies and has a unique blend of midcentury ranchalow with a Metrie-like door and a funny little courtyard alongside a Spanish style roof with archways here and there. This mix of style has an eccentric quality that I feel will play well to our sensibilities and is decidedly SoCal. A mix of Italian marble and porcelain tile on the floor are my least favorite feature and luckily Heffe agrees that a new hardwood floor throughout is a worthy pursuit.

We scored the home with our handy house hunting score formula and she is a solid B. She will be an A+ once we have remodeled the master bath and added a backyard shed for art and homebrew hobbies.

We are currently holding our breath for news on the offer we put in. Inventory is still quite low and thus we were one of 9 offers made. We will know more soon. I can already tell you that I am wrapped up in ideas. If it falls through, there will be despair. What a wicked game this has been so far.

Here is a little tour via MLS. The pictures piqued us initially but they really don’t do the home or the hood justice.