Real Estate Tasting Room

Nothing Says “I Love You” Like Dirt…Five Great Santa Ynez Valley Land Parcels

Published by: Doris Banchik
Published on February 17th, 2012
Categorized under: Buyer Advisory, Properties, Retirement Retreats

Romantic Dirt in the Beautiful Santa Ynez Valley

Yesterday I described six romantic properties in the Santa Ynez Valley…actually, there are many more. All of these properties were “improved”, meaning lovely homes plus other amenities. In today’s blog I will highlight 5 unimproved Santa Ynez properties. In my experience, many buyers with long-term perspectives come looking for “dirt”. At this time, unimproved land appears to be more depressed than improved parcels, largely because of the limited  financing for the former. Here are 5 parcels that capture the Santa Ynez Valley romance:

1. 78 Linda Vista Dr, Santa Ynez.

This is a GREAT 6 acre property in coveted Rancho Estates, in the beautiful Happy Canyon area of the Santa Ynez Valley. This fenced parcel is highly usable, with fabulous mountain views. Rancho Estates is a fine area for horses and the shared well water has been excellent and relatively inexpensive. Offered at $685,000.

2. 1770 Still Meadow Rd, Solvang (Nr Ballard). This is a beautiful, slightly rolling parcel, in one of the last subdivisions in the Valley. This is just outside of the township of Ballard, and the association was designed with high-end homes and ranches in mind. The property has lovely mountain views and is a short walk to enchanting Ballard. The best of all worlds. If “value” turns you on, you might be interested in knowing that other 10 acre parcels in that small association were subdivided into 2 5′s, as its zoned 5 acres.  This property is offered at $975,000.

3. 3471 Woodstock Rd, Santa Ynez.

This is a 20-acre parcel in toney Woodstock, which has approximately 120-20 acre parcels, riding trails and rustic elegant living. Improved properties in Woodstock typically sell in the multimillions. This property, like most in Woodstock, are quite steep. There is room on the flat area at the base for horses or agriculture, however, the best building site is at the top, with magnificent views. One of the issues than in developing this property is the cost of building an acceptable road. The Seller is obtaining permits and the last set of road estimates with in the $200,000 range. This would have to be explored. The asking price is $675,000, leaving plenty of room to cover the cost of building the road. Woodstock has shared wells and relatively inexpensive wather.

4. 3161 Foxen Canyon Rd, Los Olivos. This is a GREAT 23.5 acre parcel, on the Santa Ynez Foxen Wine Trail and close to the restaurants, coffee shops and tasting rooms in the town of Los Olivos. There is ample farmland on this piece as well as a fabulous building site on its hilltop. The views are spectacular. The location is spectacular…and this is being offered at $1,50o,000. This property will need a well.

5. 5410 Foxen Canyon Rd, Los Olivos.

This is a marvelous 49 acre parcel on the Santa Ynez Foxen Wine Trail. As compared with 3161, this one is quite a few miles (est 5 miles) beyond, between Koehler and Fess Parker Wineries. The property is highly usable, although there are areas of beautiful old oaks that would have to remain in place. The property has a mesa with a wonderful view building site, a seasonal creek with engineered bridge, a well and large reservoir and a wonderfully peaceful setting. This is a very special, wonderful piece. It is offered at $3,500,000.

Land Purchase Considerations. I will be covering these in a later blog, but I want to mention a few now. 1) there is very limited financing for dirt; one option to explore would be seller financing, which seems to be more common with land than it is with improved properties. 2) water is a Santa Ynez Valley issue. By this I mean that the source, availability and cost of water to our parcels should definitely be understood in looking at dirt. 3) zoning, CC&R’s, and activity on adjacent parcels are also important to understand, as are the legal boundaries of each parcel. In many cases, fences were put in place long before the parcels became so valuable. It is not uncommon to find that the fences do not sit on the property boundaries.

Please do get in touch for more information on these parcels, others and the in’s and out’s of land purchases in the Santa Ynez Valley. Email me at [email protected] or call or text at 805.588.3616.Then again you can contact me below.

Cheers!