Real Estate Tasting Room

Retirement Properties

Celebrating Retirement with a Move to the Beautiful Santa Ynez Valley

Over the years I have found that there are three primary desires when it comes to those choosing to celebrate retirement with a move to the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley. I refer to these as Grandpa’s Farm, Family Compound and Base Camp.

Grandpa’s Farm

These people want a property in which to embrace the land with farm projects and vineyards, often returning to the venue of great childhood experiences and memories (thus grandpa’s farm). They are often looking for the well earned retreat following a challenging career or profession. Just them and the earth. There are two collections of current listings that might be of interest to the Grandpa’s Farm camp. Farm 1 (smaller farms and ranches); Farm 2 (farms and ranches over 8 acres)

Family Compound

Generally people wanting a family compound are looking to the property to bring together children and sometimes grand or great grand children. Frequently these people want a comfortable place for the family to be together, often including other amenities, such as pools, tennis courts etc. Generally, those looking for a family compound want a fare amount of land, some place that truly feels special. In the collection that follows, there are properties with a minimum of 1 acre that offer guest houses or guest quarters. The range is extensive. Click here to see a current custom collection of family compounds.

Base Camp

These people wanting to simplify life and to have a base from which to travel and enjoy. Generally they want properties that are easy to care for and can be locked up in a flash. Quite frequently base campers want a property that can accommodate an RV or boat.

One popular choice for base campers  is a conveniently located condo or PUD, planned unit development. In general these do not accommodate RV’s or boats. Since many people think of  PUD’s as condos, click on Condo vs. PUD for some clarification. Click here for a  a current collection of active condo and PUD listings in the Santa Ynez Valley. Another is the Alisal Ranch. This 10,000 acre working ranch includes approximately 60 homes in a beautiful designated area. These properties are purchased as leaseholds, generally selling for 30-50% of their fee simple value. These homes tend to have incredible views of the mountains and golf course,  and while including some land to be managed, can be easily locked up for the base campers. Click here for a current collection of active listings in the Alisal Ranch.

Another popular choice is a small home on an easy to care for parcel, generally under 1/4 acre. There tends to be many options in this category. I refer you to turnkey listings under $800,000 for a collection of current listings including the perfect base camp. Please do contact me for details about these properties, neighborhoods and services that are of interest.