Choosing the homes to highlight in this newsletter is always a conundrum. There are over 400 listings at any one time in Falmouth, and this has remained fairly consistent over the last few years. So how to choose 10-15? 

They're not the "best" - that would vary from reader to reader, depending on so many factors (like, if you have happy memories from a particular neighborhood or beach, what you can afford, if you already have a friend or relative living in a particular area, if flood insurance isn't an issue or if you must have a water view, if you are drawn to our woods and ponds, if you like to ride horseback through the fields and woods, or if you need to be near the highway for a quick getaway or close to the hospital because your job requires it, or, or, or...). 

To choose these properties, I scroll through everything for sale, looking for homes that I think would appeal for a particular reason.

I have little patience for the "blah blah blah" of the usual real estate hyperbole, and I assume that all my readers share that with me. So I'm always honest, and I share the limitation of each home, if there is one. 

No home is perfect, even the most expensive listing in town. Yes, that's true - for $10,000,000, you need to either do a lot of work, or tear down and build anew - but you do get a terrifically nice location to do it in. And the home's been for sale since 2012, so apparently no one's beating down the door to pay $10,000,000 for what in reality may be just a building lot - even if it is in a spectacular, drop-dead, and exclusive setting.

So, come with me while we look at some sweet little homes, sweet bigger homes, and sweet biggest home!

 

There are a few tiny - really tiny, under 500 square feet - cottages for sale that are particularly charming.

#21309823

With one bedroom, one bath, and only 464 square feet, this cottage is directly ON Jenkins Pond! How great is that to have waterfront on this beautiful, clear lake? And the house is in reasonably good condition. BUT - there's always a "but" - you have to drive across the yard of the house in front to get to this one. If you are ok with the size of the house, that may be acceptable. Here's the second "but" - the septic will need to be upgraded before closing. So - one "but" is easily resolved with money; the other is permanent. Some buyer in this price range will probably be ecstatic to get waterfront and decent condition, and will overlook the easement across the neighbor's yard.

#21405210

 

 

Say you just want a cute little house near the beach, and can't afford much. But you'd like to be in North or West Falmouth, to make your off-Cape commute a little easier. Then you'd want to see this home. This is also a one-bedroom, one-bath home, with 476 interior square feet - and with central air, gas heat, and less than a mile to New Silver Beach. On a historic lane (read "dirt road"), it's charming, charming, charming! What's the "but" - well, you might not love some of the homes around it. There's the trade-off. (But isn't everything in life a trade-off?)

 

#21405330

 

Would you want a house that's more than a one or two-person cottage? Still in the lower price range? Willing to be, shall we say, a little rustic? Here's a 4-bedroom, 2-bath (1,680 sf, and over an acre of land) to consider. Cheerfully referred to as "an artist's home", that's a bit of a euphemism for "different" and maybe "homemade". Nothing wrong with that necessarily, just not for everyone. But if a charming, informal home in a woodsy yet still neighborhood setting in North Falmouth, not far from Old Silver Beach, appeals then this would be THE one. 

Here's another possibility in that super downtown, south of Main Street neighborhood, and for $449,000, you would be justified in wondering about the "but". Here it is: the house needs everything. But with 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 2,065 sf, it definitely has potential. It needs a buyer with vision and probably the confidence that comes from experience, to know that with $100K or so, the house will be transformed - and will probably have an immediate equity plus, because of the location and now spanking new condition. 

The next two homes are my listings, so bear with me while I'm gentle with the "buts":

#21406571

 

 

With 2,000 sf, 4 or 5 bedrooms, and 2.5 baths, here is one of the best-maintained homes I've ever seen. My friends Marie and Neil have owned it for decades, raised their family here, and are now retiring to Charleston, S.C. Perfect condition? Check. Gorgeous yard that extends a full block? Check. View of and access to Little Pond for a paddle? Check. Outdoor shower AND toilet? Check. Half mile to soft sands of Bristol Beach? Check. BUT on the corner of Maravista Ave., so it definitely gets summer traffic on the way to the beach. Can you deal with some cars going by to get everything else, especially since the yard is completely enclosed and private? 

 

#21405806

   

Well, it's hard to find the "but" here. This is brand-new construction, and built like a custom home. Quality workmanship, exceptional choices, tasteful and comfortable everywhere. Three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, huge upstairs family room, 2-car garage, tucked-away neighborhood well-loved by its residents. The only "but" I can find is that there's no first-floor bedroom suite. Find me a family who wants all second-floor bedrooms!

 

#21406912

 

 

This listing just came on the market last Friday. In Saconesset Hills, with that gorgeous beach described above, it's a 4-bedroom, 2-bath, 2,804 sf classic Cape in one of the nicest neighborhoods in town. With an asking price of $795,000, and a fabulous studio over the 2-car garage, what's the "but"? Well, the front yard is nice, but the back yard is minimal; and maybe the studio over the garage is not important to you. It's been meticulously maintained, and shows well, but for some buyers, it will be a little dated. Small "buts", but there they are.

 

#21406267

 

 

Just down the road from the house above is a particularly charming Cape at the end of the lane in this Saconesset Hills neighborhood. The yard, both front and especially the back, is spectacular. With an asking price of $835,000, 4 bedrooms, and 3 baths, I'm thinking that this "but" is just the size - a little small, at 1,796 square feet.

#21405978

25 Bob White Way, East Falmouth 

 

 

So just to totally confuse you, as it does most everyone else, here's 25 Bob White, but it's on the opposite side of town. Two streets with the same name, crazy! With an asking price of $1,499,000 and 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3,407 square feet, and over an acre of land, this renovated Cape is on the water. And it even has a first-floor main bedroom suite. What's the "but"? I don't know!

#21405393

Going back to Saconesset Hills, to show the range of prices here, take a look at this home. With an asking price of $2,395,000 and 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 5,000 sf, a tennis court, in-ground heated pool, and a 1.16 acre lot, this has privacy, amenities, condition, floor plan, space, location, private beach - you name it, this house probably has it! So what's the "but"? Maybe the price is too high, even for all this? After all, it's not on the ocean.

#21200291

Last, but hardly least, is the most expensive listing in town. With 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and 3,660 sf, the asking price is a cool $10,000,000. This is because of the 2.63 acres on Penzance Point, the most exclusive and spectacular location in Woods Hole. The house is regarded as a tear-down, but I don't know that everyone would do that. But ten million benjamins IS a lot of money, and especially if it's just for a building lot. The house has been on the market since 2012. We do get the occasional buyer for whom money matters less than location, views, and privacy, and that's what this property needs. And probably some good-natured but determined negotiating on the price.

Thank you for coming with me on this little online tour of Falmouth homes for sale in every price range. There's something for everyone, I hope; and always with a "but". The lesson? Almost every house is some kind of compromise. Nevertheless, most of us live happily ever after.