Real Estate Confidential is a weekly chit chat about new listings, sales, or other insider info on the Martha’s Vineyard real estate market, by Fred Roven, Martha’s Vineyard Buyer Agents. It appears each Friday in The Minute.
No question that today has that feeling we know so well, that fall is in the air. We have had enough of those warm early fall days to fool us, but today brought thoughts of the warmth and coziness a fireplace provides. Imagine having family and friends arrive for Thanksgiving to the glow of a fireplace with the smell and crackle of logs burning. Maybe add the aroma of nutmeg and cinnamon from simmering cider and you are good to go. Don’t forget to have scallops gathered that day, possibly even sauteed over your open fireplace.
Many must-have lists from buyers include fireplaces and on average they sell at 12% higher than homes without.
The homes with fireplaces I look at this week mostly have water views, are older homes on larger-than-average lots, and provide the opportunity to gather around with family and friends to help take the chill off a cold autumn night. The first seems to fit into many of my favorite categories. At $895,000, 109 Barnes Road is “Vintage Vineyard” at its best. A 2-bedroom cottage set on a bluff overlooking the Lagoon, with views to Vineyard Haven harbor and Vineyard Sound. Light the fireplace late afternoon, hopefully on your first try, and watch a spectacular sunset while feeling the warmth from your brick fireplace in this charming Island retreat.
The storybook cottage at 655 Old County Road priced at $799,000 provides the best value by far. The home surrounded by a landscaped lawn and ornamental trees, is in close proximity to Alley’s and West Tisbury Village with all its conveniences. The home was built in 1930 and its wood burning stone fireplace sits in a main living area with a dramatic barrel vault ceiling adding to the drama of this old island experience. The backyard of this West Tisbury classic borders on Mill Brook providing privacy and many opportunities to enhance the home.
The spectacular waterfront property at 140 State Road in Chilmark is what old Vineyard charm is all about. The home was built in 1939 and expanded in 1973. After paddling from your private dock through Quitsa and out to Vineyard Sound or strolling your beach, warm up gathered around your brick fireplace in the wood paneled cathedral ceilinged family room while overlooking Stonewall Pond and out to open ocean. My choice might be to gather on the rooftop deck, wrapped in down, and take in the 360-degree waterview with the full moon rising over the pond as the sun sets to the west.
If you must be more practical in your home choice, an excellent one would be 31 North Street in Edgartown. The home has a formal living room and off the country kitchen is a spacious den with a wall of brick including a brick fireplace. The space has all the warmth and charm of an older home in a more private location, yet has easy access to the village and to South Beach. There is no need to spend multiple millions and still enjoy a year round home with all the modern conveniences and plenty of extra rooms for many friends and family members.
For a list of a few of my favorites, check out Martha’s Vineyard Homes with Fireplaces and, if you want to search for homes with fireplaces, just place the keyword fireplace in your search.
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