Issues → March/April 2007 → Home & Garden →

House For Sale: Cape Cod, Massaschusetts

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However, we must emphasize that old and relatively unaltered as it is, this house is livable right now. It's heated with oil, it has town water, there's a new septic tank, the appliances in the kitchen and bathrooms are up-to-date, the roof and shingling look to be in fine shape -- in short, you could walk in there tomorrow morning and start living.

But it has been unoccupied for a couple of years. The current owner, who lives in Barton, Vermont, has never set foot in the place; he inherited the property from his late wife as part of a complicated series of circumstances. But he has had someone nearby coming in every week to check on things, mow the lawns, do repairs, and so forth.

The price? Knowing about properties on Cape Cod, we expected it to be in the millions. But it's only $899,000. The catch is that not everyone wants to live in an 18th-century house. And, as with so many historic homes along Cape Cod's Route 6A, from Sandwich to Orleans, the Old King's Highway Historical Commission, under the overall jurisdiction of the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts (508-362-2565; Mark H. Robinson, executive director), imposes certain restrictions on both the property (you can't subdivide it, for instance) and the outside of the house itself. To some people, that's a negative. Thus the price is comparatively low.

If we were to become the owner, would we want to change anything? Probably not, except, well, the kitchen is a little dark and the ceiling too low. But we could do whatever we wanted as long as it didn't significantly alter the exterior. Obviously, we'd consult with Mark H. Robinson about it, and we're positive he'd be thrilled to know that one of the most historically significant, valuable, and gorgeous properties on the Cape was in good hands once again.

Oh, did we mention it's only a tad more than a half mile to the beach?

For details, contact Britt Beedenbender at Kinlin Grover GMAC, Osterville, MA. 508-420-1130 or 508-783-0017; kinlingrover.com