Sonoma Villero - Community Profile

Today I thought I'd share with you a profile of one of the hottest townhome communities on the Eastside, Sonoma Villero. I lived in this community for about two years, from mid 2001 to Mid 2003. I owned a two bedroom, 2.5 bath townhome with a single car garage and a covered carport space. Others, depending upon their location, may have a tandem, two-car garage. My unit had a one bedroom condo located behind my rear garage wall and under my living room & spanning my neighbor's, as well. I bought my unit for $189,950.

Sonoma Villero was built by Polygon Northwest during 1999 and 2000. It is a 240 unit complex, comprised mostly of two & three bedroom townhomes, but it also has a few different types of 1 & 2 bedroom flats. Community features include a clubhouse, gym, pool & spa. The community is located on Juanita-Woodinville Way, just off of the 160th St. Exit from I-405 North of Totem Lake. The site is situated between Juanita-Woodinville Way and the freeway, with a thick greenbelt of trees screening most of the units that are along this buffer zone. The complex is visible from both North & South I-405.

Once built, all of the units were originally rentals, and then converted to condominiums by the developer, Pryde LLC. Renters were offered their homes first at a discounted rate or had to move out. Pryde offered a $10,000.00 "upgrade" package, which I selected as I was a bit cash-poor when I bought the home. Upgrades included new berber carpeting, fresh interior paint, new vinyl floors in the bathrooms and Pergo in the kitchens. Also included were pewter light fixtures. The developer made a killing on these upgrades, perhaps netting an extra profit as high as $6,000.00 or more per unit.

There was a lot to love about Sonoma when I bought there. For one, the location is great. It takes 2 minutes to get to I-405 from the development and there is a Park and Ride just over the freeway for bus commuters. Within 5 minutes there are gas stations and you can be in downtown Woodinville, where you can get anything else you want, or catch a movie at the great theater there. I also liked the architecture of Sonoma; the complex is loosely styled on a Tuscan village and actually won some design awards. Inside, high ceilings on the main level and vaulted ceilings with skylights on the upper level give you a greater feeling of space from the typical 1100-1200 square feet offered. Both bedrooms are suites, with attached baths. The master bath has a double shower, with two showerheads and twin sinks. The second bedroom has a tub/shower combo and a single sink. On the downside, finishes are lower quality than newer offerings and these units are pretty short on storage space.

In the townhomes, there are three basic configurations, with one or two exceptions. The two bedroom units offered a mid-placed kitchen with an island or an end kitchen. The island kitchen units are more attractive, I think. The builder had their model home set up as an island home with the dining and living rooms combined and then a small "Sunday Room" for sitting on the other side of the kitchen. This arrangement never made sense to me and I used the "Sunday Room" as the dining room, needing only to swap light fixtures to make it look like the natural arrangement. This allowed the living room to be almost doubled in size for a much more spacious feeling. The downside to the island kitchen, as I found out, was that you lost more than 50% of your storage space with this setup. It still felt better to me, however.

The end kitchen units have an enormous amount of kitchen storage and counter top space, but then scrunch the living & dining rooms together. This arrangement always looked & felt smaller to me, although the plans differ by less than 15 square feet. All two bedroom units are in the middle sections of each building of 8-10 homes. All end units are 3 bedrooms.

Speaking of 3 bedroom townhomes at Sonoma Villero, these are not too desirable. These units are just slightly larger (maybe 40 sqft) than the two bedroom units. The "third" bedroom is sandwiched between the other two on the upper floor, with a slight bump-out. However, to accomplish this, the master bath is reduced in size and you lose a sink in there. This third bedroom is really small, limiting its usefulness greatly. One benefit of a three bedroom unit is the fact that it has windows on three sides, for better light and ventilation. You only share one common wall, too, instead of two as you would in a 2 bedroom. Noise isolation is really good in Sonoma, however, as these units were built to condo specs when assembled by Polygon. Few of the homes I've ever been in (and I've been in many, as Keith and I have re-sold more of these units than any other agents) had squeaks in the floors or stairs and all have felt rock-solid underfoot.

These days, Sonoma Villero is starting to look its age. The once bright white trim paint is now dirty and has either flaked or been chipped off many of the boards. It is in desperate need of repainting. The siding is vinyl and in generally good condition, although I personally don't like the look of vinyl siding all that much. Unlike many projects built during this timeframe, however, Sonoma Villero never ended-up in a lawsuit with Pryde or Polygon for "building envelope" or water penetration issues. Many, many condo & townhome projects ended up in these situations & had to be re-sided. Cambridge, located right across the street from Sonoma Villero, was a victim of this and just recently completed their re-siding project. The landscape at Sonoma Villero is well-kept and the complex is generally neat and clean. Guest parking can be a challenge and spots can be hard to find during weekends & evenings.

Sonoma Villero has seen tremendous price appreciation over the last few years. I sold my unit for just $198,500 after nearly two years, but that very same unit, located on a greenbelt, will now easily command $290k+. As each home sells at a new high value, the bar moves up. Prices for 3 bedroom units are around the $310k point right now. Homes sell fairly quickly in this development, and the best units almost always have multiple offers, driving prices up even more. Units located along the freeway command about $10k less than those in better locations. Modifications such as accent walls, kitchen & appliance upgrades as well as wood floors make these units red hot when its time to sell. If you own one and are thinking of selling it, you'll more than make up the cost of doing some minor upgrades. Uniqueness (well done) sells!

Questions about buying or selling in Sonoma Villero? Contact Keith Zeiler or myself, Tim Andrews, for more information. We are truly experts in this development and always know what's available and what the values are or should be. Click here to see photos of my Sonoma Villero townhome: Unit 1715

Next time, I'll profile a neighborhood in Issaquah called Talus. Oh, and I have a new listing to tell you about. This one is a super nice 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath single family home located in the Canyon Park area of Bothell. It was built in 1999 and sits on .33 acres. A granite kitchen and oversized master suite are just two of the special features of this house. You can see it at our website by clicking on this link: A Masterpiece of design in Bothell

Thanks for reading!
Tim

Tim Andrews
TK2 Associates, LLC...powered by John L. Scott
425-444-2121
tim@tk2homes.com
www.tk2homes.com