Welcome to our Home For Sale!
4478 Greenbush Rd., Charlotte, VT 05445 [Map]
The House
The house was built in 1989 by developers Joel Rippa and George Oberlander. They thoughtfully faced the front of the house toward the east, which captures the beautiful view of Mt. Philo and the valley in between. You can hike or drive to Mt. Philo State Park at the top and, from the western overlook, see the house on Greenbush Rd., with Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks in the distance. It's a very pretty sight at sunset.
View of Mt. Philo from Front Porch
You can see an overhead view of the neighborhood at this link. The house is just left and above center. You can see at the bottom of the photo the farm and intersection of Greenbush and Thompson Point Roads. You can also zoom in and out to see more of the surrounding area and the proximity to Lake Champlain.
Why We Love This House:
There are many qualities that attracted us to this house in 1991, and perhaps those qualities will appeal to you too! These are some of the reasons we have loved living here:
Floor Plan:
The total space above grade is approximately 2200 sq. ft. The finished portion of the basement adds another 480 sq. ft.
The Garage is attached to the house with a tiled entry into the family room. It is a two-car garage with a center floor drain, with plenty of extra space for bicycle storage, a workbench, storage shelves, perhaps a motorcycle, etc. Seasonally, I store dry firewood (no trudging through the snow to get your firewood!) and snowblower in the winter, and in summer there is room to park bicycles, lawn mower, etc. along with the space for two cars. There is also an extra gravel parking area on the side of the garage which I have used for RV storage.
The Basement is divided into a finished area and an unfinished area. The finished part is two rooms that are carpeted and have finished walls, drop ceiling and recessed lighting, and a vinyl-tiled area surrounding the stairs. One of the rooms is enclosed with a door and the walls are soundproofed with insulation (Den). The other room is open on one side to the rest of the basement (Rec Room). The tiled area includes a pantry-type storage area, a pull-out storage box and art/craft/sewing center built in under the stairs. The unfinished area includes an alcove with rough, 2x4 shelving for storage. Another section of the unfinished area is closed off from the rest of the basement with double doors and contains the boiler, water heater and water softener. This area has a cement floor and is currently set up as a workshop.
Basement Room Dimensions (approx. 816 sq. ft.):
Click here for basement floor plan
The Main Floor is an open floor plan with the kitchen, great room and dining room all easily accessible and on the same level. Off of the kitchen is a powder room and enclosed laundry area, and further to the back of the house is a sunken second living area with access via atrium door to the back deck. This room could possibly be used as a family room, game room, home theater, living room, or even as a main-level bedroom. The front door has a ceramic tile entry, and leads out to the covered front deck. Kitchen, laundry and powder rooms have a vinyl floor covering; dining and family rooms are covered with hardwood, and the great room is carpeted.
Main Floor Room Dimensions (approx. 1224 sq. ft.):
Click here for main floor plan
The Second Floor is divided into three rooms, each with its own enclosed closet space. This home was originally built with 3 enclosed bedrooms on the second floor; however, we had the 3rd bedroom converted to a home office space, which opens it up to the stairs and hallway as you see in the photos. If a third bedroom is required, it would be a simple matter to replace the wall and door, and we would be glad to negotiate with you on that point.
The spacious master bedroom extends the width of the house and faces east, gathering in the views of the sunrise over Mount Philo. There are separate his and hers closets and a private ¾ bath. Windows on three sides allow fresh breezes and sunshine throughout the room. On the west side of the house is another bedroom with enclosed closet and windows on three sides. In between the two bedrooms is a bonus room that can serve in many capacities. It is currently used as a home office, however it could also serve as a library, study, gallery, studio, television room, open nursery or with some modification, even another bedroom. In addition to the enclosed closet space, there is a full bathroom and a linen closet off of the bonus room. The bonus room is covered with hardwood flooring, the bedrooms are carpeted, and the bathrooms have vinyl flooring.
Second Floor Room Dimensions (approx. 970 sq. ft.):
Click here for second floor plan
Heating/Cooling:
The broad side of the house faces south and captures the winter sun, which warms the interior of the house to about 70°F on a sunny day, even when the outside temperature is 0°F! We don't find the need to turn the heat on during the day in the winter if the sun is out. The house is kept cool in the summer by opening the windows on the south and north sides, letting the predominant southern or northern breeze refresh the air inside. That, combined with ceiling fans in the family room and master bedroom, precludes the need for expensive air conditioning, although one can certainly install a window unit if desired. The ceiling and crawlspace areas on the second floor have had extra insulation installed, which makes a big difference with heat retention in winter and heat prevention in summer. The propane gas-fired boiler maintains a steady temperature without the dust and noise problems of a forced-air system.
There are two "zones" (upstairs and downstairs) and each zone is controlled by an electronic, auto-setback thermostat. Additionally, although not needed for general heating, there is a wood stove in the family room which makes a cozy and comfortable atmosphere. The ceiling fan and a through-the-wall fan can circulate the heat to the rest of the main floor.
Utilities:
Propane is used as fuel wherever possible and makes operating costs much cheaper than electric. We have been "prebuying" propane from Newton's Gas for the past couple years and it has saved even more by getting enough gas to last the year at a discount ahead of time (in August usually). We have been prebuying about 800 gallons of propane, which lasts about 1 year and powers the boiler, stove, dryer and water heater.
Electricity is by Green Mountain Power Company. We have installed some energy-efficient compact flourescent bulbs on some of the outdoor fixtures, and dimmers on others, to save energy. We have also installed dimmers in several rooms as well, which helps conserve energy as well as enhance the mood of the room. We also performed a "self-audit" of our total energy usage with the Efficiency Vermont program. After this, we were able to reduce our electricity bill to about $70-$80 per month. You can see in the graph below that electricity cost is relatively cheap, and has trended downward (even throughout this cold winter!) since the self-audit last summer.
Water is from a private well that is shared by three houses, with deeded water rights. The last time checked, the well produced about 70 gallons per minute. We have never run the well even close to dry, even over the past few drought periods. We have installed a water softener system because this well water is extremely hard. The softened water preserves the plumbing fixtures and pipes in like-new condition. For drinking and cooking, there is a reverse-osmosis water system under the kitchen sink.
Septic is handled by a private system -- tank, pumping station and mound. There have never been problems with the mound, and none with the septic system for many years. However, should the septic mound ever need to be replaced, the deed has an easement at the back of the neighboring lot to install a replacement mound.
Cable is on its way for Greenbush Road residents. Green Mountain Power is in the process of upgrading the utility poles along the length of the road. When this is complete, the plan is that Adelphia Cable will be installing its network along the line sometime in 2003. This house is "cable-ready" in that the developers proactively installed a cable from the utility pole to the house. So when Adelphia is ready, they will likely be able to install terminals inside the house without digging. Until that time, an external antenna is in place for local broadcast channels.
Taxes:
The 2002 tax rate in Charlotte was $2.32 per $1,000 value. Tax assessment for this house for year 2002 was $4,355.
The Lot
This house sits high on a ridge, overlooking the valley between Greenbush Rd. and Mt. Philo to the east. The size of the lot is .69 acres, with about 120' of road frontage. Behind the house is some undeveloped woods, and further away is a neighboring house and drive that are obscured by the trees when the leaves are out. There are neighboring houses also on both sides of the lot. I have some blueprints from the original builder's plan of the septic mound, well and house site. The blueprint pages are larger than my scanner though, so I'm trying to think of another way to show them to you. You may just have to stop by and see for yourself! :-)
Since it is on a ridgetop, this lot drains well, which makes for a bone-dry basement. The grass is mostly Kentucky Bluegrass, which looks and feels great under the feet. And if you are into gardening, there is a 40'x80' vegetable garden on the side of the lot, which is tilled and ready to go - complete with a small cold-frame and a compost bin full of rich compost! Heavily-producing blackberry canes and two rhubarb plants line the front of the garden area. There are two dwarf apple trees, two dwarf pear trees and a dwarf sour cherry tree, which has produced bumper crops of cherries. Also in back is a perennial herb garden with garlic, tarragon, sage, oregano, chives, lemon balm, cilantro -- and your own asparagus bed that produces way more than we can eat! In the front of the house are many perennial flowers and bulbs -- tulips, crocus, iris, peonie, roses, lilies -- it's very pretty in Springtime.
Yard and garden tools and toys can be stored in the 8'x10' garden shed in the back. Also, don't forget to check out the cool lawn tractor garage under the front deck! :-)
Some trivia for you: This lot and the two on either side were once owned by one man, who divided the property up into the three lots, side-by-side, for his three daughters. One of the three daughters is still living on one of the lots; the other two lots have since come under new ownership.
The Street
Greenbush Road runs parallel to Route 7 about 1 mile to the east, and actually was part of the main route from Burlington to Middlebury at one time. The farm on the corner of Greenbush and Thompson Point Roads was originally built in the early 1700s and served as an inn for travelers along this route. Nowadays, Greenbush Road is a scenic route that is used often by cyclists because of its even slope and scenic views. The road runs from the intersection at Route 7 in Shelburne at the Shelburne Museum, south to the intersection with Route 7 again in North Ferrisburgh. Just 100 yards west of Greenbush Road (and only about 1/4 mile from the house) on Thompson's Point Road is the site of Charlotte, the Vermont Whale. Also located on Greenbush Road are The Old Lantern dance hall and The Old Brick Store.
The Town
The town of Charlotte has a web page at http://170.222.200.76/charlotte/. We have enjoyed living here and being part of the small community atmosphere. There are many town-sponsored events throughout the year which bring the community together, such as a town Halloween Parade and Party at the Old Lantern (only a mile north of the house on Greenbush Rd.), 4th of July Parade, Town Picnic, Little League, and many others. See the Charlotte web page for more information. The Charlotte Central School (K-8) is wonderful here and our children have enjoyed their time there. The school also has it's own web page at http://www.ccs.cssd.k12.vt.us/.
If you are interested in the local history of this area, a book called Around the Mountains was written about Charlotte, Monkton and Ferrisburgh by town clerk William Wallace Higbee. I believe the book can still be found for sale by our Charlotte Historical Society.
You can live here!
Offered at only $319,900!
For further information about this house for sale, please send email to bryan_cass@yahoo.com or call (802) 425-4092. Thank you!
You are prospective buyer number 
to visit this page!
|
OK, you were kind enough to read all the way to the bottom of this page. Mention that you saw this web page and we will include all of the appliances with the house, including the side-by-side refrigerator, gas range, dishwasher, washer and gas dryer, and even the microwave oven! What a deal! Yippee!
