More Culture:

July 29, 2015

On the Market: Five homes to fulfill your dream of being a rom-com protagonist

"She wanted a house ... what she got was a home."

Homes Design
Cape May BNB Contributed Art/Eliotdalton.com

A bed and breakfast in the California Spanish Mission style found, surprisingly, in Cape May, New Jersey.

A typical romantic comedy plot runs something like this: Burned out by life after a divorce / business failure / getting fired, our heroes decide it’s time to take a crazy chance and turn their life around. They find a Tuscan villa / down-on-its-luck zoo / abandoned baseball field and spend their life savings to buy it. Soon, they discover what they were missing all along ... and catch the eye of their cute next-door neighbor, too!

It may be cliché, but wouldn’t it be cool if your life could be like one of those rom-com plots? It all starts with finding the right setting. Buy one of these unique properties and a Hollywood agent will be buying up the movie rights to your memoir in no time.

1. A former church in need of some love, $2,500,000

Former church
(Photo courtesy of BHHS Fox & Roach, Realtors)

Built 109 nine years ago as a church, this amazing Mt. Airy building still retains its gorgeous stained glass. The property includes a separate residential building, a three-story stone colonial that is “in need of a little TLC.” There’s also an attached building that is being currently used as a daycare center. The excruciatingly cheesy tagline to go with the movie would be something like, “Sometimes all you need … is a little faith.”

Read the listing here.

2. A California bed and breakfast in Cape May, $2,297,000

Bed and Breakfast
(Photo courtesy of Eliot Dalton, Inn Consultant and Broker)

Forget AirBnB. What if you could own an entire bed and breakfast steps from the beach in Cape May? This Western-style B&B is on sale and dripping with romance. It was made in the California Spanish Mission style (which is a bit weird for the Jersey Shore, but let’s run with it) and hand-painted murals adorn the walls in all the guest bedrooms. Cheesy tagline: “She bought an inn … and fell in love.”

Reading the listing here.

3. Interesting neighbors in Glenmoore, $3,900,000:

Horse farm
(Photo courtesy of Fox & Roach)

“Journey’s End Farm,” situated on 70 green acres in Glenmoore, has an idyllic look that matches the name (which the new owners have to keep). It’s a serious equestrian center, though, with a dressage arena and a main barn that holds 40 horse stalls. (Get it? "Neighbors?" I'll stop now.) The owner will live in a farmhouse with a pool and, more importantly, views of the beautiful property. Cheesy tagline: “When her journey ended … theirs began.”

Read the listing here.

4. A cute cottage (that costs more than a mansion), $4,495,000

Cottage Gladwyne
(Photo courtesy of Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty)

Fernside Cottage seems like the perfect kind of place to move into if you were thinking about hiring an eccentric British nanny who will teach your children what life is all about. Built as a mill worker's house in 1835, the home retains its quaint stonework look on the outside while housing several modernist touches inside. At 6500 square feet, there’s plenty of room for exploration. Cheesy tagline: “They took a chance … and changed their lives forever.”

Read the listing here.

5. Live above a diner in Brewerytown, $865,000

Blue Jay Restaurant
(Photo courtesy of Kurfiss)

Admit it, you always thought it would be cool to own a little mom-and-pop diner, right? This property includes two apartments and Blue Jay Restaurant, which has been a staple of the neighborhood for over 30 years. There's seating for 80 inside -- just small enough for all the regulars to know your name. Cheesy tagline: "He was hungry for change...so he followed his heart."

Read the listing here.


Videos