636 S Woodland

Fairhaven Eichler -- Bring the Vision

You already know what you'd do to this house. You knew by the second photo. You've been mentally moving a wall and you haven't even walked in yet.

Good. That instinct is the entire reason this Eichler is on the market.

Four bedrooms, two baths, sitting right in the heart of Fairhaven -- the first Eichler neighborhood in the City of Orange and still the one every other midcentury modern pocket in Orange County gets measured against. Classic Eichler post-and-beam bones, glass where glass belongs, and an open midcentury modern floor plan that has been patiently waiting for someone with opinions.

What should you keep? Nothing. Truly, nothing -- and that's not a warning, it's a permission slip. The original mid-century modern lines stay; everything else is yours to overrule. Every finish, every fixture, every choice made by a previous decade. There's no air conditioning either, so add that to the list. The list is long. We're not going to pretend otherwise.

What you are getting: a big yard, a pool, and the indoor-outdoor flow Eichler built his name on -- enough space to host the kind of evening nobody leaves before eleven. A central spot in a neighborhood where the dinner parties are progressive -- appetizers at one house, entree at the next, dessert three doors down -- and where everyone actually knows everyone.

Step out to the Esplanade Trail for a walk that conveniently ends at a brewery, a coffee shop, lunch, or Christakis, which Tustin will fight you over. Old Towne Orange, Old Town Tustin, The District, Tustin Marketplace, Sprouts, Trader Joe's -- all close. The 5, 22, 55, 91, and 405 -- closer than you'd think.

The last remodeled Eichler here sold for $2.3M. The one before it, just under $2M -- and the new roof went on right after. Beautiful homes. Expensive way to buy someone else's opinions.

You're not doing that. You're picking the tile, the counters, the fixtures, the floors, the whole thing -- and paying for the Eichler, not for the upgrades. How often does anyone hand you a blank page this good?

The bones are good. The block is better. The rest is yours to write.