WHEN this large Eastern Shore family home hit the market last week, the reception was overwhelming.
The buzz travelled far and wide, and not just with locals. Potential buyers showed interest in this eight-bedroom home from interstate and overseas, too.
And can you blame them?
The setting is impeccable, nestled in the foothills of the Meehan Ranges with more than 4ha of land.
Despite all this space and tranquillity, the home is just 15 minutes from the city centre in one direction and the Hobart Airport in the other.
A sprawling property such as this doesn’t exist in larger cities. Resembling a small resort, this spacious residence has got it all, including a solar-heated indoor pool, a spa and a clay tennis court.
On the lower level, owners Steve and Penny Jenner have run a short-stay accommodation business with the separate three-bedroom unit.
The couple have lived here for 18 years and have loved their time on the property.
Penny said it was a “lovely family home”.
“It is big but it is not a showy home,” she said. “For us it has been a wonderful place to host engagement parties or Christmas get-togethers.
“While the accommodation business has worked well for us, the next owner might want to use the space for an extended family.”
Entry into the home is via the wraparound undercover deck and into the grand entrance.
With four entry points leading to it, the pool area forms a focal point in home. It is kidney-shaped, solar-heated, 10m long and lovely and deep.
The separate heated spa is the enticing cherry on the top at any time of year.
The kitchen features granite benchtops, a country cooker, walk-in pantry and a plumbed refrigerator.
The living zone includes a sunny outdoor space, an open-plan dining and family room and a generous formal living and dining room with a wood heater.
Tassie timbers can be found all over the home, including myrtle dados, blackwood bathrooms and celery-top in the kitchen.
There are five bedrooms and an office on this level serviced by two spacious and recently updated family bathrooms.
With green views, a walk-in wardrobe, stunning ensuite and a ton of space, the master bedroom is a perfect sanctuary.
When their family home has finally sold, Steve and Penny will be ready to let it go after enjoying so many wonderful years here.
Penny said she would miss the privacy and being so close to Hobart.
“It has been special to us to be able to have so much space for the grandchildren to run around, ride bikes and play outdoors,” she said.
Steve said their grandchildren have had a great time with the lambs, collecting fresh eggs, growing vegetables or working with him in his huge shed.
“When they are the right age they ‘get their licence’ to drive the ride-on lawnmower, which is great fun,” he said.
“I’m an active person and love to potter with the sheep, tractor, mowing the lawn, which makes a property like this absolutely perfect. It’s relaxing.”
The acreage includes well-fenced paddocks and a balance of light bush making it perfect to run horses or livestock, grow vegies or cut your own firewood.
Behind the main house is Steve’s high-span 15m x 7.2m shed.
There is also a separate four-car carport, a chook shed and a garden shed.
The tennis court is located at the front of the property and is steeped in history. With its red gravel-clay court, it harks back to the 1950s when its was dubbed the Flagstaff Tennis Club.
The modest clubroom — or “summer house”, as it is now called — is really the only part of this impressive home that needs any TLC.
Although the home is large, a massive solar array with about 30 Enphase
micro-inverter panels cuts through the electricity costs.
No.277 Flagstaff Gully Road at Lindisfarne is listed with Petrusma Property and priced between $1.3 million and $1.5 million.
When it launched last week, the property was the most viewed home in Australia on realestate.com.au.
Steve put this down, in part, down to the uniqueness of the property.
“This size and lifestyle so close to the city, that doesn’t exist in other states,” he said.