Hot House: 345 Tunbridge Road, Baltimore, 21212
Wood shingled, Dutch colonial style house with slate roof, circa 1930, with 5 bedrooms and 2 baths over 3,150 sq. ft. Dining room, living room with fireplace, new granite island kitchen, main floor family room, third floor playroom. Hardwood floors throughout. Two-zone central a/c, separate 2-car garage, landscaped .25 acre yard: $549,500
What: The family house. Real estate observers in Baltimore have long been aware of a fairly standard progression in the young buyer’s market, from renting in Federal Hill (single) to buying for the first time in Canton (married), to a family house in Homeland (married with kids). For obvious reasons, the MWK house needs to have more bedrooms, trees, a neighborhood feeling and a yard big enough for a swing set. Homeland has become the destination of choice for young people leaving the city, and 345 Tunbridge is that house. It sits sideways on its sunny, third-of-an-acre lot, which makes sense as the lot is deeper than it is wide. It’s an informal layout, there’s no entrance hall and no remarkable architectural features, but a big living room with wood burning fireplace, a good-sized dining room and a family room off to the side. Kitchen’s at the rear, overlooking the back yard. It’s not a big kitchen, but it’s newish, with stainless steel appliances. All bedrooms are upstairs. Master bedroom has attached bath, so that’s ok, but two baths are not a lot for a house this big. Still, it’s a cheerful, well-maintained place that you could stay a long time. Or not.
Where: Tunbridge Road is a long street that winds all the way through Homeland, running from North Charles Street west to York Road. The houses closer to Charles tend to be bigger and fancier, and this one is about halfway in between. Homeland has a staunch Community Association, which keeps it looking tidy and well-kept in a way that its neighboring communities Roland Park and Guilford sometimes miss. Friends School and the Cathedral School are nearby on N. Charles Street, with more private schools and a public elementary over on Roland Avenue. Shop for groceries, bagels, shoes, flowers, stationery and Italian specialties at Belvedere Square. The neighborhood has sidewalks, a great asset, there are lots of strollers out on a sunny day.
Why: Checks all the boxes for the outward bound.
Why Not: Needs another bathroom.
Would Suit: Young family, looking for easy lifestyle rather than a statement house or “lots of land.”
NB: Tunbridge is one of the few streets that runs straight through Homeland from Charles to York. As a result, it gets more traffic than streets on the less-direct route.
