Diana Eclavea and Giancarlo Libertino were looking for a small- to medium-sized community similar to the one they were leaving in upstate New York when they happened upon Doves Crest in Westminster.
And settling in a neighborhood close to Eclavea’s job at Carroll Hospital Center was a must.
“We loved the rolling hills, and it was the right size in terms of the neighborhood,” she said of the 33-home community 2 miles from downtown Westminster.
“It was really well developed. The lots are a nice size, and the homes are really well built.”
The couple originally was planning to take advantage of Pfaff Builders’ experience in custom construction, but they found themselves extremely taken by the model.
“We didn’t want to rent,” said Eclavea, a doctor. “We liked the model so much we decided to buy it.”
Starting at $500,000, the single-family houses in Doves Crest in Carroll County generally have four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms with three-car garages. The base models are about 2,500 square feet, but as sales manager Alan Rusterholtz says, that’s hardly set in stone.
“We’re a custom home builder, so you can do whatever you want,” Rusterholtz said.
“We sit down with people to find out what they want and go into complete detail in terms of both the house and the specs.”
Among the options buyers have chosen are finished basements, screened-in porches, extra fireplaces, patios and outdoor hot tubs.
“It’s a unique development in that all of the houses reflect the individual owners’ tastes, yet they all blend together to make a beautiful development,” said Darlene Bromwell, office manager for Pfaff.
With each house on a 1-acre lot, the neighborhood provides the utmost privacy, but it’s about 15 to 20 minutes from Interstates 795 and 70, making commuting to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore doable.
Luckily, Eclavea doesn’t have nearly that far to go.
