Eleven years ago, while visiting her mother northeast of Atlanta, Cam Ashling found a Great Pyrenees, a dog breed known for guarding livestock.
The 120-pound pooch was running loose, and Ashling persuaded the owner to let her give Luna a better home. She figured the dog would be happiest with something to protect, so Ashling rounded up goats for Luna to look after in the front yard of her Atlanta home at 3809 Wieuca Road NE, quite the sight in well-to-do North Buckhead.
That's how the "Goat Mansion" got its name.
Ashling said she found out that Fulton County, Georgia, zoning laws are "livestock-friendly," and she started marketing the Buckhead bucks and nanny goats as a way to attract customers. She rented individual rooms monthly and more recently began operating the entire eight-bedroom residence as a short-term rental.
Guests and passersby love stopping and feeding the goats, she said. That makes the decision to put the property on the market all the more difficult, she said. It's listed with Frank Nelson at Dorsey Alston Realtors for $2.85 million.
"Emotionally, I don't want to sell the house," Ashling, a single mother to 8-year-old Topher, told Homes.com. "But it needs more attention."
She owns a farm in Cumming, Georgia, about 30 miles north of Buckhead, and it's difficult driving back and forth to tend to the three-story rental. Another factor in listing it for sale: The annual property taxes are more than $31,200.
Front yard goats have friends
For family reasons, Ashling said, she eventually had to turn Luna over to Great Pyrenees Rescue of Atlanta, a group that found the dog a new home. But the front yard animals remain and now include three goats, an emu, a domestic turkey, a chicken and a miniature donkey. The goats even have their own Facebook page.
Ashling said the house works as a rental or as a traditional, owner-occupied residence, and she's willing to work with a buyer who wants to maintain the livestock tradition.
"I think the neighborhood would be really appreciative," she said.
Rosen Custom Homes built the 8,812-square-foot property for Ashling and her then-husband in 2011. It has an elevator, wood, stone and tile flooring, six fireplaces, a three-car garage and interior and exterior basement entries, according to the listing.
As part of the divorce, she said, she and her ex swapped assets, leaving her with the Goat Mansion. It's a short distance from restaurants, two shopping malls and a MARTA station.
"Having this in the middle of town, it's unique," Nelson said.
Rental needs full-time host
Many luxury homebuyers pay cash, but a Goat Mansion buyer who puts down 20% and gets a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 6.85% would pay nearly $15,000 a month in principal and interest, according to Homes.com data.
While employment in the Atlanta region has increased over the past 12 months, the area has lost jobs in key sectors, such as professional and business services and information, including software development, noted Madelyn Bearn, an associate director of market analytics for Homes.com and CoStar.
"This decrease in employment opportunity for some white-collar professionals could put pressure on Atlanta’s luxury housing market," she said in an email.
Ashling, who rents out the house only about half the year, said it would be a lucrative venture for a full-time host. The property sleeps 16 guests and earned 4.95 stars out of five on Airbnb. She's said she's especially proud of the reviews.
"The front yard zoo was cool!" one guest wrote.
As disappointed as she is about the circumstances that led to her having to sell the property, Ashling said she has a ton of memories, including all the fun Topher had. He is on the autism spectrum, and she credits his interaction with the livestock for helping him learn how to speak.
"He was raised by goats!" she said, laughing.