Tuesday, May 22, 2012

1021 N. Lima in Burbank - talk about multiples!


This is 1021 N. Lima, Burbank 91505.  It just went on the market a few days ago and it is the perfect "granny" house.  By that I mean that it is original but spiffed up -- no bumped out kitchen, no weird additions, no redone floors (orange pile carpet in this one) but still in basic excellent shape.  It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, about 1100 square feet, with a grassy back yard.  It is being sold by a family trust for $429,900.

I am not the listing agent, but clients of mine made an offer on it.  So did 14 other groups.  15 offers!  Yes, buyers are back out in full force thanks to low interest rates.  Alas, my clients did not get this.  I am told it went out over $450k.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

FHA may loosen condo restrictions -- this is huge

Check out this article from Sunday's L.A. Times.  FHA restrictions on condos may soon be reduced.  This should help buyers who have limited funds available for downpayments but still would like to buy a condo.  It should also help to limit short sales and foreclosures on many condos as it will expose those units to a broader group of buyers.

Friday, May 18, 2012

2410 Chandler in Burbank is open on Sunday, May 20!

The 2 bed, 2 bath cottage by the Chandler bike path is open on Sunday from 2 to 5.  (A video of the bike path is below.) In addition to me, Steve will be there with his semi-famous open house playlist.  The home is an adorable 1407 square feet, with a gorgeous green yard but no garage.  The house has been painted and spiffed up, and all appliances stay.  If you need liquid refreshment after visiting the open house, Tony's Darts Away, featuring all-California craft beers, is just a few short blocks away.

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

3 closings this week and how they went

The first property that closed this week was 1585 Knollwood Terrace in Pasadena (pictured above).  It had been listed at $1,049,000 and closed for $1,010,000 -- all cash (what recession?).  I loved this house and absolutely love the Linda Vista neighborhood that it's in -- old growth trees, nice architecture, open spaces, etc.  The house originally went into escrow right after being listed, but those buyers backed out -- it felt too remote to them.  The new buyer had seen it the first week it was listed and made the offer about a month ago. Cash? Sure!!!  Everything went well, although Pasadena requires a pain-in-the-ass city inspection and the interior chimney was shot. [An aside about chimneys: they are more trouble -- and way more expensive -- than they're worth for the 10 fires per year that we all build in them.]

The next house is 2112 Hilton in Burbank and I represented the buyers here.  The house is a "baby" Ben-Mar and closed at $549,000.  It was a flip, and the buyers had an FHA loan.  That means that the appraiser, in addition to the property inspector, goes over the property with a fine-tooth comb.  This house turned out to look good, but to have several structural issues, including asbestos, that the seller needed to correct before the loan funded.  It turned out to be a tooth-pull, but my clients were patient and the listing agent was a trooper.  The house backs up to a hill and has about a bajillion fruit trees.  This is great for Mr. Buyer as he studies horticulture.  Thanks to stalwart Dana Dukelow, our lender on this, for getting this done.

The final closing was at 10417 Chandler in North Hollywood/Toluca Woods.  You can spit to Burbank from this house.  It's a 2+1 that sold for $376k to my buyers and yes, it is that cute.  Everything when fine except the lender and the listing agent had several fights (I am always so glad when it's not me doing the fighting).  And, at the last minute, Mr. Buyer was called out of town on business.  Anybody who has purchased a home knows that the loan documents are voluminous and it's always good to be present with the lender or escrow officer so you know what you're signing.  But to make the closing deadline -- this was part of a three-property-chain deal -- all the documents had to be overnighted to Georgia and a notary had to be found there.  Mr. Buyer was a real trooper about this as was Mrs. Buyer.

The other great thing about these closings? I loved working with all three client sets.  Yes, that's unusual and yes, I'm really lucky, although I'm also really exhausted. 

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Video of Burbank bike path and 2410 Chandler

Have you wondered, "What is this Burbank bike path that I keep hearing about?" Wonder no more; this video will show you and will also show you the exterior of 2410 Chandler.  The bike path used to be the railroad tracks.  I think this is an excellent example of adaptive reuse and city planning.