Debbie Reynolds was from Burbank

This week has marked the sad and sudden passing of Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds.  Debbie grew up in our little Burbank and above is a picture of her in front of her childhood home.  It is located at 1034 N. Evergreen.  I have sold it twice in the last 14 years -- first to a buyer (not related to the Fisher or Reynolds family) and then sold it for the same person 10 years later. It still has that little touch of mid-century glamour.  As you see from comparing the picture above and below, the outside has barely changed, which is a charming hallmark of many Magnolia Park and Burbank homes.  Although the house has been remodeled over the decades, the inside still has many of the same features that it did when Debbie grew up there, too.

Holiday gift: 5544 Ventura Canyon in Sherman Oaks, 4+3 and $909,000

Does your Santa list contain a sexy, turnkey home in Sherman Oaks? With four bedrooms, three baths and 1840 sf? Well, Santa has delivered a bit early to you this year with 5544 Ventura Canyon in Sherman Oaks.  This gorgeous home features an open plan with European Oak engineered wood floors, dining room, and a gourmet kitchen with quartz countertops, custom cabinets and Viking stainless steel appliances. Rebuilt for today's living with upgrades including LED lighting, dual paned windows, new HVAC, new electric 200 amp panel, and a new roof. The spacious master suite has a customized walk in closet, and a luxurious bathroom with marble counter, double sinks, & an over sized shower. Beautiful green backyard and terrific neighborhood too.  Santa says, "You're welcome." Oh, and happy new year, too!

I am now contributing posts to The Lighter Side of Real Estate

For all of you that have enjoyed my writing here (or not), I am now contributing educational real estate articles to The Lighter Side of Real Estate.  It's a really fun site with lots of tips and tricks for both home owners, buyers and real estate agents.  I am one of Lighter Side's content providers -- much of what I contribute will be for Realtors only to cut and paste for their own blogs or newsletters.

You can still keep coming back to this blog for hyper-local real estate posts and for my usual snark, of course.

L.A. City Council votes against mansionization

Today's L.A. Times has an article titled "L.A. backs measures to "roll back" mansionization in single family neighborhoods."  (The title should link.) The city council will be rewriting a couple of codes so huge, boxy homes will be a little less huge and boxy.  Sounds good, but they will be reducing sizes from 50% to 45% of a lot size.  That doesn't sound like much, does it? Apparently, garages don't count.

One quote in the article from a developer startled me. “To cram four or five people into an 1,100-square-foot house, one of these old bungalows, it’s a joke really,” he said.  Wow. Lots of Californians -- and people all over the world --  have been born and raised in homes even smaller than that.  These people turned out okay. And nobody's laughing.