My clients just purchased this sterling mid-century modern in Granada Hills

Here's an incredible example of the currently-most-beloved home style, the mid-century modern home. It's such a pristine style that both L.A. Curbed and Dwell Magazine (click the link for more pictures) have written it up.  The current owner has maintained it in its pristine period style.

And my buyer clients, Michelle and Adam, will be the new owners at the end of the month.  Michelle and Adam and their teenage son and I have been looking for homes for about six months now.  While a mid-century was on the wish list, we considered other styles, too, from Highland Park to Woodland Hills to Monrovia.  When this home was about to go on the market in Granada Hills, we pounced.  For those of you who don't know GH, it's not that far away from everything and they have a nice bunch of mid-century modern homes there.  However those rarely go up for sale.

I can't wait to see what M&A do with this.  By the way, the teenage son gets the bomb shelter/basement all to himself for him and his musician friends.  It's perfect adaptive reuse.

884 El Paso Ave. in Highland Park just closed

884 El Paso, #HighlandPark is an adorable duplex that has just sold to my clients.  One side was completely remodeled, and both units have long-term tenants.  My clients purchased this as their first investment property and hope to purchase more soon.  And...it cash flows! (Meaning that the rents exceed the expenses.) And...it's in the coolest part of Eastside L.A.! Who says that you can't find profitable residential investments in L.A.?  Please contact me if you would like to discuss r.e. investment strategies.

My clients just closed on this cool Highland Park home

Clients Alison and Jason just bought this very cool 3+2 Highland Park bungalow.  Although the house is almost a hundred years old, it has been expanded and extensively rehabbed.  Even though I tried to interest them in other areas, the buyers had their hearts set on a Highland Park home.  They had made really good offers on three other houses prior to this one, and were quite philosophical about their previous disappointments.  Needless to say, we were delighted and went out for bubbly the night we learned that the seller had accepted our offer. (By "we," I mean me and Ali.  Jason is working out of town and has only seen the house once, for ten minutes, after it was already in escrow.  Risky? Yes, but in this hot market, none of us wanted to wait.)

My favorite thing about the house is its stellar location.  You can see and walk to the Occidental College campus from the street.  It's also very easy walk to The York, which is a very cool pub.  I hope Ali and Jason have many wonderful years here.

The east side of L.A. is hot, as if you didn't know

This is my client, Samantha and her dog Willis.  They are standing in front of the brand new #HighlandPark home that they just bought with Sam's boyfriend, Robin. Just in case you're new to L.A., Highland Park is on the north east side, and that whole part of L.A. has gotten insanely trendy.  It includes Silverlake, Eagle Rock, Glassel Park and Mount Washington. (It may include Atwater, Boyle Heights, Los Feliz, and other communities, depending on who you ask.)  Sam and Robin looked for a year and a half before they found this house.  They had been in escrow once before and had written countless offers.  But we finally found this brand new from the foundation on up beauty and all the stars aligned.  

The house was built by a pro flipper and the escrow went really smoothly.  Of course, there were several items that hadn't been completed by our inspection (no surprise) but the builder took care of everything.

This was Willis's first look at his new house.  Shortly after the photo was taken, he gave everything a thorough sniff and seemed to like what he found.  Best wishes on your new home, Sam, Robin and Willis!

News of the week and house of the week in Valley Village

Whew! Coming up for air here, and bringing you news of the week.

First, the house of the week: 5501 Morella, Valley Village, $499,994, 3+1.5, 1334 sf, pictured above.  I showed this last night and it's in a cool little pocket.  The house needs decorating, but it's clean and has been expertly maintained by the sellers.  I wish my carpet looked as good, and I wish my kitchen was as spacious.  If you are looking for a decorating project, this would be a great buy.

What did I tell you about L.A.'s "eastside"? You'll see my take on Highland Park, et al, below -- I toured the area recently and was really impressed.  Now, Alejandro Lazo of the L.A. Times has a front page article entitled Investors flip over Highland Park.  That's just what I saw when I was there a few weeks back.

And now for the really big news: I have two listings coming up in Burbank. One is a (rare) architectural home designed by a noted architect, and the other is close to the Chandler bike path.  More news soon!

Finally, 1585 Knollwood, Pasadena is in escrow, after less than a week on the market.  We're still showing for backups. I'll miss going to this house; the setting is just so serene.

My property showings on L.A.’s “Eastside”

Thanks to a couple of my buyers, I've been spending a lot of time in what's being called the Eastside lately. (Check out the Echo Park post below.) This past Sunday, I showed property in Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, Mt. Washington, Highland Park and Glassell Park. I had never shown property in the last two communities but I had a great time and really learned a lot about the areas. I was very delighted by what I saw and intend to get to know these localities more in the coming months.


Yes, some of the neighborhoods are “transitional” but they offer good housing stock at affordable (at least for now) prices. The gangs that were so prevalent in years past seem to have moved out. The flippers have gone through these neighborhoods and have worked their magic, too. And neighborhood amenities are increasing, too – cool coffee houses, restaurants, small retail, farmers’ markets, etc. (We could barely move through Atwater Village as the streets and sidewalks were so crowded.) Cons: the schools aren’t all that, and buyers would have a helluva commute if they work on the Westside.

Here are the highlights:

Decorating trends (above) The flippers are hiring stagers. Now, I love staging but I’ve seen a lot of it in recent weeks and it’s beginning to look the same. It’s all modern or semi-modern furniture with pops of color, folk accent pieces, and no window treatments. Not a bad thing, but..

Another trend: forget yards; it’s all rock and bark now.

Most disturbing/interesting trend: crazy chicken pictures as art.  I saw these in at least two houses.  Sigh.  Just another next big thing that I'm not cool enough to know about.

Coolest location: 1316 Highgate Ave., Highland Park, listed at $499k (above). This 3+2 flipped craftsman is in a charming, wooded hillside neighborhood.  You'd never guess that you could almost walk to downtown L.A. from here.


Nicest view: 3600 Maceo Street, Mount Washington, listed at $440,000 (above). This 2+3 is actually in Cypress Park and close to Glassell Park. At the top of its big terraced backyard, it overlooks the entire L.A. river area from downtown to Elysian Park to Glendale. And you have your own bare hillside right next door.

As you can tell, I get really excited about discovering new neighborhoods. IMO, these areas present excellent options for buyers looking for affordable price and revitalized neighborhoods.