Palm Springs 4+3 for $629,000

Need a gorgeous Palm Springs home for $629,000? Judy Graff Properties' agent Victor Agbayani has just listed this beauty.  The address is 2388 E. Via Escuela.  It features 4 beds (two masters), 3 baths, a pool (obviously), a remodeled kitchen, travertine tile throughout, remodeled baths and more.  It's on fee land. Victor has been selling both Palm Springs and Los Angeles, including Silverlake, for over 20 years.  He's an amazing agent and his clients refer him time after time to their friends and family.  If you'd like to see this house or reach Victor for other r.e. needs, please email him at vagbayani@aol.com

Are small-lot homes the solution to L.A.'s so-called housing crisis?

You may have seen these in Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Silverlake, Venice and elsewhere: small-lot homes.  L.A. City passed an ordinance allowing these kind of buildings about 10 or so years ago. These aren't "tiny" homes. Instead, they are a condo/single family home hybrid.  The unit is separate from its neighbors (but not by much), has a two-car garage, and usually a small yard.  There are no HOAs although there is usually a fee for common area upkeep (such as a shared driveway or trash pickup.) There are two to six on a regular residential lot, and there can be developments of 30 or more in outlying areas. Are these the solution to L.A.'s "need" for density?

Not everybody is a fan of these.  Personally, I think these are great ideas.  Now that Measure S has been defeated, what would you rather have -- four units on one lot on your residential street, or a three-story, 18 unit condo complex on the corner? If we must shoe-horn more and more people into residential areas (I'm not sure we do, but everybody else says we do), this can be a great option that preserves neighborhood character.  Just like the old-fashioned bungalow court apartment units.  Fun fact: none of my buyers want one of these, but I expect that may change as homes get more and more expensive.

Photo above: 2872 Allesandro, L.A., courtesy of TheMLS.com

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!

It's the beginning of May -- where are the L.A. area houses for sale?

If you are searching for a home in the SFV or elsewhere in the L.A. area, you may be wondering why there aren't more homes for sale.  Or you may be wondering where the homes for sale are.  You're right -- inventory is very, very short, except for condos and townhomes.  And many, many other buyers are looking for a home as well.  Here's what you can do: 1) consider a different area.  I know you want to live in Silverlake or Studio City, but why not consider neighborhoods in Glendale or North Hollywood? Prices will be lower there, too, and most neighborhoods offer lots of attractions that you may like. 2) If you don't have a family, consider a smaller home or a condo.  You can usually always add on to a single family home, and if you need a home office you might be able to convert your dining room or garage space (I bet 95% of garage spaces are used for storage and not for parking.) I know, I know; this is all so easy for me to say.

If you are thinking about selling your home, you are probably wondering: a) where you're going to go.  The homes you may move into are just as expensive as the house you're selling.  So there goes your profit. And b) you want to stay put for your commute or your kids' school or another good reason.  Selling and moving will be really tough.  I don't have suggestions here, except: home prices have come roaring back.  If you are considering making a life change, this year may present great opportunities for you, at least as far as home profits go.  Will home prices continue to increase? Nobody knows.  If you're thinking about selling, I'm happy to prepare a comparative market analysis for you that will show you what you may gain -- just call me.

Just sold a Silverlake duplex. Termites did not convey with the property.

Client Mario just closed on an adorable, redone (i.e. flipped) two-on-a-lot property in Silverlake.  This was pretty thrilling as Mario had been looking to purchase property for a very long time and had lost out on several offers prior to this.

There was trouble about the termite report.  The main house was built in 1915 and the second house was built in 1920.  This is an OLD property.  Evidently, it had never had any termite work done, so the report came back at about $7000. Seller was not happy.  But it was no surprise to us – that’s almost 100 years of happy termite families raising their termite young, and so on.  Termites eat wood, and over 100 years, they can eat a lot of it. (And by the way, we’ve all seen much more extensive and expensive termite work.)

But at any rate, we came to an agreement with the sellers, deaded the termites, and Mario now has two charming houses to fill in one of the coolest Los Angeles communities.

No offer acceptances, but as Scarlett says...

This will not come as a surprise, but my buyers' two purchase offers on property in Valley Glen and Burbank were not accepted this week.  In one case, the amount offered was equal to another buyer, but that buyer had a bigger downpayment.  Bigger downpayments equal less risk for the seller.  And that buyer indicated his willingness to bring more money to the transaction if the appraisal came in low.  That's risky.

The second purchase offer was for a gorgeous flipped house in Burbank.  Alas, we were outbid on this one.

But my buyers and I feel lucky that there has been so many nice homes out there to bid on.  And these buyers are wonderfully resilient.

Coming this weekend: my resilient buyers may look at another home in Valley Village.  Another group of buyers will be viewing a property in Burbank if the agent ever calls me back to confirm the appointment.  And my income property buyer and I will be looking for duplexes in Hollywood and Silverlake.  As Scarlett O'Hara said in Gone With The Wind, "Tomorrow is another day."

R.E. follies of the week

Here's how the week went. 

My client and I are still waiting to hear about his bid on a Silverlake property being sold by Better Shelter.  If you're not familiar, BS does a lot of very nice rehabs, mostly on the eastside.

Other clients and I were so excited to learn that a home they liked in Sherman Oaks was actually available.  Yes, it had had other offers, but was not in a bidding war! Sound too good to be true? Well...the agent insisted that her client would take nothing less than full price.  The seller needed to find a replacement home, but that was not a contingency for selling the current home.  So we wrote a full-price offer.  And were then told that the seller needed at least a 30-day rent-back, or longer, after close of a 45 day escrow, as she didn't want to move twice.  Long-term rent-backs are extremely rare and very unpopular, so we declined and the negotiation ended.  The seller then raised her list price by $10k.  Good luck with that...

And here's another reason that inventory may be short: sellers are selling their homes privately.  I was about to list a nice home in Woodland Hills, but the neighbors approached the sellers with an offer first.  No Realtor is involved.