Has Brady Bunch house fatigue set in yet?

Just to catch you up, the house used for the exteriors of The Brady Bunch tv show just sold in Studio City.  This has been all over the news and social media.  The house was listed at $1.8 million, and sold $3.5 million.  To HGtv.  Is it worth it?  Nope, nowhere near.  The house is right around the corner from me, and the resale homes around here usually sell for less than half that. And this is a two bedroom home, so it would normally sell for an even lower price.  There's just no accounting for taste and tv production companies that have unlimited budgets.

Studio City sunset. And Champagne.

When clients Josh and Mac closed on their Studio City home in early December, we planned to celebrate by having champagne on the deck and watching the sunset.  However, either 1) the sun set too early, or 2) it was too windy, or 3) it was raining, or 4) our schedules just didn't mesh.  (The house is still a work in progress.) We finally got a chance to enjoy the view and the sunset last night, and here are the pics.  That's Josh pouring champagne, his wife Mac, and my husband Steve getting ready to toast this special home.

3747 Berry, Studio City - sold! With challenges, of course

Although you can't see the house well, this is 3747 Berry in Studio City and it just sold to my friends and clients, Josh and Mac.  Josh and Mac have been looking for a home in the hills for several months now.  You know the drill: find the house, make an offer, get excited, only to find out that you are one of 18 other offers, don't get the house.  Our number must have come up this time because we got lucky and got into escrow at our offering price.

It was a challenge for a couple of reasons.  I won't go into detail here, but if you buy a house on a hill, please get a geologic inspection.  Also, please use a direct lender for your loan and not an investment company.  The investment company is very reputable and came through at the end, but the buyers had to jump through higher and higher hoops and the communication from the company was just plain bad.

Obviously, the story has a happy ending.  Josh and Mac intend to build an addition and are in the fun process of getting started on that now. 

Great Yelp review!

My seller client of 12412 Rye Street in Studio City just posted this review of me. Thanks, Mark!

"You could not ask for more...

***
Judy Graff could not have been more professional or pleasurable to work with to sell my mother's house.  My family interviewed numerous local agents before deciding upon Judy -- we could not have been more pleased with our decision.  Judy was dedicated to selling my mom's house well before she was ever formally engaged.  Her pre-engagement efforts went well beyond trying to gain our business; they were truly in the best interest of selling my mom's house.

Judy's selling and representation abilities could not likely be surpassed.  Her screening of potential buyers and advice on offers were invaluable.  Certain unfortunate timing issues of the sale, nothing to do with Judy (in fact, timing issues that resulted from not listening to Judy), did not lead to an ideal sale.  Nonetheless, Judy's strategy, advice and hard work in connection with numerous offers led to the best price from the best possible buyer that the market would bear.  Judy's communication and responsiveness throughout the process was impeccable.

In addition to all of the things you would want in a real estate agent, Judy went above and beyond what one would ever expect or desire in any service provider.  One of the things that made the sale of my mom's house unique is that the house sale was necessary due to the fact my mom has Alzheimer's and needed to move cross country.  Judy's compassion and insight on the issues surrounding the sale were sincere and insightful.

Most significantly, when Judy thought she had led us astray in one respect (by unwittingly referring an estate sale agent who turned out to be a crook), she was honorable and diligent in rectifying the issue in every way possible.  

If anyone would care to follow up with me to get more detail on Judy, do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.  I am more than happy to support my unequivocal referral and recommendation of her."

Classic home for sale in Studio City - 12412 Rye Street

Looking for a classicly proportioned home in a great Studio City neighborhood? One that is just waiting for your design stamp and decorating? If so, 12412 Rye Street may be for you.  Listed for $890,000, this beauty features 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, a huge den, 1472 sf, big added-on den, large backyard and luxurious landscaping in a pretty above-Moorpark neighborhood.  She's been splendidly maintained over the years and has a newer roof, tankless water heater, and mostly new windows. Update, remodel, or add square footage and this home will be seriously stunning. Come visit me at the open house on Sunday, June 26, from 2 to 4. More pics at 12412Rye.com.

My clients just bought a home in Sherman Oaks and I learned more about septic tanks than I thought there was to know.

Congratulations to Joe and Amy on their recent purchase of a wonderful mid-century home in Sherman Oaks!  Over the months, we saw every home in Sherman Oaks and Studio City, but nothing clicked.  Then, we arrived at this Sherman Oaks home and it was love at first sight.  It was recently bought and flipped by a celebrity flipper couple; click here for L.A. Times article.  Yes, we had competition, but Joe and Amy really brought a lot of creativity to the offer process and ultimately prevailed.

Did you know that portions of Sherman Oaks' hillside properties are on septic tanks and not city sewers? Neither did I until this sale -- septic tanks are not common in L.A.  So as part of the buyers' due diligence, they had the entire septic system inspected.  And we read reports previously obtained by the sellers. And learned lots and lots about tanks, pits, depth of pits, how often the clean-out needs to happen, care and handling, drainage, etc.  We combed over the findings (the inspection videos are on Youtube, if you are brave enough want to see them).  This is definitely NOT the sexy part of real estate.  At the end of the day, all was well and we all are much better educated than when Amy and Joe began their journey.  The house and view are truly lovely and I'm sure Joe, Amy and their dogs will be very happy there for many years to come.

Twighlight open house in Studio City tonight from 5 to 7

Come see the terrific view and watch the sunset at 11411 Decente Ct., Studio City.  This is open to both real estate brokers and buyer clients.  This terrific house features 4057 sf., private location, 3 big balconies with panoramic views, 5 bedrooms, den, 6 baths, and superb maintenance.  Price tag is $1,999,900.

Open Sunday! 11411 Decente Ct., Studio City

Need views? We got 'em.  How about 4057 sq. ft., 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and a den? All in the Studio City hills? Please come to our open house at 11411 Decente Court on Sunday from 2 to 5. This house is truly amazing with views across the SFV from all three levels.  It has been splendidly maintained and is in Carpenter Charter school district, too (buyers to verify). Price: $1,999,900.  For more stellar pics, see www.11411Decente.com.

Cool things on Studio City's caravan

I checked out a few homes for sale in Studio City today.  Just like you, I enjoy seeing really cool interiors. The home at 4218 Farmdale Ave. in SC was splendidly decorated and here are a few of some of my favorite things about the home.  BTW, this brand-new listing is a 3+2 and listed for $1,325,000.

The succulents in the front yard and back yard are awesome.

This is a big canvas that hangs over the tub.

I fell in love with this dining room light fixture.  Where can I get one of these?

From today's L.A. Times: L.A.'s hottest zip codes

Today's LAT has published an article called L.A.'s hottest zip codes. It details the areas with the greatest home price appreciation in 2015.  No surprise: both the east side and the beach areas saw the greatest gains.  Also no surprise: a lot of the home sale price appreciation in these areas reflect prices for smaller homes.  Developers are buying these smaller homes at a premium, tearing them down and putting up much larger homes.  Anyway, re the east side, Lincoln Heights and Elysian Valley (which used to be called Frog Town) saw home sale prices rise 14.6% -- and the median price there is still a relatively low $458,500.  (And by the way, if you're looking for a house on the east side, I can help you.)  Of course, Marina Del Rey's and Manhattan Beach's price have much higher median prices.  Toluca Lake/Studio City was listed as well, with a median price appreciation of 3.2%.

Cool Studio City house

My favorite home for sale on today's broker caravan is at 4540 Beck Ave. in Studio City.  This four bedroom, 3 bath, 2017 sf house is a perfect 1940's progressive-style mid-century house time capsule.  The picture above?  It's the refrigerator, not the kitchen cabinets. (The listing agent, Karen Medved, provided the sandwiches and snacks.)  The electric stove top burners have push buttons.  All bathroom fixtures are pink.  Coved corners, two stone fireplaces and knotty pine cabinets complete the picture  There's olive green shag carpeting too (okay, that's 1970's). It's on a huge lot (12,000+ sf).  Is anybody out there a 1940's house geek? If so, this may be for you.

Ask the Realtor: should I sell or buy a California home in the winter?

This is kind of an anniversary post for me.  Please read on.

Most people think that real estate goes dead during the fall and winter, even here in Southern California.  That's not entirely the truth, but most home sellers want to celebrate or have a quiet time in peace, and most buyers do not want to even contemplate moving over the holidays.  But here's the upside of home sales at this time of year.

In late November/December/early January, there isn't as much on the market.  So if you're a home seller, this is an opportunity to capture the interest of serious buyers.  (However, if you want to wait and capture the rising spring market, I'm down with that, too.)

And if you're a home buyer, you'll know that if a house is on the market during these months, the sellers are very serious.  This is also the time of year that prices don't go up, so you may get a really good deal.

But nobody wants to move at this time of year.  Too many hassles, too much else to do, etc.  So here's the work-around: sellers can arrange to rent back the home for a few weeks.  Many Realtors will caution everybody against this, but if each side believes the other side is trustworthy, it can work out really well.  Buyers, your first payment isn't due until the end of the first month that you own the new home, so the rent-back monies can be paid up front and can offset your closing costs.

Here's where the anniversary part comes in.  This is exactly what my husband and I did last year when we bought our new place.  We had an offer accepted on November 17, closed on December 17, the sellers rented back for a month, and we moved in on January 21.  It was a win-win all around.

Home buyers and (some) home sellers are coming out of the woodwork in the San Fernando Valley

Something must have happened during last weekend's rockets' red glare, because all of a sudden, everybody I know is busy with several sets of home buyers and some home sellers.  What happened to you, people?

Perhaps buyers realized that lots of home prices might come down a bit in the next few months.  That often starts to happen in early July. Maybe sellers realized that prices have peaked for the year, too.  And then, interest rates are still low and haven't seen the predicted rise.

Nobody can predict the market, but I would recommend that sellers sell now, especially in the areas of Burbank and Studio City -- people want to buy homes in good school districts before their kids start school.  And, if interest rates do go up, as all experts predict they will by the end of the year, that will have a negative effect on home prices.  And I would recommend that buyers buy now -- interest rates won't be this low much longer.

What I saw on today's Studio City Realtor caravan

Today, I saw some pretty interesting things on the Realtor caravan, in addition to three homes for sale in Studio City.

The first home I saw is way up in the hills, on Wrightwood.  It's about $2.5 million.  As you can see, it's all about the view -- that's Universal City in the distance.  The house was nice, too; built in the 1960's, lots of high ceilings, redone kitchen and baths, etc.  But the pool and view is certainly the best part.

The next noteworthy item is this very whimsical front yard, on Alta Mesa.  As you see, not all homes in the Studio City and Hollywood Hills are modernist semi-masterpieces.  It may not be visible in this pic, but the yard contains statues or plaques of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, an angel, a scarecrow, lots of butterfles and a hula girl, in addition to lots of flowers. It is very pretty in a really different way.

And finally, here's a kitchen with all-steel countertops.  This is in a nice home on Bloomfield.  I am seeing steel being used more and more for kitchens.  Think about this if you're planning to remodel your kitchen any time soon -- this is the latest thing, and granite countertops are looking a bit dated already, believe it or not.

Our new Studio City neighbor

Just spotted this guy/gal behind the back of our new Studio City home. S/he is a beauty -- and huge.  I know you're not supposed to speak with racoons as they will "imprint" on you, but I just couldn't resist asking him/her to pose for a couple shots. I know this feeling isn't universally shared, but I love Southern California's urban wildlife.

The Realtor buys a new Studio City house -- and whines, whines, whines

This is the paperwork we've had to either produce or review for our Studio City home purchase.  And we're only five days into escrow.

The Realtor buys a place -- and freaks out about the process

My husband and I just had an offer accepted on a new place to live.  We love our old place in Burbank that we've owned for two decades, but it's a matter of location.  We're moving to Studio City to be closer to our work and activities.  And it's hitting home about how scary this home buying process can be.  Over the next few weeks, I'll be giving you updates, pictures, and gory details.

Missed my episode of House Hunters Renovation on HGtv? You have another chance, lucky you.

The House Hunters Renovation episode that I'm in with clients Josh and Mac will run again late night (11 pm) on Tuesday, November 5, so please set your DVRs.  Colleague Amber is in it too.  You'll see mostly the back of my head, which is fine with me.  The episode was filmed mostly in Studio City.  I can't wait to dish on the process, but that will be in the future while the episode is running.

My video is up on Yelp

My video is up on Yelp.  Just type in "real estate agents" near either Sherman Oaks, Burbank, Valley Village, Studio City, etc. and my name will come up.  Click on the link and you can view the video.  I'm trying to get a copy for this blog.

But wait! There's more! on the Studio City open house: it has just been reduced by $50k!

I've previously posted about this lovely traditional at 4209 Fair in Studio City.  I'll be holding it open on Sunday, May 8, from 2 to 5.  It's a 3+2 with pre-war charm and 21st century updates, and is in pristine condition. Not to gush, but...features include hardwood floors, crown moldings, sunny exposure, a/c, an entertainers' deck off both the kitchen and the master bedroom, updated kitchen and baths, built-ins, copper plumbing, detached garage, lots of storage and lots of greenery, plus a great location near Tujunga Village.  And best of all, it has just been reduced by $50k to $699,000.  This makes it one of the best deals in Studio City.  Can you tell that I'd like to live there?