In v. Out – Judy’s annual totally subjective L.A. real estate list

Okay, this list is totally subjective and these are entirely my own observations.  And it runs the sort-of-real-estate gamut from decorating to Los Angeles neighborhoods to area attractions. Please feel free to contact me with your own in v. out observations. And if you know how to make columns line up in Blogger, please contact me about that too.

In                                                      Out

quartz                                                granite

charter public schools                        private schools

white cabinets                                   dark cabinets

credit union home loans                     large bank home loans

nickel finish                                       bronze finish

Terrazzo tile                                     Travertine tile

white tile                                          subway tile

linoleum flooring                               laminate flooring

Zillow.com                                       Redfin.com

Laist.com                                         Curbedla.com

East Valley                                      West Valley

Hollywood Walk of Fame                Universal City Walk

Backyard chickens                           swimming pools

Ranch style homes                           Spanish style homes

North Hollywood                            Valley Glen

Wine bars                                        Starbucks

Winner homes -- and not -- of the weekend

We were all over the place this weekend.  I won't give the address of the "winner" house since my clients are interested in it, but it is in Toluca Lake and has very fanciful decorating.  The bathroom picture is above.

The second pleasant surprise was at 543 Stocker in Glendale.  This is a typical 80's townhouse.  I have a bit of a prejudice against these as they're usually in neighborhoods that are way over-built by now, but was clean and nice and has 2 decent-sized bedrooms.  The living room is a little small, but for $299k...

And then there's 4276 Kling in the Burbank portion of Toluca Lake, which is a short sale.  Everybody, including me, loves this complex.  I could probably sell five townhomes there today alone if the price was low enough.  Alas, it just wasn't for my buyers. 

And now for the losers:  The first is a 1960's condo in Glendale.  The neighborhood is okay, and the place was clean, but it looks like the complex your grandmother lived in during the 1960's.  Just very apartment-y.  And there's no laundry in the unit.  And the home owners association dues are $429, but that includes all utilities.  This poor little unit just had nothing about it to love.

Then there's the condo on Oxnard in Valley Glen.  My clients and I have tried to see this twice.  The first time we were told it couldn't be shown because the bed wasn't made.  This time, we had an appointment and somebody was going to meet us there to wrangle the large dog.  But we were stood up.  My clients were very good-humored about it, but I felt really badly that their time had been wasted.  I think that just might be it for condos in Valley Glen, but you never know.

Property showings in Valley Glen, Toluca Woods and Burbank. And the nicest house is...

I showed a client homes for sale in Burbank, Valley Glen and Toluca Woods today.  We encountered no drunken neighbors today (see post from April) but I think that may have been a temporary Burbank phenomenon.  The nicest home, at 1311 Naomi in Burbank, is pictured above.  It's small, but cute, clean and updated.  It also has a permitted bonus room that could be used as a guest room. 

The runner up is 2707 Wyoming, Burbank and could have been a contender until we realized the upstairs has no bathroom.  And it has almost no yard.  For $490k. 

I continue to be impressed with the housing stock in Valley Glen that's between $400k and $500k. However, nothing ranked today, not even the flip that didn't have air conditioning. 

The only nice thing I can say about the other homes is...one had a nice Wedgewood stove and cute pig statuary.  My very patient client and I couldn't get out of a couple other homes fast enough.  And by the way, brokers and sellers, it would be nice if you could try to eradicate the cat urine smell before you put a house up for sale.

Greg and Ally give me a great testimonial!

Today's property showings featuring special guest stars: drunken neighbors

My clients saw lots of nice stuff today in Valley Glen, Toluca Lake and Burbank.  The first home we saw, in Valley Glen, is a gorgeous 4+2 for $440k.  It will be on the mls Tuesday, and I won't print the address because my clients may want to buy it.  It's a flip, and I have seen the contractor's work before.  The second, at 6633 Murietta in Valley Glen, (above) is listed at $375,000 and is updated.  Unfortunately, it backs up to apartments, but the house has a lot to offer and the neighborhood is really charming.  Once you get off the major streets, there are lots of really, really nice -- yes, suburban -- residential pockets all throughout the SFV.  Trust me on this.

Maybe it was the beautiful weather that brought out the inebriated hillbillies when we went east.  We saw a townhome in Burbank/Toluca Lake.  The listing agent hadn't warned us about the obnoxious security alarm. Or the obnoxious drunk neighbor who accosted us about the alarm noise and repeatedly exclaimed, "Nancy doesn't know a thing about this!" Um, who is Nancy? 

But anyway, on to a sweet house on Chandler in Burbank.  Again, no address here because my clients are also considering making an offer on this one.

Next, we saw 316 Ontario in Burbank.  It features a teeny knotty-pine kitchen that's too small for a full-size refrigerator, and a place for a washer/dryer in the dining room.  The home was billed as having two guest rooms, which is accurate if you count a partitioned garage with gold pile carpet.  We were watched by two hillbillies from the porch across the street. (Would those be Bur-billies?)  One staggered towards us, but I locked up and we scampered back to the car before he could intercept us.

Our final interaction with drunks was at a gorgeous condo in an older building in west Burbank.  At least, it looks gorgeous in the pictures -- we couldn't tell much as the electricity is off.  We could tell that it is huge and that the kitchen has been totally redone. We could also tell that we didn't want to live there when we were button-holed by the final drunk neighbor of the day, who demanded to know what we were doing there, and if the condo board had approved us.  No, and I don't think they'd approve of you either, mister.

In spite of the "local color," it was a fun and productive day for my clients.

The past week in real estate and a big DON'T for sellers

This past week brought "more of same" as far as real estate goes. I toured Valley Glen, Valley Village, North Hollywood and Burbank for homes that are 3+ beds, 2+baths, 1200+ square feet, and between $450k and $600k.

You would think that would describe every home on the market in the SFV.

Nope.

I found four homes that were more-or-less decent in that price range. One, on Mariposa in Burbank, faces the back wall of Costco. Another in Burbank was decorated with a highly-developed devotion to knotty pine (as versus the medium-developed devotion so common in the Valley) and a third house had no windows in the master bath.

Which brings me to the fourth house in Valley Village, which is arguably the nicest of the bunch. But: the owners made a 1/2 bath of the master bedroom closet. The master was already small. Sellers, putting toilets where they don't belong is a big turn-off to buyers. Toilets belong in proper bathrooms, not in closets, laundry rooms, garages, or back patios. I've seen them in all those locations in homes for sale, and those homes invariably stay on the market for a long, long time and sell for less than comparable sales. So if you're thinking about adding a "bathroom" in say, the hall closet, for the love of God don't.

Bessemer just closed

My Valley Glen listing at 13523 Bessemer closed today at $630,000, just about where the sellers and I thought it would. It was listed at $659,000, and is a 2050 sf 3+2 with a gorgeous, redone kitchen, air, hardwoods, redone baths and more. It has been listed since June 17th.

This sale provides an opposing view, I think, to all of the otherwise-bad real estate news out there. I had encouraged the sellers to wait until after the summer to list the house. I had thought, wrongly, that with "such a bad market" the house would be sitting for several months during the slowest part of the year (late summer). Thankfully, the sellers didn't listen to me. We had a contract five weeks after it listed. Also, considering the news about rampant price declines in local real estate, I encouraged the sellers to lower the price after four weeks. I was also nervous about two foreclosures one street over and what those houses might do to value. Once again, they smartly declined to do so, and we shortly thereafter received the good offer that resulted in a sale. I'm not saying the market isn't bad, mind you; but perhaps all is not as dire here in the SFV as the media would have you believe.

New listing at 13523 Bessemer, Valley Glen

I've just listed 13523 Bessemer in Valley Glen. I hope to have pictures and details up on the regular website later today. This great 3+2, 2000+sf has been immaculately maintained and features one of the nicest kitchens I've seen, which opens to a vaulted-ceiling den. There are gorgeous hardwood floors, updated bathrooms, new custom paint, a spa, and lots of upgrades. List price is $659,000.

And, the sellers of 934 N. Avon (see below) in Burbank have accepted an offer. We'll open escrow tomorrow. Plus, 848 Idlewood in Glendale is closing next week.