I’m super excited about our new listing at 163 S Formosa!!! The house is a Single Story Traditional Miracle Mile Home that’s over 2500 square feet with beautiful curb appeal, extra large living and dining rooms, a nice wide spacious kitchen, 3 beds + 2.5 baths, and a family room! There’s a covered entry and a center hall with a large skylight, and from the front door you can see all the way to the backyard, through the French Doors out of the family room at the back of the house! The primary suite overlooks the backyard and it has a large walk-in closet and a bathroom with shower + tub + lots of storage. The house is spacious, light, and it has so much cabinetry! The lot is 7700 square feet – there’s a porch in front (with privacy provided by lush trees) and both grassy lawn and large hardscape entertaining space in the backyard. The ceilings are high, the windows are deep, and the rooms feel spacious. The house will go live as soon as we get photos back on Friday and we can’t wait to show at the open house Sunday 2-5!
By Sunday we also plan to go live with our new listing at 651 Wilcox #1E. Hancock Park Terrace is a 24 hour guard gated community in a sweet spot right by Restaurant Row, the LA Tennis Club, Larchmont Village, and Wilshire Country Club. Our unit for sale has a large covered porch that looks out to a shady walk street, large open public space, 2 bedroom suites, a laundry room and powder room. There is parking for 2 cars side-by-side in the garage and the building is right next to the pool with a spa. HOA dues include the 24 hour guard, earthquake insurance, Spectrum cable, an on-site maintenance crew, and common area expenses. In late 2023 the common areas were upgraded + remodeled, and our sellers paid that assessment. We’re excited to start to show this unit starting Sunday 2-5!
We sold a fourplex on Sycamore about 2 years ago, representing the seller. The buyer’s lender called me yesterday to let me know that the buyer turned the garage into an ADU and he rented it to tenants. He now lives on the property for free because his total rents cover all his payments on the property. The lender said that instead of tenants renting, they can secure an FHA loan for up to 96.5% of a purchase price, with the amount borrowed up to the conforming limits, which he said is 2.2M on fourplexes. He said the interest rate would be around 6% (possibly high 5%’s) and a buyer can secure a loan for the remaining 3.5% that would possibly be forgiven by the government. The buyer needs to move into the property within 60 days of closing, and the buyer needs to live at the property as their primary residence for 12 months. The units, other than the owner’s unit, are rented and the rent payments cover most (or possibly all) of the payments on the property. I’m excited to find a buyer and seller and put a deal like this together to see it all play out today!!!
I’m over the moon grateful for Oscar, my painter of 15 years. I wanted to paint 163 S Formosa a moody gray color. So Oscar did. The owners recently painted their window trims so those were staying white. But then I wasn’t sure about the color for the low brick wall in front. I painted some sample colors on the wall myself, and I thought I chose a color I liked, and Oscar bought the color I thought I liked, but then I didn’t like the color after all. So Oscar graciously bought and painted the low brick wall a different color. Oscar painted the gutters on the house the same moody gray as the base walls. But then I thought the gutters would be better matching the low brick wall. So Oscar graciously repainted the gutters to match the low brick wall. I love working with Oscar because he’s generous, he finds amusement and joy in iterating and working to (try to) get things better and better, he has an uber strong work ethic and boundless energy to do the work. It’s fun to pick paint colors, to paint, and to work with people who make the whole process a treat!
I’m doing my favorite thing in life and hosting my kids for the holiday! Last Thursday night we all went to Pizza World for dinner. When everyone went home, Gavriel (age 2) and I snuck out to Target and hand-in-hand we perused the toy aisles. Gavriel spotted a plastic pink camper on a low shelf, he checked out the kitchen + the toilet/shower + the windshield wipers, and he said “let’s buy it.” No one in the world would probably buy a big plastic pink RV….except a grandma! So I picked up the RV with both hands (and arms) and I carried it to the checkout. As we waited patiently in a long line to pay, Gavriel slowly inched the RV to the front of the line. Once we set our RV on the belt, everyone oooohhed and aaahed over our glorious pink camper. As I carried it in both arms into the elevator, I heard a group in the corner murmur to each other, “That’s a cool camper.” Gavriel and I came home, we walked into our house with the camper, and everyone fell over laughing. Seth called out, “It’s returnable, right?” And then we sat on the floor and unwrapped the tiny orange juice, the teeny fly swatter with the smushed fly on the net, the sleeping bag, and bug spray. For me, it isn’t really about the too big pink toy; it’s just about a curious little toddler and a Grandma who loves him to the moon and back…and there and back again!
Wishing those who celebrate a meaningful and beautiful Passover full of hugs and kisses
Xoxoxoxo,
Sheri
