I’m super excited that we sold 351 S Detroit, off market. I always loved that property. It’s a fully vacant fourplex that’s 6016 square feet on a 7805 sq ft lot. There are two driveways, one on each side of the building, with a 2 car garage at the end of each driveway. There’s a center hallway and one unit in each corner of the building. Each of the four apartments has a large living room that opens to a dining room, which opens to a kitchen and 2 large bedrooms and 1 bathroom. I love the high ceilings, the deep windows, the original hardwood floors, and the in-tact preserved original 1925 floor plan. I absolutely loved working with the lovely owners who inherited the property from their Mom. I love that the property ended up in the hands of clients whose family we’ve had the honor to work with for so many years. And I love that the sale happened because of a tip/connection made by a past client, one of our role models and mentors in the field. Our favorite part of real estate is the connections, friendships, and properties and this sale was a mix of all the things we love about real estate and it especially hit the spot.
We closed on the sale of 126 N Rossmore this week. We loved working with Megan Young, who represented the buyers, and of course our sellers who are the avatar of diligent, respectful, responsive, positive and optimistic clients. It would be a total honor to work with all these people again in the future.
We closed on the sale of 147 N Fuller this week. James, the seller, learned from his dad to always wear a suit jacket and I feel like the suit jacket is representative of the way he, and no doubt his father, who was James’ hero and mentor for life, respectfully conducted themselves. It was an absolute and total honor to represent the house, the sale, and the seller. I love that some neighbors on the block reached out to me to find out more about their new neighbor because they’re so excited to welcome a new member to their block family! Nechama, who represented the buyers, couldn’t stop singing the buyers’ praises the whole transaction. I’m excited for the buyers and the sellers and the neighbors on the block to move on to their next exciting chapter!
We’ve been inundated with showings at both 339 and 345 N Orange – most people want to see both properties and some want to see 343 N Orange, which will be coming soon. We’re starting to show 109 S Mansfield for lease and also 345 N Mansfield for lease. 135 S Orange is coming for lease soon. 109 S Mansfield is so much living space! The whole building is 5816 sq ft, which means that the lower unit that we have for lease is probably around 2800 square feet. It has 3 beds and 3 remodeled baths and huge formal rooms. The upstairs neighbors are nice and the landlord is the nicest guy in our city! 345 N Mansfield is also a downstairs unit. It is fully remodeled, it has 4 beds and 4 baths and it’s around 2600 beautiful sq ft. All of these places are easy to show and we are happy to show any time!
Latest email from Citibank posted 30 yr fixed rates at 6% even, before relationship discounts! We keep seeing reports that the Feds plan to lower interest rates multiple times next year and as each report comes out, market activity seems to increase! With the increased activity, rates lower by a considerable amount from the recent past, and the prospect of refinancing to a lower rate in about a year’s time, I’m excited for the 3 properties we’re staging this week and next to go on the market!
We recently sold a house and when we arrived for the very exciting key exchange, squatters had moved into the house (from when we were last there the day before!) The squatters cut our lockbox and pried it open so they had a key. When the police arrived, the squatters showed a fake lease on their phone, arguing that they have an executed lease agreement and they’re paying 25,000 a month which started Dec 4. The squatters showed the police a fake gas company bill, alleging that utilities are in their name. When the new buyer’s locksmith changed the locks and created new keys, the police said to hand the squatters a copy of the new key since they had produced a lease agreement and a utility bill. The buyer’s agent demanded that the police call for an investigator and then she demanded that the investigator run a criminal record on the squatters. It turns out that the squatters are professionals and this was their EIGHTH time moving into a house not their own. The police asked the squatters to leave but they were not arrested. As long as California doesn’t prosecute for break-ins of vacant homes or strictly property damage when there’s no physical harm to a person, residents in California need to be extra vigilant to protect their properties themselves, especially houses that are vacant. We recommend alarms (preferably wired and not dependent on WIFI so they can’t be easily disconnected), motion sensor bright lights, and local security company surveillance. Ring Doorbells have cameras that connect to a phone and companies like SimpliSafe send text notifications any time a sensor detects motion around the property. Best would be if our law enforcement would be restructured to deter break ins, squatting, and theft or damage to another’s property!
It’s been so long since I’ve gone on a beautiful hike! Goals for this weekend is to try Bourekas Separdic Pastries in Sherman Oaks and to hike Escondido Falls and check out all 3 tiers of the waterfall!
Wishing everyone that 2024 is a year full of AWESOME!
Xoxoxoxo,
Sheri
