Worker Men in Hard Hats 👷🏼 Real Estate Blog

Our brand new listing at 644 S Highland is fabulous.  It is the perfect blend of original character + charm with so much meticulous restoration painstakingly undertaken by the detail oriented emotionally invested current owners, who planned for this house to be their forever home.  The kitchen is starkly beautiful in its design, and it has the prettiest all glass Sub-Zero refrigerator/freezer,  Le Cornue Cornufe range, Wolf convection microwave oven, triple sinks, double dishwasher drawers, and Waterworks plumbing fixtures.  The hardwood floors throughout the house match, a combination of expertly restored original floors and precise matching brand new floors to match the existing.  The wall-to-wall built-in bookcase with lit up shelves in the library off the living room is showstopping.  There’s turf in both front and back yards and a double car charging station on the drivable turf in front.  The whole property is gated, making it completely private and ultra safe.  The house has 6 bedrooms (4 upstairs) + a full backhouse with a kitchen & a built-in Murphy bed.  The house comes with $90k of solar panels and extensive waterproofing of the entire exterior. All the rooms are spacious and in just the right spot.  

The furniture at 644 S Highland is artistic and filled with character. When my mom was alive, she loved to come visit me at open houses on Sundays, and she always asked me to let her know when a house was truly special so she could visit not only to see me, but also to marvel at the eye candy.  644 S Highland is eye candy on so many levels, and there’s so much to see and admire.  I’m excited for our first public open house this week Sunday from 2-5.

We have a new buyer escrow, representing one of our favorite clients, and I find it interesting that again the counteroffer from the seller came with an “as is” clause.  One of our buyer’s agents also got a counteroffer today that came with an “as is” clause.  “As is” clauses make no sense to me.  Obviously no seller wants there to be negotiations after inspections.  Buyers want to inspect the property thoroughly and to know every facet of its condition before committing to the purchase.  In my mind, once a seller is allowing the buyer time to inspect, it’s more appropriate to negotiate credits or repairs once the condition is uncovered instead of before.  In real life, “as is” clauses signed before the condition is uncovered end up being meaningless because if the condition warrants a seller credit or repair, and the “as is” will be strictly enforced, the only option is cancellation.  It doesn’t make sense to me for a seller to curtail the conversation, and invite cancellation over discussion, once everyone agrees that a buyer investigation period will take place.  On our new escrow, our buyer countered the “as is” clause by not agreeing to buy the property “as is” without knowledge of its condition, but putting in writing on a counteroffer that the buyer acknowledges that the seller has no obligation to give any credit or to make any repair after buyer inspections.  Both buyer and seller were happy with this compromise (even though the term is actually meaningless in life.)

It was very interesting this week to redo the whole front garden at a new listing we have coming up in Hancock Park.  It’s always fascinating what a difference it makes to accent, accessorize, and subtly change the mood and vibe of a house.  It’s an honor to work with talented vendors who show up and impress.  Besides negotiations and collaborating to get deals done, I absolutely love the design and aesthetic preparations for a sale.

This week I discovered a balm for my empty nesting pangs.  I can do bedtime routine (books + stories + air kisses) over Facetime with toddlers who live very far away and are just getting old enough to communicate and to enjoy story time with Grandma from a distance.  As a person used to serving individual needs and interests, I’m finding myself ordering kiddie books on topics of interest, like jeeps and construction trucks.  After a few energetic rounds of reading books on excavators, I noticed a large excavator at Pan Pacific Park.  One early morning this week, I parked alongside the worker men in hard hats, I asked permission to enter the construction site, and Gavriel and I explored the excavator up close over Facetime from Los Angeles to Israel.  It’s priceless to blow kisses over Facetime…and I can’t wait for the day when we can read books and hug in person in life.  I wish everyone everywhere in the world had the luxury and joy of dealing with simple stuff, like balms for empty nesting.  I also wish everyone everywhere in the world had a focus on individuality, unique interests, acceptance, and the beauty of life and love.

Wishing everyone a soothing rest of the week!

Xoxoxoxo,
Sheri