Caravan Date!

I'm not really big on Valentine's Day, but my husband Charlie is.  This year he asked me if  he could spend the day and accompany me to all the Tuesday open houses - it turned into a real romantic date!  

1) Our first stop was this 2 story English Tudor home in Hancock Park, built in 1926, and  designed by famed architect Paul Williams.  The house was completely in its original state (its a Trust sale) and would be a really great project for renovation.  Charlie doesn't get as excited as I do when he sees a great house, but experiencing this one definitely gave him and idea of why I enjoy it so much.  4 bedrooms/2.5 Baths priced at $1,299,000.

Amazing living room with vaulted ceiling, fireplace and french doors to a beautiful courtyard

Two Story Entry welcomes you

Large kitchen with lots of possibilities for a great renovation

This was the largest bedroom

I would renovate this sunny room and the adjoining two small bedrooms into one large master suite

2) Our next stop of note was this newly redesigned 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in PicFair.  This is an area that I’ve seen a lot of remodels popping up.  They are all really nicely redesigned, priced well, and all have sold quickly.  This house was billed as “reimagined” and we felt that was a really good word to describe how well the house was updated.  The only drawback was that it was located very close to Venice Blvd. and right across the street from a large multi-unit apartment complex.  Priced at $549,000 I’m sure it will also go quickly.

This was Charlie’s favorite house.  He loved the contrast between the unassuming exterior and neighborhood with the really special interior…

Large spacious rooms – really impressive for a house in this area

Loved the big stone sink

Nice private yard and patio

Lots of windows in this master suite

Very spacious and light bedrooms

The use of stone throughout this house tied everything together

3) We next ventured even further South to a small Vintage Spanish 2 Bedroom/1 bath house in the Mid-City area priced at $290,000 (it's a short sale).  This one was located South of Washington Blvd., East of Redondo, an area that I thought can be a bit dicey.  We were pleasantly surprised to find the street was actually quite charming, lined with well kept single family homes. This neighborhood isn’t for everybody, but I have heard a lot lately about people moving into it, so maybe it’s one of the next to get “hot.”

4) For the last hour, I took advantage of being with Charlie to venture out to Venice.  I thought it would be a romantic way to end our caravan, but it turned out to be more about convenience than romance.  I saw 4 houses, but Charlie only saw 1 because parking was so limited—he mostly dropped me off and drove around while I went in to take a look!  There’s wasn’t much that impressed me, especially at the prices.  Here’s my 2 favorites:  

Just reduced to $1,450,000 this 1900’s 2 story had 3 bdrms, 2.5 baths and a new office/studio over the garage.

This 1 level Hacienda style Spanish home was just reduced to $899,000. 

2 of the bedrooms opened onto this lovely courtyard.

Couldn’t help photographing this perfect Venice shot – love the real estate sign on the corner

Since it was Valentine’s Day, the treat at the end of my travels today was much more special.  We stopped on Abbott Kinney for a meal at Rockenwagner.  I was very pleased with my 3 sandwich sampler.

and a glass of wine! (I wasn’t driving today) 

If you are interested in any of these properties, or in buying or selling a home, please contact me, Deborah Wolsh at Deborah@morgan-re.com or call 310-433-0385.  Til next Tuesday!