4060 Glencoe #114 90292 - Lowest priced condo in Marina Del Rey.

Sky Minor Fresh Listings

4060 Glencoe #114 is for sale at $329500. This designer 1+1 condo in a prime West side LA location is my newest listing. I love value in real estate and this listing is a great deal because it is by far the lowest priced condo in the area. I am a huge advocate of buying the cheapest property in a great area and this listing is exactly that. The building is very near the intersection of Washington and Glencoe, a very lively neighborhood on the West side which straddles Marina Del Rey, Venice and Culver City. The location doesn't get much better than this; there are no less than 30 restaurants, a full movie theater, shopping mall, Costco, grocery stores and all of the action on Washington Blvd within 1/3 mile stroll out the front door. "Nobody walks in LA" because they don't live here. Some nearby notable West Side attractions: From 4060 Glencoe 90292 it is 7 miles to UCLA, 1.5 miles to the beach, 3 miles to Loyola Marymount and 5.5 miles to LAX. The building has a Spanish garden paradise vibe to it, which is inviting and quintessential Socal. There are fountains and 30 foot bamboo stalks growing in the court yard.

The building has awesome amentities; Pool, Jacuzzi, Gym, Bike Parking Room, Movie Screening Room, Big Recreation/Party room, Dog Run, Ample guest parking spots in several different locations. The vibe here is warm and welcoming, neighbors were waiving to me the first time I went there.

The unit is particularly nice because it only has one neighbor above and one to the side. The floor plan is open and the ceilings are high, so there is a light and airy feel to the space. The private patio is the perfect place to grill up some Tacos after surfing nearby Venice Beach.

This is the lowest priced Marina Del Rey Condominium on the market at the time of publication. It is 690 square feet but good use of space make it practical for a couple. (The sellers were a married couple who lived there happily for years before they had a baby and needed more space). There is a huge walk in closet and a separate "Husband" closet. There is also stacked Washer/Dryers in the unit-no Laundry trips necessary. This standard sale unit is ready to find a new loving owner. You can bring your dog.

For more information or for a showing of 4060 Glencoe #114 please contact Sky Minor

LA walkability map. Green = Good.

This is a Predator style heat map showing the walkability a.k.a pedestrian friendliness of most of LA. On this map, the areas that are more walkable are green and the areas that are not are hotter/red. Predictably Hollywood, Downtown LA, Pasadena and Santa Monica are very walkable areas. Also walkable are Ventura Blvd, Burbank/Toluca Lake. Who says nobody walks in LA? (Click on the map to enlarge.)

NELA sales data for the statophiles.

(Click to enlarge)

This is Real Estate sales data from March 2011 for Single Family Homes in Eagle Rock, Mt. Washington and Glassell Park, three of the popular communities in NELA.

In general, these are healthy numbers for a estate market. Properties are selling between 97%-102% of their listing prices. In Eagle Rock and Glassell Park, homes are on the market for around 30 days and it's around 60 days on market for Mt. Washington homes. The year over year median sales price has jumped in Mt. Washington from $449,000 in March 2010 to $555,000 in March 2011, a 23.5% increase. Eagle Rock and Glassell Park did not fare as well, both had a reduction in median sales price from 2010-2011.

We appear to be lifted out of the crash of 2009 when banks were giving away properties and inventory was sitting on the market for 120 days+. Keep in mind that roughly 50% of the people out there who want to buy homes cannot because they are self-employed and they do not qualify for mortgages. Self Employed people, who tend to be good with their finances and often are the ones with enough money saved up for a down payment, usually deduct expenses against their income on their tax returns so they have very little net income. Banks are using this net income to qualify people for mortgages so the self-employed person is usually SOL. When this large group of prospective home buyers is given access to mortgage money, I predict the buying market will see quite a bit of upward pressure due to supply and demand.

LA Real Estate Market is almost back to the Insanity of 2005

Echo Park Feeding Frenzy-32 Offers.

I just had a buyer go over the asking price on this cute craftsman fourplex near the Echo Park lake. It is a bargain- $550k for two market rent units and two vacant ones. It was remodeled in 2005 and bought for $1.1m in 2006. At $550k with 25% down PITI payments would be about $3500 but rents would be $5500 so it's a cash machine in a great location. It makes sense that we would see some buyer attention on it but the demand was enormous. There were 32 offers on it in one week!. This is an extreme example of the multiple offers phenomon that we have been seeing since late 2009. There are relatively few listings on the market so when the banks release an REO property for sale the law of supply and demand works in their favor. This is reminding me more and more of the run and gun days of 2005 when everyone had stated mortgage financing with zero down payment and every property was getting a dozen offers. It's most amazing to me because the mortgage lenders are so tight these days and yet there are hordes of people qualifying for loans. Perhaps it is a testament to the fundamental desirability of Real Estate in Los Angeles. To buy a property in this market, be ready to act quickly and be ready to overbid!

On going for a short sale when living in a condo.

People ask me what to do to get their lender to accept a short sale. Almost every time, the answer is "stop making mortgage payments". We won't go into detail on that here, but we will address some of the other fees that condo owners pay in addition to their mortgage. When going for a short sale, my advise is usually to not make payments to anyone related to the property, the mortgage(s), property taxes, HOA or association fees or anything else. Instead, save that cash for when you'll move out because you'll probably need it for a deposit on a rental after the credit hit you can't avoid because of the missed mortgage payments.

I think paying HOA and property tax is a waste of money, because when the place sells the bank will pay the delinquent property tax out of their sales proceeds. Typically they also pay delinquent HOA fees but now I'm seeing lenders refuse to pay the HOA fees (probably because HOA's are known to try and make some foreclosing or short saleing lender pay inflated fees at closing). There is absolutely no credit/tax recourse that you'll face from not paying your property taxes and I highly doubt there would be any recourse from the HOA either-I have not heard of any. If you want to be sure exactly what the HOA will do to you if you don't pay I would actually recommend calling them and asking, you don't have to identify yourself necessarily. You could also find their legal recourse in your CC+R's which you probably got when you moved it. There's no reason to pay either, stash the cash instead.

A classic Los Feliz Tudor

Just south of Los Feliz Boulevard, this Tudor house exudes character on the outside but is pretty neutral on the inside. I personally would return it to it's glorious Olde English Tavern roots and have a Shakespeare styled party every midsummer nights' eve. Tudors like this are rare around LA and some of the finest specimens are found in Los Feliz. Since they are so scarce and coveted, they rarely change hands. This one was last on the market in 1969. This 3+2.5 in the shadow of Griffith Park observatory (literally) is on the market at $899,00. To arrange a showing, contact Sky Minor at 310-709-8283

Listing courtesy of Expoint Realty

Prices in LA by area 2009 vs 2010

Here is the year over year median sales price of single family homes in the different ares of Los Angeles from 2009-2010. The areas are divided according to MLS criteria, not always zip codes or formal demarcation lines. (Click to enlarge).