4.22.2009

The Jerks, The Bastards, The Heartbreakers

When people say this house hunting business gets emotional, it's true. Below are just some of those we fell head over heels in love with, that ones we were warned to stay away from because they would end up breaking our hearts, and the ones that didn't love us back. P.S. They are not in any chronological order. Enjoy!~

The Craftsman in Highland Park
BED: 2
BATH: 1
SQFT: 1254
LISTING PRICE: $191,900
OUR OFFER: $192,000 (and we thought that was gooooood)
COUNTER: Yeah, no counter on this one. They didn't even consider our offer.
SOLD FOR: $265,000

I'm not gonna lie, I wept. Not cried, but wept over this one. It was our first offer. When our contractor told us it was going to need a ton of work, I didn't bat an eyelash. When our real estate agent pointed out there was no parking and reminded us it was something we didn't want to budge on, I made an exception! When we didn't get a counter, I was heartbroken. On the floor, pounding my little fists, snot face and all.



The Spanish Charmer Near Elysian
BED: 2
BATH: 1
SQFT: 832
LISTING PRICE: $299,000
OUR OFFER: We didn't get to make one because the home was being gutted and the bank won't loan money if a home doesn't have a functioning bathroom/kitchen.
SOLD FOR: $299,000 Cash

This one was a gem! It had a great layout, the lot was huge, and it had a garage. Neighborhood was quiet and safe. We however did not have $299,000 cash.




The Steal in Adams Hill
BED: 2
BATH: 1
SQFT: 1254
LISTING PRICE: $299,900 I think... I don't remember
OUR OFFER: $320,000 It was over our budget but we wanted to have a strong offer
COUNTER: Bank came back and asked for a final best offer. I don't get it. I can understand if we had offered under the listing price but I guess they do it to create a bidding war. We had it inspected and offered $340,000 with all contingencies removed. I don't even know if we told our parents how much we offered on this one because we thought they would freak out.
SOLD FOR: $371,000

This one hurt the most. This one was in Adam's Hill on a great street. We never thought we would even be looking in that neighborhood. In 2006 it sold for $600,000. The picture doesn't do it any justice. The inside was solid. It was well maintained. Not much work to be done. Huge rooms, huge closets. Hardwood floors. You could tell the owners really loved that house. When we lost it, we were sad, sad, sad.




A Tiny Spanish in Highland Park
BED: 2
BATH: 1
SQFT: 780
LISTING PRICE: $349,900
OUR OFFER: $250,000 However, the Mister swears we offered $200,000. Either way, we low balled. Yup. God Bless our Real Estate Agent Rick. He must have been so embarrassed. The house was tiny, it didn't have a yard, it was going to need a lot of work, and there was only one closet. We thought they were asking for waaaaay to much. Although, it was charming it didn't take away from all the work that needed to get done.
COUNTER: We didn't even get a response! Not surprised.
STATUS: Still on the market.




The House Near Occidental College
BED: 2
BATH: 1
SQFT: 1246
LISTING PRICE: $340,000 ( I think it was around that price)
OUR OFFER: Our agent humored us and called to check and see if they were going to be accepting low offers. We saw this house, and like every house he showed us, we saw it the same day it went on the market. Just to give you an idea of how competitive things are in LA, we saw it at about 3:00 p.m. The house had like 8 offers on it already. So we didn't bother. It was already over what we wanted to pay and we knew it was gonna go for a lot of money.
SOLD FOR: $360,000

This house was amazing and whoever got it, got an awesome property. We fell in love with this house because we couldn't afford it... and also because the lot size was amazing and it had original built ins, a great porch, a garage, an old amazing bathroom, and a great layout. Oh that house was a beauty.




The Time Capsule
BED: 2
BATH: 1
SQFT: 1120
LISTING PRICE: $320,000 I think.
OUR OFFER: We were going to offer way under.
SOLD FOR: $305,000

Ok, this house was so cool. We didn't end up making an offer because we saw this at the same time we put an offer in on the Adams Hill house but I had to mention it. It had tall ceilings with exposed beams. All the original built-ins were pristine and completely intact. No one had changed a thing in that house. The floors were beautiful. The kitchen was super funky but in the coolest way. From all the houses we saw, this was probably the neatest. It's a dream house for someone who likes restoration. When that house is completely restored, it is going to be jaw dropping. The con was that it had a shared driveway, and the street was not my favorite. But if I could have bought that house and transferred it somewhere else... I would have been the happiest gal. I really hope the person who got this house is someone who is going to restore it and not tear it down.



Great House, Neighbors Not So Much
BED: 2
BATH: 1
SQFT: 936
LISTING PRICE: $299,000
OUR OFFER: We ended up not offering
SOLD FOR: $370,000

Ok, this was another pristine Craftsman. The yard was actually a yard. It didn't have a retaining wall to worry about, it had a huge oak tree in the back, and it was a flat normal picture perfect yard. The layout was great, the floors were awesome, and I was ready to sign on the dotted line. It must have been about 2:00 p.m. when we saw the house and halfway through our tour, the neighbor started blaring music. It felt like an earthquake. The owner who was still living there and happened to be showing us the house said, "Oh yeah, it happens everyday. Always during my daughters nap time". She said she had talked to him about it before. We didn't feel like paying that much money to have a confrontation. We appreciated her honesty though.

Echo Park Essssssey
BED: 4
BATH: 1
SQFT: 1389
LISTING PRICE: $283,700
OUR OFFER: $300,000
COUNTER: $300,000 The bank asked for a our best and final offer. We countered back the same offer because we thought it was fair. We were one of three offers. Once again all cash won out.
SOLD FOR: $295,000

The ceilings were the tallest I had ever seen on a home. It was walking distance to Echo Park Lake. It was flanked by apartments on all three sides. However, the Mister thought this would make an excellent income property. It was zoned R3 so eventually you could build up and make it a three apartment building. Prime Echo Park location? Can't get better than that.



Eagle Rock Nuf Said
BED: 2
BATH: 2
SQFT: 1110
LISTING PRICE: $265,000 I think.
OUR OFFER: $320,000 was going to be our offer.
COUNTER: It took us a day and half to get through to the bank to get pre-approved. The bank asked us how much we were planning on offering. We said $320,000 and they told us that unless we were prepared to go up to the 400's we shouldn't bother. We weren't prepared.
SOLD FOR: $400,000

This house we saw the first day it was on the market and there were tons of people looking at it while we were there. All of us were salivating and crunching numbers while the real estate agents compared what they thought it would go for. Our real estate agent nailed the price it would sell for. It was walking distance to bars, restaurants, shops. When I say walking distance, I don't mean a couple of miles. I mean I could have walked from this house in my heels to the bar and not complain. That close.


I'm curious to know if anyone looked, made on offer on, or bought one of these properties? Please Share!

Rick LeMasters, The Last Name Says it All

Rick LeMasters, Realtor

Coldwell Banker 1917 Hillhurst Ave. Los Angeles, CA. 90027
Tel: (323) 632-3313







When we finally made the decision to start shopping for a home, we knew agents would not take us seriously unless we were pre-approved. So we sucked it up and got it done. With a pre-approval in our hands, we set out to look for a real estate agent. We had narrowed down the areas we wanted to live in. On our list were, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Highland Park, Mt. Washington, and anywhere else that pointed East and fit into our budget. We made a list of agents that were known for working in those areas and started interviewing them. We didn't care if it took weeks (which it did) to find the right agent because we knew that in the end, if we weren't with someone that was a good fit for us, we would not have a good experience.

Our budget was $300,000. For Los Angeles this is chump change. However, the market had shifted and prices had dropped for the first time in years, which meant it was our only opportunity to try and buy in the city. We didn't know how long the prices were going to stay low so we had to act fast.

Some agents upon hearing our budget laughed, some told us they didn't waste their time with the lower end of the price ranges, others said it was impossible. One agent with Sotheby's in the Los Feliz office told us that we had to go see houses on our own and call his assistant if we saw something we liked because he was too busy to deal with us. Another agent who is supposed to be "the" Highland Park agent to go to, didn’t even show up to the interview that HE scheduled at Antigua Bread! Then, (cue the angels singing) we found Rick.

Rick LeMasters was too good to be true. We literally walked out of the interview speechless. We couldn't believe we had found someone with honesty, integrity, and who was upfront and realistic about the properties we could expect to find. He listened to our needs, never pushed us to make an offer we didn't want to make, and he had to have earned enough good karma points to last him a lifetime because we were not the easiest of clients. We can honestly say he is a true advocate for the buyer. We highly recommend him to everyone from first timers like us to real estate veterans. So, with all that said, we put all of our trust in him and started our search at the tail end of August of 2008. And the race to the finish line, although bumpy, was only possible because of him.

Anyone have a good/bad experience with a Los Angeles Real Estate Agent? Please post and share!