Not that we aren’t ALWAYS looking at Trulia.com for casual evening entertainment, but the dude and I are actually in the market for a new home in Los Angeles.
It’s a tough job, but we’re getting after it. I try to keep my wits, and between searches on Trulia and FSBO.com, I cruise the internet and shake my head as I read articles like this, about LA’s unaffordable housing.
Initially I illustrated the boundaries of our search for our realtor. I’ve since added the blue opaque highlight, b/c that is the more realistic compromise for the part of town we have to live in if we want hit the desired square footage plus yard. Pretty much any where in that area is fair game, but as is the game with real estate – all of the pros and cons must align. E.g. Sure, we’ll live way down there in Venice by the blvd IF the home has a killer yard… okay, we’ll cram ourselves into a tiny home with a patch of grass IF it’s in Santa Monica proper and walkable to our favorite Sushi restaurant, etc.
Thus far, we’ve toured more than a handful of homes, put in the offere and lost out to all cash on two, and now we’re thinking about expanding the search even further, cause maybe what we want doesn’t exist in that purple or blue area?
We recently toured this house in Santa Monica’s Ocean Park neighborhood b/c it appeared to fit the bill. It seemed that it was rather perfect for us, except for the price. At 1.5 million, it’s at the tippy top of the budget and yet it needs a lot of renovation. We aren’t afraid of renovating, in fact I think we both prefer the challenge to a turnkey move-in ready joint that looks like someone else’s dream home – but I guess the hope was to find a dog for a deal… not a dog at our max budget. Emotionally Tragic.
Doesn’t this look like a fun one to reimagine?
This is what my headcase fantasy looked like while I was walking around the backyard. I was buying the pottery wheel and tearing down the alley wall to pull in the camper in my mind.
Sarah advised that I not let any emotions any where near my process. That is sound advice that I have to remind myself of constantly. It’s hard not to feel emo as you to try to separate hopes and dreams for the future from the floor plan of the home where it will all unfold. I’ve narrowed in on this list as important, and perhaps I log it here more for posterity’s sake than actual reader interest. Nonetheless:
- As illustrated!!! A yard is super important, it supplies my heart with deep contentment
- Detached Garage PLUS ample parking is ideal (so we can use the garage for project space when we want to make our own coffee table)
- Exposed Beams are lovely, I’ll take them in the midcentury style or the craftsman
- We don’t mind if the kitchen/bathrooms need renovation – we probably would prefer it actually
- We aren’t going to be mad if we are within walking distance of Grocery, Beer, Burger, and/or Sushi, not a deal breaker though
- We need a dog friendly home with a fence!
- Architectural Intrique of SOME sort… whether it’s Post & Beam, Craftsman, Bungalow, SoCal Ranch, etc. These are all acceptable New Construction is not as likely to be interesting, unless it’s particularly nuanced.
- Room for our vintage shasta camper would be a SUPER RAD bonus
- Our budget range, which for LA is a little more than a million… a by a little more I probably mean like $500k more.
If you like to get a peek into the other homes we’ve toured in Los Angeles, from the next door neighbors to the lost Topanga dream, to a trailer park by the sea – check out Estate Envy.
