I toured this house in the golden triangle of Marina Del Rey. It has been listed and de-listed several times over the last 6mo but the owner clears out the listing history each time so it looks like a new listing. It was a very bizarre open house as she followed me around the whole time. At the end she asked if it would work for me and when I said it wasn’t the one, she kept asking why and tried to rebut each of my reasons. I felt like I couldn’t leave. Very odd. I see it’s listed again with another open house tomorrow.
The article covers Senate Bill 1229, a California proposal that would give the California Coastal Commission more oversight when homes destroyed by future natural disasters are sold to new buyers before being rebuilt. Under current law, destroyed homes can generally be rebuilt without Coastal Commission review if the replacement is substantially similar and no more than 10% larger. Gov. Gavin Newsom temporarily broadened that exemption after the 2025 Los Angeles fires to speed rebuilding, but some lawmakers now worry that investors and developers could use those relaxed rules to avoid coastal review.
The bill is aimed at distinguishing original disaster victims from speculative buyers. Original owners would still be able to rebuild without delay, but buyers who purchase burned lots after a disaster would need Coastal Commission approval. Supporters, including Sen. Ben Allen and environmental groups like the Surfrider Foundation, argue this closes a loophole that could allow developers to build larger or more environmentally harmful projects in sensitive coastal areas.
The article also places the bill in the broader political fight over the Coastal Commission. The commission has long been criticized by pro-housing advocates, developers, Gov. Newsom, and even President Trump for slowing or blocking development along the coast. Newsom recently appointed more pro-development members to the commission, and lawmakers have pursued other efforts to limit its authority, making this bill unusual because it would expand the commission’s role rather than narrow it.
Opponents and skeptics argue the bill may focus on the wrong problem. Pro-housing group California YIMBY said the deeper issue is that disaster victims are selling because rebuilding is too expensive due to insurance shortfalls, construction costs, fire code requirements, and permitting complexity. Even the Coastal Commission and Sen. Allen could not point to specific examples of investors already abusing the current rules, which weakens the case that the bill is solving an existing, documented problem.
I’m a first-time homeowner in LA and my condo was about $600k. Earthquake insurance is tricky for condos, since there’s the outside of the building which would be covered by the HOA and inside where some is covered by me and other parts (like pipes) are the building.
I don’t have like insanely expensive art or furniture or anything like that inside. With that, my current policy is:
- Dwelling: $150k
- Personal Property: $31k
- Loss of Use: $15k
- Loss Assessment: $5k
Is this way too low, too high, not enough? If you have experience here, what would you recommend?
Yes, I know price is always the reason but they’ve dropped the price to basically what they paid in 2021. This seems cheap for the square footage, does anyone have any insight into this property and why it isn’t selling as much as its comps in the area?
Hoping for a little advice here! We purchase a gem of a townhouse winter 2022 in NELA (think Eagle Rock/Highland Park area). We have picturesque views of mountains, and are walking distance to everything and there are under 20 units here. We paid 825k for a 3 bed 3 bath 1500sq ft. With HOA fees, prop taxes and a 6.5% interest rate it amounts to about $5700 a month. I knew that condos take longer to appreciate, but I'm just really feeling the monthly spend on this place and wondering if it was a mistake. We could prob sell for about $875k (thats what im seeing from other units).
We bought in Nor'Cal in 2016 but sold to move to LA and missed the 2020/2021 low interest rate craze because we were still tentative about staying in LA. I feel like getting out of the housing market killed us so I'm nervous to get out again.
One additional thing I'll add thats more emotional than anything, is I'm afraid of getting "stuck" somewhere. We are DINKS who have moved for work in the past. Part of me thinks having property here that will take some time to appreciate is good because it gives us roots... the other part worries that we could end up staying tied here should the market crash etc and we could miss out on moving for a job opportunity etc.
Your thoughts are so appreciated!
EDIT: we both work from home. So two bedrooms serve as offices. It wasn’t buying too much house, it’s the space we needed and it’s a townhouse not a SFH.
Townhomes, row houses and bungalow courts are likely coming to 57 neighborhoods across L.A. as part of the city’s plan to delay Senate Bill 79.
The historic housing bill, which took effect Wednesday, was written in hopes of addressing California’s housing crisis. It’s designed to boost apartment construction by overriding local zoning laws and allowing taller, denser developments near bus stops and train stations: up to nine stories for buildings adjacent to certain transit stops, seven stories for buildings within a quarter-mile and six stories for buildings within a half-mile.
It serves as a definitive statement from Sacramento lawmakers to cities that have failed to keep up with housing demand in recent years, including L.A., where single-family housing is still king. However, the bill was so contentious that in order to squeak it through, legislators stuffed it full of carve-outs and exemptions, allowing cities to delay implementation by passing their own plans to add density.
Read more at the link.
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Hi all, ive done a bunch of development in the past but recently this t.i.c. approach has caught my attention. Was hoping to get some feedback from people who have successfully bought / sold t.i.c.'s in the past as far as general do's and donts.
- How much of a premium (if any) should I expect vs. Selling all together?
- How important is designating parking spots
- What about outdoor spaces (non common)
Its currently a legal 2 unit detached duplex. I purchased the property vacant. Rd.1.5 zoned, and is identified as historic in the hpoz
My plans are as follows,
New 4 gang 600 amp meter (enough to supply at least one car charger per unit), water and gas submetered
- maintain the footprint of the front house (approx 1700s.f. 3/3.5), all new foundation, mostly new subfloor framing, new roof, elec, plumbing and hvac
- split the existing rear unit (1400 s.f.) into Two 1/1 units, all new m.e.p. and roof
- build a new adu (1200 s.f. 3/3) with attached 2 car garage
Hi you guys I’m buying this condo for 510k and it comes with 1 year paid hoa fee which is 471 dollars. Is it worth it? No
In unit laundry
Thanks
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5400-Lindley-Ave-UNIT-322-Encino-CA-91316/19938285\_zpid/?
If the owner of this building doesn't want to do anything with it, then just sell the damn building and let another developer turn it into housing.
I've been seeing people house-hack using FHA 203k to renovate dilapidated homes.
Can you use FHA 203k on a 4plex?
In LA, there's a lot of incentives to build additional units.
Can you use FHA 203k to build ADU and a junior ADU?
I've been browsing Los Angeles listings recently, and one thing I've noticed is how much the presentation varies from one property to another.
Some listings use empty rooms, while others are physically or virtually staged. Personally, I find it much easier to understand a home's potential when the rooms feel furnished, but I'm curious whether that actually influences buyers in LA's market.
For those who have bought, sold, or worked with listings in Los Angeles:
I'd love to hear real experiences from people who know the LA market.
If anyone wants to compare different virtual staging approaches, I came across virtualstaging.art while researching options and was curious how it stacks up against other services people have used.
We are closing on a home (yay!) and found out that the square footage is bigger than what the county assessor records have.
The property was originally a 2 bed 1 bath, listed as 735 sq ft per MLS listing back in the 2010s. The owner at that time added a bedroom and bathroom, and remodeled the whole house, turning it into a 3 bed 2 bath. All permitted.
Since then, the house went through two owners, with the MLS listing at 1200 sq ft. The current seller had the listing that we saw as 1,031 sq ft.
I looked at the assessor records, and it shows the same number (1,031) today. However, the seller told us the home is actually 1200 sq ft. I even measured the exterior of the home using Google Earth and that seems to track.
We are first-time home buyers so is there any risk or implications that we have here? I don't know if there's a way to see the history of the square footage recorded in the assessor records, but if there is a way, let me know.
Hey y'all!!!
I have an idea.
You could say it's a GREAT idea.
Let me start out by saying that one of the secrets to wealth is doing what others aren't.
You need to think outside the box.
If they zag, you zig. If they spit, you swallow. You dig, G?
So my idea is not only great, but also stupidly simple.
First, you get your Real Estate license. It's easy. They are practically giving them away at the street corners.
With License in hand, it gives you ACCESS to home listings.
But instead of showing buyers home, you use your license as a KEY to enter properties to Record And Share on all the socials.
Rack up the views. Monetize that sheet like there's no tomorrow.
Buy your Bugatti but remember that don't offer anyone free candy unless they agree to a ride beforehand.
You are not a billionaire. But you are not stupid. Stoopuddooo.
So you make money leveraging the power of the internet. Your net worth is worthy of talk.
Stop renting. Get a house by the beach!
Work all day inside your home office with the ocean breeze as your natural air conditioner.
When the day is done, hop on your bike and ride alongside the sand and surf sporting your finest Sandals.
It's a life of envy.
I am sure envious folks will downvote you on Reddit but you have no time for negativity.
To the moon.
The whole purpose of an open house is not to show you the property. It's for the listing agent and their agents under them to get Byers for maybe this house but most likely for something else.
They're gonna be all friendly and try to be real nice and try to get all your information but you do not have to provide them anything. It is an open house. But for fun you can give them some ridiculous email and a fake phone number because they're not gonna ask you for ID.
The other thing is, you don't want them to know your name because of a contract comes up later and they see your name and you were all excited. They're gonna try to get a higher price
But let's say for some reason you decide you may want to work with these people.
What they may or may not point out to you in the contract is the exclusivity clause. In the contract, there is a choice between being an exclusive buyer to them for a period of 90 days or non-exclusive. Non-exclusive means that you do not have to use them for every transaction or even any transaction without owing them a commission. Exclusive means you're gonna owe them a commission no matter what real estate agent you decide to use as your buyer broker
Exclusive contracts are awful. It's like getting married on the first date. One in 1 billion out.
The standard agreement also provides for what you will pay them to be the buyer broker. The typical realtor is going to charge you 2.5% regardless of the sale price. No agent is worth that kind of money.
Since all commissions are negotiable, negotiate with them. Come up with a fixed fee or hourly or even a lower percentage, but think about the percentage thing, the more you pay the more they make. But isn't their job to get the property for you at the lowest price?
Ask questions, shop around, do your due diligence because you don't wanna date someone that you end up hating.