From LA Times:
Holger Schubert built a 10-foot bridge to connect his sports car’s living-room parking spot to Tigertail Road. But, now, residents are complaining that the structure was improperly approved by the city.
 Architectural Digest magazine’s Design Driven contest. Ricardo DeAratanha |
His pristine Ferrari 512 BBi “Boxer” sits in the middle of Holger Schubert’s living room in Brentwood, right next to stylish furniture, a built-in bookcase and a flat-screen TV that slides on tracks past walls of glass that frame an ocean view.
But Los Angeles officials are about to slam shut forever the garage door that leads to the city’s most extravagant parking space
City planners have withdrawn permission for Schubert to use a bridge to connect his Ferrari’s third-floor resting spot with North Tigertail Road.
The ruling by the West Los Angeles Area Planning Commission tosses a mechanic’s wrench into Schubert’s hopes of using the showpiece garage that last year won Architectural Digest magazine’s Design Driven contest.
Neighbors complained about the bridge, alleging that the city erroneously approved its construction to create both a safety hazard and a development precedent that could degrade hillside neighborhoods throughout the city.
Schubert, a 43-year-old product designer, contends that neighbors turned against the bridge in retaliation for his home-remodeling project taking so long — about five years, so far.
The ruling sets the stage for the city to issue an enforcement order that will force Schubert to tear down the 10-foot-long, 15-foot-high bridge if he does not obtain a zoning variance for it or win a court reprieve that preserves it.
That would mean that his prized gray 1984 Ferrari would have to give up its unique living-room parking spot.
Schubert blames the lengthy structural engineering design work needed for the garage for slowing down the remodeling project that he and wife, Yuriko, have undertaken at their two-acre property in the Brentwood hills.
Along with its ocean view, its crisp skylight-accented ceiling and modernist furniture, the garage features a hydraulic ramp that lifts the front end of the Ferrari up to allow Schubert to coast his gleaming car back out onto his bridge without starting the engine. No Ferrari fumes in this house.
“I wanted to create a backdrop for the car as a piece of art,” Schubert said last year after winning the architectural magazine’s contest. “This is a space whose only purpose is to enjoy the car.”
Neighbors say that Schubert first tried to get permission to build a pedestrian bridge to connect the living room area with the street. They say they balked at that on grounds that such a walkway did not comply with the city’s building rules.
Critics contend that Schubert then sought permission to build an even wider driveway bridge.
At Wednesday evening’s commission session, they argued that the city approved the bridge only after being told that the top-floor garage was necessary for Schubert to comply with city off-street parking rules.
In reality, Schubert had ample parking space near a three-car garage that he demolished in order to make room for the remodel, said Victor de la Cruz, a lawyer for neighbor William Burnside.
De la Cruz said Schubert was warned as he began building the driveway bridge that there was opposition to the bridge and that he was constructing it at his own risk.
Burnside, 58, a senior vice president of a Los Angeles consulting group who has lived on Tigertail Road for 22 years, said neighbors and the Brentwood Homeowners Assn. oppose the bridge for a variety of reasons — not because Schubert’s remodeling project has dragged on seemingly forever.
“I think the major issue here is the precedent it would set in the city” he said.
Residents are also worried about the safety of Schubert backing his Ferrari over the narrow bridge and onto the curving hillside street.
“That, plus he has a two-acre property that has perfectly good access from elsewhere,” Burnside said.
Schubert said he has spent about $1.5 million on the remodel and doesn’t relish the thought of losing his Ferrari garage or ripping out the bridge. He only drives the rare, vintage sports car when Westside traffic is light, he said. He hunted for 11 years before he found the car and purchased it.
“This is how people with money and power can make white seem black,” Schubert said after the commission vote.
His attorney, Jerold B. Neuman, complained to planners that after Schubert received the permit to build the bridge 18 separate city inspections occurred “and no one raised an issue” signaling any problem with its legality.
“They’ve set the stage for the city to say, ‘Tear down the bridge,’ ” Neuman said.
That means the next rumbling sound heard from Tigertail Road will probably be lawyers’ copy machines churning out court briefs, not the throaty full-throttle of a Ferrari 512 BBi.
bob.pool@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times
We are seeing new inventory and an uptick in interest, as fears of the bottom of the market subside.
As seen in Manhattan Beach Confidential
Wondering about local real estate in January this year? Think: 24/7.
You don’t have to think about it all the time. But that’s the number of new listings last month, plus the number of sales (new escrows) in the same period, among SFRs west of Sepulveda.
This is all seen in the new MB Market Update for 1/31/10, viewable online through our custom spreadsheets (click that link to view).
It felt like inventory was bouncing back quicker than normal from the typical holiday-season wave of short-term cancellations. With 24 new listings – including returnees – we did outpace 2009 by a trifling 3 new offerings, versus 21 new listings in January last year.
Our 7 sales (new escrows) this January were equal to the 2009 pace. Yes, while these included a few quick sales that could be interpreted as a bullish sign, the fact is, last year – deep in the doldrums of ongoing economic collapse – MB saw the same number of sales of SFRs west of Sepulveda.
Total inventory this year remains much lower.
We wrapped January 2010 with 74 public offerings west of Hwy. 1 (click chart to enlarge), whereas last year we saw a new high point of inventory reached at 122.
As the chart here shows, we’re back over the level of inventory seen as of Nov. 30, 2009, but still well below the levels seen at Labor Day or Halloween.
Intriguingly, the inventory data for 2010 are precisely the same as for 2008. As of Jan. 1, 2008, and 2010, inventory west of Sepulveda stood at 59. At month’s end, 74 in each case. It was 2009 that was the big balloon year.
By (minor) contrast, there were 8 sales in Jan. 2008, instead of the 7 in 2009 and 2010. It’s not a busy month.
More on the action west of Sepulveda in our next few posts.
Posted by MBWatcher at 8:40 PM
Links to this post 0 Comments ‘The Hangover’ star Bradley Cooper has a new place to hang
He buys a loft in Venice to serve as office space for his production company.
HOT PROPERTY
January 23, 2010|By LAUREN BEALE Los Angeles Times
Bradley Cooper, who starred in the Golden Globe-winning movie “The Hangover,” has a new hangout — a town house in the 35-unit Dogtown Station in Venice. The actor plans to use it as office space for his Indiana & 22nd production company.
The 2,198 square feet of loft space has glass walls, 9- to 18-foot ceilings and polished concrete and hardwood plank flooring. There is a gated garage entry and a private rooftop deck with skyline and ocean views.
Cooper’s unit, zoned as live/work space, occupies three levels and includes two bedrooms, a loft room and two bathrooms. The town house had been on the market for $1.25 million.
Cooper, 35, also starred in the 2009 movie ” All About Steve.” He has appeared on “Nip/Tuck” (2007-2009) and “Alias” (2001-2006).
He’ll play Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck in the upcoming movie “The A-Team,” based on the 1980s television series. It is set for summer release.
In a recent appearance on the “Late Show With David Letterman,” Cooper recounted his leap from doorman at New York’s Morgans Hotel to host of the ’90s adventure travel show “Lonely Planet” (also called “Globe Trekker”) despite his lack of outdoorsmanship.
“The idea was that you were not an expert, and they loved that, and they wanted to watch you suffer,” he said.
Charlotte Bjorlin D’Elia and Robert D’Elia, the owners and co-designers of Dogtown Station, handled the transaction.
Beverly Hills sale sets a high mark
A completely rebuilt estate on a prime residential street near the Beverly Hills Hotel has sold for about $24 million.
Seller Kurt Rappaport, co-founder of Beverly Hills-based Westside Estate Agency, took a combination of cash and a house in the flats of Beverly Hills in trade in the transaction. It is the highest-priced residential sale in Beverly Hills so far this year. He sold his last home to Tom Cruise in 2007 for $30.5 million.
The traditional-style house Rappaport just sold was designed by Waldo Fernandez, sits on nearly three-quarters of an acre and includes eight bedrooms and 9 1/2 bathrooms in 15,000 square feet.
It has a two-story entry and a two-story dining room, a paneled library/billiard room, a bar, a theater, a wine cellar, a gym and an eat-in kitchen with a large center island. There are flat lawns, mature trees, gardens, an expansive motor court, a guesthouse and an infinity pool.
Rappaport had the listing on the house, which he put on the market in February at $28.5 million but withdrew late last summer, according to the Multiple Listing Service. He paid about $13.2 million for the property in 2008.
Mega-builder lists in Hidden Hills
Ronald N. Tutor, president and chief executive of construction giant Tutor-Saliba, has listed his Hidden Hills compound for $18.9 million.
The Tudor-style estate sits on 3.4 acres of rolling lawns with a lake, waterfalls, a swimming pool and grotto, gardens and a tennis court.
The gated two-story home of about 19,000 square feet was built in 1987 and has a master suite with his-and-her closets and six additional bedroom suites in the main wing.
A bridge stretching across to the entertainment wing contains a large arcade. The ballroom can accommodate several hundred guests at a time.
The wing also includes a bar, a poker room, a gym, a guesthouse and two staff apartments. There are 10 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms in total.
Tutor, a 1963 USC grad, has worked his entire career in the construction industry, transforming his company from a small local builder to a national civil works construction concern.
Among Tutor-Saliba’s recent high-profile projects: the new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters downtown.
Tracy Tutor Maltas, an agent with of Partner’s Trust, Los Angeles, and the daughter of the real estate and contracting mogul, has the listing with Philippe Rodrigue of the same office.
For Cher, it’s another hit
Update: Singer-actress Cher has auctioned her newly built home on three-quarters of an acre in the Hualalai Resort in Hawaii for $8.72 million.
The unidentified buyer is from Arizona, according to Concierge Auctions, which handled the sale.
Concierge had estimated before the sale that Cher’s 8,821-square-foot luxury compound, which overlooks the ocean and a golf course, would go for between $8 million and $12 million. She paid $2.9 million for the site in 2009.
The actress, who estimated she has owned 18 homes in her lifetime, designed the house and five bungalows around a garden courtyard and a swimming pool.
lauren.beale@latimes.com
A great way to donate these days even if it is just a little, is through your cell phone.
To help Haiti Earthquake relief through the Red Cross
TEXT to # 90999 put in the word Haiti for a $10 donation
They will confirm back to you a text to reply yes. It is that easy and will be charged to your cell phone. Every bit helps.
California home prices and sales showed steady improvement during the typically slow month of November, fresh data released Thursday showed, with the San Francisco area outpacing Southern California.
The state’s median home price in November was $261,000, a 1.6% increase from the month before and up 1.2% from November 2008. The statewide year-over-year increase was the first since July 2007.
The increase reflected an overall improvement in the housing market, with fewer foreclosures making up the total mix of homes for resale and an overall bounce back from the severely depressed prices seen in 2008, according to MDA DataQuick, a San Diego research firm that closely tracks California’s housing market.
“We have been in the middle of a kind of mini recovery in California,” said Gerd-Ulf Krueger, principal economist and founder of HousingEcon.com. “It looks like the housing market, at least for now, has bottomed.”
Home sales were up 11.5% statewide in November compared with a year earlier, though down 13.1% from October. A decline in sales between October and November is typical as the slower fall season kicks in. An estimated 35,860 homes were sold statewide last month, DataQuick said.
Of the previously owned homes sold in November, 40.6% had been foreclosed on during the last year. That is the lowest percentage since May 2008, when the figure was 39.8%. Foreclosure sales peaked at 58.8% in February 2008.
Many experts fear that a second wave of foreclosures could hit the market next year, putting pressure on prices. And the long-term housing picture is unclear, DataQuick President John Walsh said in a statement Thursday.
“A lot of people sense lenders are holding back and that there’s at least one more round of foreclosures lurking around the corner,” Walsh said. “Combine that with less government stimulus in 2010, and it would threaten whatever price stability we see now.”
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the median price paid for a home was $387,000 in November. That was a 10.6% increase from November 2008 but a 0.8% decline from October of this year. The year-over-year uptick was significant as it was the second month in a row that the median price paid for a home in the Bay Area increased on that basis.
The median price paid for a Southern California home increased 1.8% in November from October, to $285,000, and was flat compared with November 2008, according to a DataQuick report released Tuesday.
By Alejandro Lazo -Los Angeles Times
From Wall Street Journal Online
By Emily Friedlander
So we’ve discussed the ethics of individual borrowers walking away from their mortgages. (Some say we’ve over-discussed it.) If it’s immoral, as some would say, for a borrower to walk away their mortgage, is it any different for a bank?
Morgan Stanley is doing just that. News reports on Thursday said the bank plans to give back five San Francisco office buildings to its lender–just two years after buying them at the top of the market.
“This isn’t a default or foreclosure situation,” spokeswoman Alyson Barnes told Bloomberg News. “We are going to give them the properties to get out of the loan obligation.”
Sound familiar?
Morgan Stanley bought the buildings, along with five others, in San Francisco’s financial district as part of a $2.5 billion purchase from Blackstone Group in May 2007. The buildings were formerly owned by billionaire investor Sam Zell’s Equity Office Properties and acquired by Blackstone in its $39 billion buyout of the real estate firm earlier that year, Bloomberg reports. One analyst estimates that the buildings are now worth half of what Morgan Stanley paid.
The buildings Morgan Stanley is giving up are One Post, 201 California St., Foundry Square I, 60 Spear St. and 188 Embarcadero. The bank will continue to own the five other office buildings it acquired in the deal.
Some proponents of strategic default argue that since the lender gets the collateral back, walking away is simply the termination of a business arrangement between consenting adults. Certainly, it seems as though that’s what’s happening here.
Calculated Risk hastens to point out that Morgan Stanley is current on the loan–thus this is essentially a “strategic default.” If banks can walk away from commercial buildings, does that weaken the social pressure on homeowners to stay in their home when they’re underwater on their mortgages?
Readers, care to chime in?
NATION’S HOUSING
Reporting from Washington – If you’re in trouble on your mortgage and can’t get a loan modification, check out the Obama administration’s standardized short-sale plan that’s scheduled to roll out in the next several months.
The program, outlined Dec. 1 by the Treasury Department, is an attempt to streamline what has traditionally been a contentious, time-consuming process by requiring lenders and others to use nationally uniform documents, timelines and financial incentives.
A short sale involves a lender or investor agreeing to collect less than the balance owed on a mortgage debt out of the proceeds of a negotiated sale of the property. Often a short sale is the last alternative to foreclosure available to distressed homeowners and banks. Say you’ve lost your job and fallen behind on mortgage payments. With little or no income, you can’t qualify for a modification program.
In this situation — grim as it is — your best move may be to see whether your lender will accept a short sale. Though the idea sounds straightforward, in practice it is not. First, the bank needs to be convinced that a short sale would yield it more money at the bottom line than a foreclosure would.
This usually means you need to bring in a real estate agent who knows the ropes and can pull together the key information needed by the bank: recent comparables on closed sales, local market trends and the likely selling price of your house.
You’ll also need a buyer for the house — one who’ll pay a price acceptable to the bank and has financing to close the deal. If you happen to have a second mortgage or home equity credit line on the property, you’ll also need to negotiate how much that lender will receive from the sale proceeds.
That can be tricky. In depressed real estate markets, the second-lien lender may be holding a note that’s worthless in a foreclosure because plummeting property values have wiped out the collateral. Yet that same bank is in a pivotal position: It has the legal power to block the short sale by refusing to sign on to the deal.
Equally troublesome in short sales is the fact that banks, mortgage servicers and bond investors often have conflicting requirements for documentation and financial yields that can complicate and drag out the haggling for months.
Enter the Obama administration’s new streamlining plan. Besides requiring lenders and servicers to use uniform documentation, pre-approved short-sale terms and accelerated turnaround times, the plan provides financial incentives for key players:
* Homeowners who successfully complete a short sale under the program receive $1,500 to defray relocation costs.
* Mortgage servicers can receive $1,000 per case.
* Investors get $1,000.
* Second-lien holders receive up to $3,000 from the sale proceeds.
Even real estate agents get something: The rules prohibit banks from forcing them to cut their commissions from the listing agreement as part of the final deal.
Sounds like a formula for encouraging a lot more short sales, right? The jury will be out on that for months, and most major lenders are still studying the fine print of the Obama program. But early reactions from big banks appear to be positive.
Dave Sunlin, a senior vice president for Bank of America Corp., said: “We’re very pleased. We welcome any effort to reach standardization for all parties” involved in short sales.
Faith Schwartz, executive director of Hope Now — a Washington-based group representing the country’s largest banks, mortgage servicers, bond investors and consumer counseling organizations — said the plan should bring “uniformity and standards” to a process usually characterized by “mayhem” among the negotiating parties.
Scott Brinkley, a senior vice president for First American Corp., a firm that provides market data for banks, said, “You’re going to see a lot of cooperation” by lenders and investors.
But there could be a major pothole: The Obama plan tilts to consumers by requiring second-lien holders to drop all financial claims against short-selling borrowers beyond the $3,000 they take out of the deal.
Travis Hamel Olsen, chief operating officer of Loan Resolution Corp., a Scottsdale, Ariz., consulting firm, says the $3,000 payment won’t be enough for many second-mortgage lenders. Today they frequently obtain additional short-sale compensation from sellers as the price of their participation — in cash or through promissory notes — far beyond $3,000.
“I’m concerned that that could limit participation” by second-lien holders, Olsen said.
Bottom line for homeowners who might benefit: Don’t have wild expectations, but definitely ask your servicer whether it plans to participate and whether the forthcoming standardized plan for short sales might work for you.
By Kenneth R. Harney
December 13, 2009
Distributed by the Washington Post Writers Group.
A Century on the Hermosa Beach Strand
“You don’t see views like that anymore,” a woman says as she glides by multiple windows lining the western wall of the master bedroom.
A bluish light from the coast fills every corner of the wide expanse, painted wall-to-wall in brilliant white. On an antique wooden desk, a WWII-era portrait of a man in uniform overlooks a small box of vintage personalized stationery. Notwithstanding the mounted plasma screen and a few modern dressings, many of the original charms appear intact, from shutters to ornate fixtures. Indeed, you don’t see views like this anymore.
Nestled alongside the contemporary beach residences that line today’s Hermosa Strand, this 5,172-square-foot home between 24th and 25th Streets was built and owned by the Doheny family in the early 1900s. In 1947, Lucy Smith Doheny Baston handed the property down to her daughter, Lucy Doheny Washington or “Dickie”, opening the doors for new generations to enjoy.
Cynthia Niven Griffin, Dickie’s daughter, spent many a summer at the beach house with her two older brothers. “The house was always full of friends,” she remembers fondly. “It just sucks up guests. There was always room for more.”
“People would stop by for drinks or conversation,” says Laurence Van Cott Niven, recalling his childhood at the house, swimming by day and sleeping to the sounds of the surf by night. “It was a friendly neighborhood.” He reminisces about running to The Green Store with the other kids, collecting bottles and turning them in for nickels to buy candy.
One year, their father built a catamaran that lived on the sand in front of the house. On weekends they would take it out through the surf and catch sand dabs in the Redondo Channel and eat them for breakfast. “Our winter life was much more structured,” Cynthia says. “Hermosa was heaven.”
Visiting the home today, one can trace the visual layers of the property’s 100-plus-year history. Lauren Forbes, notes the multi-room kitchen in the back portion of the first-floor. “Back in the day, this was the servant’s pantry,” she says. “The children were never permitted to go through those doors. That was the rule of the house.” She then points out a mid-century gazebo, resembling a giant birdcage, sitting in the middle of the patio area. She says the family planned to remove it until they learned it was built by a famous architect of the period and is quite valuable.
Still owned by Lucy’s children, the decision was made to put the home on the market this past summer. Though the structure itself still offers incredible appeal, the true value of the property is the enormous piece of land it sits on, 7,632 square feet in all. In addition to the main house that faces The Strand, a separate building with a three-car garage that once housed the servant’s quarters above, reaches all the way to Hermosa Avenue in the back. “The lot is more than twice the size of an average Strand lot,” says Lauren. “It spans twice the width and one-and-a-half times the depth.”
While the future of the home and lot remains unknown, the days and nights of summers’ past live on in the minds and hearts of its former residents. “My husband proposed to me in the den,” says Cynthia who, in recent years, spent time at the house with her own children and grandchildren. “So many memories as a child, and many as a young woman.” Long showers in the basement after a day of swimming, surf burgers on 22nd Street and watching their dogs chase the tides are only of few of the most treasured. Her brother, Michael C. Nevin, affirms the sentiment: “It was the hardest place to leave.”
This article appears in the Holiday 2009 issue of South Bay Magazine by Darren Elms
It is also Listed for Sale at $14,850,000 call Lauren Forbes for more info..310-901-8512
Did you like what you read here? Subscribe to South Bay Magazine »
You probably remember Summer, but that was a long time ago. Turkey Day is near and, wham!, it’s 2010.
So is now – right now – a good time to put your home up for sale?
Conventional wisdom, and most people’s experience, would say no. Indeed, lots of listings take the holiday season off entirely and come back in January or February.
“11 Reasons to List During the Holidays”
- Holiday-season buyers are more serious.
- Some buyers must buy by year-end for tax purposes.
- Job transferees often start in January; they’ll want a house by then.
- Buyers have more time to look during the holidays.
- Those buyers will face more limited supply due to the ordinary dropoff in listings.
- Supply will “dramatically increase” in January, so if you wait to sell, you’ll be one of many more options later.
- Homes show better with holiday decorations.
- Holiday-season buyers are more emotional, so they’re “more likely to pay your price!”
- Sell now and you can be ready to buy in Spring when more options are available to you.
Source: Manhattan Beach Confidential
Brock is a friend of ours who serves the Silverlake, Hollywood East Market, including Los Filez. I particularly like his takes, understanding of investment properties, and we will post his latest news. Call him direct if you need a property out there and mention our names for a better deal!
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Brock Real Estate Cash for Clunkers Extended, Home Edition.
November 6th, 2009. This issue is going out to 3,468 subscribers.
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It’s all over the internet so I won’t repeat every detail, but basically, the $8K homebuyer’s tax CREDIT (not a deduction – a credit actually offsets what you have to pay in April) is extended through April 30 of next year. Because the most common type of loan today requires 3% down, this credit makes an average LA house a no-money down purchase.
Existing home owners get some love too. Trader-uppers get a $6500 credit if they’ve lived in their current residences for at least five years.
In both cases, if you make over $125K a year ($225K for a couple), or if the new house costs over $800K, no soup for you.
In other news (not news if youre currently writing offers): according to Redfin, 61% of real estate sales in LA are “competitive” (read: multiple offers).
Here’s a hot tip to get a great deal: If you are a TENANT in a house that’s been foreclosed on, you have a golden opportunity to BUY the house. Most bank listing agents are all about volume, they just want it sold, and with you IN the house, it’s darned hard to market (and sell). MAKE AN OFFER. I’ve heard of people doing this twice.
The listing agent likely won’t represent you (bank agents usually can’t “double-end” deals), so call me if you’re living in a house and an REO sign just went up in the front yard.
As always, if you’re thinking of moving, call me!
Brock
(213) 842-7625
P.S. If you are TENANT in a house that’s been foreclosed on, here’s a VERY handy breakdown of your rights: http://211losangeles.org/News/tenantsforeclosure.pdf
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Contact Info
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Thanks for reading and forwarding to friends and family.
To be taken off any future mailings scroll down and click.
Brock Harris
Brock Real Estate
DRE License # 01511068
2235 Hyperion Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027
cell 213-842-7625 fax 323-644-9387
brock@silverlakerealestate.com
