LA Land Diary: Westside Story

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Blogger’s Note: Thanks for all of your ideas and pitches for new LA Land Diaries. We’re introducing one today: Westside Story, in which a family of six humans and four cats tries to find a house within reasonable commuting distance of two secure jobs. Enjoy:

‘Someone wanted to know what kind of buyers pay $1 million for a lousy post-war box on a postage stamp... well that would be us. While we both understand that we could live in Olathe, Kansas or somewhere off of U.S. 1 for less than a quarter of what we pay here, our jobs, families and friends are located in Los Angeles and here is where we are staying until our jobs move elsewhere. We both purchased homes we loved in our single years and now that we are married with kids, those homes in lousy school districts and ‘transitional’ neighborhoods with no parking and endless parties are not exactly the place for us.

‘So my house (pictured) is currently in escrow for what feels like the 170th day for $50,000 less than asking price and the ten of us -- myself, my husband, three children, one exchange student and four cats -- are crammed into one of those 3 bedroom 1 bath post-war boxes in Culver City that everyone seems to love.

‘We are seeking a home within a 30 minute commute of Santa Monica and Larchmont Village with decent schools, close proximity to a park, at least 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths and most importantly a grassy backyard with room for the enormous swingset/playhouse that was a gift from the kids grandparents. Price must be less than $1.5 million. Far less.

‘We have looked at houses in and around Larchmont, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Culver City, Brentwood, Bel Air, Westwood and a few dozen other places. We use a discount agency and research the bejeebus out of houses before we even visit. We’ve made an offer on exactly ONE. We were outbid by nearly $600,000 by a flipper who currently has ‘our’ house listed for nearly double what we offered. It’s been listed nearly 45 days now, so at some point we will find out which of us had a better idea of the value.’

Thanks, Westside.
Your thoughts? Comments? Be polite. Email story tips to lalandblog@yahoo.com. We’re still interested in Diary ideas, particularly from people who work in the real estate industry.