The 5 Most Popular LA Neighborhoods

From celebrity sightings to basking on beaches in November, Los Angeles living provides year-round outdoor fun. However, Los Angeles residents enjoy more than just warm weather – their city is home to some of the most upscale neighborhoods in the country.

While it may sound like a great idea, moving to LA can be an intimidating, expensive transition for non-natives. The LA metro area encompasses multiple districts, each with individual benefits and drawbacks. Interested in becoming a SoCal transplant? Consider these five top neighborhoods.

 

Beverly Hills

It’s no surprise Beverly Hills real estate is consistently among the best in the United States. The median home value is a steep $2.58 million, which stretches far beyond most house hunters’ budgets. Correspondingly, the median household income is $70,945, which is a far cry from the $44,512 national median. Aside from the rich and famous, most residents here fall into one of three categories: urban dwellers from foreign countries, educated professionals with high incomes and college graduates with high expenses. The cost of living in Beverly Hills is extremely high, making it an impractical choice for many – except those who are heir to a corporate fortune or relatives of entertainment industry royalty.

Highland Park

Often referred to as the West coast’s Brooklyn, Highland Park is home to a diverse mix of urban families and wealthy singles. Highland Park dwellers make about $34,791 per year. Highland Park homes have consistent increasing values, rendering it a smart neighborhood for home purchases. The median home value in Highland Park is $518,900, which is a 19.2 percent increase from 2013. Highland Park features upscale shopping and dining, as well as access to the Gold Line for a no-hassle commute to downtown.

 

 

Los Feliz

A bit more on the expensive side than some other LA districts, Los Feliz’s median home value is $1.09 million. Los Feliz home values have increased 8.8 percent over the last year, and Zillow projects a 4.1 percent increase by March of 2015. Compared to Los Angeles homes for sale, which have a median list price of $540,000, Los Feliz homes for sale are listed for about $1.33 million. The majority of residents are in their 30s without children. In fact, 82.9 percent of the homeowners in the region do not have children, so consider other neighborhoods when searching for family-oriented atmospheres. The median household income in Los Feliz surpasses the national median at $46,113. Most residents here enjoy post-graduate educations, mid-management professions and higher incomes.

 

Silver Lake

Silver Lake is most well-known for its eclectic culture and unique residents, thanks to Forbes’ “Best Hipster Neighborhood” designation two years ago. In addition to an abundance of coffee shops and artsy occupations, Silver Lake has some of the best food carts and locally-owned bars in the city. Silver Lake’s median home value is $800,600. The 15 percent increase in home values since last year indicates a strong, ascending housing market and great investing opportunities. The typical income in Silver Lake falls around $44,949, which is slightly higher than the national median. Most residents here are urban, young professional singles with mid-range incomes. Silver Lake’s living expenses are less than other areas, yet the neighborhood is still considered upscale.

 

West Hollywood

Also known as WeHo, this neighborhood is Beverly Hills’ more frugal and trendy younger sister. West Hollywood real estate features a median home value of $640,700, which is an 18.3 percent increase year-over-year. Most WeHo residents are big-spending young professionals and urban singles with a median income of $38,914. The majority (52.9 percent) of residents here are not married, so families might consider more kid-friendly locales. Like all city neighborhoods, there are good and bad areas, so make sure to research specific apartment buildings and sub-neighborhoods before blindly relocating.

Although these neighborhoods differ in their economic makeup, they are all fantastic options for future LA residents. The most important aspect of searching for homes in any city is ensuring that surrounding areas fit individual needs. Investigate parks, schools, nightlife and commute times to determine the best neighborhoods.

Escrow, step by step.

The first step in the home buying process is for you to get approved for a home loan.

 

After finding a property that interests you, I will show you the comps (comparable sales) to help us determine the value of the property. The best comps are in the same building (if a condo/townhome) or in the surrounding area (if a single family home or income property).

 

 

Appraisers are generally required to focus on the past 6 months when reviewing area sales so I try to do the same when verifying the property’s value.

 

At this point we are ready to make our offer, which will consist of 4 separate items:

1. The offer contract itself. It is written on a standard California Association of Realtor’s contract, which I complete and then review with you either in person or over the phone. I offer my clients the option of signing electronically, which can save a lot of time and paperwork hassles.

2. A pre-approval letter from your lender (let me know if you would like me to e-mail you contact information for the local lender that my clients most highly recommend).
3. Verification of funds (copies of bank and/or investment statements showing liquid funds to cover the down payment and closing costs).

4. Buyer’s intro letter. This explains who you are, what you do and what you like about the property. I usually write about 95% of this letter for you and then e-mail it to you for final editing and approval.

The offer is presented to the sellers and we wait for their response. Often times they may not sign off on our offer initially but instead write a counter offer which addresses items in the contract that they would like changed (price is the item that is countered most often). It may take several counter offers before the price and terms are agreeable to both parties.

After the offer is accepted, escrow is opened. Escrow is a neutral 3rd party and their job is to make sure all obligations of the contract are fulfilled before the seller gets their money and the buyer gets keys to the property. The most standard escrow length is 30-45 days.

 

I will send a copy of the completed contract to the lender and you will need to promptly provide them with any additional information and/or paperwork that they require. The lender takes care of scheduling the appraisal.

You will schedule the physical inspection with an inspector of your choice. I can give you a list of inspectors that my clients have been very happy with. The physical inspector checks all the major systems in the property (plumbing, electrical, heating, etc) and also looks for cosmetic damage and problems (sloping floors, doors that stick, cracks in walls/ceilings, etc). For a condo/townhome inspection, the inspector only inspects the unit and not the common areas (building, hallways, pool, etc) but if you are purchasing a home the inspection will also check out the exterior (roof, foundation, garage, etc.). I recommend that my clients always get a mold inspection done and if the property has a fireplace then you should also have that inspected. Whenever purchasing a single-family home it is very important to have a sewer inspection. Geotechnical inspections are especially important if you are buying a home in a hillside area. You can also schedule additional specialty inspections if you would like. After reviewing all inspection reports we will usually complete a Request for Repairs form (asking for a credit and/or repairs)… depending on what was found in the inspections.

You will also need to call an insurance company to verify that the property is insurable and get quotes for the cost of insuring the property. For a condo/townhome you are generally just insuring your personal contents (the building is almost always insured by the Homeowners Association).

The other inspections that take place during escrow include the termite inspection, which is usually paid for by the seller. A retrofitting inspection will also take place to make sure the property is up to code with smoke detectors/carbon menoxide detectors, water heater strapping and the gas shut-off valve (retrofitting requirements vary from city to city).

If the property you are purchasing is a condo/townhome, you will receive copies of all the homeowner’s documents to review. You generally have 5 days to review this paperwork which includes: copies of the meeting minutes for the past year, budget and financial information (including the amount currently in the HOA reserves) and a copy of the CC&R’s (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions).

Loan docs are usually signed as early as a week prior to closing.

Five days or less prior to closing we do a walk-thru of the property. This gives us a chance to verify that any seller repairs were completed and we also make sure the property is in the same condition as is was when we initially wrote our offer.

Two days prior to closing you wire any additional down payment & closing costs to escrow. The loan proceeds are wired to escrow one or two days prior to closing.

On closing day we wait to hear from the title company that you are listed on the county records as the new owner and then you get keys to your new home.

 

 

 

 

LA City Councilmembers Want Blue Line Extension to San Pedro

Despite being home to the United States' busiest container port, the waterfront community of San Pedro has long been isolated from Los Angeles County's Metro Rail network. 

Two members of the LA City Council are trying to change that.  Yesterday, Councilmemembers Tom LaBonge (4th District) and Jose Buscaino (15th District) introduced a motion which requests that Metro report on the feasibility of a new light rail line connecting the Wilmington/San Pedro area to the Blue Line.  Known as the Harbor Line, the expansion concept has existed for well over two decades, appearing in several past visions of the Metro Rail system.  Although there are no immediate plans or funding available to construct the Harbor Line, the project could be incorporated into a future transportation ballot measure.  Notably, the light rail line was included in transit advocacy group MoveLA's "strawman," proposal for Measure R2.  In MoveLA's tentative plan, the Harbor Line would function as an extension of the Green and Crenshaw Lines, running south towards Wilmington before turning east to meet the Blue Line in Long Beach. 


 

Over the past several years, LaBonge has become a champion for long forgotten passenger rail

projects in different regions of Los Angeles County.  Last summer, the 4th District Councilmember authored a motion which pushes for the conversion of the San Fernando Valley's Orange Line busway to light rail.  While serving as an alternate on the Metro Board in 2010, he proposed an extension of the Red and Purple Lines east from Union Station, using existing tracks near the LA River.  That particular initiative is inching closer to realty, as Metro is now evaluating the possibility of adding one or two Arts District stations.