When you see a house being resold in less than a year, it’s always wise to ponder why and then dig…. really DEEP!
Last year, there had been a bidding war. The winner was a dual coaster, first-time all cash buyer who purchased this unusual character home last December. It was to be his pied-de-terre while in LA and he had plans of using it as an AirB & B or filming location for the other times. But there were some real surprises during the torrential rains in the winter of 2023. Water intrusion, leaking roof, foundation issues, electrical upgrades needed. The poor new owner tried to deal with the many issues but it cost a lot of money and time. It  probably just got to be too much for this young, unaware buyer. Or maybe he decided LA wasn’t for him. He even went on social media proclaiming “what was I thinking of???”. So he decided to sell less than six months after purchasing the home. He did not use the previous listing agent nor his own buyer’s agent.

In this second round, again it was attractive to buyers who were emotionally attracted to the unique character of this Storybook home in the early 1900’s Craftsman style. The home had been conceived originally as an artist’s retreat. There are still original painted canvases on the walls. It truly is one-of-a-kind. All of those details made it eligible to be designated as a Mills Act home on the Registry of Historic Homes!

I represented the new buyer . He is also a first-time home buyer who likewise fell head-over-heels in love with this very unique and special property. But we had the advantage of hindsight. We were able to view all the inspections and reports from the original sale, see the repair records plus get our own experts to assess everything. Some repairs had not been completed properly. Others were still outstanding. The result was a hefty buyer credit . We also were able to review the actual Mills Act contract that went with this home to understand exactly what preservation obligations need to be adhered to.

Watch this video to see more including many of the details that qualified this home to be on the Register of Historic Homes and qualify for tax reduction under the Mills Act.