Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Home Shopping #3: Mediterranean Altadena

Karin, the Altadena Hiker, knows where all the good stuff is in her neighborhood. This Mediterranean Mansion looks suitable, doesn't it? When a home goes on the market these days it gets its own website. Take a look at this.

I love all the French doors, the archways, the dark wood. The back yard and patio are fab. I'm just going to mention that I could do without the murals. As for the kitchen, I haven't decided what to do with it yet. Maybe it needs a remodel or maybe there's just too much in there. It's different, I'll give you that. Otherwise, this house is ready for me to move in.

Ah. Then again, there's that staff I mentioned the other day. I'll have to have at least a cleaning lady (or I'd be happy with a cleaning man), a gardener, a cook and a masseuse to keep this place in order.

27 comments:

Pat said...

Yes, it's beautiful, but the upkeep. I am downsizing, downsizing.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if that man and his dog are looking or looking to buy. We have the same real estate problem here in our tiny town. Lots of homes have been foreclosed on.

The video was a kind of bonus. Nice post.

Brookville Daily Photo

T Thompson said...

I like the 50's / Med combo in the architecture. No so much the murals or the tile work in the stair well... The rest if the house seems to have a heavy early 20th cent feel to it (1920's, 30's) and then there's this weak attempt to be festive in on the stairs... o_O

Maybe furnishing help? Too bad it wasn't staged for some of those shots.

Susan C said...

I think I know that "man and his dog."

Susan C said...

The description says the home has a "three card" garage. That would be nice. I got three cards for Valentine's Day and have no place to store them.

It's a shame about those murals. The owner must have commissioned them at the same time they remodeled that kitchen.

Petrea Burchard said...

Woops. Karin, it must be the hat.

I like the empty rooms. It leaves the house open to my imaginings. And now that I'm learning a thing or two about photography I appreciate that their photographer did a very good job.

Murals. I suppose they figure a new owner's going to paint the walls. Or could they be a selling point? To each his own.

Margaret said...

Yes. Let's lose the murals. But let's keep the tile on the stairs and the lovely wood features throughout. Now where is my checkbook?

Katie said...

Wow, what fun to take this house tour (especially since there are not homes like this in Montana). I like the tiles on the stairs, and I love the funky old bathrooms. I can see having lots of fun parties here, both indoors and out. But oh my goodness that kitchen is just awful. Gut the entire thing and start over. And I agree that the murals are sweet, but they must go. Hard to put up other art work with those murals on the wall. I wonder how long it will take for it to sell.

Laurie Allee said...

We bought our current house and sold our old one last year. I love the way that houses have their own websites. And yes, getting good pictures for it can be daunting. I ended up nixing most of the shots the realtor's photographer got for our old place and took the pictures, myself. (He wasn't getting the charm of the place.)

I'm in love with those old bathrooms in this house. And that kitchen!? I want to shoot a movie in that old kitchen. What a time capsule.

Maria said...

i love the floors and french doors. the murals would have to go and bright and bold colors would be coming in. i live in a petite maison so more room would be soooo welcomed - i could just see my son sliding down that banister.

Anonymous said...

reminds me a lot of a lot of the houses in Pasadena or Altadena built in the 20's (ish). I swear part of that kitchen came out of my great-grandmother's place in Linda Vista. The murals need to stay---they are part of the history---not my style, but then again, you don't see me lining up to buy the place.

Staff---lol. We have a joke going with a friend. If we win the Lotto, we'll get her a cabana boy--she doesn't want anything else.

I've got a couple of "Cards" to store too---can I send them over at least until the house is sold?

pasadenapio said...

Wow. What a property! I love everything except the mural near the staircase. Reminds me of 1980s Miami Beach.

Virginia said...

Yep, the murals and the kitchen gotta go. A paint job and then you're all set. I love to look at houses on line. I had this fab idea that I was going to go in the business of photographing them for realtors. One prob.... I tried it just as the market came to screeching halt here. I"m always a day late and a dollar short!

Christie said...

That's the only staff you'd need? I would agree with the massage therapist. Life is easier to manage when you have had a massage.

pasadenapio said...

Petrea, I meant to tell you that I updated my blog post about upcoming events with a link to the news release with details about the Black History Parade.

Vanda said...

I don't mind the murals, but some of the wallpaper is a bit dated. I like the painting in the kitchen. That one pink bathroom is so... pink. I love the court yard and the garden and that big old tree.

Cafe Pasadena said...

Yep, home prices must really be coming down!

This must be KB's 2nd home bcuz it doesn't look as grand as her main house.

Desiree said...

I have to say, for the price, it's amazing. I've always wanted tile risers on my stairway.
But the furniture, the furniture--
on the other hand, I think it's down the street from where John C Reilly lives

Desiree said...

(I mean, I'd never be able to afford the furniture)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful home, but is crying out to be staged.

In any case, it was priced so well at $359 per sq. ft. that an offer was accepted pretty quickly and it is now in escrow.

Great buy for a lucky buyer since recent closed sales are running close to $440/sq.ft!

BTW, the doggie is every realtor's nightmare at an open house - even though we love 'em. :-)

Petrea Burchard said...

Hi everyone, thanks for coming by.

Trish, I don't think those murals are original. They don't look "of the period" to me, more like something from the eighties or nineties. I think it's okay for us to get rid of them.

Ann, thanks for the info.

Irina, the inside poop! We weren't there very long ago. I don't know how long the place has been on the market, but it seems it might have been a quick sale. You've given us a bit of good economic news.

Houses selling for $440/square foot seems high though. Even in 2005, we didn't pay that much. Yowza.

Seriously, do people bring dogs to open houses? Do tell.

Anonymous said...

Hey Petrea,

yes... once in awhile someone will bring their lovely pooch to an open house. I, start playing with them because 1) I love dogs 2) I can't have them walk around the home. Some sellers will freak if they learn a dog was there. I try to keep them in one spot - preferably outside. That's what I get paid the big bucks for. :-)

As far as price per sq. ft. $440 is based on a 1/4 mile radius of this home which for the most part is an estate area.

Altadena, overall, the good and the "wanting" is running at $310/sq.ft. As you can see - quite a difference location makes.

Petrea Burchard said...

Thanks, Irina. Interesting pricing info for Altadena. Yep, it's all location, as J. and I discovered with our first house. You can fix up the house all you want, but you can't fix the location!

I'd never bring a dog to an open house, not inside. Maybe one of those purse dogs.

Anonymous said...

awesome blog, do you have twitter or facebook? i will bookmark this page thanks. lina holzbauer

Petrea Burchard said...

Hi Lina, thank you. I have both, just click on the Facebook icon on the lower left of the page. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I cant find a link where i can subscribe to this blog, webmaster how can i follow your blog?

Teddy Tschicke

Petrea Burchard said...

Hi Teddy, thanks for asking. It looks like I've lost my RSS feeder, which is usually a blue box in the address bar. I'm checking out Blogger issues to see if I can get it fixed. In the meantime you might try "Join This Site," on the left side of the main page. Scroll down a bit and you'll see it, with all the individual icons.

Thanks for asking.