Hello Everyone,

For those of you working on rebuilding, the county has so

me pre-approved plans ready to go online! Right now there are only 3 that are up & running and 2 of them have a craftsman look that’s quite appealing. All three are 1259 sq.ft and they do a good job of creating 3bd & 2ba in a small space. Personally I wish the floor plans were more open to the backyard, but they are small so compromises have to be made. Anyway, here’s the link to keep an eye on the plans as they get approved by the county.

Now, every Thursday I can always find enough homes to keep me running from place to place for 3 hours. The question is if there is anything I see that I want to share with you all. This week there was very little that inspired me, so there are actually only 2 that I saw that I liked enough to write about and the rest are ones that have recently hit the market that look interesting!

1036 S Madison Ave. Pasadena

$4,998,000 5bd & 5.5ba 4,174 sq.ft 10,576 lot

Open Saturday & Sunday, 2-4 pm

This is the other house I saw that made my list! I remember Jerry when he hit the scene in 2013 when the market was turning around from the crash.. He was the first investor to come into our area and bring in a team of designers and stagers to create a very polished high-end flip! Before that in the 2004-2008 flipping market, flippers pretty much just ran to home depot and picked whatever was on the shelf for their flips! His model worked then and he’s only gotten better over the years! This home was beautifully redone and I love how he added architectural elements like the unique box beamed ceiling in the living room and the fanciful molding detail on the dining room ceiling! It has a wonderful flow and the yard is a lovely space. The only thing is that the darling “she shed” in the back was the one car garage and there isn’t a good garage that most people would expect in this price range.

1987 Windover Rd. Pasadena

$2,295,000 3bd & 2ba 2,632 sq.ft 32,780 lot

Open Saturday 1-4 pm

There were 2 houses in Kinneloa Canyon yesterday and I only had time to see one of them so I went to Brambling Lane and I think I should have gone to this one instead! The living room is so dramatic with the beamed ceiling, glass walls on one side and painted brick walls in other spots! It’s so funny….now that I’ve seen so many amazingly creative designer finishes I’m getting jaded. These finishes are very nice but a bit boring. Still it’s a beautiful looking house on a sprawling ¾ acre lot and worth going out of your way to visit!

The part of Oak east of Marengo is the more desired part of Oak, but again this is a nice looking Spanish in South Pasadena so it will not go unnoticed! I love the Batchelder fireplace and all the long windows in the living room that let in all that natural light! It looks like they painted and refinished the floors before coming on the market, but it looks pretty original so it probably needs all the guts done as well as the cosmetic upgrades. Still South Pas….so if you can afford it….you better take a peek!

South Pasadena is always so popular and even though there has been a lot of activity these past few months, the homes in the flats are selling quickly. This is a decent sized home on a decent sized lot so I’m sure it will have no problem selling! I’m sure that in person this home doesn’t feel as cluttered as they are in the pictures. This is another reason you should use a stager even if only to help you stage your own stuff! Because even if it doesn’t look cluttered in person …..it will look cluttered in the pictures! I’m going to check this one out on Sunday…..maybe I’ll see you there!

Give me land lots of land! This sprawling ranch sits on ¾ of an acre! The home was built in 1988 and I appreciate that the owners spent money on adding architectural interest with brick fireplaces, wood trim on the windows….siding on the outside and wood beams on the inside. Of course it was the 80’s so there’s a lot of oak cabinetry, but as long as your ok with the layout I would work with it rather than replacing it. You know like change out the doors because the molding style is dated, but then stain or paint the cabinets to create that fresh modern feel. But to get this much house and this much land and a guest house under $2,000,000 is certainly not to be ignored.

Now this house I did see yesterday and liked enough to put it on my list! You can tell it’s a flip, but I like that they didn’t dive right into asking for $1000/sq.ft. It seems very reasonably priced for the size and all of the upgrades! I like how they used wood cabinetry to add some warmth to the remodel and that they used engineered flooring rather than luxury vinyl! They also spent some money. This one just hit the market and you can see how much work it needs just browsing through the pictures. I can tell that it has an addition and it looks like it comes off the kitchen….so that should be good for a nice family room. Have to see it in person though to see how everything flows together. Still very cheap for bungalow heaven so I’m sure it will get a lot of attention!

I remember this house from a while back and I liked it back then! The house was originally a 2bd & 1ba layout, but someone added on a family room and then a primary suite off of that space. I liked the overall flow with the kitchen opening up to the family room and then out to the yard and that darling “she shed” in the back was a great bonus! Now that it looks like they updated the kitchen and baths and built that lovely pool…..I like it more!