Los Angeles Real Estate Report

Lightly edited for clarity. This is the verbatim recording John Barrentine and Chuck Marquardt made on site — the article above is written from it.

John Barrentine: I'm here at 851 North San Vicente Boulevard number 304 at the beautiful Desmond Condo Complex in the heart of West Hollywood. And I can't tell you how extraordinary this kind of unit is, how rare it is to be able to find one and then to land in the most walkable, the center of the most walkable city in the state, West Hollywood. It's brilliant. So just a little bit about the actual unit. It's over a thousand square feet. Every square inch has been used to its best purpose. It has two primary bedrooms. So each bedroom has an en suite, one slightly larger. So sure, you could call that the primary, but it doesn't really matter. It's excellent for a roommate situation or for an office situation. It has two terraces that will knock your socks off. They're sizable. You can get an entire dining room set on each one of the terraces or an entire living room set out on each of the terraces, however you want to use it. I know somebody who uses theirs for a painting studio. They do all of their paint painting out on the terrace. It's wonderful. It's been nicely appointed, beautifully maintained, and it's such a gem right here in the heart of West Hollywood. Let's talk about West Hollywood. West Hollywood has been declared for 10 years running the most walkable city in the state of California. It gets a score of 91 out of 100 as far as walkability goes. That means that you have grocery stores, restaurants, drug stores, pet shops, anything you really need within a few blocks of where you're living. It's extraordinary. Of course, there's amazing metro transport as well. You can get downtown, you can get to Santa Monica, you can get to Beverly Hills, you can get to Century City, all through public transit. So you don't have to own a car. If you want to live here at the Desmond, you can simply go out. When you do need to get outside of West Hollywood, you just take a bus or get a bus to a rail and rail to wherever you want to go. It's awesome. It's hard to talk about how incredible that feeling is of not needing to go outside your immediate area for all of your basic needs. Whether you like night clubbing, which can be done on Santa Monica Boulevard or up on Sunset, or if you want comedy club, or if you want high-end luxury shopping, or if you want small mom-and-pop shops, they're all right here. And let's talk about the restaurants. I love the restaurants in West Hollywood. Whether you want to go for traditional Russian food at Tractor, or if you want to go to something more glamorous like La Boheme, it's super easy to find a restaurant that you're going to love, whether it's Thai or Vietnamese or Italian. Ciccone's, walk over to Ciccone's if you want great Italian. It's a delight to be someplace where all of this is just a few steps away from your front door. We love this location and we think you probably will too. So what is it really like to live in a condo in West Hollywood? Well, West Hollywood really knows how to create a space that's highly livable in only a week. So if you want to build a house, it's a little bit over a thousand square feet, which is a lot more than you might think if you're using it wisely. So in this case, we have a very large great room that's separate from the kitchen, a full-on kitchen that's very usable and very cookable. They know that you need to put a roommate situation scenario in play. And so we have two bedrooms that each have an ensuite and that's a glorious thing. They know that it needs to be light filled and spacious with high ceilings and a feeling of volume. Even if you don't have a large amount of square footage, it feels like you're living in that. And that's what West Hollywood has really perfected in their condos and townhouses. Now, this is a townhouse. It's two stories. There's nobody above anybody in this particular unit. And that's a godsend. It also has laundry in unit, which means you don't have to worry about getting a laundry service or going to a laundromat. It's right here. The convenience is exceptional. One of the things that West Hollywood also understands is safety and security. And this complex, when it was built in 2002, made sure that it has plenty of underground parking, that it's safe and secure. It's hard to get into this complex unless you are someone who's supposed to be in this complex. The security is outstanding. When the Desmond was built, they put so much thought into who was going to be living here. And one of the things that we know is that people who are coming to West Hollywood are probably going out a lot. They're enjoying being outside. And so we have these two incredible terraces that are allowing you to live indoor-outdoor, which is a spectacular way to live in California. But you know, when you want to entertain, this is available. These terraces are perfect for an after-dinner cocktail. They're perfect for brunches. They're perfect for having people over and not feeling confined. One of the things I love about condo living, and one of the things that attracts people to condos as beautiful as this one is the lock and leave ability. That means that you're able to live here when you need to live here. And then if you need to travel for one or two weeks or one or two months or for a half a year, you can leave. Someone else is taking care of the landscaping. Nothing is going to happen to the interior of this unit. It's safe. It's secure. You could leave and feel great about it. You can come back and have everything exactly where you left it, and you don't have to worry about the maintenance of the building itself. It's an awesome experience for somebody who needs a pied-à-terre here in West Hollywood, but they might live someplace else the part of the year. It's awesome.

Chuck Marquardt: So I'm Chuck Marquardt. I work with the Barrentine Group at Keller Williams, and I've been selling condos in West Hollywood for almost 15 years. And so I have a really great knowledge of what are the different kinds of condos that are available? What are the different price levels available? What do you get at different price levels? What are some of the things that you need to look out for, especially in the age of balcony studies and higher insurance rates? And what's going on with reserve studies? And do the condo complexes have the reserves that they need for you to be able to get a loan? Are you able to lease out your unit or not? And all of the things that go with the idea of leasing out a unit. It's important that you choose an agent that knows the right questions to ask so that you get the answers that you need so you can make a choice for yourself. I'm not here to tell you what you need and what you don't need, but it is my responsibility to ask the questions to make sure you get what you think you're getting and hopefully more. So what is the difference between purchasing a condo in West Hollywood or purchasing a condo in Beverly Hills? Well, the main answer is one value, but the second answer is walkability and livability. The ability to be here in the heart of the most walkable city in the state and being able to go where you need to go and get what you need to get done, whether it's doctors or pharmacies or groceries or pet supplies or whatever you need, it's all right here within a few blocks.