Live Elevated in Golden Hills
Golden Hills is the small slice of North Redondo Beach bordering Hermosa Beach to the West and Manhattan Beach to the North. I love the name of this neighborhood because it is actually telling of the experience of the area; sunsets glisten in so many different angles due to the rolling hills of the land.
Golden Hills is a distinctive area for many reasons; predominately single family homes built in the 1960s, tightly situated sometimes with virtual inches between the homes due to smaller lot sizes, and commonly possessing reverse floorplans, meaning the living spaces were built on the second floor to maximize views and light, with bedrooms downstairs, along with any access to a yard or patio often through a bedroom. Every block (and home) even on same street has different attributes that cannot be assumed. Some blocks have driveways woven one after another with absolutely no street parking available; others are so narrow you cannot even park blocking your driveway. Some driveways are so short and narrow they only fit one car. Some homes have only 1 car garage that may fit a golf cart and other homes have been completely scraped for new construction with substantial 2 car garages.
When I first visited my clients' home at 1723 Axenty Way, I immediately was reminded of the power of experiencing a home from the inside compared to the flimsy judgements one may make driving by (tisk-tisk, Liz!). Axenty Way spans 1 block only, is a one way street forcing exit to an eastbound direction and is the last street on the northeast corner of Golden Hills (furthest from the ocean). The drive-by analysis is best summed up by noting the street sits directly above a very busy intersection, a large commercial mall, and apartment complex however possessing easy parking along the entirety of the opposite side of the street.
Inside the home, the experience was pure delight; tranquil, light-filled, and surprisingly private. Location-wise, the benefit to having homes only on the West side of the street were numerous; glowing sunsets are enjoyed over the Santa Monica Mountains, there is virtually no traffic other than residents due to the inefficiency of the cut-through, and did I mention plentiful parking at any hour? Of significant importance in my opinion, the home lacked the 'Fishbowl Effect' of so many Golden Hills homes, where you have other homes looking directly down on/into your home from seemingly every direction, 360 degrees around your property.
My clients' extensive remodel of the kitchen, tasteful updating of the overall home's aesthetic (baseboards, trim, lighting, hardwood floors, woven shades), quality improvements (replacing all windows, doors, knobs, every inch of paint, decking, railings, tankless water heater and water filter ) and eye for interior design only improved the great open floor plan of the overall living space. Once you stepped up to the glass-paned dutch door, it was easy to see why this home was scooped up by delighted buyers immediately after hitting market twice (we did fall out of escrow with the first buyer).
Taking the timing of coming to market into consideration just before Halloween (viewed as the tail end of the fall selling season), my clients' strategy was to price at desired close price rather than risk under-pricing to elicit a bidding war, with fewer Buyers theoretically in the market at this time. Their offering price of $939,000 was slightly exceeded, closing for $940,000 in seven days on market with a tight escrow period of 23 days along with a rent-back period they desired. See the complete listing at 1723AxentyWay.com.
