Million Dollar Listing - LOS ANGELES
- Thread starter Leelee
- Start date
One false move by any car going by, and yes there are stupid people who race up/down these Canyons in their fancy-schmancy Lambo's, Ferarri's, etc. -- BOOM, that car is in your living room! Another example .. and this one really cracks me up because the car is parked somewhat in their driveway and the other is on the SIDEWALK!!! What????
Also notice that "wall" behind the house; know what that is??? .. yup, CONCRETE! That's to protect the house from a mudslide and having any of the houses above it (since these are at 'ground level') fall on top of it .. but you know what? .. it doesn't help one bit and when that underground gets super wet with drenching rain, that concrete isn't going to protect sh!t!!!!!
Also notice that "wall" behind the house; know what that is??? .. yup, CONCRETE! That's to protect the house from a mudslide and having any of the houses above it (since these are at 'ground level') fall on top of it .. but you know what? .. it doesn't help one bit and when that underground gets super wet with drenching rain, that concrete isn't going to protect sh!t!!!!!
OMG, those houses are terrible. Looking at the person with the concrete wall behind him, it looks like he walks up steps past the concrete to get to his "backyard." And he has no front yard. I couldn't stay there one night, I'd be so nervous.
CeeJay your descriptions have been spot on. I'm from the Northeast, and I remember vividly going to the LA area, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, etc for the first time in the 1980s and looking up and around and being in shock how developers were permitted to build into the sides of those mountains, on top of each other, etc.. earthquakes alone could pummel the area.
CeeJay -- thank you, these are so interesting!
Since you mentioned greenery, or the lack of it -- I noticed when we get tours of the multi-million dollar homes, the grass is very green.
I realize the editors saturate the footage and so all the colours are very intense, but often times the grass looks like astro turf. Can it be?
Since you mentioned greenery, or the lack of it -- I noticed when we get tours of the multi-million dollar homes, the grass is very green.
I realize the editors saturate the footage and so all the colours are very intense, but often times the grass looks like astro turf. Can it be?
Maintenance free fake grass is a big thing. And can be $$$$$$
Well, it also depends on WHERE you live .. for instance, if you are in Beverly Hills or Bel Air, then chances are that you have a 'real' Gardner (not just those that just use those horrific leaf blowers!). As such, these folks have grounds that are very well tended and watered (regardless of the drought - remember when they fined Kim Kardashian for using too much water during the drought)?
But, yes .. there are also some who use astro-turf (we have a neighbor who has it); it never looks like real grass per se (looks more grey), but they don't have to cut it!
YUP!!! As I mentioned before, when you are driving up Beverly Glen, there is one spot (I'll try to take a photo) where you see at the BOTTOM of the Valley, the remains of a house foundation (concrete). These are the houses that are on stilts, where the majority of the house (at least 2/3 if not more) are on those stilts. One good Earthquake -OR- mudslide? .. and cheerio .. there goes the house. Look, I understand why houses are built up the cliff's/mountains in Malibu and other places oceanside; so that the folks can get those million-dollar views, but when you are in the midst of these Canyons? .. to build what? .. something that looks across the canyon? It's not pretty, so I can't say I get it ..
The town I live in (Chicago-land 'burb) has building ords up the butt--setbacks, how close to the lot line the garage can be, rules for sheds (oh, don't get me started on sheds), fence rules (my little 2-rail fence was 6 inches too tall but fortunately the cement had not set so a bunch of us lifted it up like the Hulk and sawed down the posts), shrubbery can't block sight lines at street corners, etc. I know that we have more land available, and it is all pretty flat, but safety is a big deal, why doesn't Cali with all their issues--wildfires, earthquakes, mudslides, etc.? The time will come some day and all hell is gonna happen, the Paradise fires scared the bejeesus out of us here, I was in tears watching the news.
Alas, land is such a premium out here that the builders (who many want to create these BIG houses) will utilize up as much of that property as possible. As I've said before, I HATE the Canyon roads because they are ridiculous with the houses being right next to the road, and in some cases, the owners will park their cars in driveways that are not even big enough for their cars (and as such, the stinkin' cars are sticking out in the road)!!! This is even the case when they have a garage; my feeling is 'WTF can't you park your car INSIDE your garage????). Having grown up in rural Connecticut, I just don't get it, but when I lived/worked in Boston, it made a little more sense but even then, you had a front yard (albeit not huge by any means) and a back yard. A lot of the Canyon properties have ZERO yard; so what happens if you have kids and want them to play outdoors? .. uh, NOPE .. not going to happen! About the only place that you actually see lawn per se, are the very wealthy parts of Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Bel Air. Even in West Hollywood, where some houses have a little bit of front yard (or back yard), those houses are built so close together that honestly, you really don't have a heck of a lot of privacy. You see, I'm in the Valley, which mind you .. not really a fan, but I have a good-sized front yard and my back-yard is downright LARGE for most LA properties (then again, I think it was because the architect for the entire village that we live in was the owner/builder of my house and as such, we got the biggest plot). Trust me, as much as I would love to move out of the Valley, I also realize that I'm getting a lot for my $$$ here in the Valley; do not understand why anyone would want to live in those Canyons (crap TV/radio reception too!)
Right??? .. same thing; there are parts of the PCH where the house is right up there on the road and sadly, due to a lot of coastal erosion, those houses don't have much (if any) "beach"/sand. A good friend of mine used to have a house on the PCH, and ended up selling it and moving to Topanga Canyon (probably the only Canyon I would consider) because she said that it got to the point where the ocean waves were right at the back of her house. She had to do a considerable amount (at least $1m) to prop up her house and put it on stilts before she could sell it. The PCH and Malibu have 2 descriptions in identifying the properties - "wet" (meaning that you are literally on top of the water and it can go under your home) or "dry" (which means that you have a beach/sand in your backyard).