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Newly Constructed Green Home in Studio City

If you think that going “green” means you have to skimp on luxury, think again. Dan Elias of the Studio City office is listing a new construction green home in the coveted Colfax Meadows section of Studio City. Owners plan to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the house.

The 3,561 square foot, 5 bedroom and 4-5 bath Hamptons Style traditional home was designed and built by HK Design & Development. It has an open center hall floor plan. The sustainable architecture, natural building and ecology also create a cost efficient and energy saving Green Home.
Here’s a break down of some of the house’s environmentally sustainable elements:
  • Over 90% of the original home was recycled during demolition
  • The landscaping is drought tolerant and equipped with a rain sensor drip irrigation system
  •  Energy and water efficiency systems
  • Crawl-space ventilation and raised Foundation with fly ash reinforced cement
  • Environmental and health safe materials
  • High efficiency HVAC and filter systems with balanced returns for maximum circulation
  • Dual-paned argon sealed windows
  • Premium seal insulation wraps the home within a double drywall exterior
  • FSC certified renewable materials
  • Bora Care termite treating
  • Energy Star lighting and appliances throughout
The house has hillside views that create an expansive and inviting feel. The backyard provides space for entertaining and poolside relaxation. The home also is coaxile and CAT5-E Centralized System wired & network ready. The property’s web site is http://11610chiquita.com/. List price is $1,925,000 million.
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Esperanza Butler Earns GRI Designation

Congratulations to Esperanza Butler of Rodeo Realty’s Woodland Hills office! She recently earned the California Association of REALTORS® nationally recognized Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI) designation.
The designation is one of the most recognized in the real estate industry, acccording to the California Association of REALTORS®. It is a 92-hour program that provides the tools and knowledge real estate professionals need to meet the 21st century.
The GRI program includes live lectures in the following areas: 64 hours of coursework related to Consumer Protection: 8 hours related to Consumer Service; and 20 hours of DRE mandated Agency, Ethics, Trust Fund, Fair Housing, and Risk Management credits.

Butler said she is a firm beleiver in providing a high level of customer service. Obtaining the GRI designation is symbolic of her commitment to clients and maintaining high professional standards. Butler can be reached at (818) 999-2030 or by email at esperanza@esperanzabutler.com.

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Mulholland Drive Home Once Owned By Ozzie and Harriet Nelson

Melissa Zee and Cathey Painter of Rodeo Realty’s Beverly Hills office recently closed on the sale of a property on iconic Mulholland Drive.

The 1,344 square foot, three bedroom, two bath home was built in 1954. The niece of one of the prior owners said it was once owned by actors Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.
Zee and Painter sold the house afer only one week on the market!
In fact the seller was so happy with the transaction that he gave Zee and Painter a 6 percent commission, even though they only worked as listing agents.
Zee focusses on residential real estate in the Hollywood Hills and surrounding areas. She is also a short sale specialist. She recently teamed with Painter to cover L.A.’s Westside. Both are especially knowledgeable of the Nichols Canyon area, because that’s the place they call home.
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Scott Baio and Siblings List Parent's Home in Toluca Lake

Actor, director and producer Scott Baio, brother Steven, and sister Stephanie, have placed their parent’s Toluca Lake, Calif. home on the market for $4,995,000. Scott Baio is well- known for his role as Chachi Arcola on Happy Days and for the title character on the 1980s sitcom Charles in Charge.
More recently, he played the lawyer Bob Loblaw on the Emmy Award winning comedy series Arrested Development. He also had two reality shows on VH1, “Scott Baio is 45…and Single,” and “Scott Baio is 46…and Pregnant.” Steven Baio acted on Happy Days
and has acted in or produced a number of other movies and programs
since. Stephanie is not in the entertainment business.
The 11,000 square foot house has 7 bedrooms, 8 baths, a 26,000 square foot gated lot, guest house, and total privacy in the back yard. It’s located close to Lakeside Golf Club, Universal, Warner Brothers and Disney. The late Mario Baio, father of the three siblings, originally purchased the home in the early 1990s. But the house is too large for just their mother to live there anymore, according to the family.
The interior includes expansive living, dining, media/game and billiards rooms. The kitchen has a center island, granite counter tops, and Subzero and Gagganeu appliances. The downstairs master has a sitting room, fireplace, separate gym, office and ornate bath. And the three other downstairs suites can work as additional masters.
The private backyard includes lawns, mature trees, pool and a complete guest house. The home has a 10 car garage and circular motor court. The home also has an additional 1,500 square feet of interior space that could be used for a wine cellar or studio. Lisa and Scott Sorrentino of Rodeo Realty are listing the property. The property web site is http://www.4333forman.com/
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Scott Baio and Siblings List Parent's Toluca Lake Home

Actor, director and producer Scott Baio, brother Steven, and sister Stephanie, have placed their parent’s Toluca Lake home on the market for $4,995,000. Scott Baio is well- known for his role as Chachi Arcola on Happy Days and for the title character on the 1980s sitcom Charles in Charge.

More recently, he played the lawyer Bob Loblaw on the Emmy Award winning comedy series Arrested Development. He also had two reality shows on VH1, “Scott Baio is 45…and Single,” and “Scott Baio is 46…and Pregnant.” Steven Baio acted on Happy Days and has acted in or produced a number of other movies and programs since. Stephanie is not in the entertainment business.

The 11,000 square foot house has 7 bedrooms, 8 baths, a 26,000 square foot gated lot, guest house, and total privacy in the back yard. It’s located close to Lakeside Golf Club, Universal, Warner Brothers and Disney. The late Mario Baio, father of the three siblings, originally purchased the home in the early 1990s. But the house is too large for just their mother to live there anymore, according to the family.

The interior includes expansive living, dining, media/game and billiards rooms. The kitchen has a center island, granite counter tops, and Subzero and Gagganeu appliances. The downstairs master has a sitting room, fireplace, separate gym, office and ornate bath. And the three other downstairs suites can work as additional masters.

The private backyard includes lawns, mature trees, pool and a complete guest house. The home has a 10 car garage and circular motor court. The home also has an additional 1,500 square feet of interior space that could be used for a wine cellar or studio. Scott and Lisa Sorrentino of Rodeo Realty are listing the property. The property web site is www.4333forman.com

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Scott Baio and Siblings List Parent's Home in Toluca Lake

Actor, director and producer Scott Baio, brother Steven, and sister Stephanie, have placed their parent’s Toluca Lake home on the market for $4,995,000. Scott Baio is well- known for his role as Chachi Arcola on Happy Days and for the title character on the 1980s sitcom Charles in Charge.

More recently, he played the lawyer Bob Loblaw on the Emmy Award winning comedy series Arrested Development. He also had two reality shows on VH1, “Scott Baio is 45…and Single,” and “Scott Baio is 46…and Pregnant.” Steven Baio acted on Happy Days and has acted in or produced a number of other movies and programs since. Stephanie is not in the entertainment business.
The 11,000 square foot house has 7 bedrooms, 8 baths, a 26,000 square foot gated lot, guest house, and total privacy in the back yard. It’s located close to Lakeside Golf Club, Universal, Warner Brothers and Disney. The late Mario Baio, father of the three siblings, originally purchased the home in the early 1990s. But the house is too large for just their mother to live there anymore, according to the family.
The interior includes expansive living, dining, media/game and billiards rooms. The kitchen has a center island, granite counter tops, and Subzero and Gagganeu appliances. The downstairs master has a sitting room, fireplace, separate gym, office and ornate bath. And the three other downstairs suites can work as additional masters.
The private backyard includes lawns, mature trees, pool and a complete guest house. The home has a 10 car garage and circular motor court. The home also has an additional 1,500 square feet of interior space that could be used for a wine cellar or studio. Scott and Lisa Sorrentino of Rodeo Realty are listing the property. The property web site is www.4333forman.com
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Time to Start Preparing for the Annual Walk of Ages

The Los Angeles Jewish Home’s annual Walk of Ages takes place this year on Sunday December 5, 2010 at the Jewish Home’s Eisenberg Village Campus in Reseda. Friends, family , co-workers, neighbors and even dogs are encouraged to participate.

This is one of the largest charitable walks in the San Fernando Valley, and Rodeo Realty is one of the event sponsors. Proceeds support the Jewish Home’s efforts to provide compassionate care to seniors.
Registration begins at 7 a.m., followed by the opening ceremony at 8:20 a.m., 5K walk and run at 8: 30 a.m., and awards ceremony from 9:30 a.m. to 10: 30 a.m. There will also be music, free refreshments and prizes for the top fundraisers.
Individual adults need to collect of donate a minimum of $100 to walk or run in the event, seniors need to collect or donate a minimum of $50, families $250, and teams of 10 or more $1,000. People who cannot participate are welcome to make contributions directly to the Jewish Home.

Visit http://www.walkofages.kintera.org/to register and for more information. Rodeo Realty has a team listed on the site. The Eisenberg Village Campus is located at 18855 Victory Boulevard in Reseda. The event will take place rain or shine.

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Real Estate Veteran, Fred Henry, To Manage Sunset Strip Office

Rodeo Realty is moving forward with plans to open a new office on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Fred Henry, a Westside real estate veteran, will be managing the new branch.

Henry’s experience in the Westside market is extensive. He was manager and VP of marketing and communications for DBL Realtors (now Sotheby’s International Realty) on the Sunset Strip.
He opened one of John Aaroe & Associate’s offices in Los Feliz. The branch went on to be a great success for the company. And Henry was manager of Fred Sands on the Sunset Strip.
“The Sunset Strip area has always been a dynamic market,” said Henry. “It’s an entertainment hub and centrally located. It’s important to have an office in the neighborhood to really service this area right.”
Rodeo’s Sunset Strip branch will open in early 2011. Once the space is secured and built-out, it will house approx. 100 agents. Henry is also hiring experienced Westside agents. The office will be a great addition to Rodeo Realty and West Hollywood, he said.
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Update from Syd Leibovitch: 3.8 % Sales Tax on Homes and "Robo-signers"

3.8% Sales Tax on Homes
There has been a rumor on the Internet that the health care reform bill includes a 3.8 percent transfer tax on real estate sales. It gives an example that a $500,000 home sale would generate a $15,400 tax bill.

Fortunately, this is not entirely true. It appears there will be a 3.8 percent tax on taxable net income from real estate sales.

The $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for a married couple are intact for primary residences. The 3.8 percent will be computed on profits over that amount. So if a married couple has a $600,000 net profit from the sale, the tax would be $3,800 (3.8 percent of the $100,000 in profit over the exempt $500,000).

On investment property, this would be 3.8 percent of any net income (profit) upon sale, unless exchanged in a 1031 exchange. This is scheduled to take effect in 2013 and only applies to individuals with taxable incomes over $200,000 and married couples with taxable incomes over $250,000.

Bank Moratoriums
There has also been a lot of talk lately about the so called “robo-signers.” In a rush to process foreclosures as quickly as possible, some lenders hired people to sign-off on thousands of foreclosure affidavits per month.

By signing the affidavits, preparers attested to have personally reviewed each file. But given the rate these documents were being processed, many robo-signers admit they didn’t have time to properly review each case.

Backlash about the practice led some major mortgage servicers to temporarily halt foreclosures until internal investigations are completed.

Most of the robo-signing is related to judicial foreclosures. In California, foreclosures are non-judicial. California requires lenders to sign a document that certifies they made attempts to reach borrowers and offer different options to avoid foreclosure (e.g. loan modifications).

The bottom line is, on average, these borrowers are 18 months behind on payments. The robo-signer issue is a technicality that’s not likely to stop foreclosures altogether for most of these borrowers. It will probably just delay things for a few weeks.

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Walk-in Leads to Multiple Listings for Sherman Oaks Agent

Derick Vallance knows the value of working floor time. In a recent case, a young woman walked into Rodeo Realty’s Sherman Oaks office at about 6 p.m. with the L.A. Times Homes Section in-hand. She asked if she could speak with somebody about listing a home.
Vallance was on floor time and took the meeting.
The woman needed an agent who could get two houses on the market the next day, host open houses by the weekend, and somebody who was not going to make a bunch of empty promises.
In two days, and with the help of the Rodeo team, Vallance had ads running in the newspaper, professional quality signs in place, photos of the properties, color brochures, lock boxes, and flags and balloons for the open houses. The open houses were a success.
The client came back the next week and asked him to list and host open houses for three additional homes. Vallance plans on spreading the open houses out a little bit in order to give each one his full attention.
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