New Construction in Shore Cliffs, Corona del Mar

I also visited a new construction on 215 Evening Canyon Road in Corona del Mar. If you are not familiar with CdM......Shore Cliffs is just south of the village of CdM. It is on the ocean side of PCH. It is a really nice community with its own beach access. This home is also a landmark property as it sits on almost a half acre with great ocean views. If you ever looked at my website, you would see the house that used to sit on this property in one of my slides. This home has a large entertaining deck, swimming pool and a sport court. It is a very contemporary home. I felt like I was in a Restoration Hardware store or high end resort. Definitely one of my favorites on the market today.

My final stop was to a home in Pelican Hill. This is a very high end, custom home area of Newport Coast. This area is next to the Pelican Hill Golf Course. Rare to find a home under $5 million here. The home I viewed is on 28 Fairway Point. Notice the last picture above, they had an indoor pool with adjoining spa. The outside area was amazing.......swiming pool, barbeque area with two fireplaces. I don't like to mention negative things about homes.....but this one had a strange feature that I have never seen before. I walked in to one bedroom with a bathroom......and then through that room I found another bedroom and bathroom. I thought this was unique, until it happened in one of the other bedrooms. It must be a culture thing I am unaware of. I will try and look it up to see why someone would do that. Or if you know.....send me an email an enlighten me!

www.covecanyonandcrest.com

www.PropertiesInTheOC.com

Pink House in Corona del Mar

Last week I toured the well known landmark pink house on 444 Begonina Avenue. This home has 5 bedrooms an 3 bathrooms, built in 1947, 3457 sq feet and is priced at $2,595,000. This homes sits on a R-2 corner lot. I have always wondered what it would be like inside this home. Since it is around Easter, I suspected you may get the Easter feeling when you walk in the door. I was right, I felt like I was at one of my relatives houses in Minnesota. This home was ready for Easter brunch......everything was perfectly in place. As I toured the upstairs, I really felt like I was in a MN home. I remember my girlfriends bedroom, which used to be an attic......you had to watch your head or you would run in to the A frame of the roof. There was also steep stairs up to another attic......where this home had a foosball table and it looked like Christmas decoration storage. I really felt at home in this house. You could tell this was a home that grandchildren love to visit. The one thing I thought was interesting, is that they had wallpaper on the kitchen ceiling. I wasn't really crazy about that.......actually, I am not a fan of wallpaper anywhere. Though it seems to be making a comeback. In my pictures, notice the butler......he kind of scared me when I walked in the house.

Next on my tour was a home on 300 Larkspur. This is a 'French Style Chateau'. It is a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath home, 2100 square foot home that sits on a corner lot. Great location. This home has so many little details to it, I don't think I would ever see them all. There is a little family room on the main level. The main living quarters is on the second level. The master bedoom is the best part. There are two little patios that look like a perfect place to wind down the day with a glass of wine. This home is priced at $2,899,000.

I also visited a house in Shore Cliffs. I will post a separate entry for this home.

www.covecanyonandcrest.com

www.PropertiesInTheOC.com

Palm Desert and Palm Springs

It has been a while since I have updated my blog. I have been very busy showing homes and submitting offers. Many of the homes are short sales, so they take a lot of patience as they can take up to 3 months to be approved. I know my clients are starting to get impatient with the whole process. Make sure you look for approved short sales. You won't have to wait for the bank to approve the price of the short sale.

Anyway, I needed a break this past weekend so I went to Palm Desert with a couple of my girlfriends. Palm Desert/Palm Springs is only about an hour an a half from Newport Beach. We checked in to the Marriott on 74855 Country Club Drive last Friday afternoon. We left around 12:30 from Newport Beach. I think any later than that we would have been in major traffic. Upon arriving at the Marriott we discovered that our reservation was not in the computer....though we had a confirmation number. Needless to say, they were booked and put us in a suite......in my terms......a conference room. The good thing is that the "suite" had two bathrooms. That came in handy with 3 girls trying to get ready in the morning. After checking out the room, we decided we should get ready for dinner. I wanted to check out a new restaurant, Jackalope Ranch. A friend of mine highly recommended this place. The address is 80400 Hwy 11 in Indio....not far from the hotel we were staying in. I was really impressed with this restaurant. It is over 21000 sq feet! We quickly made our way to the piano bar and ordered appetizers. I highly recommend anything with chicken. We had the chicken nachos and quesadilla. Both were absolutely amazing. I should also mention they have a great happy hour menu. Make sure to be there before 6. Of course we didn't make it there until 6:30. Anyway, definitely check this place out. They have a great outdoor area that opens up to a good size lounge. Service was a little slow.....but well worth the wait.

So the next stop was back to the hotel. We were told that the lounge in the hotel was a great place to enjoy a glass of wine. We stopped in and met many people from other cities. We also met some nice golf players from Paris. They were in for a quick tournament. I can't imagine going on such a long trip and then to only stay for the tournament. Many of the guys were in the states for the first time. We also met some teachers there for a conference.

The next morning we woke up to hurried down to the pool. We wanted to make sure we had great seats by the pool. Lesson learned.....if you want to meet people, sit by the shallow end of the pool. We sat by the deep end of the pool.......6 ft. I get kind of bored of being in the sun and want to meet people. That didn't happen where we were sitting. We still had a great time catching up on girl talk. I recommend ordering a Pina Colada. It really helped me feel like I was on vacation. After 6 hours in the sun, we went back to the room to get ready for the night. I needed to do some work as I was booked to show homes all Sunday afternoon. After showering and booking appointments, we made our way to Palm Springs. I wasn't too excited to drive all the way there....but one of my girlfriends insisted on it. We ended up at a Sushi restaurant. The food and the service were great. Palm Springs is very touristy. There is a cute little downtown area that everyone walks up and down the street visiting restaurants and shops. We went to a Mexican place after sushi. They had live music. I felt like I was hanging out with my mom and dad......it was a little older crowd. Plus, all couples. We decided to go back to the hotel. We met so many nice people the night before, we thought we would try it again. The lounge was very busy. We ran in to the teachers we met the night before and then we met some people that were locals and like to frequent the Marriott. Very interesting investors originally from Israel. They were trying to talk us in to going to the Marriott night club Costas. I guess this is a hot spot in Palm Desert. We were exhausted and declined. Plus, I had a full day of work on Sunday that I needed my rest for.

To recap the trip, I would highly recommend the Marriott on Country Club Drive and Jackalope for a weekend get away. It is a great place to play tennis, golf, or just sit by the pool and relax.

http://www.propertiesintheoc.com/

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Major WOW Factor in South Laguna Beach

I usually don't leave Newport Beach too often unless I am in another city showing homes. One of my realtor buddies suggested a couple of weeks ago to start previewing homes in Laguna Beach to change it up a little. Most of the homes in Newport look fairly the same.....older Craftsman or Italian style. Don't get me wrong, there are other styles, but Craftsman and Italian style pretty much dominate. We have many tract homes here.......same community with the same floor plans......usually behind a gate. In Laguna Beach, it is very rare to find tract homes. Laguna Beach is a very artsy area, very unique floor plans for the most part. Many artists live here.

So my buddy realtor friend couldn't go on tour this past Wednesday. I was actually relieved as I thought, great, now I don't have to go and I can stay in Newport to work on some paperwork. I had a tugging feeling that I should go anyway. My incentive to go would be I would only view properties that I thought could have the WOW factor. I had 6 on my list. My plan was to go as far south and work my way up to North Laguna Beach. The first two homes I had on my list were in Three Arch Bay. I stopped by a home on La Senda Drive. Very nice home with amazing views. Very private. I felt like I was on the edge of a cliff. I was impressed, but didn't see anything that was different than any other ocean front home. This home by the way is priced at $8.99 million. The second home I visited was on Barranca Way. It was at the end of a narrow road. I almost passed on it as it wasn't easy to park and I was short on time. Good thing I didn't pass this house up....it is truly an amazing home. The WOW factor was all over this home. The notes in the MLS state that this home is one of the most important historical and timeless estates along the CA Coast. 'Cliff Cote' was developed in the 1930's by the Proctor Family. I am not sure how to describe this home. There were so many levels, nooks and crannies, viewing decks, hidden rooms......this would be the ultimate home to play hide and seek in. There were details in every corner you looked in. The outside decks had amazing views of the beach, ocean, and Catalina. This is a home you could live in and never get bored. There were quite a few stairs, so not good for someone with bad knees. Anyway, I want to get to the good part. As I was leaving.....I stopped by to view the guest house. To my surprise there was the owner of 'Cliff Cote' working on her art.......creating jewelry with amazing stones I have never scene before. She was so nice to give a couple of us realtors a preview of her work. I am not sure if the gentleman with her was her friend or husband, but he was gracious to let me try on a couple of the designs. I love the clear crystal look and she had just created a necklace with crystal that was absoulutely amazing. I was in awe of her work. She had drawers and drawers of different types of stones/gems. I thought it would be so fun to hang out with her one day and watch her work......or make a design of your own. To view her work log on to http://www.leftturndesigns.com/. I have a picture of her in her workshop. Her name is Judy Klimek and her email address is judyk@leftturndesigns.com. I will need to sell a couple of houses to buy one of her necklaces. :) Anyway, what a treat that day was, I will never forget it. I have the best job......viewing homes and meeting interesting people. I should mention this home is priced at $13,95,000. Not bad for ocean front and a piece of history.

http://www.covecanyonandcrest.com/

Broker Preview Laguna Beach, 1000 Steps and Rooftop Lounge

It was an amazing day in Laguna Beach this past Wednesday. There were 3 homes that I really wanted to see. The first one was down by 1000 Steps in South Laguna Beach. If you have never heard of 1000 Steps, it is a stair access to the beach that has about 220 stairs to a small, hidden beach. Most people don't know about this place as it is hard to see from PCH. The best thing to do is to park at the hospital and then cross PCH at the light. Walk about 100 yards south and then you will be in front of the steps. The stairs are somewhat steep so you don't want to go on a rainy day as you will slip right down the staircase. I used to work out at 1000 Steps. The first time I went to 1000 Steps I went up and down the stairs 5 times. I thought I was going to die. I had a 7 day burn. After that I kept to 3 rounds. Many people go to the stairs just to work out. You won't feel the burn when you are going up and down, it is later that afternoon when it kicks in. When I became seasoned at walking up and down the stairs, I would switch it up a bit and run the beach. Trust me, this didn't happen right away. Anyway, not to get off on a tangent. I haven't been to the stairs in over a year. Looking at homes in that area reminded me of what a great workout it is.

Anyway, the first house I went to was on Seacliff, this was an amazing home........views from all levels. The community is on a ledge overlooking the ocean This home had a sunken living room, so to speak, and the kitchen overlooked the living room and ocean. Unbelievable views. I thought the home was well priced at $3.65 million. You are not on the beach......but very close.

The next home I went to was very unique. This home is on Victoria Drive. It is a Chris Abel design. If you don't like stairs, this home is not for you. It seems this home had about 5 levels. The bottom level has an apartment with its own kitchen and laundry room. Every level had an ocean view. There were a couple of bonus rooms.....one was used for a piano room. I love the patio off of the living room. There was a fireplace and ledge overlooking the ocean. This home has a lot of character and charm. Again, I think this home is well priced between $4.99 and $5.29 million.

The last home on my tour was on Cress Street. You may know of Cress Street, the Rooftop Lounge is on the corner. The Rooftop Lounge is on the roof of the hotel La Casa Del Camino. This is another cute, charming hotel in Laguna Beach. The Rooftop Lounge has some of the most amazing views of the ocean that you will see in Laguna Beach. Go early as this place fills up quick! Back to the home I was there to see......actually it was 3 newly renovated cottages. They were really cute. Many details that were unique. Buy all 3 for $8.9 million.

My next post I am going to post some great pictures I took of the mountains that are snow capped.

Have a great weekend!

lisa@CoveCanyonandCrest.com
http://www.covecanyonandcrest.com/

WOW Factor Camel Point Drive in South Laguna Beach

If you follow my blog I like to write mostly about homes with the WOW factor. I definitely found that home this week on preview in Laguna Beach. I felt from the moment I walked in that I was floating on the ocean. There are ocean views from every room. In fact, this is one home that I would volunteer to do the dishes every day. The kitchen overlooks a beautiful ocean view with Catalina Island in the background. I thought the light fixture they had in the dining room was so cool. I need to find out where they bought that. I thought that was the most unique fixture I have ever seen. This home is close to the Montage Resort and has its own beach access. I took many pictures and am only able to post 5, so if you want to see more pictures.....email me.

Enjoy the pictures!

http://www.covecanyonandcrest.com/

http://www.propertiesintheoc.com/

Great Deal in Corona del Mar

Happy New Year!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. I closed on a house for a client on New Years Eve.....great way to start the new year. I have also been busy working on the marketing for our new site http://www.covecanyonandcrest.com/. We will be sending out our first flyer next week.

Anyway, there is a property I want to tell everyone about. This is a home on Hazel....located in the south area of Corona del Mar. It is a 3 story home.....full ocean and canyon view from all 3 levels. The upper level has a master suite. The main level has your living room, dining room and kitchen. The lower level has the other 3 bedrooms and family room. This home is priced at $1.849......listed last year for $3 mil. It is an incredible deal.

There are some incredible deals out there for you buyers.....you just have to look for them. Sellers, now is not the time to sell if you want top dollar. If you have to sell now, look at your competition......recently sold homes and currently sold homes. Are there many in your area for sale? Are they upgraded? Are the priced right? You need the upgrades and correct pricing to sell in this market. If you don't have the upgrades, go below the current comps to sell quicker. My next entry I will talk about one of my favorite listings on Larkspur......I call it the Montage house.

http://www.propertiesintheoc.com/

http://www.covecanyonandcrest.com/