When I was a kid, my grandparents took us to visit the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, and the experience struck something very deep within me. In fact, I became completely obsessed with this house and with the story of Sarah Winchester, the woman who bought a small farmhouse in 1886 and spent 38 years building and rebuilding it into a 160 room Victorian mansion. If you've never been there, it's a maze of rooms, filled with custom stained glass windows, delicately inlaid wood floors, imported French wallpaper, and many fanciful and seemingly odd choices. This house seeped into my dreams and I eventually wrote my senior thesis in college about it. (Ask me to share my wealth of fascinating facts about her and this house sometime!). Rumor had it that she was batty, but I really do identify with this need to continually remodel, change, and reconfigure my environment, trying to get it just right. Then of course, there's the cost and inconvenience. Did Mrs. Winchester have to think about the impact of tariffs on the price of steel and lumber? She actually did not have to worry about costs at all because she was the sole heiress of the Winchester rifle company, and fabulously wealthy, but it turns out that import tariffs were significantly higher during her lifetime. In fact, from the 1820's to the end of WWII, import tariffs on cotton, woolen and iron goods were around 40%, and under McKinley they were more like 50%! How's that for perspective? I hope this story softens the look of dread on my husband's face when I start talking about remodeling (again). Aside from tariffs, remodeling and building costs for mere mortals in Los Angeles can be pretty daunting, and the question always arises about whether it’s really worth it, or are you better off just buying something newly built or remodeled by someone else. Usually, moving is easier, but if you love your location and believe it's impossible that someone else would create a home that fits all the oddities and idiosyncrasies of your taste, maybe the only way to feel truly satisfied is to do it yourself, even though your family might think you're a little nuts.
I have a beautiful new listing in Rolling Hills Estates in Palos Verdes which I invite you to come tour, as well as a wonderful condo in Westwood, with so many things to love, and I just closed sales in Westchester, Valley Glen and Palos Verdes, so the market is quite active, and we have more great listings coming this spring.
Also congratulations to everyone who ran the LA Marathon yesterday, I'm completely in awe of you!
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