Buying a house in Burbank Archives - Santoro and Sons Real Estate Group

Unique Areas within Burbank and Glendale – The Rancho

Gigi Santoro — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 00:47:15 +0000

Burbank and Glendale are some of the few cities that allow homeowners to keep horses in average size back yards – The Equestrian area, which is called The Rancho, runs along the south side of the city near the Griffith Park area. The primary goal of The Rancho is designed to protect horsekeeping properties and prevent encroachment by incompatible land uses that may prevent and/or disrupt the equestrian nature of the neighborhood.

The Rancho has horse lanes, instead of bike lanes, two different heights for street light buttons – one tall enough for rider on horse back and one pedestrian height, hitching posts at restaurants, and horse trails. In Burbank, if you take South Mariposa all the way to the end, you will see a bridge that takes horse and rider across to the Griffith Park trails. The Equestrian Center, located in Burbank, Glendale and Los Angeles (it’s that large of a parcel) has horse boarding, horse training, outdoor polo stadium, indoor polo stadium, Grand Prix show jumping, barrel racing and party facilities. Plus, every year, one or two special events that show case Spanish horses. There is quite a bit of equestrian activity going on around there.

The Rancho of Burbank is south of Alameda between Buena Vista and Victory – with a few other streets dotted along the Alameda/Riverside corridor. The Rancho of Glendale is called “Riverside Rancho” and is south of the 5 freeway, bordering Allen St., and the Bette Davis Picnic area, Rancho Drive and the Glendale Narrows.

Pricing for homes are considerably higher in these areas because of the land use option of horsekeeping. Estimates of home prices 30% and higher are not out of the question when comparing a standard 3 bedroom 1800 square foot house in The Rancho areas in both communities. As we start to carve out personal time from our jobs, commutes and obligations, having a place like The Rancho, Rancho Riverside and Griffith Park Equestrian in our area is special. A neighborhood that allows horsekeeping in your own back yard, or short ride to The Equestrian Center to visit your horse that is close to down town Los Angeles and the Studio’s is a gem in the crown of both Burbank and Glendale. If you are interested in learning more about The Rancho of Burbank or the Riverside Rancho area of Glendale, please contact Gigi Santoro – 818-237-5687

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The Kitchen

Gigi Santoro — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 02:47:57 +0000

I see a lot of houses and a lot of kitchens…..some really fantastic and some not so great. Generally, my clients want an open concept kitchen with an island – and while those kitchens look great, sometimes they are very dysfunctional. When you are shopping for a new house and your kitchen is important to you, follow our check list:

What’s the angle of the triangle? You want to make sure your refrigerator, sink and stove are in a triangle shape. Cooking requires all three of those things in different order throughout meal prep and if you have to walk clear across the room to get something from the refrigerator, that doesn’t make sense. Your kitchen should make sense!
Check out the lighting when you are standing at the counter. So many times the lighting casts shadows or doesn’t reach the area where you need it.
Counter tops need to be fairly maintenance free. While you may love white Carrera marble, honed and soft to the touch, it requires sealing, constant cleaning and quick wipe ups if anything that stains spills on the counter. Keep all that in mind when you are being wooed by that beautiful counter.
Consider the size of the oven space. Many homes that have been ‘flipped’ are brand new, no one has lived in them before. You want to make sure the oven is large enough for a lasagna pan. Also check the heating element – is it gas or electric?
Open the cabinet doors and open the drawers. They should have a soft close hinge if you are paying a lot for a newer kitchen. Sometimes the kitchen cabinets are just painted, check the sides of the drawers to see if the connections are dove tailed or not. That helps to keep the drawer in shape for years to come.

Can’t wait to see your new house with that great kitchen! Please call us if you are considering buying or selling your home!

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Have we settled down yet?

Gigi Santoro — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 04:45:36 +0000

Our economic climate is very interesting to me. The media has stopped reporting so much doom and gloom about the financial markets because there really isn’t any to report….those vultures have moved on to another subject! I think we have settled down –

The real estate market is taking a little break too – but don’t get too comfortable! There is going to be another shift here very soon. How so, you might ask? Well, remember all those loan modifications that occurred about 4 years ago? Many of them were only for 5 years…..and they are beginning to adjust. Those adjustments are putting a financial burden back on the homeowners because their wages have not kept up with the new adjusted interest rate. They will, most likely, have more equity in their home but not enough to be able to refinance to stay.

How will this affect real estate pricing? I don’t expect banks to take a big hit here and negotiate as much as they have in the past – now that they are coming out of the financial crisis – because pricing has gone up. A property might be sold ‘short’ to cover closing costs only –

Look in the $900,000 price point and above for great deals coming soon!

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