Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 20, 2010

13

HOMES AND PROPERTY

 MountainViews-News Saturday, November 20, 2010 


Down a winding 
lane near the 
top of Auburn 
Avenue in Sierra 
Madre, this home 
is situated among 
many private, gated 
estates. Since it’s 
a private road, few 
know much about 
the homes on one of several spurs off Auburn’s 
zigs and zags up into the foothills above this 
charming and unique village.

Not much is given away from the beginning 
of the driveway either. Once inside the gate, 
however, a spacious front lawn beckons you to 
this 0.47 acre, serene respite from busy LA life 
with a sprawling, multi-trunk oak boasting a 
wonderful rope swing. 

The main living spaces are located on the 
upper floor of this four bedroom, four bath 
home with a 3720 square feet (taped) floorplan. 
A shaded porch wraps around two sides of the 
home, perfect for sunset enjoyment. On the 
north side of the home, the porch also connects 
to a large deck with gazebo that feels almost like 
a tree house overlooking the yard below through 
the oak tree’s far-reaching branches. 

To the right of the front door, a magnificent 
great room centers around the fireplace under a 
cathedral ceiling with massive beamed detailing. 
To the left of the front entrance, a craftsman style 
dining room, with vintage style fixture, opens to 
the deck for great indoor to outdoor entertaining 
and relaxation.

An extensive 1990’s remodel updated the 
kitchen, master suite and baths with quality 
features like slab stone, wood casement windows, 
front doors, skylights, dual sinks and glass block 
walk in shower in the stunning master bath, 
recessed lighting and more.

Key features were preserved, thank 
goodness… especially the charm of the narrow 
board oak floors in the living and dining rooms 
and the exposed ceiling beams in the great room. 

In a home of such vintage, garage space is 
often at a premium, but not here. A generous 
three+ car garage provides ample auto storage 
and leads to a ground level storage/utility room. 
Other areas on this level are perfect for hobby or 
art studio use, home gym and extensive storage. 
Two wine cellars are located in the northeast 
corner of the ground level. 

Two connecting bedrooms on this level are 
served by a full bath. With an outside entrance 
on this level, this floorplan provides a great 
configuration for the privacy of extended family 
or live-in staff.

The guest house, also built during the 1990’s 
remodel and construction project, feels like a 
tiny mountain cabin, and boasts a rock wall that 
extends into the full bath with walk-in shower. 
A large front deck provides its own “front 
yard” from which to enjoy filtered sunset views 
through the trees. 

610 Auburn Avenue in Sierra Madre is listed 
at $1,198,000 by the Fairbanks Group and 
Coldwell Banker Previews International. For 
more information, contact John Fairbanks at 
626-398-9000 or visit their website at www.
TheFairbanksGroup.com.

An open house will be held on Sunday, 
November 21st from 2-4 p.m.

Know of an interesting home, garden or person 
to feature in “One of a Kind”? Send contact 
information to C.Bertrand@MtnViewsNews.
com. 

1926 Arts and Crafts Style Home in Sierra Madre


Chris Bertrand


Federal foreclosure-prevention tactics 
have recently been expanded to encourage 
delinquent borrowers to avoid foreclosure 
by streamlining the short sale process. Cash 
incentives are also being offered to the 
homeowners, as well as to the lenders and 
the buyers.

 Perhaps the best feature of the new 
legislation requires the lenders to advise the 
sellers what their minimum acceptable price 
is before listing the home for sale. Then if the 
sellers secure an offer for the agreed price, 
the lender must accept it within 10 days.

 This speeds up the short sale process 
tremendously, since the lender is also 
required to consult with local real estate 
agents in order to determine a fair price. Of 
course, "fair" is a relative term here, because 
in a short sale, the bank is agreeing to sell the 
property for less than the total amount due 
on the mortgage.

 However, it is definitely in the lender's best 
interest to expedite a short sale instead of 
allowing the home to foreclose, because on 
average, the bank loses 50% on a foreclosure, 
but only 30% on a short sale.

 These new standardized procedures, 
called the Home Affordable Foreclosure 
Alternatives Program (HAFA), is a new 
option for homeowners who have been 
unsuccessful under existing programs. If 
you're facing default, I strongly urge you to 
contact a real estate agent today to discuss 
the alternatives.

Luther Tsinoglou has just been named the 
top producing sales agent in Dickson Podley 
Realtor's Sierra Madre office for 2009, making 
the top 10% at the company overall. Luther 
has been licensed and practicing real estate 
since 1992. He specializes in residential and 
income property in Southern California. 
Luther can be reached at his direct line (626) 
695-8650 or at luther@tsinoglou.com.