Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 27, 2010

13

HOMES AND PROPERTY

 MountainViews-News Saturday, November 27, 2010 


1926 Arts and Crafts Style Home in Sierra Madre

Five of the twelve units 
of the new Sabine (www.
SabineSouthLake.com) 
townhome project 
on South Lake in 
Pasadena are already 
sold. Surj Soni, one of 
the owner developers 
at Legendary 
Developments, LLC, 
comments, “We’re excited that our first project in 
Pasadena has been so well received, especially in 
this economy, and we’re pleased that the buying 
public appreciates the quality and aesthetics of our 
project.”

No stranger to high end projects, Legendary 
Developments has also been well received in two 
other recent projects, one in Hollywood near 
Sunset and La Brea called Legendary Place, and 
a five story project, Terra Bella, on Cordova in 
Pasadena, which is imminently due for completion. 
Very careful to deliver the right product to the right 
target market, Legendary utilized research focus 
groups to fine tune their residential offerings while 
in the design phase.

We designed this small neighborhood for two types 
of buyers: the professional couple and empty nesters 
ready to downsize from a large elegant home. We 
set out to attract those who are accustomed to the 
quality and spaciousness of a San Rafael, Linda 
Vista or Oak Knoll style home. 

“When we started, we didn’t see many condos 
available for those interested in upper end urban 
living within Pasadena. We specified solid doors, 
elegant bathrooms, high ceilings, generous 
millwork, real hardwood floors… all on a true 
custom level. Nothing off the shelf.”

Soni and his wife, Milena, were both deeply 
involved with the design of the project. "Milena 
had a huge hand in the design. She made sure every 
square inch utilized the right kind of amenities, 
storage and quality. She put a lot of her heart and 
soul into Sabine.”

The stunning bathrooms are outfitted with heated 
floors, 74” jetted tubs when possible, hidden 
medicine chests, drawers with outlets to hide all 
those things that used to clutter up the counter, and beautiful backlit 
onyx counters. “We took a translucent stone, onyx, and lit it from 
underneath,” says Soni. “At night, instead of a night light, the counter 
imbues a soft beautiful light instead, right through the countertop.”

“We incorporated a significant green component into the project, 
with very high end windows with low energy quotients for minimal 
loss, solid doors plus solar. Six units have solar units intended to 
supply about 45% of the electricity use for those townhomes. The 
other six, while they don’t have 
a footprint large enough for their own solar units, benefit from the 
Sabine unit for the HOA, which significantly reduces the cost of the 
monthly fees. It’s not often you find a complex of this caliber with 
monthly fees of on $428.” 

The Mansard roofs and strong vertical lines with lush courtyard 
gardens and fountains set the urban living tone for this sophisticated 
French style home, with all the right bells and whistles, yet without 
pretentiousness. 

Even the garages are carefully 
designed. Completely private, 
one can run down to the car in 
pajamas, or leave a trunk open 
when unloading groceries since 
each garage has its own rolling 
door in the underground level, 
opening directly to the townhome.

“One of our major advantages is 
accessibility and walkability to a true urban lifestyle; you’d be hard 
pressed to need a car unless you left the area,” reflects Soni. “We’re at 
the top of the tony Oak Knoll residential neighborhood, with nearby 
homes from 3-12 million. Yet our location is completely walkable for 
almost any need.”

Within a block are both the Fresh & Easy and Pavilions grocery stores, 
plus both Starbucks and Peets coffee, for whichever brand of caffeine 
suits you. Forty restaurants are also within easy walking distance. 
A Macy’s store is just a few blocks north, surrounded by dozens of 
independent and chain retailers for a shopper’s haven.

Of the seven remaining townhomes available at Sabine, four include 
an in house elevator from the private two car garages, through 
three living space levels to the roof top terraces, some including an 
outdoor fireplace. 

Sabine’s townhomes range from 2100-3100 square feet and start at 
$1,200,000. Located at 633 S. Lake Avenue in Pasadena’s South Lake 
district, visit the project website at www.SabineSouthLake.com or call 
626-790-7507 for more information.

Chris Bertrand


• www.mtnviewsnews.com 
•

WHEN LESS 

COSTS MORE

"Timing the market" in real estate doesn't 
work the way it does with stocks. Homes 
are bought and sold more out of necessity 
than to make an easy buck. However, some 
indicators give a clue when it's a good time to 
buy. Like now!

Despite the fact that rates are low and prices 
may still drop, now is the time to move if 
you have good credit and funds for down 
payment. It would be a mistake to "wait and 
see" if rates or prices fall any more. Why?

Rates are low now because of federal bailouts, 
but continued low rates can fuel inflation. 
Fear of inflation causes "the Fed" to raise 
those rates. Waiting for a lower price on a 
home while interest rates rise could make the 
home more expensive.

Example: purchasing a home now for 
$177,000 at 5% could make the total cost 
around $370,000 by the end of the loan term. 
But what if you wait for prices to fall more, 
and next year you get that home for $160,000. 
You saved $17,000 - right? Wrong!

If rates rise 2% during that time, you could 
pay over $400,000 over the life of the loan - 
$30,000 more than if you bought now! If the 
math is still fuzzy to you, call me and Il be 
glad to crunch the numbers with you. You'll 
be glad you did.

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.