Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Real Estate Appraisal, Los Angeles, California, Mary Cummins.

Mary Cummins is a real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California with 38+ years of experience. Cummins provides real estate appraisals for banks, lenders, mortgage brokers, Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs), lawyers, Courts, factors and private parties for lending, lawsuits, probate, estate planning, divorce and all types of litigation. Cummins provides 1004, 1073, 1025 and other form reports, narrative reports and historical appraisals besides real estate research and appraisal advice.

Showing posts with label los angeles. Show all posts

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Marina City Club has no Budget for Needed Repairs by Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

Marina City Club, deferred maintenance, no reserve funds, Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, California, Mary Cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, loan, mortgage, can't get a home loan, this is my photo of the project.

Ever since the Surfside condo collapse in Miami, Florida everyone is worried about the condition of older condos. Condos near the ocean deteriorate faster than condos away from the ocean because of the salt air, low lying areas, soil and possible water intrusion. One condo project which is mentioned frequently in regard to this issue in Los Angeles, California is the Marina City Club in Marina del Rey, California.

The Marina City Club Towers were first built around 1976 to 1978. They are composed of three main towers and a few other surrounding units which front the boat docks. There are about 600 units. They were converted to condos in 1986 because of rent control and other factors. These were good quality units with tennis courts, a gym, hair salon, restaurant, pools, rec rooms... They're located on Los Angeles County owned leased land fronting the boat docks. The land is filled land.

The project is now about 50 years old. All condominium home owners associations HOAs must maintain proper reserve funds to repair and replace the components of the building over time. For example, if a water boiler lasts 30 years, the HOA must save 1/30th the cost of a new water boiler every year from HOA fees so they have enough money to replace it at the end of 30 years. The same goes with all major components of the building.

After the Surfrider condo collapse the owners and tenants of the Marina City Club condos became worried that their building could collapse and they could die. They started talking about the deferred maintenance they've noticed in the project. This caused people to revisit many recent articles about the project's lack of reserve funds for needed repairs. Los Angeles County became involved because they own the land on which the project was built. Part of the land lease states the project must be maintained properly and in a safe manner. Condo owners pay a HOA fee and a land lease fee for each unit. The fees are about $1,000/month for HOA fees and $700/month for the land lease. There's an extra fee to use the other club facilities which can run $700/month. This is all before you pay the mortgage.

In order to buy a home you generally put 20% down and finance the rest through the bank. A bank will only finance a property with a 30 year mortgage if they think it will last another 30 years. A bank will only finance a condo if there are no major repairs needed and there are sufficient reserve funds, i.e. 70%+ to pay for all repairs projected. If a project only has about 8% or they need $50,000,000 to fund their reserves, this is where you have a problem with the project. This is especially so when remaining life on the major components is zero years. It's now deferred maintenance. Any sane bank after reviewing facts about the project would reject it. You'd have to pay cash for the property. Property value could go lower based on the needed repairs and reserve issues.

I am not sharing any private information about the property which I obtained through any appraisals I've ever done in the project. All of this is public knowledge or came from friends who live in the building. If you are thinking of buying a condo here, PLEASE, get a copy of the HOA budget which lists needed repairs and reserve amounts. They must give it to you. Read the "Reserve Study Executive Summary" made by the HOA Essex Marina City Club LP.

Currently the condo owners can't and won't agree to a large special assessment. Most of these condo owners are older 75+. They're now on fixed incomes. They probably thought they wouldn't be around by the time the building needed the repairs. That time is unfortunately now.

*Just for clarification I'm not saying I think the building will collapse. I am saying that it appears based on public documents to have deferred maintenance with insufficient reserve funds to make the repairs.

I've been a real estate appraiser since 1983 which is 40 years now. I've appraised the Marina City Club Towers many times since it was built 1970-1978 and later converted to condos. I've visited my friends there many times even when it was first apartments before they converted to condos. I've been in the building a few times within the last year. My friends who own units in the building gave me a copy of a more recent budget. Below are a few public articles and documents.

https://therealdeal.com/la/2022/02/24/marina-city-club-condo-towers-deemed-safe-for-now-due-for-big-repairs/

"Los Angeles County ordered the structural engineering study last summer after residents voiced concern about public safety at the 10-acre complex of 600 condominiums in three, 16-story towers and a three-story, 101-unit apartment building.

The Marina City Club includes swimming pools, tennis courts, boat slips, restaurants, a fitness center and offices on land owned by the county. Deferred maintenance at the aging complex was estimated last year to require between $80 million and $140 million in repairs.

The new engineering study found cracks in walls and cement, signs of water intrusion in parking garages, “spalling” and crumbling concrete, as well as water-damaged rooftop decks.

Cement fastenings to handrails along walkways and on private balconies also were deteriorated, creating a safety hazard, the report said.

But the report by Saiful Bouquet Structural Engineers of Pasadena found no danger of imminent collapse.

“No significant structural damage was observed,” the 14-page engineering report concluded. “It is our opinion that the majority of damages observed were a result of normal wear and tear of the structure and/or moisture/water intrusion in the building envelope.”

It recommended Marina City Club operator Essex Property Trust, a publicly traded apartment firm, make the needed repairs to the three 16-story condo towers, parking structures and apartments."

https://darik.news/florida/marina-del-rey-condo-towers-are-structurally-strong-but-in-need-of-repair-says-engineering-study-press-enterprise/524046.html

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/07/09/decay-and-disrepair-mar-life-at-aging-marina-del-rey-condo-towers/

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-01/after-florida-building-collapse-l-a-county-inspects-marina-del-rey-condo-tow

Public References but not complete list

Marina City Club - Tennis, spa, sauna, gym, restaurant, hair salon

https://www.marinacityclub.net/

Marina City Club condo docs- Ground lease, Bylaws, CC&Rs, Condo sublease,

http://www.marinacityclub.com/httpdocs/DLLinks.htm

Full legal description, APNs, plat maps, building plans, unit layouts. Subject has no specific APN.

http://www.marinacityclub.com/Documents/CondoPlan1987.pdf

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate Services has been in real estate since 1983, over 35 years. She is licensed by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. Mary Cummins was an agent and broker licensed with the California Department of Real Estate selling residential income, commercial buildings, raw land and homes for Merrill Lynch Realty in Beverly Hills and Westside Properties in Los Angeles before concentrating on appraisals. Mary Cummins currently provides real estate appraisals, expert witness testimony, historical research, legal real estate research for mortgage brokers, banks, lawyers, factors, insurance companies, financial consultants and private individuals. Mary Cummins was born and raised in Southern California. Cummins attended Beverly Hills Good Shepherd Catholic School and Beverly Hills High School. Besides being on the Dean's list, Mary Cummins was a top ten national swimmer and competed on the men's water polo team. Mary Cummins began college at the age of 15 attending the University of Southern California on scholarship, majoring in Psychology/Sociology. http://www.animaladvocates.us http://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdvocatesUSA

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Jennifer Lopez JLo and Ben Affleck just bought Wallingford Estate at 2571Wallingford Dr Beverly Hills, California by Mary Cummins

Jennifer Lopez JLo and Ben Affleck buy Wallingford Estate in Beverly Hills for $60,850,000. The home is located at 2571 Wallingford Dr, Beverly Hills, California 90210. This is the City of Los Angeles aka Beverly Hills Post Office. It's not Beverly Hills.

It was originally listed in 2018 at $135,000,000 then $85,000,000 then .... then $74,995,000. It was also listed for rent for $300,000 and $350,000 per month. The home is approximately 30,000 sf on a 226,513 sf lot per MLS. It could only be 22,163 sf per tax with 8 beds, 12 baths. The actual address is 2543 Hutton Dr. and 2543 1/2 Hutton Dr. Per one of the more recent listings,

"One of the most private and secured estates in Beverly Hills 90210 with stunning mountain views. The newly rebuilt & expanded Wallingford estate is spread over a 5-acre exclusive promontory. A one-of-a-kind indoor sports complex w/ basketball, pickleball, gym, boxing ring, sports lounge & bar all celebrate an active lifestyle & the love of sports. Located just 8 minutes from the BH Hotel & 20 minutes from Van Nuys private airport, both entrances can only be accessed through private/gated streets. Exquisitely designed & built w/ impeccable taste, the sophisticated & stylish estate infuses today's technology w/ magnificently refined rooms. Totaling approx. 46K SF under roof & approx. 38K SF under A/C & boosting 12 bedrooms & 24 bath, approx. 5K SF guest penthouse, caretaker house, 2-bdrm guardhouse, 10 car garage & parking for 80. The biggest zero edge pool in BH perfectly frames the extensive grounds & views. Additional property on private street also available separately."

It's only called the "Wallingford Estate" because it's on Wallingford Dr. The owner builder of the current home was Jeoung Lee. I do see a Jacob Wizman as the owner when it was being built. The architect was Richard Schwartz. It was built by Dover Hills Construction. Engineer was Leon Iancu.

More recent photos from the MLS.

It was originally built in 1997-2000 and listed for sale in 2016 for $29,000,000 as 8 bed, 15 baths, 22,000 sf. The RealAVM value is $2-4 million :-D There was another home built there in the 70's which replaced one built 1947 by A.C. Pillsbury. That was a caretaker's house and a barn. The newer home was in French Provincial style and was built for Ilhie and Jeoung Lee, Paul D. Jeoung . The home was 124' x 106' with an unfinished basement and subterranean garage. I think they illegally added basement size to home size. They call it a basement because it's cheaper, easier to get permits but it's not legally gross living area. There is an ADU which is the caretaker unit which was once a storage barn. Just found a permit where they converted the basement to an ADU or at least tried to.

2019 permit for FULLY SPRINKLERED TWO STORY ACCESSORY LIVING QUARTERS W/ ATTACHED GARAGE. IRREG SHAPED BUILDING 132'-4" X 113'-3". I believe it was built previously and just permitted at this time.

It's in a homeowners association and is accessed off the end of a cul-de-sac. GPS 34.11887000139121, -118.43406722770074 APN 4382-009-005 . Tract is PM 1768 Parcel B.

Below are the basic plans for the home. They added foundation pilings years after the home was built. May have been an issue because property is in an earthquake fault with shale and clay. It's near the Hollywood fault line in a landslide and liquefaction zone. That's probably why it wasn't really built until more recently when finances and engineering made sense. Click to see larger.

This is the previous listing when it was French Provincial. The house looks the same size. I don't see a certificate of occupancy for any new size added to the home. I think it's still a 20,000 or so sf home with a caretaker residence, pool house and basement. That size is never added to the legal main dwelling size. I think the home may have just been remodeled. I'm still looking at permits most of which are under the Hutton address.

Mary Cummins

Friday, May 19, 2023

Beyonce, Jay-Z new home at 27712 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, California by Mary Cummins real estate appraiser

beyonce, Jayz, jay-z, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, malibu, los angeles, caliornia, 27712 pacific coast, pch, 27712, pacific coast highway, million, tadao ando, kurt rappaport

Beyonce and Jay-Z's new home is at 27712 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California on Billionaire's Row. The musical couple purchased the property for over $200,000,000. It was listed at $295,000,000. The property has nearly six acres. The seller was William "Bill" Bell Jr., an art collector and son of the creators of soap operas “Bold and Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless.” Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency represented the buyers and the seller. Bell commissioned prominent Japanese architect Tadao Ando to build the concrete, 40,000-square-foot mansion that overlooks the Pacific. Full address includes 27716 PCH.

The home was built in 2014 and does not appear to have a Certificate of Occupancy. Legal description is TR=12935 LOT 7 BLK 2. Assessor's parcel number is 4460-031-017. It last sold for $14,000,000 in 2003 when it was a 7,700 sf 8 bed home. February 2022 it had a $90,000,000 loan against it. It's 257,888 sf.

The pervious concrete was done by Architectural Pervious Concrete.

https://www.pacificpervious.com/news/2017/11/16/architectural-pervious-concrete-for-a-malibu-residence

Morley Construction built the home with Peter McCoy Construction.

https://www.morleyconcrete.com/project-experience/bell-house/

Ando's Bell House

https://usmodernist.org/ando.htm

Under construction

Mary Cummins

Friday, May 5, 2023

Los Angeles MLS Releases 2023 Q1 statistics. Sales volume, median prices down. Mary Cummins Real Estate Appraiser

2023 Q1 market report median sales price and volume for single family homes, condos in Los Angeles, California. Leases, CLAW MLS, Mary Cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, marycummins.com ,

CLAW MLS just released 2023 Q1 Market Report. Median price and sales volume of single family homes and condos is down. Lease median prices and volume is up a tick. Full report here. CLAW Combined Los Angeles Westside.

https://forms.themls.com/forms/q1-2023-claw-market-stats.pdf

Mary Cummins

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Andre Perry falsely states grocery stores are racist. More bad "research," by Mary Cummins

Andre Perry just released more false and misleading "research." Andre Perry believes that premium grocery stores are racist against black people. He "proves" his point by showing there aren't many premium grocery stores in predominantly black areas. Again, his "research" is bad science and misinterpreted results. People on the internet are using his "data" to attack grocery stores and rile up black people against whites. This is not peer reviewed or published research. Below is his linked article.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-the-lack-of-premium-grocery-stores-says-about-disinvestment-in-black-neighborhoods/

Andre Perry states there are few premium grocery stores in mainly black areas. This is correlation and not causation. There are also few Louis Vuitton stores and Rolls Royce dealerships in predominantly black areas for the same reason. The reason is financial. There is research which proves whites make more money than blacks and Latinos in general. If a store chooses its location based on higher income, that area will more likely be more white than black, Latino. It's correlation and the income gap, stupid.

Premium grocery stores are in the business of making money. They want to make as much net profits as possible. They do this by locating their stores in an area which has the highest concentration of their most likely customers with the least amount of risk. They don't consider race. Below is an article about how Whole Foods chooses store locations to prove this. https://www.washingtonian.com/2015/07/14/how-whole-foods-decides-if-your-neighborhood-is-worthy/#:~:text=Whole%20Foods%20doesn't%20divulge,estate%2C%20population%20density%2C%20education%2C

From the article, "Whole Foods doesn’t divulge specifics about its real-estate decision-making, which it considers “proprietary.” Mid-Atlantic regional president Scott Allshouse at least offers this via e-mail:“We take a variety of factors into consideration, including availability and cost of real estate, population density, education, demographics, and the community’s interest in natural and organic foods. No one factor is most important.” Later in the article it states main factor is "education then commuter patterns, checking out competing grocery stores, and calculating their likely earnings."

Here's info on Trader Joe's locations. They tend to choose locations "located in cheaper parts of expensive areas." "The company is selective about new markets, taking a gander at median household income, education, population density, distribution efficiencies and labor force." " Stern and David Livingston, an expert in supermarket location research, said Trader Joe’s typically looks for median household income in excess of $100,000. The perfect storm, Livingston said, is high incomes and expensive homes within the first 2 miles of the potential site, with maybe a major university or large medical complex sprinkled on top." “They are not going to open a store based on a petition because everyone wants a Trader Joe’s,” Livingston said. “But only people who are educated and have high disposable incomes will actually support one.”

Grocery stores are not a government service or a nonprofit. They don't have to invest in poorer areas. They are a business. They don't care about race. They do care about safely making net profits. If an area has lots of potential clients but has high crime, theft, vandalism, they probably wouldn't choose it because net profits would be reduced by crime. Some shoppers might not even want to shop in a high crime area because they don't want to get mugged, robbed, car broken into, raped or killed. A good example of this is Whole Foods markets closing in a prime area of San Francisco. https://kesq.com/money/cnn-business-consumer/2023/04/11/whole-foods-closes-san-francisco-flagship-store-after-one-year-citing-crime-2/#:~:text=An%20enormous%20Whole%20Foods%20in,over%20the%20past%20six%20years.

Instead of calling Whole Foods a racist piece of shit the County Supervisor said this about the closure. "San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey said on Twitter that he was “incredibly disappointed” by the closure. “Our neighborhood waited a long time for this supermarket, but we’re also well aware of problems they’ve experienced with drug-related retail theft, adjacent drug markets, and the many safety issues related to them,” Dorsey wrote. Appearing on “CNN This Morning” Wednesday, Dorsey said he’s “seen a lot of issues of people acting out and shoplifting” at the store. “Fingers crossed we can turn things around here and I do have some optimism, but hopefully we can get this supermarket back open,” he said." Reducing crime in the area is the solution here not calling people racists. If you call Whole Foods racists, they may never want to open a store in that market area.

Per research there is a correlation between income, age, class, gender, race and increased street crime, see link below. Lower income, 15-24 age group, lower class, males, black then Latino commit most street crime per research. Lower income areas tend to have more 15-24 year olds, lower class, males, blacks and Latinos which commit more crime. More correlation. Increased crime levels is another reason why Trader Joe's would not want a store in a lower income area. Crime reduces sales, adds costs and eats into profits. https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/8-3-who-commits-crime/

Andre Perry's article looks at premium markets. Premium markets like Trader Joe's sell specialty items, organic food and higher priced items. It makes sense to be located in an area where people make more money. If you don't have a lot of money and went to Trader Joe's, you wouldn't be able to afford to buy as much food. You'd rather shop at the 99 cent store where I shop or Dollar General. There is plenty of good, healthy, affordable food at the 99 cent store. I buy beans, rice, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables at the 99 cent store at a better price than Ralphs, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I'd be pissed if I didn't have a 99 cent store not a Trader Joe's. Only uppity people like Andre Perry would demand a Trader Joe's. If you want to shop at Trader Joe's to buy $11 lavender flavored organic nuts, just go to one. If you can't travel, the 99 cent store is fine to buy regular nuts. People don't need specialty grocery stores. They just need to buy good affordable food. Next Perry will be whining that there's no Gucci store in low income areas.

I'm Latino and live in a predominantly Latino area because it's a poorer area in Los Angeles. We have a 99 cent store and a Ralphs. I eat good, healthy, cheap food and am happy. I don't want or need an expensive Whole Foods or Trader Joe's store. Maybe I should be like Andre Perry and yell that markets are racist against Latinos because I personally don't get what I want. Perry seems to always forget that his predominantly black areas (10% or more black) also have 90% poor Latinos, whites and others. He only cares about black people because he has a personal agenda. I read most of his book "Know your price" and he basically admits that he's racist against white people. He blames every problem on white people.

Maybe I should lie and state that all companies that don't cater to poor Latino me are racists against Latinos. I'd probably get a good following of poor angry Latinos who think all their problems are caused by others. I bet I could write a book about Latino hate and make money writing hate books, giving hate speeches and spewing racist lies to further divide our country just like Andre Perry. I would never do that because that would be dishonest and racist. Andre Perry is doing it because of his racism and he likes the money and false accolades. He needs to make more money so he can shop at more expensive Trader Joe's.

Mary Cummins

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Old Victorian Homes on Carroll Avenue in Angeleno Heights, Los Angeles, California by Mary Cummins

mary cummins, real estate appraiser, los angeles, california, real estate appraisal, angeleno heights, victorian, queen anne, arts and crafts, homes, houses, national register of historic places, historical landmark, 1300 block, carroll avenue, carroll ave, 1329 carroll, 1324 carroll, 1345 carroll, 90026

Visited the old homes on Carroll Avenue in Angeleno Heights in Los Angeles, California the other day. Some old the homes were built in the 1880's. Most were built before 1920. The entire 1300 block of Carroll Avenue was listed under the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The styles are Victorian, Queen Anne and Arts and Crafts. I took a few photos.