Just Sold: 706 Dianthus St Manhattan Beach
My Buyer clients just closed escrow on a Single Family Residence located at 706 Dianthus St in the Manhattan Beach Hill Section and there are a lot of valuable take aways from this sale. But before we get to the teachable moments…..
WHAT’S THE “HILL SECTION”?
Real Estate in Manhattan Beach, well the Beach Cities in general as well as most of the South Bay, is defined by a number of “micro-markets”. Think of these as distinct neighborhoods that may have different pricing structures from other homes in the same city or zip code. In other words, expect to pay more for a similar home in the Tree Section which is west of Sepulveda (PCH) than you would for the same home in East Manhattan.
The MLS separates Manhattan Beach into 6 distinct neighborhoods.
Area 142 The Sand Section
Area 143 The Tree Section
Area 144 The Hill Section
Area 145 Manhattan Village
Area 146 Manhattan Heights / Liberty Village
Area 147 Mira Costa
If you want to learn more about the Manhattan Beach neighborhoods and the other Beach Cities micro markets, follow this link.
The Hill Section is located west of Sepulveda, east of Valley Ardmore, and south of Manhattan Beach Blvd to the Hermosa Border. There are a few reasons Hill Section homes are so desirable.
Many are large estate sized (for lack of a better word) mansions with either ocean views, city views or both. You can walk or bike to the beach and downtown. So, less dense than the Sand Section (walk streets and the Strand), and more private but with all the benefits of the beach lifestyle.
Many of the most expensive homes in Manhattan Beach are found in The Hill Section.
TEACHABLE MOMENTS
Through no fault of my Buyer clients we were late on contingency removals and closing. Like really late and it was all on the lender (who shall remain nameless).
Fortunately, well very fortunately, the Listing Agent and Seller were kind enough to wait until the lender got their act together. Well kind enough with a little bit of cajoling and charm on my part.
But had they not been willing to work with us there could have been a very unfortunate outcome as in the Buyers defaulting and losing their EMD.
So what is the lesson to be learned here?
If you are a Buyer, ok to shop for rate but the lender performance really, really, matters. And not all lender’s performance is the same.
The second lesson is if you are a Buyer, don’t get caught up in the shiny objects (my clients did not). By that I mean there were some newer homes on larger lots with more contemporary finish work in East Manhattan that were priced the same or less and got bid up to be more expensive. But at the end of the day location is the most important piece of the equation because everything else can be changed.
My clients were very, very smart to go for the best location for their budget and do their own updates to fit their needs.
WHAT DID I SELL?
706 Dianthus is a 5 bedroom SFR built in 1997 on a 5161 Sq Ft lot. It has one of the more standard floor plans found in Manhattan Beach with a formal living room and dining room as well as a huge bonus room and kitchen. This home also has a bedroom downstairs which is a highly desirable feature these days. In addition to the 5 bedrooms there is also an office.
There were a number of updates done over the years but much of the home was still in original condition waiting for the vision of the new owners.
I can’t wait to see what they do with it!