Million Dollar Listing LA - General Discussion

[Stan39]

7 hours ago, CruiseDiva said:

I found some old seasons of MDLLA on "Peacock" in Comcast On Demand and have been watching Season 5 with Josh Flagg, Madison, and Altman. I didn't watch the show back then and, wow, what a difference in current shows. I love the houses and Flagg is adorable with his grandmother. I want to adopt him, or at least meet up with him for cocktails.

S1E4: Madison Hildebrand, “I’ve been an agent for about six months now” 😱😱😱

[Grrarrggh]

4 hours ago, Stan39 said:

S1E4: Madison Hildebrand, “I’ve been an agent for about six months now” 😱😱😱

I'm still more than a little disgusted at how easily these young (and I mean YOUNG) men slid into being high price real estate agents. 

[TheLastKidPicked]

On 8/23/2020 at 5:25 PM, Stan39 said:

S1E4: Madison Hildebrand, “I’ve been an agent for about six months now” 😱😱😱

 

On 8/23/2020 at 9:57 PM, Grrarrggh said:

I'm still more than a little disgusted at how easily these young (and I mean YOUNG) men slid into being high price real estate agents. 

I have a little behind the scenes information that you might find interesting.  It is actually easier in many ways to be a high priced real estate agent than a middle class real estate agent.

Why?

Because a middle class real estate agent has to wear many hats.  They have to coordinate inspections, coordinate mortgage lenders and sometimes even coordinate movers.  Let's say a good, solid middle class person wants to buy a house, and there are problems with the inspection.  Who do they call?  The real estate agent.  Or the buyer is having problems with the mortgage process.  Who do they call?  The real estate agent.  And that is all fine, because a good agent can deal with these things and that is how they earn their commission.

But on the super high end homes, both the buyer and the seller have attorneys who represent them.  If there is a problem with an inspection, the attorneys work it out.  If there is a problem with the movers, the attorneys deal with it.  And everything is all cash anyway, so no mortgage issues to deal with.

So what happened with Madison is that his parents and their friends happened to be buying and selling houses about the time he was finishing college.  They all decided,  "Well, somebody has to be the agent on these deals.  We should allow Madison to get his license and let him have the commission.  If anything goes wrong, the attorneys will straighten it out."  And this is how he started.

Now, we all know timing is everything.  Madison and these others were exactly the right age to understand the influence of social media.  And they knew they were marketing themselves even more than marketing houses.  So they were able to market themselves to get listings and  and let others handle the nuts and bolts of the transaction.  

Then they hit the jackpot when they were chosen for a reality TV series about million dollar listings and the rest is history.

 

 

[dleighg]

Tracy's West Hollywood white box: What did the owner DO TO HER FACE?

[oakville]

19 hours ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

 

I have a little behind the scenes information that you might find interesting.  It is actually easier in many ways to be a high priced real estate agent than a middle class real estate agent.

Why?

Because a middle class real estate agent has to wear many hats.  They have to coordinate inspections, coordinate mortgage lenders and sometimes even coordinate movers.  Let's say a good, solid middle class person wants to buy a house, and there are problems with the inspection.  Who do they call?  The real estate agent.  Or the buyer is having problems with the mortgage process.  Who do they call?  The real estate agent.  And that is all fine, because a good agent can deal with these things and that is how they earn their commission.

But on the super high end homes, both the buyer and the seller have attorneys who represent them.  If there is a problem with an inspection, the attorneys work it out.  If there is a problem with the movers, the attorneys deal with it.  And everything is all cash anyway, so no mortgage issues to deal with.

So what happened with Madison is that his parents and their friends happened to be buying and selling houses about the time he was finishing college.  They all decided,  "Well, somebody has to be the agent on these deals.  We should allow Madison to get his license and let him have the commission.  If anything goes wrong, the attorneys will straighten it out."  And this is how he started.

Now, we all know timing is everything.  Madison and these others were exactly the right age to understand the influence of social media.  And they knew they were marketing themselves even more than marketing houses.  So they were able to market themselves to get listings and  and let others handle the nuts and bolts of the transaction.  

Then they hit the jackpot when they were chosen for a reality TV series about million dollar listings and the rest is history.

 

 

IIRC, Madison & Chad had trouble selling homes during their first season  on MDLLA. Madison had to end up settling for getting commissions on leasing properties.

Madison was the most laid back broker on the show. He was very calm.

[Stan39]

39 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Tracy's West Hollywood white box: What did the owner DO TO HER FACE?

Felt like Tracy was a bit disingenuous with the agents saying the owners put $150K into the house without declaring it was mostly for repairs due to poor construction. 
 

I actually appreciate Altman buying a Dino instead of shiny new Ferrari or something he saw on Rodeo. But it’s kind of weird to see him in his office with his team. His agents look like normal women who dress appropriately and then Heather has had so much work done on her face, heavy makeup, and wearing some over the top outfit for a brokers meeting. Lol. 
 

I liked last week’s old school episode. It was a classic MDL d*ck swinging episode. “We’re the main cast agents. We’re all going to close deals this time. And even though these deals have already been negotiated, we’re going to pretend like we’re bluffing and eek out an extra 50-100 grand for our clients so it looks like we’re great negotiators.”

[dleighg]

1 minute ago, Stan39 said:

then Heather has had so much work done on her face, heavy makeup, and wearing some over the top outfit for a brokers meeting. Lol. 

The top looked almost like a wedding dress!

[CrazyInAlabama]

So going east from West Hollywood is grittier?     That didn't look gritty, it looked scary.    The contemporary in West/East Hollywood, had nine leaks?   I bet one of the next issues will be the skylight, and maybe more leaks from the plumbing, or the flat roof.   The skylight on the patio, with the upper patio next to it isn't good.   One dropped item, or something blowing over, and hitting at the right angle, and broken glass. 

My personal guess is that on going leaks like that house had will mean all kinds of future issues.    I don't like either agent talking about this house being new construction, it's almost two years old, and had a lot of issues.   

No way I would pay $4.1 for a leaky, white box with no yard, nearing grittier areas.    I'm sorry, but I don't call a backyard that is all pool, and wooden deck a "huge backyard".   Cute trick to get $3.8, but I think the buyer will be sorry they're buying this house, especially since they removed all contingencies.    I hope that still means an inspector will go through the house. 

That's so sad about the fire that destroyed that house.   I'm glad the owner's family that live nearby all escaped.  

Next week is the Season Finale.    The John Barrymore house looks amazing.  I love the old Hollywood homes.  

Disclosure rules on defects or possible issues (lead paint, etc) depend on the location.    Colorado has extensive disclosure forms, some other states still have no disclosure required.    

Edited August 29, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[dleighg]

13 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I bet one of the next issues will be the skylight

when we first saw the skylight, my thought was (how does that get clean, and how does it not leak?). Most skylights are on tilted roofs. And then I saw that it took up half of that little deck. Kind of weird, actually.

 

15 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Cute trick to get $3.8, but I think the buyer will be sorry they're buying this house, especially since they removed all contingencies. 

yeah, that is fundamentally dangerous and stupid.

[SunnyBeBe]

On 8/19/2020 at 1:56 PM, Carolina Girl said:

Interesting that even though Carlton of the Castle appeared on RHOBH, the listing DIDN'T go to Vile Kyle's husband's company, The Agency.  Wonder if Kyle and Mauricio were watching and he thought "thanks, Kyle....if she'd stayed on the show we might have gotten that commission."  

I HAVE been somewhat curious as to whether the allegations about Mauricio and his shenanigans on that fabulous home have affected perceptions of the The Agency overall.   

I recall seeing that house when Carlton was on RHOBH.  I wasn't impressed.  Not my style, unless it's authentic and in Europe. lol

I've watched just for fun some you tube videos of road tours around the Beverly Hills area.  I noticed that regardless of which street they feature, there seems to be a lot of work trucks parked on the side of the street.  I found this link that's from 2018, but, it confirms it in the Bird street areas.  The guy touring is also a broker, but, not one listed on this show.  I do get a kick out of his road tours around LA though. 

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by SunnyBeBe

[Stan39]

58 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

So going east from West Hollywood is grittier?     That didn't look gritty, it looked scary.    The contemporary in West/East Hollywood, had nine leaks?   I bet one of the next issues will be the skylight, and maybe more leaks from the plumbing, or the flat roof.   My personal guess is that on going leaks like that house had will mean all kinds of future issues.    I don't like either agent talking about this house being new construction, it's almost two years old, and had a lot of issues.   

No way I would pay $4.1 for a leaky, white box with no yard, nearing grittier areas.    I'm sorry, but I don't call a backyard that is all pool, and wooden deck a "huge backyard".   Cute trick to get $3.8, but I think the buyer will be sorry they're buying this house, especially since they removed all contingencies.    I hope that still means an inspector will go through the house. 

That's so sad about the house that destroyed that house.   I'm glad the owner and his family all escaped.  

Next week is the Season Finale.    The John Barrymore house looks amazing.  I love the old Hollywood homes.  

I think the no contingency thing is for technical term for financing and not a general term about the whole deal. But that just shows the negotiation was fake. You don’t go from a loan with contingencies to all cash/no contingencies. You go in with an all cash offer and no contingencies so you can lowball and get the house cheaper. Just dumb. 
 

I sure hope Tracy or somebody disclosed all the repairs and leaks to the buyer, otherwise I’d be suing everyone else if I bought a recently “upgraded” house that “upgraded a bunch of leaky roofs”. 

[njbchlover]

On 8/20/2020 at 11:23 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I suspect Fredrik will be on MDLLA a lot.  Does anyone know if MDLNY is coming back?   

I really hope so!!  I would love to see MDLNY right now - to see how the agents can navigate and negotiate through all the inventory that is probably available due to people moving out of the city.  It should be very interesting.

[hula-la]

2 minutes ago, Stan39 said:

 I sure hope Tracy or somebody disclosed all the repairs and leaks to the buyer, otherwise I’d be suing everyone else if I bought a recently “upgraded” house that “upgraded a bunch of leaky roofs”. 

My dad was a real estate agent (in Canada),  and I just spoke to him. He says that if the issues were remedied, then they technically don’t need to talk about the repairs (though they may still want to). If there are continuing issues and they don’t disclose them, then that’s a different story that will not end well for the seller or their agent. 

[Stan39]

4 minutes ago, hula-la said:

My dad was a real estate agent (in Canada),  and I just spoke to him. He says that if the issues were remedied, then they technically don’t need to talk about the repairs (though they may still want to). If there are continuing issues and they don’t disclose them, then that’s a different story that will not end well for the seller or their agent. 

That’s a fair point. If it was one leak or a single repair that was remedied I’d be more comfortable with that. But the fact that it’s multiple separate leaks suggest overall poor construction (something Tracy alluded to in general about mass construction of these box houses). I’d also refrain from constantly saying the owners “remodeled” or “updated” or “upgraded” the house because I think that’s misleading. The owners weren’t adding to the value of the house, they were making it livable/sellable. 

[Cheyanne11]

Another reason I dislike Altman is he doesn't seem to actually appreciate architecture or real estate, it's all about the size and monetary value of things.  I highly doubt he would've had a clue as to that 1930's architect that Flagg knew immediately a few weeks back.  As long as there's "sick" finishings and it's an "entertaining" house, he acts like it's the most amazing thing ever.  He just always comes off as a used car salesman.

[Stan39]

7 minutes ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Another reason I dislike Altman is he doesn't seem to actually appreciate architecture or real estate, it's all about the size and monetary value of things.  I highly doubt he would've had a clue as to that 1930's architect that Flagg knew immediately a few weeks back.  As long as there's "sick" finishings and it's an "entertaining" house, he acts like it's the most amazing thing ever.  He just always comes off as a used car salesman.

Yeah. I sometimes feel that way about Tracy, too. I wonder if she ever gets tired walking into a client’s closet and feigning that it’s the most incredible thing she’s ever seen. It must get old. The house she listed this week had a particularly ugly and cold closet, imo, but she still did her James Brown fake faint routine. 

[Dakisela]

4 hours ago, Stan39 said:

I actually appreciate Altman buying a Dino instead of shiny new Ferrari or something he saw on Rodeo. But it’s kind of weird to see him in his office with his team. His agents look like normal women who dress appropriately and then Heather has had so much work done on her face, heavy makeup, and wearing some over the top outfit for a brokers meeting. Lol. 
 

 

And contributes absolutely NOTHING.  They must LOVE her hands on involvement!

[SoCalAgain]

We sold a house in California a few years ago and were required disclose everything,  even (and assuming) it had been repaired.  And the owners face?  I’m going to guess a combo of many things, including steroid use. 

[sugarbaker design]

2 hours ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Another reason I dislike Altman is he doesn't seem to actually appreciate architecture or real estate, it's all about the size and monetary value of things.  I highly doubt he would've had a clue as to that 1930's architect that Flagg knew immediately a few weeks back.  As long as there's "sick" finishings and it's an "entertaining" house, he acts like it's the most amazing thing ever.  He just always comes off as a used car salesman.

Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said "The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."?

[pally]

It would be interesting to see all of them from both franchises work without their TV personas.   There is no way any of them would be as succesful as they are if how they behave on TV is how they are in real life.  I think Josh Flagg and the Brits are the closest to their real selves.  You can see glimpses of a very serious business person in Fredrik when you look past the antics.  Ryan from NY has always seemed to play the role tongue in cheek.  Altman seems like he would be a bit of a jerk in real life too.  Tracy comes off as phony on TV.  Madison and Luis always appeared to be trying too hard.

Rewatching both franchises it has been kind of sad watching the design trends towards the glass and marble mausoleums that seem to be the requirement to sell a house today.  The houses and apartments used to have a color other than gray, white, or black in them.

[Stan39]

1 hour ago, pally said:

It would be interesting to see all of them from both franchises work without their TV personas.   There is no way any of them would be as succesful as they are if how they behave on TV is how they are in real life.  I think Josh Flagg and the Brits are the closest to their real selves.  You can see glimpses of a very serious business person in Fredrik when you look past the antics.  Ryan from NY has always seemed to play the role tongue in cheek.  Altman seems like he would be a bit of a jerk in real life too.  Tracy comes off as phony on TV.  Madison and Luis always appeared to be trying too hard.

Rewatching both franchises it has been kind of sad watching the design trends towards the glass and marble mausoleums that seem to be the requirement to sell a house today.  The houses and apartments used to have a color other than gray, white, or black in them.

Someone needs to tell Ryan he’s not as funny as he thinks he is. I agree with you. They’re all bad actors who would be so much better if they stopped acting. Maybe it’s just me, but when I’ve worked with realtors I’ve always appreciated the no-nonsense, nuts and bolts, kind of attitude. People who understand the market, the codes, the neighborhoods, and the process and can help me through it. I don’t want someone telling me how sexy a house is or laugh at a lame joke I just told (I tell a lot.)

[lynxfx]

2 hours ago, SoCalAgain said:

We sold a house in California a few years ago and were required disclose everything,  even (and assuming) it had been repaired.  

Recently sold a condo in Vegas a d had to do the same thing. It was to protect me as much as it was to inform the buyer. Nothing should be a surprise in real estate so once you close you know the buyer has all the information. Anything that happens to the place after is now their problem. 

[dleighg]

6 minutes ago, Stan39 said:

People who understand the market, the codes, the neighborhoods, and the process and can help me through it.

I basically agree, but these buyers and sellers are on such a different plane than peons like us, who care about "stuff like that." These people just have gobs of money to throw around, like for a shower head that you can PROGRAM for god's sake. Or a $100k outdoor kitchen.

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, Stan39 said:

Someone needs to tell Ryan he’s not as funny as he thinks he is. I agree with you. They’re all bad actors who would be so much better if they stopped acting. Maybe it’s just me, but when I’ve worked with realtors I’ve always appreciated the no-nonsense, nuts and bolts, kind of attitude. People who understand the market, the codes, the neighborhoods, and the process and can help me through it. I don’t want someone telling me how sexy a house is or laugh at a lame joke I just told (I tell a lot.)

But that IS unfortunately what super rich seem to want.... which says something sad about society as a whole. 

[TheLastKidPicked]

18 hours ago, dleighg said:

I basically agree, but these buyers and sellers are on such a different plane than peons like us, who care about "stuff like that." These people just have gobs of money to throw around, like for a shower head that you can PROGRAM for god's sake. Or a $100k outdoor kitchen.

 

16 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

But that IS unfortunately what super rich seem to want.... which says something sad about society as a whole.

This brings out something we noticed watching the episode at our house.  I'm not sure what the difference was, but for most of this season we really enjoyed the players, including the buyers and sellers.  And the more rich they were and the more eccentric they were, the more we enjoyed it.

But these last couple of episodes had a different feel to them.  The sense of entitlement that some people have was really on display lately.  Still enjoying the show, but that is something that really jumped out at us the last couple of weeks.

 

[Stan39]

18 hours ago, dleighg said:

I basically agree, but these buyers and sellers are on such a different plane than peons like us, who care about "stuff like that." These people just have gobs of money to throw around, like for a shower head that you can PROGRAM for god's sake. Or a $100k outdoor kitchen.

True, but they still don’t want to feel like they’re being screwed over or charmed into anything. They’ll pay $100k for a $100k outdoor kitchen, but they won’t pay $200k for a $100k outdoor kitchen. It’s not that hard to look at comps in an area and determine if something is vastly overpriced. 
 

I looked at a house and put in what I thought was a reasonable first offer (this was during the recession when real estate was sitting on the market for over a year.) The owner came back that my offer was so far off from what he’s asking that it’s not worth his time to counter. Fair. Then a day later my agent reaches out to say the seller wrote and sent me a two-page letter on why I should buy his house (mentioning how the sun hits the water at sunset, blah, blah, blah). I just had to laugh. No time to submit a counter offer, but enough time to write a personal letter to me. He wanted me to get emotionally involved with the house so I’d overpay for it. I would think even rich people would find this off-putting (the exception being rich people who don’t earn their money so they don’t understand or appreciate the money they spend). 

[Surrealist]

On 8/26/2020 at 2:10 PM, SoCalAgain said:

We sold a house in California a few years ago and were required disclose everything,  even (and assuming) it had been repaired.  And the owners face?  I’m going to guess a combo of many things, including steroid use. 

I'm guessing that she, and her husband, are involved with bodybuilding.

[Starlight925]

I froze the screen for a few minutes just to get a look at that female seller's face and muscular arms.  Yes, bodybuilder is right.  It's unfortunate what she's done to herself, as she's removed all traces of femininity....unless that was what she was going for.

I'm getting so so so tired of the big white boxes.  They are going to be so dated in 5-10 years.  

There will be such a glut of these homes that are so "sick" today, needing hundreds of thousands in renovations as buyers start to crave color, comfort, and warmth, none of which are offered in any of these boxes.

[KHenry14]

53 minutes ago, Starlight925 said:

I froze the screen for a few minutes just to get a look at that female seller's face and muscular arms.  Yes, bodybuilder is right.  It's unfortunate what she's done to herself, as she's removed all traces of femininity....unless that was what she was going for.

I'm getting so so so tired of the big white boxes.  They are going to be so dated in 5-10 years.  

There will be such a glut of these homes that are so "sick" today, needing hundreds of thousands in renovations as buyers start to crave color, comfort, and warmth, none of which are offered in any of these boxes.

This is really true. In 5 years they will all be out of style. Good luck selling them then.

[Stan39]

2 hours ago, Starlight925 said:

I froze the screen for a few minutes just to get a look at that female seller's face and muscular arms.  Yes, bodybuilder is right.  It's unfortunate what she's done to herself, as she's removed all traces of femininity....unless that was what she was going for.

I'm getting so so so tired of the big white boxes.  They are going to be so dated in 5-10 years.  

There will be such a glut of these homes that are so "sick" today, needing hundreds of thousands in renovations as buyers start to crave color, comfort, and warmth, none of which are offered in any of these boxes.

Or they’ll just buy for the land and bulldoze those eyesores for whatever the next trend is. It’s funny, I’m rewatching the very first season of this show and an agent actually says, “I think my client will really like it because it’s not too much house.” Now you have a husband, wife, and child looking to buy a house, “We need 12 bedrooms, 37 bathrooms, 3 kitchens, and at least 45,000 square feet. And can we soundproof everything? The three of us want to live hear without ever having to see or hear each other.”

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, Stan39 said:

The three of us want to live hear without ever having to see or hear each other.”

But it has to be open concept! 😉

[CrazyInAlabama]

I agree, I bet the big white modern boxes will either be a glut on the market in a few years, and from what Traci said, they already are, and will either be selling at a big discount, or torn down and replaced by something else.   

[Anubis7]

Does anyone know the last name of the 'gentleman' agent Tony, that Tracy dealt with on the Fuller Avenue listing??

[njbchlover]

If I had a spare $20 million, I would buy that house from David and James - that was an amazing property.  It seemed to be a perfect blend of both modern and transitional/traditional.  That kitchen was amazing, the master suite was stunning, and if I had to describe my idea of heaven, it would probably be that "woman's" walk in closet, LOL!!! (Of course, in MY heaven, the shelves would be full of designer shoes and handbags, though!)

I was surprised that Traci and Josh Altman were working together on the Barrymore estate - that seemed like a perfect fit for Josh Flagg.  It was a very very quirky house, though - I'm sure it will be a difficult house to sell.  No wonder they removed the listing during the pandemic lockdown.

Edited September 2, 2020 by njbchlover

[lynxfx]

On 8/26/2020 at 2:22 PM, dleighg said:

Or a $100k outdoor kitchen.

That's peon money. The outdoor kitchen in Altman's listing was $1,250,000!!

Just catching up on the last episode. I don't know but I'm starting to feel a little icky watching these shows. The pure gluttony and overindulgence is getting too much. I think it was also the party filled with instagram "influencers" who let's be real, can't afford the house, and most didn't even have many followers. The ones shown were 400-600k. Not the millions expected from the pitch meeting. That whole party with all the selfie taking was a pure look at the fake side of LA.

The house is crazy of course with many cool rooms and features. I liked Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous back in the day and it is fun to get a peak at people that can afford that stuff. 

Still sad seeing the devastation from the fires. Especially hard if you are tied up in a property as your investment and to see it disappear overnight.

I could believe the shoddy work on Tracey's listing. People are paying for the land. These new construction box house jobs are probably under $1m depending on finishes and built fast. To have that bad of leaks, oh my. At least in Vegas she could probably have that same place built for a quarter of the cost.

[njbchlover]

On 8/27/2020 at 7:59 PM, Starlight925 said:

I froze the screen for a few minutes just to get a look at that female seller's face and muscular arms.  Yes, bodybuilder is right.  It's unfortunate what she's done to herself, as she's removed all traces of femininity....unless that was what she was going for.

I'm getting so so so tired of the big white boxes.  They are going to be so dated in 5-10 years.  

There will be such a glut of these homes that are so "sick" today, needing hundreds of thousands in renovations as buyers start to crave color, comfort, and warmth, none of which are offered in any of these boxes.

I, for one, can't wait until the "big white box" style is out of fashion.  Most of those homes have no personality, no uniqueness, no nothing.  Just big and white inside and out.  I think it will be interesting to see how realtors can spin these homes to sell when no one will want them anymore.  Around here, selling a split level or bi-level (raised ranch in some areas) is difficult, especially split levels, which were all the rage in the 1960's and 70's.  

I'll be so happy to see people to start injecting some color (other than grey) into their homes, as well.  I'm soooo sick of white, white, white everything, and realtors oohing and aahing over every single white on white on white home like it's the most original thing they've ever seen.  

I think that's why I most like the listings that Josh Flagg seems to feature on this show.  The homes are usually historical in some sense, but offer something original, unique and different from the "modern box" style.

[Stan39]

10 hours ago, njbchlover said:

If I had a spare $20 million, I would buy that house from David and James - that was an amazing property.  It seemed to be a perfect blend of both modern and transitional/traditional.  That kitchen was amazing, the master suite was stunning, and if I had to describe my idea of heaven, it would probably be that "woman's" walk in closet, LOL!!! (Of course, in MY heaven, the shelves would be full of designer shoes and handbags, though!)

I was surprised that Traci and Josh Altman were working together on the Barrymore estate - that seemed like a perfect fit for Josh Flagg.  It was a very very quirky house, though - I'm sure it will be a difficult house to sell.  No wonder they removed the listing during the pandemic lockdown.

Agree completely. Not only would Josh have completely fan boyed out on the Barrymore estate, he would have known and understood the importance of all the elements of the house. Tracy and Altman did their best, but they could only say, “this is so cool!” so many times. And showing the house, their clients and they only saw the house for views, area, etc. That is the ONE house where the history adds value. “The guys played poker here,” were John Barrymore, WC Fields, and Errol Flynn. How do people in LA not know movie history? I cringed when that young agent/developer walked through because I thought she and her boyfriend were going to suggest a tear down. 
 

I loved James and David’s house but also cringed at, “I think a lot of young influencers would find the house appealing.” Ugh, the thought of some 22-year-old Instagram model having $20M to throw at a house makes me sick. And can anyone explain the turn-style garage? Usually the cars either park on the turn-style and it rotates to let them out, or you use the turn-style to better park. That turn-style led off to rectangular parking areas so I’m not sure how the turn-style made it easier/better to park? I guess it allows a precise left turn in a tight space?

[Stan39]

Really liked the shift in storylines this season. Much more positive and focused on the real estate. Maybe next season they’ll go even further and replace the “you’ve priced it too high!” drama with, “Look, you know what happened. The sellers wanted to list WAAAY too high so this price was the compromise to get people in the door. But we’ll probably end up selling for millions less than we’re asking”. And then they all laugh and say, “Yeah, I’ve been there!” 
 

But that’s one nitpick and just wishful thinking. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I swear I've seen the artwork, and the Barrymore house speak easy before on TV.   Maybe when it was on the market before?  

Was that pool supposed to be green?   I hope someone doesn't claim they love it and want to restore it, and then tear it down anyway, for some white modern box. 

So the HIdden Valley (?) developer house, has privacy, but I'm wondering what all of the neighbor's homes think of the view of that house, and her trees?    I liked the staging on that house, it added the color the modern white boxes need.  $40,000 for staging was well spent.    The flowers were spectacular.    I liked the open shelves, and hanging space on the closets.    I think Josh Flagg is exactly right about the continuing downturn in the expensive places.    

Josh Flagg's house was a total gut, wasn't it?   I like how they did the updates on the realtors.  Hidden Valley is overpriced, and Flagg and Altman are right, it's a $15 million property, so that's why it's not selling.      

I didn't like the staging for the Barrymore house, and I'm sick of the puffy, hairy ottomans.  Layered rugs look bizarre to me.  The living room circles coffee table was ugly.    

I loved seeing how much real estate Josh Flagg has listed.   

Edited September 3, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Jess14]

I don’t know much about the LA market to know how much the location Altman’s castle house vs David and James’ house would affect value, but David and James’ house seemed WAY nicer than that castle house. $7 million more? Maybe not, but if I had money, I would definitely buy the Hidden Valley house. It was stunning. Altman’s castle house was hideous. 

[UsernameFatigue]

23 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

      

I didn't like the staging for the Barrymore house, and I'm sick of the puffy, hairy ottomans.  Layered rugs look bizarre to me.  The living room circles coffee table was ugly.    

The staging was hideous. There was not one room that looked better after, than it did before. In many cases the room looked the same with uglier furniture. And yes, the circle coffee table was one of the worst pieces of furniture I have ever seen on this show. Also agree, the layered rugs look was bizarre, especially when they were covering up the unique redwood tree flooring. I have no idea why Tracy thought her vision would show "continuity" so that buyers could envision themselves living there. All I saw was a waste of the homeowner's $25,000 to carry out Tracy's myopic "vision". 

All in all though I have enjoyed this season, and the realtors getting along. As much as I hate the big white boxes with no soul, I would rather see them that fake fighting among the realtors. More of this next season please, but with less white boxes and more historical homes with character. 

Edited September 3, 2020 by UsernameFatigue

[amarante]

The house on Coldwater Canyon had a really undesirable location. The road is a major commuter thoroughfare for people to get from the Valley into Beverly Hills and the West Side of Los Angeles. There would always be traffic and during commute time, I could be bumper to bumper. The backyard of the home was right next to the road - that's why there realtors were discounting the value of the home so significantly.

As I recall the "Castle" was located in an exclusive enclave in Beverly Hills. The home was taste specific for sure but all you need is one person with that specific taste which evidently Altmann found. Price reflected the reality of it being so taste specific. The Coldwater Canyon home on that lot would have sold for more - but probably would have been built more spectacularly as the land itself was more desirable - larger and had views.

I can't remember exactly what street Tracey's home was but it's not a scary area and it's not even particularly gritty. It just is further East and the price reflects that. Beverly Hills is desirable for a lot of reasons including that you can send your kids to the public school system so for many families that's a huge savings when you consider first grade through high school graduation. Beverly Hills below Wilshire was originally built for the shop owners with modest homes but that area is still less affordable because of the ability to send to the Beverly Hills public schools.

[2727]

I echo many of your sentiments. The staging on the Barrymore house was the worst I've seen on any of the thousands of real estate shows I obsessively watch.

This season was a small boon during a craptastic year because everyone was getting along, even Flagg and Altman. Their odd couple dynamic as co-listing agents was fun.  Tracy and Flagg being pop-in neighbors also amused me. Lovely to see Edith's joie de vivre and connections still working for her grandson from the grave.

"I will be introduced to my children when they're five."

Not enough Bobby!

[Stan39]

44 minutes ago, 2727 said:

I echo many of your sentiments. The staging on the Barrymore house was the worst I've seen on any of the thousands of real estate shows I obsessively watch.

This season was a small boon during a craptastic year because everyone was getting along, even Flagg and Altman. Their odd couple dynamic as co-listing agents was fun.  Tracy and Flagg being pop-in neighbors also amused me. Lovely to see Edith's joie de vivre and connections still working for her grandson from the grave.

"I will be introduced to my children when they're five."

Not enough Bobby!

I wonder who initiated the change, because it’s not just a deviation for this show but for all Bravo shows? I wonder if the cast was like, “Look, we’re all friends who work together and we’re kind of tired of pretending to fight with each other” or if Bravo came to them and said they’d be changing the format. Whoever is responsible, kudos. And prescient given what was about to happen. With the wildfires and pandemic I much prefer watching reality shows with compassion and professionalism. Don’t really need the petty bickering. 

[SoCalAgain]

I love that they’re all getting along.  It’s so much more fun to watch.  I’d given up on it a couple of years ago because they were all so awful.  They all have way more chemistry together than I ever would have guessed.  But I can totally do without Frederick being injected into the mix.  He’s just too weird. 

[Stan39]

2 minutes ago, SoCalAgain said:

I love that they’re all getting along.  It’s so much more fun to watch.  I’d given up on it a couple of years ago because they were all so awful.  They all have way more chemistry together than I ever would have guessed.  But I can totally do without Frederick being injected into the mix.  He’s just too weird. 

Not a fan of Frederick on this show, but surprised he wasn’t at the final open house with everyone else after building him up all season. Maybe that means he won’t be back?

Also think they missed an opportunity to have a old Hollywood, silent movie themed brokers open for the Barrymore house to mirror the James Bond-themed brokers open at the Canyon house. Then again, it probably would have turned into another Great Gatsby-type party which everybody has done at this point. (do people not read? I feel like everyone totally missed the message in the Great Gatsby. Lol)

[CrazyInAlabama]

I swear the last time the Barrymore house was on the market, that they did do a Roaring 20's themed party, or Great Gatsby theme party.     I know I saw that house before, but it might not have been on MDLLA.  

Edited September 4, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Stan39]

Did anybody else pick up when Heather said she and Josh just redid their house as East Coast Traditional? Maybe as much as Altman pretends to like all the super modern, tech heavy, giant white box houses he shows his actual preference is for a traditional, liveable family home. I never thought I’d actually like Altman on this show, but this season really showed the best of him. 

[Surrealist]

9 hours ago, SoCalAgain said:

I love that they’re all getting along.  It’s so much more fun to watch.  I’d given up on it a couple of years ago because they were all so awful.  They all have way more chemistry together than I ever would have guessed.  But I can totally do without Frederick being injected into the mix.  He’s just too weird. 

I like Fredrik, but his presence on this show throws off the balance.

[Grrarrggh]

11 hours ago, Stan39 said:

Did anybody else pick up when Heather said she and Josh just redid their house as East Coast Traditional? Maybe as much as Altman pretends to like all the super modern, tech heavy, giant white box houses he shows his actual preference is for a traditional, liveable family home. I never thought I’d actually like Altman on this show, but this season really showed the best of him. 

I heard that, but it seems that to Heather "East Coast Traditional" looks like an expensive cookie cutter house. White, grey, open concept, Shaker cabinets....