Austin, a trained architect, says, “owning a house was always the dream I thought could never happen in Los Angeles.” While living with roommates in “a dingbat 1960s apartment building where you could literally hear everything,” he craved to own a place with no shared walls, character, and outdoor space — a tall order on a budget. As serendipity would have it, he found a stand-alone Spanish bungalow in a newly formed Tenants in Common community on the border of Silver Lake and Historic Filipinotown. Now for sale, he shares the perks of life in his first home.
Austin: “I was working with someone my age, and he bought a condo in Glendale. That’s when I realized I wasn’t thinking about the right kind of property. My place was the first place I found. I liked the character. It fit the old 1920s Los Angeles aesthetic. Everything else I’d seen were condos from the 60s or 70s with shared walls that had 100 units, in terrible shape, and cost more than this place did.”
“My realtor kept trying to steer me away from TICs. I think she just wasn’t cued in herself or thought it was more hassle than it was worth. I did a whole lot of research. There’s a part of the Ellis Act component that I was never very fond of. I learned more about that, too, and became comfortable with it. I like the idea of having my own separate building but being part of a community.”
“I went into it without knowing any of the neighbors and lucked out that they were all a similar demographic; millennial (a little younger, a little older), creatives. When I moved in, half of the group were gay and the other half were women, which I loved. I always got a kick out of that. It validated that it was the right choice.”
The house stands above the street in a gated Tenants-in-Common community. Tastefully updated, the one-bedroom, one-bath bungalow opens to a living room with hardwood floors, coved ceilings, a decorative fireplace, and large windows that frame views of the Downtown skyline. The deck, exclusive to this unit, is visible below, where you can imagine your future garden beds laden with herbs and lush potted greenery.
At golden hour, light reflects off the Downtown towers and illuminates the eat-in kitchen, featuring checkerboard floors, butcher block countertops, open shelving, built-ins, and a backsplash of subway tile that reaches from the counter to the ceiling. A small hallway leads to the laundry area, which has enough room for utility shelving, and the bedroom, which features an en-suite bathroom.
The bathroom is a stunner. Austin explains, “Everything except the tub is new. The goal was always to make it some version of modern but have historic nods.” Zia tile lines the floor and surrounds the combo tub/shower. The arch shower and cove ceilings mimic the cove ceilings in the living room. “The Hans Grohe fixtures and Duravit sink are contemporary but based on a historic design. I built the medicine cabinet with a mirror and rebuilt the window.”
The property is located South of Temple St and north of Beverly Blvd in what Austin describes as “a nondescript middle place that’s become more popular since I’ve moved in,” near the center of Historic Filipinotown’s thriving culinary and cultural scene. Serving homestyle Chinese cuisine, Woon Kitchen is located on Temple Boulevard. “Doubting Thomas is also around the corner on Temple. It’s a great place to go for breakfast. My neighbors would always get pastries from there and bring them over to share. And then there’s the mom and pop shops that have been there forever, like Gigi’s or Brooklyn Bagel, which has had some sort of glam up. There’s a music venue right around the corner on Beverly. One of my neighbors is in a band and used to play there quite a bit. He doesn’t play there anymore because he’s making it and touring. It’s cool to have cool neighbors. Everyone here is doing something interesting.”
