Welp, dreams die hard, and it took me some time (obviously) to sort through everything and get around to this post – gather my ‘lessons learned’ and come to terms with things I have no control over. The short story is I’ve decided to sell my little chunk of the Hollywood Hills and move on.
I still have a house design I love and a great experience/partner with Stillwater Dwellings, but everything else simply did not line up for me with respect to timing, effort, budget, and the current state of housing in greater Los Angeles. Building on a hillside is hard and while all the extra work and approvals were anticipated – for the most part – the timing of it, compounded by the delays of the pandemic, and soaring interest rates combined with cost of materials and labor have pushed things beyond reason for me. It is still a great piece of property, in an established neighborhood and the right house built on it will be both dramatic and spectacular – I just won’t be the one to take it to conclusion.
As of this writing the land has been on the market for about six months. Given a variety of factors, I was not expecting a quick sale. I’m not looking to recoup everything I’ve invested, but ideally just breakeven on the property itself and consider all other expenses to develop the land as paying for the experience, learning, and also having some fun with the process. While I haven’t given up on the dream of building, I will have to wait until this property sells before seriously starting over and finding another plot.
Part of what will make me happy in home ownership has also solidified more over the the past two years – coming out of my pandemic apartment hopping and getting back into a house and being reminded of all the good and bad of home ownership (even though I’m a renter – more on that later). A little extra property would be good for various outdoor hobbies I’ve rediscovered. A little isolation also doesn’t bother me, so maybe being in a neighborhood – with close neighbors – isn’t the best as I consider my future. Lastly, with a flexible, semi-hybrid work arrangement and retirement on the horizon (well, okay, more like 10-ish years away), I no longer feel I need to be close to the office. And you haven’t really lived until you’ll lane-split through LA traffic.
So I actually have more options than I previously thought. But in the meantime, if you have the patience and fortitude to build a home on a dramatic hillside, I got a great location for you…