Author Archives: carolannglover

Can’t Find the Right Home? Maybe You Need a New Search Button. . .

House Hunting

We have come to rely on the Internet for. . . well, for just about all our information! We search for  friends, family, restaurants and REAL ESTATE.  As Realtors,  we search and search for the perfect new home for our Buyers and for the perfect sales price for our Sellers.  However, what we cannot do is touch and feel the real estate market through the internet.  The search buttons just don’t do house hunting justice.  We often hear Buyers discarding properties because the pictures are bad – or they are just boring.   You just can’t tell from the internet how a home “lives,” which is why we spend a tremendous amount of time going to the Broker previews.  It is the only way that we know how to provide valuable information and input to our buyers and sellers.  We are sometimes very disappointed by the actual feel of a property  — often we are pleasantly surprised.

So what’s the point of this blog?  A great Realtor is an extremely effective “Search Button.”  Find someone who will really listen to you and then share with them what you want. . .  not just the number of beds and baths but how you want your new home to LIVE. We love it when clients describe their lifestyle and how they want their home to feel day in and day out.   The Realtor then becomes an incredibly useful and time-saving tool and not just someone who can just unlock the front door.  Wouldn’t you trade endless hours of internet house hunting – for hours curled up with your IPAD in a cozy chair in your new home, spending your time searching for friends, family, and oh, those great restaurants!

Let us know how we can help you achieve your real estate goals! Call us today!

Paint the Town Green!

sage

On April 20 & 21 Manhattan Beach will go green. The 2013 SAGE (Sustainable and Green Environments) will host a free event at the MB National Guard Armory from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This expo is designed to promote the “green lifestyle,” environmentally friendly services, and nutrition. In addition, SAGE emphasizes the importance of eating locally grown foods, the various ways one can incorporate green technology into their daily lives and green practices that will reduce one’s “carbon footprint.”

According to a press release on the SAGE event, Angela Silverman, one of the event organizers, explains the objectives of the environmental expo. She states: “Sage Expo offers goods and products to help make our lives greener so we can enjoy a healthy life while also sustaining our beautiful beach communities and its environment. Mark Lipps, another organizer for the event adds: “Sage has a mission to our community on what local business and organizations have to offer so consumers can lower their monthly utilities and develop a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.”

There will be local vendors at the event including: Pages a Bookstore, Shop Local, doTERRA Essential Oils and Food Truck Connection. Aside from the local and environmentally sound goods and services, Spyder Surfboards will be hosting a fashion show, displaying some of their latest fashions including board shorts that are made from recyclable materials including plastic. Ambassadors for this event include Dave Salzman and Carol Glover from Estate Construction  & Development, LLC, Beach Business Bank, All Yellow Taxi, Beach Cities Web Design, Body Glove, Costal Creations Architecture, DDS Plumbing Inc, Beach Cities Cycling Club Inc,  and more! This event serves as an opportunity for Manhattan Beach locals to come together and learn ways in which they can enhance their lives and simultaneously, save the planet. If interested in becoming a vendor or volunteering for the event please visit the SAGE website! Stay tuned for more blogs from the Dave Salzman Real Estate Team.

Cantina Real Comes to Manhattan!

cantina

If you are a fan of Mexican Food, you will love this news! Cantina Real will be taking the place of American Farmhouse Tavern and Dining Hall, and making Manhattan Beach its second home. Cantina Real is a well- known for their margaritas, great chips and salsa, and for people that have a sweet tooth, Cantina’s deep fried ice-cream. Cantina Real has been around for approximately 50 years and has been owned and operated by Real Blias, 82, and his adult son Steve and daughter Joline.

According to a manager at Cantina Real, the expansion to Manhattan Beach will commence in couple years and will include new additions and/or changes to the menu. Blias and his son Steve will manage the new Manhattan Beach location, while Real’s daughter Joline, will stay in Hermosa. There are also plans in the works to remodel the patio area at the Hermosa Beach location in the near future. Owner of American Farmhouse, Orlando Novoa will be relocating to his unique food fare to San Luis Obispo and also embarking on plans to help open a new resturant in the nea future. Although locals are sad to American Farmhouse leave, they are just as happy to welcome Cantina Real to the 90266. Stay tuned for more “Living in the 90266,” and make sure to check out the Dave Salzman Real Estate blog.

The Hamptons are right in our backyard…

Image Courtesy of Google Images

Image Courtesy of Google Images

If there is a new seafood restaurant in the Southbay, you should check out it is The Hamptons . The Hamptons is a casual Seafood restaurant located on Manhattan Ave. near Mama D’s. If you are a lobster fan, at The Hamptons, you are in luck. Recommended lobster dishes include the Lobster Mac n’ Cheese and the Lobster Roll. The Lobster Mac n Cheese is made with three delicious cheeses including: Mozzarella, Smoked Gouda, and Gruyere; and the Lobster Roll is a great choice and unique to The Hamptons. The inspiration for this dish comes from the restaurant “Lobster Roll” located in Long Island. If you are a fan of clams, management recommends the great flat belly clams, which are flown in directly from Boston to your plate twice a week! Hamptons also serves chicken dishes and filet mignon. There is something for everyone at The Hamptons and fresh food is a top piority.  They serve for the fresh, locally-grown food and do not serve foods that have been GMO modified. Don’t forget to check out thier “special menu” here!

Stay tuned for more happenings in the 90266, on our blog and on Facebook! The Dave Salzman Real Estate Team has over 40 years of local real estate experience. We represent buyers and sellers all over the south bay and provide an extraordinary customer experience.

Lock it or lose it! The 90% Rule

burglar

Have you had anything stolen from your car or home?  Do you know anyone who has?

Shocking statistic:  Over 90% of thefts are due to unlocked doors and windows – either in your car or home.

Although Manhattan Beach is a safe community, there are people who will commit a crime of opportunity if given the chance. This is where you come in – remove as many opportunities as possible for people to steal from you.  Having an unlocked door or window is an invitation to steal.

The Manhattan Beach Police Department has instituted an awareness  Program “Lock It or Lose It!”  to make people aware that  — in many cases —prevention is in your Hands!!

Here are some tips for keeping your belongings safe.

•             LOCK your vehicle at all times.

•             KEEP your valuables – laptop, camera, MP3 player, GPS system, cell phone, purse, wallet, briefcase and other items out of plain view

•             LEAVE no trace or sign of electronics, such as docking stations or connector cables in plain view

•             REMOVE your third row seats and store them in a locked garage

•             DON’T leave packages or shopping bags visible in your car

•             UNLOAD your car immediately when you get home

•             Do not leave items in your car overnight

•             SET your alarm or anti-theft device

Want more information on this topic.. check the MBPD website:  http://www.ci.manhattan-beach.ca.us/Index.aspx?page=223

Thinking of moving to Manhattan Beach? Click here to shop for Manhattan Beach real estate.

Finally Finished!! 1605 Harkness, Manhattan Beach

Remodeling.  One of those topics that people can agree on. . . they agree that you either “like it” or “hate it.”  My partner, Dave Salzman and I are in the LIKE IT camp.  It is not a job for us, it is a passion.  Take a look at our newest project!! Come by our open houses  Oct.6/7, 2-5 p.m. or take a look at our before and after video:  1605 Harkness, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

 

 

Manhattan Sand Section Home with Six Tennis Courts!

Looking for a Sand Section Home with huge outdoor space and a place for the kiddies to play?  Your home may have just come on the Market.  My Brokers’ Open pick of the Week for “Beach Charming” goes to 401 – 17th Street, Manhattan Beach, Ca.  Built in my favorite era (late 50’s – early 60’s), this home is 2,700 sf of remodeled beach relax – 3 bedrooms and 3 baths in the main house, and a 1 bedroom, 1 bath apartment built over the garage.  The outdoor front deck and patio area between the house and the garage apartment are perfect for entertaining. Where are the six tennis courts?  Well, a little literary license taken here . . as they are at Live Oak Park next door and just down the hill from this home.  High enough on the hill to get ocean views and looking over the courts and fields of Live Oak Park , this is a very special home. [p.s. I mapped this on-line and the wrong house was tagged. The property is the last one on the block]

Manhattan Beach Homes – Eclectic!

Classic Beach Cottage Living Room

I Love Surprises!  That is what you get when touring homes on Broker’s Opens.  Today was no exception.  I chose two homes to review because they epitomize Beach living – at  two extremes.  One is a charming classic Beach home and the other is a brand new contemporary.  Homes can be wildly apart in living style, location and price — but that is what is so great about 90266.  A mix of vintage and modern with a wide array of architectural styles; throw in the feel from the very different neighborhoods and you have eclectic.  We often don’t reflect on the variety within the four square miles of Manhattan Beach but today’s tour was a big reminder.  While touring, my colleagues (Dave Salzman, Taya Asimos, Randy Leaf) and I selected our “most memorable” picks for the afternoon.  The winner for Quintessential Beach Living went to 429 36th Street, Manhattan Beach.  Actually a duplex, built in the 40’s these two units are in impeccable condition.  The are identical 2 bedroom, 1 bath units, (2,150 sf)  but were clearly built by someone with style and a little money to burn at the time.  Little details make these units VERY special – large rooms, detailed plaster ceilings, large kitchens.  The two units sit at the rear of the lot providing a great front yard – rare in the Sand Section.  I have to thank the current and former owners of this duplex for lovingly maintaining the integrity and beauty of the original finishes. This duplex gets a huge stamp of “ADORABLE” and our hope and prayer that the next owner chooses to live in this charming piece of Beach History. Listing Price $1,450,000.  Next on our Winner List is the brand new construction townhome at 1402 Manhattan Avenue, Manhattan Beach.  This is a 3 bedroom, 4 bath within 2,400 sq ft of beautiful from the moment you walk in the door.  The finishes are spot-on and the views – well worth the price tag.  Not to mention – walking distance to downtown Manhattan Beach.  If an older home must be torn down to make way for “the new” it is a relief to see the old replaced with a home of vision and style.  This townhome is the winner of High Style Contemporary gets a stamp of “STUNNING.”  Listing Price $2,799,000.  Happy hunting in finding your unique Manhattan Beach home.