Densmore Avenue in Encino, California

I remember as a young boy growing up on Densmore Avenue in Encino, California.  We had spent the first 9 years of my life living in Pacoima, California and all I remember is we had a great backyard with a hand built jungle jim next to the garage and we could climb on the garage roof and see our neighbors house.  On Densmore I didn’t go up on the roof until I was 12 and then only to retrieve a baseball that we couldn’t get off the roof any other way. 

 We moved on to Densmore in 1960 towards the end of summer.  My parents paid $29,000 for a house that would sell for $780,000 in 2004.  What magic it must be for someone to spend 40 years in a house and have the equity grow.  There are many people in that situation today who have equity in the house, no mortgage, a small retirement income and can not see how they are going to pay their electric bill.  It is in those circumstances that one might consider a reverse mortgage.  There are many variables in this, but my friend Ron at http://www.wsoap.com/ and ask him what the opportunities, risks and costs are when one takes out a reverse mortgage.

Our house on Densmore was North of Ventura Boulevard and it was a great place to run the streets after the government closed the Freeway onramp at the end of the street.  Can you imagine that for the first 20 years on Densmore my parents had to contend with drivers driving 40 and 50 miles per hour down the street because the street was one half mile from Ventura Boulevard to the freeway onramp.  No one ever died and there were no politicians living on the street, although there was more than 1 television producer and an assortment of actors, accoutants, teachers and lawyers.

Densmore used to be a walnut grove and we had the biggest walnut tree on the block and the walnuts would continually fall on the driveway and stain the concrete.  When one is selling a house, there is always the consideration of the driveway’s condition.  The front of the house was pretty big, and by the time my parents finished converting rooms and the garage we had a 4 bedroom house, 3 baths and 6 kids filled the house, except we still had room in the living room and dining room to play and make a mess, before having to clean it all on Friday night for the Sabbath.

Now all of this may or may not have to do with getting a better rate on a mortgage, but it does have considerations for the value of the house, the value of the street, the value of the community.  When you buy a house do you talk to neighbors to find out who you will be living with?  Most people do not and there in lies a question or two.  But for the most part I can only tell you that Buyers Always Beware and to get the best available rate, one needs to ask questions.