It's always fun to see what Pasadena homes come up for sale. But, what's even more interesting is to take a look at the most luxurious estates available.

If your pocket book can afford a $16.5 million price tag, Coldwell Banker recently listed a gorgeous estate on El Molino which offers 7 bedrooms and YES.... 14 bathrooms.

WHERE:  1239  S El Molino Ave,  Pasadena, CA  91106

LIST PRICE:  $16,500,000

WHAT:  17,000+ square foot Pasadena mansion with over 73,000 square feet of land!

Interested?  Give us a call at 626-629-8439

MLS Description:

Like new-dramatic & renovated in 2005 through 2011. Sophisticated elegance awaits you. Through custom entry gates & well-manicured gardens is this stunning mansion set among other prestigious estates . A spectacular entry hall, grand living room, dining room, library/downstairs FR, gourmet kitchen with top of the line cabinetry & appliances, 2 Br suites, lounge, media room, movie theater, exercise room w/ sauna, steam shower, elevator to wine cellar. 7 fireplaces, beautiful wood flooring, , soaring high ceilings, outstanding quality, details & elegant decor throughout. Upstairs are 5 Br suites, office, FR & luxurious baths. French doors in most rooms open to beautiful covered patios & gardens. For outdoor entertaining there is an outdoor kitchen, eating area w/ Viking appliances, SALT pool & spa, exquisite grounds & views from all rooms . Separate staff's quarters with Kit, LR, 2 Brs. is included in taped sq.ft. 5 car garage & extra space for 26 cars.

Interested in seeing what Pasadena homes are available for sale? Click on the home search button below to search for full access to the Multiple Listing Service. 

READ MORE:  Pasadena real estate update 2012 – see luxury home sales.

Irina is a Top Realtor and the founder and President of Pasadena Views Real Estate Team™. She is available to assist you in all of your Real Estate transactions. Email or call her today at (626)629-8439.

Are you relocating to Pasadena?  If so, take a look at our 365 Things To Do In Pasadena® .  Call us at 626-629-8439 to schedule a time for your free home buyer or home seller consultation!

Pasadena Views, John Aaroe Group
Irina Netchaev, Luxury Real Estate Agent
(626) 629-8439
Email Irina

San Marino, California is known for its luxury homes, expansive lawns and #1 public school district in California.  Real estate is not inexpensive here.  In fact, an average priced home sold in February of 2011 was $1,886,000 and the average price per square foot was $631.

However, ask anyone who lives in San Marino what they love about this town and they'll tell you that this is a very tight knit community.   A small town with approximately 4,500 homes next to a metropolitan, fast paced Pasadena.  It truly offers the best of both worlds.  And, let's not forget The Huntington Library and Gardens, Lacy Park and the El Molino Viejo (The Old MIll!)

Read More:  San Marino City Guide

Let's take a look at 2010 and beginning of 2011 Home Sales:

San Marino home listings above are courtesy of Pasadena Foothill Association Multiple Listing Service and were represented by various real estate agencies in the Greater Pasadena area. The list of homes above is for informational purposes only to the community and should not be construed to represent that these sales were by Pasadena Views Real Estate Team Agent partners.

See all available San Marino Real Estate by clicking below:

READ MORE:  Pasadena real estate update 2012 – see luxury home sales.

Irina is a Top Realtor and the founder and President of Pasadena Views Real Estate Team™. She is available to assist you in all of your Real Estate transactions. Email or call her today at (626)629-8439.

Are you relocating to Pasadena?  If so, take a look at our 365 Things To Do In Pasadena® .  Call us at 626-629-8439 to schedule a time for your free home buyer or home seller consultation!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Earthquake and Tsunami damage, Japan-March 12, 2011: This is a satellite image of Japan showing damage after an Earthquake and Tsunami in Minamisoma, Japan. The water came 1.5 miles onto the shore. (credit: DigitalGlobe)"][/caption]

One of my real estate clients forwarded this article to me and I wanted to share it with my readers.  Given the tragedy in Japan, it's really important to ensure that you have an earthquake kit and review safety procedure.  This article has been written by Doug Copp who is a Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team.  Doug hopes that the information in the article will save lives in an earthquake.

There have been some rebuttals to what Doug says which you can read here and American Red Cross still recommends the "Drop, Cover and Hold" method based on the U.S. Building and Code Construction Standards - more info on earthquake preparedness and disaster education can be found here.  However, a lot of what he says makes quite a bit of sense so I thought that I'd share it with you.  Also, here's a link to a list of what you need in your earthquake survival kit - both at home and in your car.  Please review and discuss with your family and loved ones and please, pass along.

Here's an extract from Doug Copp's article on the "Triangle of Life".

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. I am amazed that even today schools are still using the ?Duck and Cover? instructions- telling the children to squat under their desks with their heads bowed and covered with their hands.

This was the technique used in the Mexico City school.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact.. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Almost everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when buildings collapse ARE CRUSHED TO DEATH. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.


2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. That position helps you survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.


3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks.. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs. Concrete slab buildings are the most dangerous during an earthquake.


4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.


5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.


6) Almost everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!


7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads ? horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.


8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.


9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and lying in the fetal position next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.


10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.





In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my 'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results.

The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover. There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe , and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

Spread the word and save someone's life... The entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

Quattro Blu is a condominium complex in the heart of the Playhouse District of Pasadena.  Built in 2004, this 53 unit, modern building has a beautiful courtyard, gym and guest parking.

Comprised of cosmopolitan (1-3 bedroom) condominium style homes, residents of Quattro Blú will enjoy the ambiance of an urban lifestyle in a safe, low maintenance environment. Featuring European décor to compliment both the classic and contemporary artists that influenced its design, Quattro Blú features an abundance of exterior decks, patios, and terraces to invoke a sense of romance and serenity while a unique urban experience.

LOCATION:  128 North Oak Knoll Avenue

It offers one level and penthouse style condos that are on two levels.  Several elevators are available throughout this property to make it easy to get your groceries and to move large items from the under ground security parking.  Trash chutes are on each level and mail delivery is next to the elevator garage entry with secure space for large packages.

Minutes from the Pasadena Playhouse, Old Pasadena, restaurants, cafes, theaters and public transportation, these condos are perfect for urban living.

READ MORE:  365 Things To Do In Pasadena®

The condo floor plans are spacious.  Most have washer & dryer inside the unit in a separate utility room.  Faux fireplaces, gourmet kitchens with granite counters, large windows and spa-like bathrooms greet you upon entry.

Recent Sales at Quattro Blu Condo Complex:

Sales data from the Pasadena Foothill Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. These condo sales were listed and sold by various real estate agencies around Pasadena, California.

Pasadena Condos for Sale in the Quattro Blu Complex are:

[idx-listings linkid="124693" count="100" showlargerphotos="true"]

Quattro Blu Map Location:

What is the one room in the house that everyone is drawn to? The Kitchen!

When I show homes for sale in Pasadena, the majority of my buyers, had straight to the kitchen. They linger in the kitchen for awhile, I'm sure, trying to visualize themselves cooking and entertaining there. Of course... that's where most families spend their time.

In my family, most of our conversations and activities take place in the kitchen. Kids are drawn to it. Guests are always hanging around the kitchen. And... of course, my mom is constantly in the kitchen offering to help. Kitchen usually is the heart of the house.

So... if you are selling your Pasadena home, you need to ensure your kitchen drawn your potential buyers and makes them feel comfortable. There's nothing like a bright and sunny room to do that for you.

Recently, I put a home on the market in the Caltech neighborhood of Pasadena. This property was built in 1925 and has been remodeled many times since. However, the kitchen still had those brown wood cabinetry that was used extensively in the 80s. It was just a regular looking kitchen.

The home owners hired Michelle Minch of Moving Mountains Designs to help them prepare their home for sale. One of the things Michelle does is goes through the house and provides a comprehensive report with her recommendations for each room in the home.

The kitchen suggestions were minimal, but the impact was tremendous. Take a look at the kitchen before:

Here is a list of suggestions that Michelle has provided during her home staging consultation:

* Paint the cabinets white (they had a medium brown wood stain). This would brighten the room and freshen tired cabinets.
* Change the cabinet hardware to better reflect the style of the home. Cabinet hardware is like jewelry for your cabinets.
* Replace tile counters with granite or a solid surface quartz material (the homeowners had already researched the cost of granite counters)
* Replace the old sink and faucet with a new stainless undermount sink and stainless modern faucet.
* Remove 2 cabinets that had been added in an earlier remodel and didn't match the style of the other cabinets. This also opened up this galley kitchen.
* Clean out cabinets so they were half empty and neatly arranged.
* Clean counters of everything except what they needed to use every day (coffee maker, toaster, etc.) while their home was on the market.
* Remove window treatments that made the kitchen feel dark and small.

The home owners made the suggested changes and here's what the kitchen looks like today:

A major difference!

When you are thinking of putting your Pasadena home for sale, make sure to use all your available resources and include a property staging consultation along with interviewing a real estate agent to sell your home. When your house shows its best, you will get the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time.

Ready to sell? Give me, Irina, a call at 626-629-8439 for information about the real estate market and a free home selling consultation. And, call Michelle for a home staging consultation at 626-385-8852.

A few days ago, we talked about what takes place at a Termite Inspection. As a recap, in California, a termite inspection is part of the process of selling a home. The home seller is usually responsible for providing the termite report and paying for certain items on that report.

Read More: What a Termite Looks Like

Today, I've asked Fernando from Del Rio Termite to explain a little more about what is on the Termite Report. Here's what he had to say:

Irina: After the Termite Inspection, we receive a report and it is usually broken out into two sections - Section 1 and Section 2. How would you explain the differences between these two sections?

Fernando: Section 1 items are anything that's active (infestation)... for example, anything that a termite destroyed or a termite infestation itself. That is considered a Section 1 item. Section 2 items are any items that can lead to a termite infestation. For example, cellulose debris, earth to wood contact, etc. Those would be considered Section 2 items.

Irina: What is cellulose debris?

Fernando: Cellulose debris is any old cardboard or any debris left after construction at the house or debris left after any type of construction work underneath the house. That would be considered cellulose debris.

Irina: So we get the termite report. The report is then provided to both the seller and the home buyer. And... usually, standardly, what we see in Pasadena is that the home seller pays for any work under Section 1 items and the home buyer would pay for any work under section 2 items. Right before we close escrow, we call you out again should there be any work that needs to be done. That work is then performed. And... just curious in your experience what are you seeing as far as how much Section 1 work will cost the home seller?

Fernando: Well... we live in California where termites are very common. On a regular 2 to 3 bedroom house, you will probably find somewhere between $600 to about $1,200, pretty much. That's kind of a fair estimate. Now... if you are talking about a fumigation where you would need to tent the entire property and maybe some subterranean spraying, then we're talking somewhere between $1,200 to $1,700 - give or take - depending on the square footage of the property, of course.

Irina: And, that's when you tent the house, right? How bad would it have to be for you to consider tenting the house?

Fernando: We consider tenting, pretty much, when we find inaccessible areas (when infestation extends to inaccessible areas.) That's pretty much when you would recommend a fumigation or if we see a very, very heavy infestation.

If you'd like to talk to Fernando, you can reach him at Del Rio Termite at (626) 201-9853. Do you have any questions about termites in California or real estate transactions, in general? If so, send them to me at Irina(at)PasadenaViews(dot)com or just leave a comment below, and we'll try to address them.

In January I was called by some homeowners for a comprehensive home staging consultation. They wanted to prepare their home for sale and planned to put it on the market in the beginning of March. Yesterday we staged the home and I applaud the home owners (now home sellers) for following my home staging recommendations to a T! Countless hours of hard work and elbow grease went into making this home shine.

I can't over stress the importance of curb appeal when selling a home.

From the moment a prospective buyer has a first view of your home, they are making a sub-conscious decision about how much they like or don't like your home. If they have a good impression of the outside of your home (often called curb appeal), that is one less objection you must overcome when they walk through the front door. Your house (no matter how lovely) is not having to overcome that bad initial impression from the curb.

Here's the front of the home as I first saw it in early January.

And here's the house almost 2 months later - the epitome of "charming English cottage"!

The list I gave them during the home staging consultation was long and specific. Some of my suggestions were:

• Trim camellia bushes in front of the windows below the bottom of the window and "lace them out" (trim out some of the inner branches to give a lighter, more lacey effect).
• Trim and lace out camellia bushes on either side of the front door and either corner of the house.
• Remove all dead plants and fallen leaves.
• Plant new colorful flowers in planting beds (I suggested adding Impatiens which grow quite well this time of the year in Pasadena).
• Cover all exposed dirt with redwood bark chips.
• Neaten border edging.
• Broadcast a weed and feed product on the front lawn and rake in some grass seed on bare areas.
• Paint the front door red for a jolt of eye-catching energy.
• Add 2 bowls of colorful flowers on either side of the front door.

Making these changes created a true Cinderella transformation for this house. The house now shouts "Look at me! Aren't I lovely?"

If you are thinking of selling your home, call Michelle at Moving Mountains Design for our comprehensive Market Ready Real Estate home staging consultation (626)385-8852.

This home is listed by Irina Netchaev, Pasadena Views Real Estate Team (lic#00872112), (626)627-7107. Read more about this home Charming Caltech Area Home Staging

Here's a weekly update for some of the activities and news around Pasadena neighborhood cities and San Gabriel Valley.  You can take a look at the video recapping activities here.

A quick overview of the featured stories:

1. A production of Guys and Dolls by Arcadia High School takes place on March 29th through April 2nd - tickets are $15.  More information here - Guys and Dolls Musical.
2. Echo Park - Fargo Street is the steepest hill in Los Angeles just had their Fargo Steep Hill Climb.
3. La Canada Flintridge - High School Vandalized by the Pastel Bandit.
4. Sierra Madre - Gas Station Scam
5. Pasadena Unified School District - possibility of 63 layoffs affecting Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre

San Marino High School drama department is working hard on their musical of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Performances will run March 18th through the 26th.  More information and ticket purchase can be found on the San Marino High School Drama website.   Tickets are $15.

Read more about San Marino at San Marino City Guide.

If you have your Pasadena home for sale, your real estate agent most likely suggested that you get a Termite Inspection done as soon as possible.  I usually order a termite inspection the first week of all my home listings.

The reason for that is that in Pasadena and surrounding cities, it is customary for the seller to pay for the Termite inspection and perform some of the work identified in the termite report.  More on the type of work that a Pasadena seller is usually responsible for in tomorrow's post.  Since we live in Southern California, these strange little insects are happily feasting on all the wood that is used in home constructions and controlling termite activity is part of every day life.

My termite company of choice is Del Rio Termite and Pest Control.  I've worked with the owner Fernando Gonzalez for many years now and have not been disappointed.  Not only is he very reasonable and excellent at what he does, but he is always willing to come out for reinspections and to address any issues that might arise for his customers.

I asked Fernando to explain to us what he usually does during a termite inspection.  Below, you will find a very short (less than 2 minutes) video as well as my transcription of the process.

What are the steps of a termite inspection?

When we get to the property, we pretty much check the entire exterior - roof rafters, eaves, and anything that the termites can pretty much feast on... not just termites, but any wood destroying organism.  We walk around with a little device that we probe or we tap with so that we can test the strength of the wood so we know any termite damage, any dry rot, any water damage...

Once we're through with the exterior, we'll take a walk on the inside and we look at all the window sills, wood floors, anything that the termite can feast on.  We also check the attic.  We take our ladder and go up to the attic and check all accessible areas.  We check for any termite droppings, any termites that have been swarming, any termite wings.

Once we're done with the attic, we'll check the stall shower.  We'll run a bucket to see if the shower is leaking or not.  Once we're underneath the house, we check around, we put our suits on... crawl and check for any subterranean termites, which are termites that come from underneath the ground... for any termite debris and for any termite droppings as well.  Then we also check if that shower that we tested to see if there was any leaking, any rot, any fungus or wood destroying organisms.

And... pretty much... that's a termite inspection.

Stay tuned for more answers to the most common termite inspection questions over the next few days.  In the meantime, if there's a specific question that you'd like to ask Fernando, leave it in the comments and I'll make sure that we get it answered.

If you'd like Fernando to come out and inspect your home, please give him a call at 626-201-9853.  And, if you're thinking of selling your home and need a consultation with a real estate agent, give me a call at 626-629-8439.

For years, Pasadena California Real Estate Homes website had a totally different feel and look.  Well... it was time for change.  In reviewing the functionality of our real estate website and going through many emails from our readers, we decided to move our site to a different blogging platform and to change our Home Search Providers.

PLEASE NOTE:  If you already had a VIP Membership to search for homes on the old site, your user name and password is the same and should work.  Should you have any problems, you can either create a new membership or call us at 626-629-8439 and we will set it up for you.  We apologize in advance for any inconvenience!

A couple of reasons for the change:

1.  Our new wordpress platform gives us more control over how the content on the site is displayed so that you will be able to have a more user friendly experience.

2.  Most of you know us by PasadenaViews real estate team and have seen our signs throughout San Gabriel Valley.  So... we wanted our real estate website to reflect our branding.

3.  Our new Home Search Provider will still have the same functionality allowing you to save home searches that will email you the home listings that you are interested in.  You will still have access to the thousands of listings that are in the Multiple Listing Service not only in Pasadena, but pretty much the entire Southern California.  But now, you will also be able to:

• Search for real estate and specific homes via map which will now allow you to  zoom in on a particular neighborhood or city.
• Search by Foreclosure vs Pre - Foreclosure (short sales) in Pasadena and throughout Southern California
• Search by School District of a specific school!
• Search by WalkScore - how close is the home to restaurants, shops, etc.
• You can also have full access to investment property like income producing apartments or smaller investments like duplexes

• You can now easily add your own notes to your favorite Pasadena area homes, condos and townhomes.
• Send a quick email to your loved one with the home listing information
• Or just save as a favorite home listing to come back and visit later.  It's a great way of keeping track of real estate market activities in your area especially if you are a home owner and just want to know how long the homes are taking to sell and whether or not we're seeing many price reductions.

• Price History of homes for sale is now at your fingertips.
• Walk Score is easily seen and found
• Additional tools and functionality available by clicking a tab

• Mortgage Calculator at your fingertips

So... sad as it is, we are here to say good bye to the old and welcome in the new Pasadena Views Real Estate website.

We do anticipate some glitches and hope that you will stay patient with us as we work through them.

As always, we will strive to provide you with the latest real estate market information and analysis, behind the scenes information and are here to assist you should you like to speak to one of our real estate team partners.