The third of our trio of Palmer & Krisel-designed homes
to hit the market this week in Whittier, CA is this 1954 home located in Bartley Grove Estates in southwest Whittier. Originally built as a four bedroom two bathroom home with a
two-car carport, this property has been reconfigured to include five bedrooms
with three bathrooms in 1,647 square feet with a carport conversion. Sited on a
nine-home cul-de-sac with a 5,900 square-foot lot, the asking price on this
short sale property is only $275,000.
 |
| Front of home and carport |
With this low low price comes issues. The floor plan has
been modified – the two car garage has been converted to a master bedroom, a
makeshift carport has been built on the front of the property, and there is
lots of tlc needed. But at this price, this property becomes an opportunity for
the new owner.
The home shows cluttered, and there are not a lot of
photographs leaving lots up to the imagination. The front yard contains low
growing, mature landscape hiding the home from street view but providing an
opportunity to create a water-conserving modernist makeover. A trellised
freestanding carport serves as the covered parking for the property, hiding the
front door entry from view from the street.
 |
| Living Room |
 |
| Living and dining room |
 |
| Dining and living room |
The entry leads visitors into the rear-facing living and
dining rooms which is pretty well filled with furniture. Seen through the
contents of the home are floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the backyard
through the living and dining rooms, along with original single-panel French doors.
All of the original open beamed celotex ceilings are still in place, allowing
for the interior space to feel slightly larger than they are, while the flooring is laminate and ceramic tile.
 |
| Kitchen |
 |
| Family room |
The kitchen lies just off of the dining room, and has been
updated at some point over the last 15 years, with raised panel cabinetry and
granite countertops. The family room sits just off of the kitchen adjacent to
the entry, and shows even more cluttered than the rest of the home, making it
difficult to discern what is happening with the space.
 |
| Master bedroom in former garage |
 |
| Master bathroom |
 |
| Guest bedroom |
 |
| Guest bedroom |
 |
| Guest bathroom |
The guest bedrooms are all fairly diminutive in size,
however the master bedroom carved out of the former garage is actually fairly spacious.
The bathrooms have all been updated with materials that are fairly indicative of
a big box store renovation including out-of-the-box vanities, but appear to be
functional without significant issues.
 |
| Backyard |
The backyard shows pretty much like the home; cluttered and
busy, but again with clutter comes opportunity to create something special. The
asking price is low enough on this home that the master bedroom could be
converted back into the garage, and a pretty extensive modernist makeover could
occur to the rest of the home with the potential for some equity to be left
over. If the property can be had at the asking price, it’s a great buy an
excellent opportunity to create something special.
