The Guide · A blog about LA real estate

Every guide, in one place

The full library of The Guide, organized by topic. Practical answers about buying, selling, owning, and building in the San Fernando Valley, written from experience rather than theory. New pieces land on The Guides first, then get filed here.

The essentials

New to all of this? These two answer the questions everyone asks first.

Neighborhoods and streets

Street-level breakdowns of where to live and what it really costs, from Studio City to Woodland Hills.

Moving to LA

Relocating from London, Sydney, New York, or across town: where to land and what nobody tells you.

Buying

Offers, escrow, and the things buyers usually learn the hard way.

Selling

Pricing, timing, and preparing a home so it sells for what it should.

Luxury and the $2M–$5M market

Anj’s home turf: the market between the hills and the Boulevard, in real numbers.

Renovation, flips and value

What adds value, what quietly destroys it, and how to tell a quality renovation from a cosmetic one.

ADUs and development

Guest houses, SB 9, duplexes, and what your lot can actually support.

Money, law and taxes

The rules and numbers that decide what you keep: Measure ULA, Prop 19, insurance, and property tax.

Market trends

Where the Valley market is moving, and who is moving with it.

Schools and families

School boundaries, magnet programs, and what they do to property values.

Architecture and Valley character

The ranch homes, retro styles, and history that make the Valley feel like the Valley.