Two Children, One Bathroom: A Los Angeles Family Stretches the Budget for an Upgrade. Which Home Would You Choose?
Anna Lane and Chris Heyman liked their rental in the Windsor Square neighborhood of Los Angeles. The English country-style duplex was within walking distance of charming Larchmont Village and had a backyard their children could play in. But they were frustrated with the home’s lone full bathroom, which they shared with their son and daughter, who are 8 and 7.
“We needed bathrooms,” said Ms. Lane, 42, a comedy writer who grew up outside San Francisco.
When the pandemic hit, the squeeze became tighter: The couple worked from home, and the garage became the children’s classroom.
For years, Ms. Lane had perused real estate apps and websites, learning along the way that the down payment they could afford wouldn’t be enough to buy something bigger than their 1,500-square-foot rental. “We were like, ‘Oh, my God, everything is so expensive,’” she said.
Then in 2019, Mr. Heyman’s father, Ken Heyman, a photographer, died at 89, leaving them an inheritance that allowed them to boost the down payment. They set out with a new budget of up to $1.3 million — but it still wasn’t enough for a single-family home bigger than their duplex. So they stretched their limit to around $1.6 million.
The couple enlisted Ms. Lane’s friend Stefani Stolper, an agent at the Beverly Hills Estates, to help them find a house with at least two full bathrooms, a big backyard with a pool (or room to build one) and air-conditioning. Mr. Heyman, a former chef in his 50s, is the chief operating officer of One Potato, a company that sells semi-prepared meals for families, and he wanted a nice kitchen.
Ideally, they hoped to move closer to the children’s school in Culver City, which could take an hour to reach in traffic from their duplex. And they wanted a home with some history and original detail. They were willing to renovate if it helped them stay within budget.
The couple looked at around 50 houses, Ms. Stolper said, including one in the West Adams neighborhood that was painted purple and black, festooned with gargoyles and had windows that hadn’t been opened in 40 years. “Anna was such a good sport,” she said. “She was like, ‘Well, it’s got a pool and it’s under $2 million?’”
As the market heated up, they had a hard time even getting appointments to see homes, particularly when Covid restrictions limited visits to 15 minutes. “Everyone was buying a house,” Ms. Lane said.
Among their options:
No. 1
Lafayette Square Fixer-Upper
This 3,500-square-foot 1922 house was in Lafayette Square, a partially gated neighborhood with large lots and historic homes. It had five bedrooms and four full bathrooms, as well as an original Batchelder fireplace, a library and a huge backyard (but no pool). It needed extensive work inside and out, and didn’t have air-conditioning. The asking price was $1.699 million.
No. 2
This restored, 3,800-square-foot 1907 Craftsman was in West Adams, a historic neighborhood that the couple liked. It had five bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms, a big front porch, a saltwater lap pool and a pergola in the backyard, as well as a wine-and-beer cellar downstairs. The kitchen was on the small side and dated, but the house was move-in ready. The price was $1.495 million.
