The Higgins-Verbeck-Hirsch house – a.k.a. Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #403 – was built in 1902 and moved to its current location at 637 S. Lucerne Blvd. in 1923.   When we last wrote about it, in July, 2016, it was on the market for $4.495 million (after an initial listing price around $6M).  But a lot has happened in the last year.
First, the owners at the time dropped the price again after the house sat on the market for almost two years without selling. Â At the reduced price, it did finally attract a buyer, and the sale closed in January of this year for $3.19 million.
Since then, the new owners have been very busy with renovations…and they’ve now re-listed the property  at $8.999M. And the updated house is getting quite a bit of publicity this week.  On the plus side, the L.A. Times has featured it as its Hot Property. But on the not-so-plus side, the renovations have been taking something of a beating from historic house fans and preservationists in social media and blog posts, which compare before-and-after photos and discuss the wisdom of significantly modernizing the property (including lightening the original dark woodwork, and replacing period light fixtures and other original details).
Will prospective buyers respond more eagerly to the updated version than they did to the more historically intact home the last time it was for sale? Â If you’d like to check it out for yourself, the home will be open from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday, September 24.
Yeech! Who would think the “remodeled” interior was anywhere near as beautiful as the original?
It looked much better before the renovation.