It's cute!
[narrator] Real estate agent, Ricky and wife, Shaquinta
want to update their Los Angeles area condo to a single-family home.
Remember, this is 5-bedrooms.
And the square footage is really big.
-Oh, this is the biggest room. -[Shaquinta] See, this is better.
[Ricky] Okay, so, this could be our bedroom.
[narrator] Problem is, in this hot market getting everything they need
may be next to impossible.
There's no grass here.
[Shaquinta laughing] I'm, like, looking to try to find any grass.
[Ricky] Is there any yard?
[narrator] With Ricky's focus on finding listings that fit his needs,
Shaquinta's not sure their new place will be an upgrade for her after all.
[Ricky] The garage, I think we should convert
to be my office.
-[Shaquinta] The whole garage? -The whole garage.
-[doorbell ringing] -[theme music playing]
He really is my son, he's on the phone all the time.
-Oh, my goodness. -[Ricky chuckling]
-I'm Shaquinta. -I'm Ricky.
And we're from Bellflower, which is south of downtown Los Angeles.
I am a licensed clinical social worker with a private therapy practice.
And I am a real estate agent.
[Maria] Hi, how's Alex doing? Hey, baby.
-[Shaquinta] Morning, Maria. -Good morning, darling.
I'm hungry.
We live with our two children, Alexander he is two and a half,
and Serenity is 11.
We are looking to buy a new place because now we're out of room.
It is a condo where we currently live right now.
And we would want a single-family home.
Right now, our bedroom is, literally, Alexander's bed,
our bed, and her office.
Mama is so over having the toddler in the bedroom.
[narrator] They'd like 4-bedrooms,
plus an office space since they both work from home.
My job, it entails a lot of video calls with clients,
it entails filming for social media.
And it would just be nicer to have a bigger office for that purpose.
So I don't have to move everything or take down everything.
Make sure it's a good area.
Mmm, close to you guys, we have to stay close to family.
My ideal area is, move over a couple of streets down to Lakewood.
Lakewood has a lovely family atmosphere.
You see families walking down the street,
you see nice manicured lawns,
they have amazing parks, I just like it.
The whole thing is, that a little bit further out
would get us more square footage and I'm okay with that.
And then, what do you want it to look like?
I mostly like the ranch style, 'cause it looks like a home.
A nice neighborhood, suburban home, nothing too fancy.
But I want my columns.
-[Shaquinta] We can't afford columns. -[Ricky laughing]
[Ricky] I love grand,
-I love anything that stands out, you know. -Nice white columns.
Our house needs to be the staring attraction of the neighborhood.
-Take a wealth of people, I live here! -[Ricky] Yes.
You gotta satisfy the client 'cause you don't get to go home.
This is the only client he's concerned about satisfying, I get lost.
That is not true.
It's very tricky making sure that the house is good and that everyone's happy.
-What else do you want? -I want a backyard.
-Smart -[Efren] Oh, that's right, yeah.
You see how active Alexander is running around, he needs more space.
I envision a nice kitchen, not white.
White kitchens get so dirty.
We want to get all these things,
but then it's also the market right now is crazy.
It keeps going up and up.
We put in work for our current house,
so I don't think we mind that as much.
-We can get creative I feel like, right? -Yes.
I'm looking to stay closer to $800,000.
Housing market in LA has really spiked over the past few years.
We really are looking at around a $750,000
to $850,000 price range.
We could go up to $850,000 if it was the perfect house, move-in ready, nothing to do.
I am willing to spend a little bit more
if the location is what I desire.
[narrator] Since Shaquinta's set on living in Lakewood,
Ricky's researched a house there that may work, it's small and expensive,
but has an additional bonus space for offices.
-[Shaquinta] Really excited. -[Ricky chuckling]
This house is at a higher end
in terms of our price point.
-Let's go-- -Well, tell me about the house.
It's a 3-bed, but it has a studio in the back.
-Okay, so we can say 4-bedrooms... -Uh-huh.
-...because you have a studio. -Correct.
We're gonna have to be creative with your office.
Well, I think it depends, you know, sacrifices come with location sometimes.
Oh, so you're willing to sacrifice more for this location?
For the right location. Look at our neighbors.
Wow.
And I think it's this blue one right here.
It's cute!
Got pretty flowers.
-Nice and manicured, like you said. -Purple flowers.
[chuckles] Yes.
I'm gonna try not to shimmy up the driveway.
I don't wanna scare our new neighbors.
-Got the keys, you ready? -I'm ready.
[squealing] Okay.
-[Ricky] Okay. -It's big.
-[Ricky] Little bit older. Big mirror. -It's fixable.
Let's go into the first bedroom.
-It's a good sized room for Alexander. -Okay.
-Carpet, replace this. -Definitely, yeah.
-So this would be a dining room. -[gasps]
It could be office space for me.
I could put a desk on this side.
[Ricky] Right here, so you're okay with that?
-I'm okay with that. -Okay.
-All right. -Then we'll go into the kitchen.
-Which is... -[Shaquinta] ...industrial?
-It's white! -[Ricky sighs]
I feel it's like a school cafeteria kitchen
[chuckling] with the metal on top.
-[Shaquinta] Oh, no! -We don't have a lot of money to redo.
-And more laundry area. -[Shaquinta] We have a laundry room.
Old school ironing board over here.
Oh, I actually kinda like that.
-[Ricky] Oh, my God. -Charm.
[Shaquinta] This is a good size.
[Ricky] It has the room for two sinks, which you don't always see.
Yes, but, you know, it's actually in good condition.
Like, it's not damaged.
This is not too ugly, it's just old.
So we could keep... We could keep this for a while.
Define "a while."
-Oh, my goodness. -[Ricky chuckling]
[Ricky] So second bedroom.
This might be Alexander's.
And the other one, since it has a bigger closet, might be Serenity's.
I think so, I think that's how we have to do it.
-Ooh! -[Ricky] Our primary.
Big enough for the king sized bed.
And this, it's been redone. I mean, it's nice.
It has a little part to put shampoos
and, you know, all that kind of stuff back here.
-[Shaquinta] Oh, like a window, okay. -Yeah.
[Shaquinta] There's no grass here.
[Ricky] We can figure something out.
[Shaquinta laughing] I'm, like, looking to try to find any grass.
[Ricky] Is there any yard?
Here.
-This is the studio. -Oh, this is nice.
You know why you can't use this? Is it just...
I'm not sure. I don't know if I would, honestly, keep it though.
-'Cause I don't think it really serves any purpose. -Okay.
[Ricky] I do see the potential in here to make it grand.
My little grand oasis.
I'm over here trying to convert our
dining room area into an office space for me
[chuckling] you have this!
Remember your location, maybe this could be your office.
-I don't need an office this big. -Or the kids play area.
And I would get the garage.
[Shaquinta] We're probably gonna use the garage for storage.
[Ricky] I just saw something.
We have another area where...
-[Shaquinta] What is this? -...our kids could possible play.
There is a huge backyard right there.
And here!
[Shaquinta] Ohhh!
Everyone does have a bedroom.
I don't have an office if we take over the dining room.
Mister Grand, there's no grandness for you here.
[Ricky] No. I will say, that the studio, I'm quite happy with.
The problem is, is we're not gonna have much money left over to do things.
We're gonna have to live with it, as it currently is,
for a while.
I'm really in love with this house,
but it does make me a little nervous
with everything he was talking about.
About it being at the higher point of our price range.
But for the location, I might make it work.
[narrator] Ricky's found a bigger, less expensive place farther out.
But it means they both have to compromise on curb appeal.
It looks like it could use some work on the outside.
But you know what they say, it's what's on the inside that counts.
[Shaquinta] Where's the front of the house?
The house we are going to see today
is at the edge of the area you want to be in.
[Shaquinta] It seems pretty quiet.
[narrator] Ricky saw this listing in Norwalk,
and knows that by going just 15 minutes
out of Shaquinta's ideal neighborhood
they'll get more square footage for less money.
-Here's the kicker, 5-bedrooms. -Sounds good so far.
And it's at the lower end of our price range,
-$749,900. -Is someone meeting us here?
Uh, no, this is another lock box.
-This one on the corner right here. -Really?
It looks like it could use some work on the outside.
But you know what they say, it's what's on the inside that counts.
[Shaquinta] I said, cute and cozy.
[Ricky] It's potential for cute and it's cozy.
It's not grand.
[Shaquinta] Where's the front of the house?
I think the front's around this side.
[Shaquinta] Cute door.
-[Ricky] Yeah, there ya go. -Nice lights.
All right.
[Shaquinta] This actually looks better on the inside than it does on the outside.
[Ricky] Looks nice with the floor.
To be honest, the house doesn't have the grand feel
that I would really like it to have.
But I think it has the ability to add on the grandness that I want.
I'm thinking of paint, I'm thinking of colors,
I wanna make it bold on the outside.
White kitchen.
-Kitchen can use some work. -[Shaquinta] Yellow, damaged, countertops.
There are pieces missing!
A weird, backwards stove thing happening.
Okay, but, if it was redone
then I think it would look really nice.
I mean, you could have, like, a big island over here.
The kitchen leaves a lot to be desired,
but I do think there is something to be said about being able to start new.
We could even change the layout of the kitchen if we want to.
A nice, big yard here.
I don't know what's up with all these rocks, but, you know,
other than that it's a nice, big yard.
-[Shaquinta] There's fruit! -You got a fruit tree.
-What are those oranges? Tangerines? -Mandarins.
-Once we get the rocks up... -[Ricky] Yeah.
...put down some grass or something...
-[Ricky] Exactly. -...this isn't do bad.
[Ricky] Remember, this is 5-bedrooms.
And the square footage is really big.
So these should actually be a pretty good size.
-This is the first one. -[Shaquinta] It's a good size.
Yeah, I think this would be nice
for either Alexander's room, maybe your office.
[Shaquinta] I can see it for both.
[Ricky] Bathroom, nice new shower. That's nice.
Just about the same as the last one.
[Shaquinta] This room looks a little bigger, so maybe Alexander's room.
Then this one, oh, think this one is the primary.
Why are there two lamps?
[Ricky] Maybe it's a new fashion choice that, you know, we don't know about yet.
Has the ensuite bathroom here.
This is not done, older.
-Shower as well, so no tub here. -Oh, there's no tub.
[Ricky] Oh, this is my office.
-That's what this is. -[Shaquinta] It's big.
This would be such a perfect backdrop.
Last bedroom, nice, big.
Having 5-bedrooms without us having to compromise space,
or converting the garage,
so that I lose storage is a good deal.
We really do have a lot of work that we have to do to make it work for us.
But I guess you're right, we do have all the room.
Yes, it can grow.
I think this house is a diamond in the rough kind of house.
Once we have improvements made
it could definitely be a great long-term investment.
I see great potential in this home.
I can see myself in the house it just... It needs a lot of work.
[narrator] So now, Ricky's gotten a lead on a well-priced home
that's also updated,
but it's not where she wants to be.
I know it's a little bit out of the area.
This is the neighborhood, I know it's a little bit out of the area.
Looks cute, hope there's a lot of kids.
[narrator] Ricky's been in touch with a listing agent in Downey,
15 minutes from Lakewood.
Since the house she's repping is more move-in ready and well-priced.
Which house is it?
It's...
Oh! It's actually a corner.
-Right over here. -Not the cutest, but, you know, paint is cheap.
-[Ricky] Hello. -Hi, Ricky. Hi there.
I don't know if you know about the property,
-we just dropped the price. -Oh, okay.
It went from $800,000 to $775,000.
So if you guys like it, I would highly recommend
-go ahead and put offer as soon as possible. -Okay.
-It's gonna go very fast, okay. -[Ricky] All right.
I left the doors unlocked, on your way out just lock it for me.
-[Ricky] Of course. -[Shaquinta] Thank you.
[Jeanet] Thank you, thank you. No problem
-[Shaquinta] Okay, here we go. -See how this looks.
-It's nice. -[Shaquinta] Oh, okay.
-Nice windows. -Let's a lot of natural light in.
[Shaquinta] It's a good sized room,
there is not a lot of crown molding
or anything grand for you.
Yeah, probably do, like, an accent wall or something like that.
-Just so I have a little bit of grandness. -Okay.
If you look at this wall, it has that big grand feel to it.
So I can fit my huge TV right here.
The wall is big enough for your giant television.
[Ricky] Try looking at the bedrooms.
-[Shaquinta] Oh, this is cute. -It's a good size, right?
-Yeah, more windows. -Yeah.
Nice newer looking fan.
The first bathroom.
[Shaquinta] It's a little small, it's good though.
-I mean, you know, it's a standard size. -[Ricky] Has a tub too.
Now, this is where they currently have their primary.
I'm not sure if our king sized bed could fit in this room.
No, probably not.
And then, we have this bathroom.
-Nice little window right here nice little accent. -Okay.
[Ricky] I think we could even fit a two sink here,
it might not have that much counter space,
but then you have two sinks.
This is our next bedroom right here.
Okay, this one's a little smaller. Thinking office.
[Ricky] You're thinking office, okay.
So if you, like, put your desk over there
you're gonna have a lot of natural light for,
-you know, all video calls or anything like that. -It'll work.
[Ricky] Now, this is the kitchen
[Shaquinta] It's white, didn't want a white kitchen.
I think for us it's...
small.
Maybe opening this up a little bit, having at least a little island.
-An island with some storage in it, I think may be helpful. -Okay.
This isn't where the fridge would go.
Over here?
Now you're telling me that I have to leave my kitchen
to use my fridge?
-But if we open it up, you won't be leaving it. -How are you opening this?
We can open this.
[chuckling] You can't open this.
-We can totally open this. -Oh, my goodness.
-[Ricky] Oh, this is the biggest room. -See, this is better.
-Okay, so, this could be our bedroom. -[Shaquinta] I like this room.
[Ricky] King sized bed in there.
-So now I'm thinking primary, this is our room. -Uh-huh.
Serenity has the room with the ensuite.
Alexander is in the front room.
And then, my office or your office...
I have a plan for my office.
-...is the room connected to the kitchen. -Uh-huh.
-The problem is, we don't have an ensuite. -[Ricky] No.
-The backyard. -[Shaquinta] Ohhh!
[Ricky] Thought at least this you would just love.
It is a good size for a swing, all the extra toys are gonna be out here.
What I like, shade.
You know, we can have a barbecue area,
don't have to worry about when it rains or anything like that.
-[Shaquinta] Is that a fruit tree? -Yes, I think it's an orange.
[Shaquinta] Got my fruit tree, got a nice backyard.
[Ricky] Then, the last thing, which I'm not sure how you'll feel about
the garage I think we should convert
to be my office.
-[Shaquinta] The whole garage? -The whole garage.
I'm a little surprised that he expects to take over the whole thing.
I need storage for other things too.
I love the backyard.
Everyone has their own bedroom.
I have an office space.
I can have my office/studio area right here.
I think this house is definitely gonna be a contender
in terms of the price.
There's nothing about this house, unfortunate, as grand enough for me.
But I'm hoping to make up for that,
at least in my room, which will be in the garage.
I would really like an ensuite.
I gonna need a bigger kitchen.
Ricky has really been stressing the fact
that interest rates are going up,
they're aren't a lot of houses on the market,
and it's a lot of competition.
We really have to decide fast.
It's time we made a decision.
[narrator] Shaquinta and husband, Ricky, who's also their agent,
are upgrading their condo to a single-family home.
And now, it's time for them to choose one.
So let's talk about the house in my, my, ideal location.
There was a nice, kind of, studio pre-built for me in the back.
Yes, I mean, I do think you paid special attention
to yourself when choosing that house,
but I can't say that I'm, you know, [chuckles] too mad about it.
It was exactly where I wanted it to be,
it had a nice sized backyard,
I know I complained about the concrete.
But the space was there.
That one is at the top of our price range.
We'd have to live in how exactly it is made right now.
Why don't we talk about the 5-bedroom with, my favorite word,
- the potential. -[Shaquinta laughing]
[Ricky] This house is 5-bedrooms!
At, pretty much, one of the bottom price ranges we've seen out there.
I think that one with a bold paint job will definitely stand out.
It can definitely be more towards grand.
[Shaquinta] Definitely needs work done.
The kitchen, I feel like we have to upgrade it.
But it does have all the room that we need.
Plus, it's less expensive than the other houses.
[Shaquinta] So we had the ranch house, with the big yard.
-[Ricky] Yes. - I just love that backyard.
There's no space for your studio inside the house,
we'd have to convert the garage.
In the kitchen, I know you had a vision for it, but it's hard for me to see it.
-[Serenity] Can I have some? -[Alexander] No.
-We chose the 5-bedroom house... -...with lots of potential.
Our list price of our house was $749,900.
But we ended up have a little bit of a bidding war,
so we ended up paying $785,000.
The advantages of being in this house was the 5-bedrooms.
Me having my own office space, him having his own studio.
Alexander got his own room.
We got all the rooms inside, we didn't have to, you know, redo the garage.
-I don't remember these, where'd these come from? -There's another tea pot.
[Shaquinta] This is not the area that I wanted to live in,
but it's a nice neighborhood.
I think I had to compromise
having a house that was appealing from the outside. [laughing]
Our plan is, to paint the outside of the house blue.
[Ricky] And stone on the bottom to have a really nice look.
-So can I tell you what I want, I think? -[Ricky] Sure.
Blue cabinets.
So I think the biggest, and first, renovation we're gonna do is the kitchen.
I think we have to approve that to keep my wife happy.
- And then, for the kids, all the grass, right? -[Shaquinta] Yes.
I haven't seen you move one rock since we've been here.
-I've moved plenty of rocks. -You haven't moved one rock.
I've kicked them and moved them from here to there.
We are so happy that we achieved our dream
of owning a single-family home.
And a place that our kids can go outside and play, and our family to grow in.