How do I plan a downsizing move and sale from my Los Feliz home?

1. Picture the next home: its size, location and rough budget.
2. Get a price range for the Los Feliz house so the budget rests on something real.
3. Choose the sequence: sell first, buy first, or sell with a short rent-back.
4. Sort room by room, starting with the spaces you use least.
5. Gather the house records and order the City report.
6. Prepare and list, with showings planned around access and parking.
7. Book the movers once escrow dates are set.

They can decide what size truck reaches the door. Some Los Feliz houses face public stairways rather than a street; the City lists the Los Feliz Heights Steps, which link Cromwell, Bonvue, Glencairn, Bryn Mawr and Glendower, as Historic-Cultural Monument #657. City Planning's Baseline Hillside Ordinance (Ordinance No. 181,624) also defines a Substandard Hillside Limited Street, one that does not meet the minimum requirements the City sets for a standard hillside limited street, and some Los Feliz hill streets may fit that description. Ask movers to walk the route first, and plan for a shuttle van or a carry from a lower street if needed.

Parking needs planning too. Some hillside streets have posted Red Flag No Parking signs; on declared Red Flag Days, cars parked there are towed. The City's layer shows posted segments on Amesbury Road, Prestwick Drive, Glendower Avenue and Dundee Drive, among others. Check lafd.org/redflag the day before a move or an estate pick-up.

Away from the busiest visitor times if your route uses the roads toward the Observatory. Griffith Observatory, run by the City's Department of Recreation and Parks, tells visitors that roads and parking get busy. For houses on the streets below the park, a weekday morning move may be easier than a weekend afternoon.

In passes, and with a deadline for each.

• ☐ First pass: the rooms and closets you rarely open
• ☐ Second pass: decide what goes to the next home, measured against its floor plan
• ☐ Third pass: items for relatives, with a pick-up date
• ☐ Fourth pass: sell, donate or haul, and book pick-ups where the truck can reach
• ☐ Keep together: permits, repair invoices, warranties, the deed and the property tax bill
• ☐ Photograph anything you plan to give away, for your own records

Simply. Patch, paint where it is worn, clean the windows that frame the view, and clear the garden of anything left behind. On hillside lots, have the drainage and any retaining walls looked at so you can describe them; buyers will ask. If the parcel is in a mapped fire zone, keep the brush cleared through closing. Parts of Los Feliz are mapped as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, but not every street is. Check the specific parcel on ZIMAS or the CAL FIRE map, and confirm with the natural hazard disclosure in escrow.

That depends on your budget and how many moves you are willing to make.

From comparable nearby sales on similar streets and lots, adjusted for condition, the work buyers will see as needed, the approach and parking, and the view. A house that has not been updated in years is priced for what it is today. My home review is an opinion of value, not an appraisal.

LA County's documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price; some cities add their own tax, and your escrow estimate shows the exact figure. For qualifying transactions closing after June 30, 2026, Los Angeles Measure ULA imposes an additional 4% tax when the value conveyed exceeds $5,400,000 but is below $10,900,000, or 5.5% when the value conveyed is $10,900,000 or more. The applicable ULA rate is calculated on the full gross value conveyed, not just the amount above the threshold. The City's 0.45% base transfer tax and the County documentary transfer tax are separate charges. Confirm the calculation and any applicable exemptions with your escrow officer.

LADBS requires the seller of residential property in the City of Los Angeles to give the buyer a Residential Property Report before the sale or the close of escrow (LAMC Section 96.300; $70.85 per report as of October 31, 2026). The LADBS Form 9 application says no new report is needed for six months after one is issued, and it lists exceptions, including property exempt from the documentary transfer tax and the first sale of a home in a subdivision whose final map was recorded not more than two years earlier. Check your transfer with LADBS before ordering.

The amount or rate of real estate commissions is not fixed by law. They are set by each broker individually and may be negotiable between the seller and broker.

Proposition 19 may let an eligible homeowner move a property tax base to a replacement home; the BOE lists who qualifies, and your CPA or attorney can tell you whether it applies.

What to bring to your CPA or attorney: your purchase records and improvement receipts, the current property tax bill, the estimated closing statement, and the expected price of the next home.

• How to sell a house in Los Feliz
• Relocating and selling a Los Feliz home
• Downsizing services
• Closing week and moving-out checklist
• Nearby: downsizing from a Silver Lake home

Sidney Manzo, CA DRE #01108914
In real estate since 1990 · RE/MAX Hall of Fame · Member, Pasadena Foothills Association of REALTORS® and California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.)
Brokerage: RE/MAX Dream Properties (ASLG Inc), CA DRE #02142193