About the Building
Burnside Villas is a small condominium association of 1989 at 1002 South Burnside Avenue, and the county's parcel record establishes both that it is a genuine for-sale condominium and that its published unit count is wrong. The assessor carries twelve separately assessed parcels on recorded condominium Tract 46483, Lot 1, numbered condominium unit 1 through condominium unit 12, each coded 010C for a purpose-built condominium. Listing aggregators state thirteen units. The county record does not support a thirteenth home, and the likely source of the error is identifiable. It is worth correcting at the outset, because that figure follows a buyer through every subsequent calculation.
There is a thirteenth parcel carrying the same street address, and it is not part of the association. Assessor identification number 5085009012 sits on Tract 4464, Lot 84 rather than on the condominium tract, and the county codes it 7200, its classification for a private institutional school. It is a separate property that happens to share the address number. Any data set that counts parcels by address rather than by tract will pick it up and report thirteen homes. There are twelve homes in the association, and that is the figure to work from.
The year built is 1989 on every sampled parcel, with the effective year the same, which means the county has recorded no reconstruction substantial enough to reset the building's age. Directories give three floors and a contemporary architectural treatment. Twelve homes on three levels implies four to a floor, a plan small enough that most homes will have exposure on two elevations and short enough that the internal circulation is a landing rather than a corridor. It is a building type that Los Angeles produced in quantity in the late 1980s on infill lots exactly like this one.
On sizes, the public record and the aggregators diverge, though less dramatically than at some addresses. The assessor records sampled homes at 1,120, 1,197 and 1,300 square feet, each as two bedrooms with two bathrooms. A condominium directory publishes a two-bedroom range of 1,020 to 1,627 square feet. The county figures sit comfortably inside that band but do not reach either end of it, which is what one would expect from a partial sample. Establish the recorded area for the specific home rather than relying on the advertised range. The recorded plan is the only document that settles the question for any particular home.
The published feature set is consistent for the period: a fireplace in the living room, private patios, laundry inside each home and walk-in closets, with top-floor homes described as having soaring ceilings and clerestory glazing. Common facilities are limited to controlled access and secure parking, which for a twelve-home association is the sensible answer. Every one of those descriptions comes from listing aggregators rather than from the association, so confirm the amenity position, the parking allocation and the condition of the common areas directly with management. Ask in particular whether the parking is gated, covered or open, since the directories do not say.
Amenities & Services
The Residences
The assessor carries exactly twelve condominium parcels on Tract 46483 at this address, numbered one through twelve, in an unbroken sequence. Listing aggregators publish thirteen, almost certainly by counting a separate institutional parcel that shares the street number but sits on a different tract entirely. The distinction is not academic in an association this small: the dues base, the reserve contribution per home and each owner's voting weight all divide by twelve rather than thirteen. Verify the count from the recorded condominium plan and the CC&Rs. Ask the board to confirm how many assessments it actually bills each month against its budget.
Every home sampled on the county roll is recorded as two bedrooms with two bathrooms, and the directory description treats the building as entirely two-bedroom. A uniform plan mix in a twelve-home association is a practical advantage: it produces one buyer profile, makes internal comparable sales genuinely comparable, and avoids the friction that arises in mixed-plan associations over who benefits from what common expenditure. It also means there is nothing larger to move into within the same building if your requirements change. For most buyers this is a building to occupy for a period rather than to move within, which shapes the sensible holding horizon.
The assessor gives sampled homes at 1,120, 1,197 and 1,300 square feet. Two of the three sit close together, suggesting a repeating plan with variations at the end positions. A directory publishes a wider range of 1,020 to 1,627 square feet for the building, which the county sample neither confirms nor contradicts, since three homes out of twelve is a partial view. Take the area for the specific home from the recorded condominium plan, and remember that assessor and plan measurements follow different conventions. Ask the seller for the plan designation and the recorded area together, rather than one figure without the other.
Directories describe the top-floor homes as having soaring ceilings with clerestory windows, which is a very characteristic late 1980s move: the roof plane is pitched or stepped over the upper units and daylight is brought in high on a wall rather than through more glass at eye level. It produces genuine volume in a plan of a little over a thousand square feet. It also produces glazing that is difficult to reach for cleaning and maintenance, and heat gain that depends entirely on orientation. Inspect at the warmest part of the day.
Each residence is described as having a private patio. In a scheme of this era the patio will almost always be exclusive-use common area rather than part of the unit itself, which means the association owns and maintains the structure, the surface and the railing, and controls what may be done to any of them. That affects everything from decking and screening to whether a barbecue is permitted. Read the CC&Rs on exclusive-use common area and the condominium plan for the boundary before planning any works. Ask the board what patio and railing alterations it has approved over the past few years.
Living room fireplaces, walk-in closets and in-unit laundry are described as standard, with many homes upgraded by individual owners to hardwood floors, stone counters and stainless appliances. That is the normal pattern in a building of this age: the original 1989 specification survives in some homes and has been comprehensively replaced in others. Condition, not plan, will drive most of the value difference between two homes here. Ask what work was permitted, and treat unpermitted plumbing or electrical alteration as a matter for negotiation. Original 1989 kitchens and bathrooms still exist in some homes here, and they should be priced as a project.
Due Diligence
Aggregator pages give thirteen homes; the county's roll gives twelve on the condominium tract, plus a separate institutional parcel sharing the address. In an association of this size the difference changes the dues base, the per-home share of any capital project and the voting arithmetic. Get the recorded condominium plan and the CC&Rs, count the units on the plan, and check that the association's budget divides by the same number. It is a five minute exercise that corrects a figure repeated across several websites.
A twelve-home association must fund a roof, an exterior envelope, secure parking, controlled access and whatever common plant exists, from twelve sets of dues. Any significant capital item lands heavily per home, and there is no scale to absorb a surprise. Read the reserve study required by Civil Code section 5550, the last three years of financials and the board minutes. Ask what percentage funded the association is, when the roof and exterior were last done, and whether a special assessment has been discussed.
The city's soft-story programme under Ordinances 183893 and 184081 reaches wood-frame buildings of two or more storeys built to code standards enacted before 1 January 1978 with parking or similar open space at ground level. A 1989 building is eleven years beyond that threshold. The non-ductile concrete programme applies to concrete buildings permitted before 13 January 1977 and is equally inapplicable. That is a genuine advantage against the older stock nearby, though it is a statement about mandatory programmes rather than about performance.
California Civil Code section 5551 requires associations to have exterior elevated elements with wood framing, including balconies, walkways and stairs more than six feet above ground, inspected by a licensed professional and reinspected every nine years. A three storey building with patios to each home will have elements within scope. Ask whether the inspection has been performed, what the report identified and whether any repair has been completed and permitted. In a twelve-home association an unaddressed finding is a material liability.
A twelve-home association is usually self-managed or lightly managed, with a board drawn from a small pool of owners who may also be neighbours and friends. That can work extremely well and can also produce deferred maintenance, informal record keeping and decisions taken without proper notice. Read the minutes for the past three years, ask who manages the association and whether it carries directors and officers insurance, and check that the statutory disclosures are actually being produced on time.
Master policy premiums for California condominium associations have risen sharply and coverage has narrowed, and small associations feel that most acutely because the fixed cost divides across few homes. Ask for the current master policy declarations, the deductible, whether the association carries earthquake cover and at what limit, and what the premium has done over three renewals. Then ask your own broker what an individual walls-in policy will cost given the master policy's deductible structure, before you assume a figure.
Directories describe secure parking without stating how many spaces attach to each home or whether they are side by side or tandem. On a residential street south of Olympic, overnight street parking is finite and often subject to permit restrictions. Read the deeded or assigned allocation off the preliminary title report and the condominium plan, ask the board how any surplus or guest space is administered, and check the permit district rules for the block before assuming a second car can be accommodated.
Civil Code section 4741 prevents an association from setting a rental cap below twenty-five percent of units and allows it to prohibit tenancies of thirty days or less, but the operative rule is whatever this board adopted. In a twelve-home association a single investor owner can move the owner-occupancy ratio by more than eight percent, which some lenders test before approving a loan. Ask for the leasing rule, the pet policy, the current owner-occupancy proportion and whether any lender has declined the project.
Everything above is drawn from public records, city permit data and published sources. The association’s statutory disclosure package is the only authoritative answer on dues, rules, reserves, insurance and litigation — Ben will request it and read it with you before you remove contingencies.
Common Questions
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