About the Building
The Majorca is a five storey condominium building of 1960 at 531 North Rossmore Avenue, and the county's parcel record confirms it as a genuine for-sale condominium rather than a rental. The assessor carries twenty-eight separately assessed parcels on recorded condominium Tract 32524, numbered condominium unit 1 through condominium unit 28, each coded 010C for a purpose-built condominium. That is a useful confirmation on a street where several of the best-known addresses remain rental apartment houses under single ownership and cannot be bought a unit at a time. That check should be the first step in any purchase along this particular stretch of Rossmore.
The addressing on the roll describes the building's arrangement precisely. Twenty-four of the homes carry numbers on the 100, 200, 300 and 400 levels, six to a floor, and the remaining four are addressed as A, B, C and D at ground level. That is four upper residential floors of six homes each above a ground level carrying four larger homes, which matches the five storeys the directories report. Six homes to a floor in a building of this footprint means substantial plans and, in most cases, exposure on more than one elevation.
The year built is 1960 across the parcels sampled, with the effective year recorded as 1960 on most and 1970 on one, the latter usually indicating a substantial improvement to that particular home rather than to the building. Recorded areas run from 1,153 square feet on a one-bedroom home at the lowest level up to 1,944 square feet on a ground-floor home and 1,605 on a fourth-floor two-bedroom. A listing directory gives the range of homes recently on the market as 1,556 to 2,018 square feet, which is broadly consistent though it reaches slightly higher.
The four ground-level homes appear to be the largest in the building. One is recorded at 1,944 square feet with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and another sampled unit on the roll carries the same area. Ground-floor homes in a building of this era usually gain area because they extend into the footprint that upper floors give up to circulation and setback, and they often come with direct garden access. They also sit closest to the street and to the parking entry, which is the trade. Judge that in person.
The published security and services description is more elaborate than the building's age would suggest, which points to investment by the association at some point: around-the-clock security, controlled access with an automatic gate, card and code entry and closed circuit cameras, with subterranean parking and built-in storage, plus an outdoor cooking area. All of that comes from listing directories rather than from the association. Confirm the current staffing pattern, whether security is on site or monitored remotely, and what the parking allocation per home actually is. Ask also whether the outdoor cooking area is currently in service and how residents book it.
Amenities & Services
The Residences
The assessor's roll carries twenty-eight condominium parcels on Tract 32524, numbered consecutively, and the addressing splits them into six homes on each of four upper floors plus four homes at ground level. That is a small building by unit count for its height, which is the usual signature of large plans. It also means a modest dues base carrying a lift, a subterranean garage, controlled access and the exterior of a five storey building, so the association's financial position deserves close reading. Twenty-eight sets of dues is a narrow base for that quantity of plant, and it shows in the reserve schedule.
County records for sampled homes give 1,153 square feet on a one-bedroom at the lowest residential level, 1,605 on a fourth-floor two-bedroom, and 1,944 on a ground-floor home. That is a genuine spread and it means plan type matters as much as condition when comparing sales within the building. A directory reports homes recently marketed between 1,556 and 2,018 square feet, reaching slightly above the county figures. Take the area for any particular home from the recorded condominium plan. Ask which plan a home represents and how many others in the building share it.
Two of the four ground-level homes sampled from the roll are recorded at 1,944 square feet, comfortably larger than the upper-floor plans measured. In a building of this era that usually reflects a ground floor that extends across parts of the footprint upper floors surrender to circulation, setback or terrace. Ground-floor homes commonly gain direct outdoor access as well. Against that, they sit nearest the street, the entrance and the garage ramp, so noise and privacy should be assessed in person at a busy hour. Direct garden access, where it exists, is worth confirming on the recorded plan rather than assuming from the listing.
The assessor records the sampled homes variously as one bedroom with two bathrooms and two bedrooms with two bathrooms. In plans of 1,150 to 1,950 square feet those counts almost certainly understate what the space can accommodate, because assessor bedroom figures derive from historic field records and do not follow later reconfiguration. Read the bedroom count off the recorded plan and confirm it on inspection, and where a room is presented as a bedroom, check that it has the window and egress the code requires. Assessor bedroom counts should never be used to price a home in a building of this age.
Directories describe subterranean parking behind a controlled entrance, with built-in storage. In a 1960 building that is a meaningful advantage over the pre-war apartment houses further along Rossmore, several of which have no structured parking at all. What is not published is the allocation: how many spaces attach to each home, whether they are side by side or tandem, and whether the storage is deeded or merely assigned. Read the allocation from the preliminary title report and the condominium plan. Ask the board whether any owner rents a second space, since surplus spaces in buildings of this size are often allocated informally.
Rossmore Avenue looks east across the Wilshire Country Club course, which opened in 1920 and remains open land in the middle of the city. Homes on the eastern elevation of buildings along this street therefore enjoy an outlook that no zoning change can readily take away, which is the single most valuable characteristic the address possesses. Establish which elevation the specific home faces before anything else, because the difference between an east-facing home here and a west-facing one is substantial and permanent. Ask which floor the home occupies as well, because the outlook improves materially with height on this frontage.
Due Diligence
A five storey residential building of 1960 with subterranean parking sits in the window both of the city's mandatory retrofit programmes address. If it is wood frame over a podium, Ordinances 183893 and 184081 reach wood-frame buildings of two or more storeys built to pre-1978 code standards with ground-level parking or open space. If it is concrete, Ordinance 183893's non-ductile concrete provisions reach buildings permitted before 13 January 1977. Establish the construction type and ask whether the city has ever issued an order.
Ask three specific questions and get documents rather than assurances. First, has an Order to Comply ever been issued for this address, and if so what was its date. Second, what did the retained engineer conclude about the structure. Third, has any retrofit been designed, permitted, built and signed off, and how was it funded. If work remains outstanding, ask for the cost estimate and whether the board has begun collecting. An unfunded retrofit is a liability that belongs in the price.
Twenty-eight homes carry a lift, a subterranean garage with its waterproofing, a roof, the exterior of a five storey building, controlled access equipment and whatever security arrangement is in place. Civil Code section 5550 requires a reserve study with a visual inspection at least every three years, reviewed annually. Read it alongside three years of financials and the minutes, and look specifically at the lift, the garage slab and the plumbing risers, which are the items that dominate the schedule in a building of this age.
A 1960 building will have been built with galvanised or early copper supply piping, cast iron waste stacks and electrical service sized for 1960 loads. Some of that may have been renewed and some may not, and the answer varies between the common risers and the piping inside individual homes. Ask what has been replaced at building level and when, ask about the leak history recorded in the minutes, and have your inspector look specifically at the condition of stacks where they are accessible.
California Civil Code section 5551 requires associations to have exterior elevated elements with wood framing more than six feet above ground, including balconies and walkways, inspected by a licensed professional at nine year intervals, with reports retained. A five storey building of this era will have elements in scope unless they are entirely concrete. Ask whether an inspection has been performed, what it identified, and whether any repair has been completed and permitted. Unaddressed findings become assessments.
Rossmore Avenue's value rests on its position along the western edge of Hancock Park facing the Wilshire Country Club, land that has been in golf use since 1920. Not every home in every building on the street shares that outlook. Establish which way the specific home faces, what it looks at from each principal room, and how much of the view is course rather than street or neighbouring roof. On this street that single question moves value more than finish level does.
Directories describe around-the-clock security along with an automatic gate, card and code entry and closed circuit cameras. Around-the-clock can mean an attended desk, a patrol, or a monitored alarm and camera contract, and the cost difference between those is very large in a twenty-eight home budget. Ask management what is actually provided, how many hours are staffed, whether the coverage has been reduced at any point and what line the budget carries for it.
Directories say pets are welcome, which usually still means limits on number, weight or type. On leasing, Civil Code section 4741 prevents an association setting a cap below twenty-five percent of units while allowing it to prohibit tenancies of thirty days or less; the operative rule is whatever this board adopted. In a twenty-eight home association the owner-occupancy ratio matters to lenders. Ask for the current rules, the ratio and whether any lender has declined the project recently.
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
Keep Exploring
More about the neighbourhood: Mid Wilshire
Off Market & Coming Soon
Residences here reach the open market rarely, and some never do. Ask Ben to tell you when one is coming, including quietly.
Work With Ben
Units here often trade before they are ever listed. Tell Ben what you are looking for and hear first when something opens up, including off market.
Start the ConversationOff Market & Coming Soon
Residences here reach the open market rarely, and some never do. Ask Ben to tell you when one is coming, including quietly.
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