About the Building
Alla Road runs through the inland belt of the Marina del Rey postal district, a stretch developed almost entirely in the decade after the harbour opened in 1965 and now occupied by large gated condominium communities. Villa Alicante sits among them at 4305, a 1975 development that predates its immediate neighbours on the same street. The setting is residential rather than maritime: no boats, no water frontage, but bike paths, parks, shopping and restaurants within walking distance, the Marina Freeway and the 405 close at hand, and land owned outright rather than leased.
The name is a genuine source of confusion and should be dealt with at the outset. The complex is marketed both as Villa Alicante and as Villa Marina East 2, while separate associations nearby carry the names Villa Marina East IV and Villa Marina East V, each with its own board, budget and reserves. Nothing about a shared brand implies shared finances, shared insurance or shared amenities. Ask escrow for the recorded declaration and condominium plan by legal description, not by name, and confirm the association's own unit count from its documents.
A 1975 completion places the buildings inside the date criterion for the Los Angeles mandatory soft-story retrofit programme, which reaches wood-frame buildings of two or more storeys with ground-floor parking or similar open floor space built under code standards enacted before 1 January 1978, exempting only buildings of three or fewer units. A townhouse complex with garages under the living space is exactly the configuration the ordinance was written for. This does not mean an order to comply was issued or that work is outstanding; it means the question must be asked and answered in writing.
The published unit sizes run from about 1,057 to 1,866 square feet for two-bedroom homes and roughly 1,547 to 1,646 for three-bedroom plans, an overlap that tells you the bedroom count is a poor guide to scale here. Interiors are described with soaring ceilings in the living room, a fireplace, a private patio, kitchens with breakfast bars, and principal suites carrying vaulted ceilings, dual-sink bathrooms, soaking tubs and separate showers. Volume and ceiling height are the parts of that description that cannot be renovated in later, and they are what a buyer is really acquiring.
Against the other Villa Marina phases, this one competes on format rather than size. The later East IV and East V associations from 1980 and 1981 offer larger floor plans and more elaborate amenity provision; Villa Alicante offers a genuine townhouse with a two-car garage attached to it, three pools and three spas across the site, and an earlier price point. Which of those matters more is a question of how the home will be used. A buyer should tour at least two of the neighbouring associations before deciding. Pricing across the three is close enough that format, not budget, is usually the deciding factor.
Amenities & Services
The Residences
Two-bedroom residences are recorded from about 1,057 square feet to about 1,866, which is a very wide band for one bedroom count and points to several distinct plan types on a site of this size. At the lower end the home is compact and efficient; at the upper end it reads as a house on two or three levels with a formal living room and separate dining area. Because area varies so much within the same nominal configuration, take the figure from the recorded condominium plan rather than from a listing description.
Three-bedroom homes are recorded in a much tighter band, roughly 1,547 to 1,646 square feet, which suggests one or two plan types repeated across the complex rather than the variety found among the two-bedroom homes. Note that the largest two-bedroom plans exceed the three-bedroom ones in area, so the bedroom count alone does not indicate scale here. Buyers wanting a third bedroom should look specifically for the plan type rather than filtering by size, and should check where the third room sits relative to the principal suite. Ask for the plan drawing for the specific home rather than a generic type sheet, since variants exist across the site.
Each home is described with a private two-car garage with storage, entered directly from the residence. In an inland marina complex that is the most valuable practical feature on the list: it removes the shared car park from daily life, gives secure storage for bicycles and surfboards, and makes the home work for a household with two cars, which the street parking in this area does not readily accommodate. Confirm on the title report and condominium plan exactly what parking and storage are appurtenant to the specific home. Ask as well whether the garage is a true two-car side-by-side or a tandem arrangement, because the difference is substantial in daily use.
The formal living room with a soaring ceiling and a fireplace is the signature of these plans, and it is the element that dates the design in the best sense: 1970s townhouse design gave the principal living space double height and a chimney breast, at the cost of the floor area above it. That volume cannot be added to a flat later and is worth paying for. Gas fireplaces of this age should be inspected, and any conversion or decommissioning confirmed, before close of escrow. Ask whether the flue has been inspected recently and whether the association permits conversion to a sealed gas insert.
Principal bedroom suites are described with vaulted ceilings, dual-sink bathrooms, soaking tubs and separate showers, a specification that was generous in 1975 and remains competitive now. The soaking tub and separate shower combination in particular takes floor area that later, tighter condominium plans do not allocate. What varies between homes is whether the bathroom has been refitted since, and whether any reconfiguration involved moving plumbing, which requires association approval and a city permit; ask for the approval record. Ask also whether the vaulted ceiling in the suite carries any skylight, since skylights of this era are a common source of leaks and belong on the inspection list.
Homes are described with private patios, and in a gated complex laid out around three pool courtyards the position of that outdoor space determines the character of the home more than its area does. A patio opening onto landscaped grounds is a different asset from one facing a driveway or a neighbouring wall. Where outdoor space is elevated and timber-framed it falls within the association's exterior elevated element inspection obligation under state law, and the inspection report is the best evidence of its condition. Ask which of the three pool courtyards the home sits nearest, and walk the route from the gate at the hour you would normally arrive.
Due Diligence
Marina del Rey buyers must establish whether they are acquiring land or a term of years, because Los Angeles County owns and ground-leases the harbour parcels. This address lies east of Lincoln Boulevard, outside that harbour. No parcel on Alla Road appears on the county's Beaches and Harbors lease roster, whose residential entries are rental apartment complexes plus Marina City Club; a city planning document places the area in the Palms, Mar Vista and Del Rey Community Plan of the City of Los Angeles. Confirm the estate conveyed on the title report.
The complex is marketed as both Villa Alicante and Villa Marina East 2, and neighbouring associations use closely similar names with entirely separate boards, budgets and reserves. Ask escrow to obtain the recorded declaration and condominium plan by legal description, confirm the association's registered name and unit count from those documents, and check whether any facility is shared with an adjoining association under a reciprocal easement. Getting this wrong means reading the wrong budget and the wrong reserve study.
Los Angeles requires seismic retrofit of wood-frame buildings of two or more storeys with ground-floor parking or similar open floor space, built under code standards enacted before 1 January 1978; buildings of three or fewer residential units are exempt. A 1975 townhouse complex with garages beneath living space meets the date and configuration tests. Ask the association whether Building and Safety issued an order to comply, at what stage the work stands, what it will cost and whether a special assessment has been levied or is planned.
California Civil Code section 5551 requires associations with buildings of three or more attached dwelling units to have exterior elevated elements inspected by a licensed structural engineer, civil engineer or architect: balconies, decks, stairways and walkways more than six feet above ground with load-bearing components substantially of wood. The first inspection was due by 1 January 2025 and repeats at least every nine years. In a townhouse complex this reaches external stairs as well as balconies. Request the report and the board's response.
Civil Code section 5550 requires a reserve study with visual inspection at least every three years, reviewed annually by the board. On a fifty-year-old complex with three pools, three spas, a clubhouse, gym and sauna, the study is where roofs, garage doors, pool shells, plumbing and any retrofit obligation are priced. Judge it on the percent-funded figure and the funding plan rather than the dues level: a low monthly assessment with a thinly funded reserve is a deferred cost, not a saving.
Master policies on older California condominium associations have tightened, with rising premiums and higher water-damage deductibles, and wood-frame complexes with attached garages are scrutinised closely. Obtain the current certificate of insurance and the deductible schedule, read how the declaration allocates the master deductible between association and owner, and give both to your own broker before setting HO-6 coverage. Ask separately whether the association has had coverage non-renewed or moved to a surplus-lines carrier in recent years.
No leasing rule is published. Civil Code section 4741 prevents an association setting a rental cap below twenty-five percent of units and allows it to prohibit tenancies of thirty days or fewer; the City of Los Angeles regulates short-term letting separately. Ask for the adopted rule and the owner-occupancy percentage. That figure, along with reserve adequacy, deferred maintenance and any special assessment, feeds the project-level review lenders now apply to condominium mortgages on older buildings.
A multi-level townhouse with a garage below is excellent for some households and unworkable for others, and no lift exists to change that. Buyers planning to hold the home for decades should walk the specific plan with that in mind: count the flights between the garage and the principal bedroom, check whether a full bathroom exists on the entry level, and consider whether a bedroom could be relocated. These are permanent constraints of the plan type, not features that renovation can remove.
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: Marina del Rey
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.
Ben will reach out shortly to set up your tour.