About the Building
The Los Angeles County Assessor confirms Wilshire Barrington as a purpose-built for-sale condominium. Sixty-six separately assessed parcels run from 4263-011-040 through 4263-011-105, each carrying the legal description Tract 31410, Condominium, and a unit number from one to sixty-six. All are coded 010C, the assessor's classification for a building constructed as a condominium rather than converted from apartments. That distinction is worth having in writing before anything else, because the surrounding blocks are full of 1970s buildings that went the other way and carry a different set of construction consequences. Sixty-six homes also makes this one of the larger single associations in the immediate area, which has consequences for how it is run and funded.
Year built is 1974 across the roll, on a lot of 45,999 square feet zoned LAR3. The assessor's design type record includes a pool, and the quality class of D85B places the construction in the middle of its decade's range rather than at either extreme. Sampled areas give 985 square feet for a one-bedroom, two-bathroom home, and 1,062 and 1,124 square feet for two-bedroom, two-bathroom homes. A condominium directory publishes a wider range of 985 to 1,484 square feet across one, two and three-bedroom plans; the lower bound matches the roll exactly, which is unusually clean corroboration for an aggregator.
The two-address structure is the fact most often missed. Because half the units are addressed 1242 South Barrington and half 1262, listing sites frequently treat them as two separate buildings, and price histories get split accordingly. They are one recorded condominium. The unit numbering repeats at each address as 101 to 111, 201 to 211 and 301 to 311, with several third-floor homes carrying an S suffix on the roll. When you pull comparables here, pull both street numbers or you will see half the market. Ask your agent to reconcile the two address histories into one before drawing any conclusion about pricing trends in the building.
The seismic exposure is straightforward to describe and important to price. Los Angeles Ordinance 183893, with amendments under Ordinance 184081, requires retrofit of wood-frame buildings of two or more stories where the ground floor contains parking or other similar open floor space, for which the construction permit was applied for before 1 January 1978. Buildings with three or fewer dwelling units are excluded; this one has sixty-six. LADBS confirms the programme applies to condominium associations as well as rental owners. A 1974 three-storey building over parking is squarely inside the description.
That does not mean work is outstanding. Orders to comply were issued by priority category from 2016 onward, and many associations of this size have long since engineered, permitted and completed their retrofits. It does mean the question has a documented answer somewhere, and you should have it. Ask the board for the order to comply, the engineer's scheme, the permit number, the final inspection card and how the work was funded. An association that can produce all five has removed the largest single unknown attached to a building of this vintage.
Amenities & Services
The Residences
The smallest sampled home on the roll is 985 square feet with one bedroom and two bathrooms, which is a generous allocation for a single-bedroom plan and typical of mid-1970s condominium design, where the second bathroom served the living side rather than a second bedroom. A directory publishes the same 985 figure as the bottom of the building's range. At that size a one-bedroom here is materially larger than a comparable plan in a 1960s conversion nearby, and it competes on space rather than on price alone. Confirm from the recorded plan whether the second bathroom is a full bath or a three-quarter, since the assessor counts both the same way.
Three sampled two-bedroom, two-bathroom homes give 1,062, 1,124 and 1,124 square feet, spread across different tiers and both street addresses. The repetition of 1,124 across units twelve, twenty-three and forty-five confirms that this building repeats a module rather than improvising, which is what a purpose-built condominium should do and a conversion usually cannot. It also means in-building comparables are genuinely comparable, and a price per square foot derived from a recent sale in the same plan carries real weight. Where two homes in the same plan have sold within a year of each other, that pair is the strongest evidence of value available anywhere in this market.
A condominium directory lists three-bedroom plans between 1,431 and 1,484 square feet, above anything in the assessor sample. That is plausible for a building of this size, most likely at the ends of the third tier or in corner positions, but it is not confirmed by the records pulled. Treat the three-bedroom range as directory-sourced until you see it on a title report or a recorded plan. If a three-bedroom is what you want here, ask the manager how many exist and where they sit. The three-bedroom tier, if it exists as published, would also be the scarcest product in the association and the slowest to appear on the market.
The numbering runs 101 to 111, 201 to 211 and 301 to 311 at both 1242 and 1262, which describes two matched three-storey buildings of thirty-three homes each. Eleven homes to a floor plate implies a double-loaded corridor with end units taking two exposures and interior units one. Third-floor homes gain ceiling height where the roof allows it and lose the buffer of a home above; ground-tier homes gain outdoor access and lose it. None of that is visible on a listing sheet. Ask the manager for a floor plate drawing rather than relying on the unit number to tell you where a home sits.
The soft-story ordinance criterion that makes this building relevant, ground-floor parking or similar open space beneath habitable levels, is also the reason residents park under cover. What the ordinance does not tell you is how many spaces attach to a given home. In a 1974 building of this size, one space per one-bedroom and two per larger plan is the usual pattern, frequently tandem. Read the allocation off the title report and confirm whether it is deeded or exclusive-use common area. Ask too whether any spaces are unassigned or rented from the association, which changes both cost and certainty of use.
Assume 1974 galvanised or copper supply, original electrical panels and original windows in any home that has not been reworked, and price accordingly. The assessor's record notes central refrigeration and heat, so the building was air-conditioned from the start, but fifty-year-old equipment has been replaced at least once and often at owner cost. A home with a documented re-pipe, a modern panel, dual-glazed windows and a rebuilt kitchen is a different asset from one with none of those, at the same square footage. Ask for the permit history on the specific home, and treat undocumented work as a cost rather than an upgrade.
Due Diligence
Half of Tract 31410 is addressed 1242 South Barrington and half 1262. Listing platforms often treat them as separate buildings, which splits the sales history and distorts price-per-foot averages. When you or your agent run comparables, search both numbers and reconcile them. The recorded map is the authority on what belongs to this association, and it names one tract, not two. The title report on any individual home will name the tract, which is the fastest way to confirm you are looking at the right association.
Ordinance 183893 reaches wood-frame buildings of two or more stories over ground-floor parking permitted before 1 January 1978, with an exclusion only for buildings of three or fewer dwelling units. Ask the board for the order to comply, the engineer's report, the permit, the final sign-off and the funding record. If the work is still pending, ask for the cost estimate and whether a special assessment has been noticed. An association that can produce all five documents has removed the largest single unknown attached to a building of this vintage.
California Civil Code section 5550 requires a reserve study at least every three years with a visual inspection. Where an association owns two matched structures, the study should treat roofs, plumbing, common electrical and exterior finishes for each separately, because they age together but rarely fail together. A study that lumps them into single line items is less useful than one that does not. Ask which roof was replaced when, and whether the two buildings have ever been assessed separately for any major component.
A condominium directory publishes a monthly figure for this association. Directory figures go stale and rarely say what is covered. Ask for the current budget, the last two years of financials, the assessment history and a written inclusion list. On a building of this type dues usually carry water, trash, common maintenance, pool service and master insurance, with electricity and internet billed to the owner. Ask specifically whether any assessment has been noticed or is under discussion, and read the last two years of board minutes for the answer.
Directory pages describe a pool, sauna, exercise room, community laundry, controlled access and secure parking. The assessor's design type record independently confirms a pool. The rest rests on the directory. Amenities in 1970s buildings get decommissioned quietly when maintenance costs rise, so ask the manager which are currently in service, what the hours are, and whether any is subject to a pending repair. Also ask whether the laundry is coin-operated or card-based and who owns the equipment, since leased machines appear as a recurring cost line.
California Civil Code section 4741 prevents an association from imposing a rental cap below twenty-five percent of units and permits a prohibition on tenancies of thirty days or less. In a sixty-six home association a twenty-five percent cap is sixteen or seventeen homes, and caps of that kind are commonly at their limit. If letting matters to you, ask whether a cap exists, whether it is currently full and whether there is a waiting list.
Master policy premiums on 1970s wood-frame associations in Los Angeles have moved sharply in recent renewal cycles, and lenders increasingly test coverage adequacy before funding. Ask for the current declarations page, the renewal date, the deductible structure and whether earthquake cover is carried. If it is not, the association is self-insuring that risk across sixty-six owners. Confirm too whether the association carries earthquake cover, and if so, what the deductible would be across sixty-six owners.
Barrington between Wilshire and Santa Monica carries real traffic, and the west side of the street faces it directly. Homes on the rear elevations and upper tiers are materially quieter than those facing Barrington. Visit at both morning and evening peaks before choosing a stack, and if noise matters, weight the rear-facing plans accordingly rather than assuming the difference is marginal. Ask which elevation the specific home faces before you look at anything else about it, because that decision cannot be changed later.
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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