I get asked all the time by heirs about what they should do upon inheriting a home: Should they sell, rent or move into it?   Let’s briefly take a look at each option:   Selling. In many ways, this is the easiest option, especially if other family members are involved. You put the house […]

The husband and wife team of Paul and Maureen Wheeler do “toaster architecture.” For the past three decades, whenever any kind of design challenge pops up, their Wheeler & Wheeler architectural firm, formed in Claremont, Calif., in 1985, has been able to solve it. Whether the current project is a new construction or remodel, slices of […]

Any time there is a sale or transfer of a property, your home inspection should include a thorough examination of your masonry chimney. Depending on which area of Southern California you live in (Laurel Canyon vs. La Verne, for example), a separate chimney inspection should run in the $250 to $300 range. Typically, the inspector […]

Over chicken, Caesar salad, carrots, broccoli and cake, concerned La Verne citizens listened to Mayor Don Kendrick reflect on 2016 and look forward to 2017 in the State of the City address at the Meeting House at Hillcrest in La Verne on Thursday, Jan. 27. It was a folksy affair, with the mayor noting that […]

Unlike so many notable architectural gems, the post-California-style bungalow that sits handsomely and ruggedly at the northeast corner of 11th Street and Oxford in Claremont, Calif., carries no plaque declaring its historical or cultural significance. And perhaps, it shouldn’t. How can the approximately 3,400-square-foot concrete fortress cobbled together from road rubble be compared with the […]

Overheard … A St. Louis Cardinal baseball scout was impressed by the early-season offensive display put on by Bonita senior Jason Plowman, who was named MVP of the Glendora Baseball Tournament in March… No matter how many times you sit at the bar inside the Pizza Barn in La Verne, you’ll chuckle every time you […]