Laughlin Park · Relocation

Relocating to Laughlin Park

Tour Los Feliz from anywhere by Matterport and video, then make one focused trip.

What does relocating to Laughlin Park look like from another city?

Relocating to Laughlin Park means choosing a gated enclave in Los Feliz while you still live somewhere else, so the first job is to place it on the map. Laughlin Park sits south of Griffith Park between Los Feliz Boulevard and Franklin Avenue, in zip code 90027. Its streets are private and are entered through one of five ornate gates on Laughlin Park Drive, Cummings Drive and De Mille Drive. A relocating buyer cannot drive the streets on a scouting trip, which makes the remote part of the search matter more here than in any other Los Feliz neighborhood. On this site luxury starts at about $2 million, and Rooster Homes runs the search from a distance with that in mind.

Here is how the enclave sits relative to the rest of Los Feliz. Griffith Park is to the north. The Oaks lies immediately below Griffith Park with Fern Dell Drive at its eastern edge. The Los Feliz Hills is this site's name for the hillside above Los Feliz Boulevard, and the City's survey calls the heart of it the Los Feliz Heights Residential Historic District. Laughlin Park sits on a gentle foothill slope rather than a steep hillside, with Los Feliz Boulevard along one edge and Franklin Avenue along the other.

What will you find behind the gates?

The City's SurveyLA report on Hollywood describes a planned enclave. Homer Laughlin and Wilbur Cummings set out about 40 villas on large lots in a garden setting. Fremont Ackerman surveyed and platted the land, and Nathan F. Barratt designed the grounds. Streets curve with the slope, and concrete sidewalks follow them. Building ran mainly through the 1920s and 1930s with infill into the 1960s.

For a buyer touring on a screen, the styles tell you what to look for in a video. A Craftsman or Spanish Colonial Revival house from the early decades shows its woodwork and tile. A Mediterranean Revival villa shows its grounds. A Mid-Century Modern house from the infill years shows its glass and its relationship to the lot. Master architects named for the enclave include Roland Coate and Carleton Winslow, and Lloyd Wright and Julia Morgan and Gordon Kaufman. None is tied to a specific house in the survey, so an architect claim in a listing is confirmed from records rather than taken from the description.

Laughlin Park is not a designated historic district. The City could not complete its evaluation because the enclave is gated and not visible from the public right-of-way. It sits next to the Oxford-Serrano-Hobart Residential Historic District, which the same survey identified. For a house here, historic status is checked address by address. Our comparison of Laughlin Park and the Los Feliz Hills is a good read before your trip if you are still deciding between the two.

How does Rooster Homes handle a long-distance search into Laughlin Park?

Rooster Homes is a Los Feliz, Los Angeles real estate team led by Brandon and Sarah Arlington (DRE #02051216). Brandon holds the Military Relocation Professional designation for moves on orders, and the Accredited Buyer's Representative designation. Sarah's in-depth consultation usually happens by phone or video for a relocating buyer. It sets the plan for everything that follows.

The plan is built backward from your move date. Your lender conversation comes first and the remote tours follow. Then comes one trip, and then closing. For Laughlin Park the remote stage carries extra weight. We ask each listing agent for a Matterport tour where one exists and for a video walkthrough where one does not. Rooster Homes owns and runs its own Matterport camera, so we know what to ask for. In a video we ask the listing agent to start at the gate and show the approach along the private street, because that is the part you cannot see any other way.

When you fly in, we schedule showings through the gates in one grouped visit so a single afternoon covers your finalists. That is the Aligned stage of our process, where every showing fits what you told us. If you can, we plan a second pass at a different time of day so you see the light on the slope and hear the street.

What are the steps for a move into Laughlin Park?

  1. Fix the calendar. Write down when you need to be in Los Angeles and how much that date can move. A report date on orders is fixed, and the plan is built around it.
  2. Get pre-approved. Our recommendation is a lender conversation before the first remote tour. Pre-approval sets the range and travels with your offer.
  3. Sign the buyer representation agreement. It is signed with Rooster Homes before the first showing, and we go through it with you by video first.
  4. Learn the enclave. The gates, the curving private streets and the four styles are explained before you look at a single listing.
  5. Tour remotely. Matterport tours and video walkthroughs that begin at the gate narrow the list from wherever you are.
  6. Make one focused trip. Showings are grouped into one scheduled visit through the gates, with a second pass at another time of day where possible.
  7. Check the house. Historic status for that address and any Mills Act contract are looked up before the offer.
  8. Write the offer and open escrow. The initial deposit of about 3% is held by the escrow company. Brandon typically writes an inspection period of 7 to 10 days.
  9. Close from where you are. Purchases in Los Angeles close through escrow and title companies with no attorney required. Your escrow company confirms how signing works from out of state.

This section explains how the process generally works. It is not legal, tax or lending advice. For your own situation, talk with your lender, CPA or attorney as well.

What is the next step?

Our page on relocating to Los Feliz covers the whole neighborhood and the remote search in full. The Laughlin Park area guide covers the gates, the architects and the streets. When you are ready for the purchase itself, buying a luxury home in Laughlin Park walks through the offer and the inspection period behind the gates. If the hillside directly below Griffith Park is also on your list, read relocating to The Oaks.

Tell us your move date and contact Rooster Homes. Then let us know what works best for you. We will coordinate our schedule around yours. You can also call (323) 201-2724.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get through the gates for a showing if I live out of state?

Showings inside Laughlin Park are arranged in advance through each listing agent. We schedule them for the days you are in Los Angeles and group them into one visit through the gates. Before your trip, Matterport tours and video walkthroughs do the sorting.

Can a video walkthrough show me the approach to a Laughlin Park house?

Yes. We ask the listing agent to start the video at the gate and follow the private street to the front door. That shows the curve of the road, the sidewalk and how the lot meets the street, which a 3D tour of the interior does not.

Where is Laughlin Park compared with The Oaks and the Los Feliz Hills?

Laughlin Park sits south of Griffith Park between Los Feliz Boulevard and Franklin Avenue on a gentle foothill slope. The Oaks is immediately below Griffith Park with Fern Dell Drive at its eastern edge. The Los Feliz Hills is the hillside above Los Feliz Boulevard, which the City's survey calls Los Feliz Heights at its heart.

Laughlin Park

What relocation looks like in Laughlin Park

A gated enclave of private streets below Griffith Park, planned as garden villas on large lots and built mostly in the 1920s and 1930s.

Laughlin Park is a gated enclave of private streets on a gentle foothill slope in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. It sits south of Griffith Park, between Los Feliz Boulevard and Franklin Avenue, in the 90027 zip code.

The homes
Planned as about 40 villas on large lots in a garden setting. Built mostly in the 1920s and 1930s with infill into the 1960s. Craftsman, Spanish Colonial Revival, Mediterranean Revival and Mid-Century Modern homes. The SurveyLA report names Roland Coate, Carleton Winslow and Lloyd Wright among the architects. It also names Julia Morgan and Gordon Kaufman.
Getting around
Private streets reached through one of five ornate gates on Laughlin Park Drive, Cummings Drive and De Mille Drive. The enclave sits between Los Feliz Boulevard and Franklin Avenue.
Nearby
Griffith Park to the north. Los Feliz Boulevard and Franklin Avenue frame the enclave. Adjoins the Oxford-Serrano-Hobart Residential Historic District (SurveyLA).
The trade-off
Gated privacy on private streets. The enclave is not visible from public streets, so the City could not complete its historic evaluation and it is not a designated historic district.