The Oaks · Relocation
Relocating to The Oaks
Tour Los Feliz from anywhere by Matterport and video, then make one focused trip.
What does relocating to The Oaks mean for a buyer who lives somewhere else?
Relocating to The Oaks means choosing a hillside you have probably never driven, from a city you have not left yet. The Oaks is the neighborhood directly below Griffith Park on the western side of Los Feliz, and its streets climb until the pavement ends at the chaparral. On this site, luxury starts at about $2 million. A buyer moving here from another city or state needs the map before the listings, and this page gives you both.
The setting is what people relocate for. The park is the northern boundary of the entire neighborhood, so a home at the top of Canyon Oak or Live Oak has trails and open hillside as its back fence. The homes sit on sloping sites with city and canyon views, which the City of Los Angeles historic survey lists as a defining feature. The trade for that setting is a hill to drive and a lot to understand, and both can be studied from a distance before you fly in.
How does The Oaks sit on the Los Feliz map?
Los Feliz Boulevard runs below the hillside neighborhoods, and The Oaks is the westernmost of them. Fern Dell Drive climbs north along its eastern edge toward the Western Canyon entrance of Griffith Park. Everything west of Fern Dell Drive, north of Foothill Drive and on both sides of Canyon Drive is The Oaks, according to The Oaks Neighborhood Association. Fern Dell itself is a shaded trail inside the park with more than 50 fern species. It is City Historic-Cultural Monument No. 112 and the neighborhood's front step into the park.
East of Fern Dell Drive the land changes character. Laughlin Park sits between Los Feliz Boulevard and Franklin Avenue on a gentle foothill slope, reached through five gates on private streets. The hillside above the boulevard farther east is what this site calls the Los Feliz Hills, and the City's survey calls the heart of it Los Feliz Heights. The Oaks is the open, public-street hillside at the western end of that row, and it is the one that climbs straight into the park.
Zip codes trip up out-of-town searches here. The Oaks uses 90068. Laughlin Park uses 90027. A relocating buyer who filters a portal to 90027 for "Los Feliz" will never see a home on Valley Oak Drive. We build your search by neighborhood boundary and send you the list ourselves.
The homes come from two eras. Tracts were recorded between 1922 and 1924 and built through the 1920s in Period Revival styles. A second wave in the 1950s and 1960s added postwar Modern houses. The Samuel-Novarro House at 5609 Valley Oak Drive, a 1928 Lloyd Wright design and a City Historic-Cultural Monument, shows how early the architecture here drew serious names. Our comparison of The Oaks and Laughlin Park helps a newcomer decide between the open hillside and the gated flats.
How does Rooster Homes guide a move to The Oaks from out of town?
Rooster Homes builds a relocation backward from the day you need to be in Los Angeles. 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 gives every buyer an in-depth consultation, and for a relocating buyer that conversation usually happens by phone or video before anything else.
The Oaks asks more of a remote tour than a flat neighborhood does. Rooster Homes owns and runs its own Matterport 3D camera, and for homes listed by other brokerages we walk the 3D tour with you where one exists. We also record video walkthroughs. For a hillside home we point the camera at the approach up the canyon road, the steps from the street to the door, the parking and the view from each terrace. Those are the things a floor plan leaves out and the things that decide whether a house on a slope works for you. The Aligned stage of our buying method explains how remote tours narrow the list to the homes worth a trip.
Before you tour anything, we check each home's status with the City. Some Oaks houses fall inside an Upper Oaks Period Revival district the survey found eligible, and a few carry Historic-Cultural Monument status or a Mills Act contract. We tell you what each one means for future changes before you fall for the house from another time zone.
What are the steps, in order?
- Fix the calendar. Tell us your move date and how firm it is. A fixed report date sets every other date on the plan.
- Get pre-approved. Our recommendation is to talk with a lender before touring. Loan programs vary by lender and by borrower, so confirm your options with your lender directly.
- Sign the buyer agreement. A written buyer representation agreement with Rooster Homes comes before the first showing. We walk through it with you by video.
- Learn the hillside. We explain The Oaks street by street, from Fern Dell Drive on the east to Canyon Drive on the west, and how it differs from the gated and flatter neighborhoods next door.
- Tour remotely. Matterport tours and video walkthroughs of the approach, the slope and the views cut the list down over a few rounds.
- Make one focused trip. See your top homes in person over a few days. Drive the canyon roads yourself and stand on the terraces at two times of day.
- Write the offer and close from anywhere. The initial deposit of about 3% goes to the escrow company. Brandon typically writes a 7 to 10 day inspection period, set in each offer. Purchases in Los Angeles close through escrow and title companies with no attorney required, and much of escrow runs from wherever you live now.
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.
Ready to plan your move to The Oaks?
Our guide to relocating to Los Feliz covers the whole area and the remote-touring order. The The Oaks neighborhood page has the landmarks and the park. If you are still choosing between the open hillside and a gated street, relocating to Laughlin Park shows the other side of Fern Dell Drive. Once you know The Oaks is the place, buying a luxury home in The Oaks goes deeper on the houses themselves.
Tell us your move date and what you want the home to do for you. Send us a note or call (323) 201-2724 and let us know what works best for you. We will coordinate our schedule around yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find The Oaks when I have never been to Los Feliz?
Start at Los Feliz Boulevard and follow Fern Dell Drive north toward Griffith Park. The Oaks is everything west of Fern Dell Drive, north of Foothill Drive and on both sides of Canyon Drive, with the park as its northern edge. Mailing addresses use 90068.
Can a video tour really show me a hillside home?
It can show the parts a floor plan leaves out. We record the drive up the canyon road, the steps from the street to the door, the parking and the view from each terrace. You still make one focused trip to stand on the lot before you decide.
What is different about The Oaks compared with the neighborhoods next to it?
The Oaks is an open hillside with public streets that climb directly into Griffith Park. Laughlin Park to the east is gated with private streets on a gentle foothill slope. The Oaks also uses a different zip code, 90068 rather than 90027.
The Oaks
What relocation looks like in The Oaks
A hillside neighborhood directly below Griffith Park, with 1920s Period Revival and postwar Modern homes on sloping sites with views.
The Oaks is a hillside neighborhood that sits directly below Griffith Park, on the western side of Los Feliz. If you are looking at The Oaks homes for sale, you are looking at homes with Griffith Park as their northern edge.
- The homes
- Subdivided between 1922 and 1924 and built in two waves, the 1920s and then the 1950s and 1960s. Prewar Period Revival and postwar Modern homes sit on sloping sites with city and canyon views.
- Nearby
- Griffith Park forms the northern boundary. Fern Dell sits at the eastern edge, and the Griffith Observatory and the Greek Theatre are inside the park.
- The trade-off
- Homes sit on sloping hillside sites and the neighborhood ends at open parkland to the north, and mail carries the 90068 zip code.
Relocation: keep exploring
Ready to make your move with Rooster Homes?