Art and Jessica Martinez never imagined they’d own a home in the Valley. Their Silver Lake condo suited their urban lifestyle: strolling around the reservoir, walking to the local grocery store and frequenting their favorite tiki bar, Tiki-Ti.

However, the pandemic made them rethink everything. Trapped at home, they dreamed of a single-family house with outdoor space to entertain friends and eventually start a family.

After months of searching, they stumbled upon a 1953 ranch house in Van Nuys designed by modernist architect Kenneth Lind. They saw an opportunity to enjoy more space, restore the home’s original midcentury charm and add personal touches to make it their own.

The exterior of the modernist ranch house, originally designed by Kenneth Lind.

“I had a hunch,” Jessica says, recalling the showing. “As soon as you come in the front door and see the way that this house opens up into this yard and all of the light that pours in, I feel like it’s immediate.”

They learned that Lind designed the home for Mel Sloan, a USC School of Cinematic Arts professor, and his wife, Rita, who raised their three children there. The Martinezes felt a connection; Art is a podcaster and Jessica is a feminist scholar and a lecturer in a gender studies program.

Despite being sure this was “the one,” the couple also worried they were in over their heads. The 1,881-square-foot home, with three bedrooms, two and a half baths and a 576-square-foot detached studio, would require significant restoration. The lot was also 10,322 square feet with overgrown plants.

The couple wrote a heartfelt letter to the sellers (the Sloans’ children), won a bidding war and purchased the property for $1.05 million. Then they envisioned their new life in Van Nuys: a backyard pool, a home gym in the studio and space to entertain.

During the inspection period, a neighbor on Nextdoor tipped them off to interior designer Jared Frank, whose clients include musician Reggie Watts, actor Matthew Gubler and filmmaker Jon Watts.

“There was a spark, and he affirmed for us a shared logic about how to approach a renovation,” Jessica says of Frank. Frank explained that if they were going to buy this home, they needed to respect the architecture and its history. They would find period-appropriate finishes, and it would take time. The Martinezes also expressed a love for Tiki-Ti to Frank, who began to think about how to bring a version of it into the home.

Jessica and Art Martinez stand in front of the tiki bar meant to remind them of their favorite tiki spot in Silver Lake.

The renovated dining room.

A guest room was turned into a nursery to prepare for the arrival of the couple’s child.

Escrow closed, and Frank got to work the day the Martinezes got the keys. From then, it took four and a half months for the Martinezes to move in. The restoration, which ended up costing $150,000, included updating plumbing and electrical systems and replacing the roof, which was a lasagna of old roofs stacked on top of one another. Meanwhile, the Martinezes and Frank made anchoring choices fast, choosing the wood beam ceiling paint color, floors and appliances, for example, knowing it would take a while for the product to arrive thanks to especially protracted supply chain issues and high demand due to the pandemic renovation bubble.

Unlike many midcentury renovations, the Martinezes took down no walls. Because the home was already a fairly open floor plan and it surrounded the yard with a lot of light coming in, they felt it unnecessary.

The contractor asked if they wanted to move the washer and dryer to a different space in the home or enclose them to hide them. Jessica drew upon her work as a feminist scholar, remembering how life-altering these machines were in the 1950s. She kept them at the center of the home as a way of acknowledging the past.

In the living room, Frank (who is also a furniture designer) drew an 18-foot, custom-built couch that evokes the glamour of the midcentury era. Tables, pendants and sconces came from online sellers including 1stDibs, Chairish and Etsy, and sometimes were shipped from overseas.

The exterior door of the modernist ranch house originally designed by Kenneth Lind. The renovated bathroom picks up the blue and orange theme of the home’s exterior. The renovated kitchen.

Frank even gave the couple their own in-house tiki bar to stand in for Tiki-Ti. In the entryway alcove, he used tropical-patterned grasscloth wallpaper and 1960s glass pendants to display the couple’s barware and Tiki-Ti memorabilia.

In the kitchen, bold-hued Big Chill appliances from the 1950s-inspired Retro Collection continue the throwback vibe. A cozy nook anchored by period-appropriate chairs and a breakfast table has become a favorite spot for the Martinezes to play “a good meaty board game” like Betrayal.

Outside, Frank designed a pool that began behind the detached studio (which the Martinezes turned into a home gym), curving around to what they affectionately call “the meadow.” Here, they planted a drought-resistant mix of California dune grass, mondo grass and poppies alongside the former owners’ birds of paradise, pink camellias and pineapple guava tree. Frank tapped L.A. painter Jessalyn Brooks to paint a colorful mural on the cinderblock wall backdropping the pool.

“It was incredibly fulfilling to restore a piece of architecture back to its original glory while reimagining it for my clients’ specific needs and desires,” says Frank.

After the Martinezes moved in, they received a letter from one of the original owners’ sons regarding the property’s Japanese maple trees.

“He said, ‘I hope that you’ll make the house your own in every way, but I’m secretly hoping you’ll keep those trees because they were a gift from my dad to my mom,’” Jessica remembers.

The outdoor patio at the modern ranch house.

(Emanuel Hahn / For The Times)

The swimming pool in the backyard, with a mural created by Jessalyn Brooks.

Ever the stewards, just as they’d discussed with Frank on day one, the Martinezes have had three arborists treat the maples for bark beetles and bacteria in the soil. “We have taken it seriously that we were entrusted to take care of Rita’s trees,” Jessica says.

And despite the initial concerns about supermarket proximity, Art still finds himself walking to theirs. It’s not across the street anymore, but the couple is finding meaning in talking to their neighbors about gardening — something they never did in Silver Lake. In October, the couple found out that their first child soon will join the family, which includes a chihuahua and a cocker spaniel mix rescue dog.

“It’s going to be a very happy summer,” Jessica says. “We are so excited to experience this much-anticipated transition in the comfort and beauty of this home.”

The American dream of homeownership is slipping away for many, as the gap between wages and home prices continues to widen. In the 1970s, home prices aligned more closely with income levels. Today, escalating real estate costs—particularly in high-cost areas—are pricing millions of Americans out of the housing market.

One potential solution? Extending the traditional 30-year mortgage to 40 or even 50 years. This could provide the financial flexibility needed to make homeownership achievable for those priced out of the current market.

California: A microcosm of the crisis

California illustrates the severity of the affordability crisis. As of May 2024, the median price of a single-family home in the state reached $904,210, while the median household income stands at $91,551 (California Association of Realtors, U.S. Census Bureau). To comfortably afford such a home, a household would need to earn $239,000 annually—more than 2.5 times the median income.

For families earning $91,551, a 30-year mortgage at 6% would require monthly payments exceeding $5,400, consuming more than 70% of their income. However, a 40-year mortgage could lower the payment to around $4,849, and a 50-year mortgage to $4,564—making homeownership significantly more affordable for middle-income families.

Why are home prices so high?

Several factors have driven home prices to unsustainable levels:

1. Low interest rates: A decade of historically low rates fueled demand and inflated prices.
2. Housing shortages: Limited supply, particularly in desirable areas, drives fierce competition and higher prices.
3. Demographic shifts: Millennials, now reaching prime home-buying age, have increased demand.
4. Rising construction costs: Supply chain issues and labor shortages have escalated building costs.
5. Investor activity: Institutional investors purchasing single-family homes for rentals have reduced inventory for individual buyers.
6. Urban exodus: Post-pandemic shifts to suburban and rural living have driven up prices in these areas.
7. Government policies: Programs like mortgage forbearance kept homes off the market, tightening supply (Urban Institute).

The case for 40- and 50-year mortgages

While the 30-year mortgage has been a U.S. standard, it no longer offers sufficient affordability for many. Extending terms to 40 or 50 years provides several advantages:

• Lower monthly payments: Longer terms reduce monthly payments. For instance, a 50-year mortgage on a $900,000 home could lower payments by $850 compared to a 30-year mortgage.
• Improved borrower qualifications: Lower payments make it easier for borrowers, especially in high-cost areas, to qualify for mortgages.
• Increased buying power: Reduced monthly payments allow buyers to afford homes they may have otherwise been priced out of.
• Flexible payment options: Features like “Pick-a-Pay” offer payment flexibility. Borrowers can pay more during high-income months to reduce interest and build equity faster.

Additionally, international examples show the effectiveness of longer mortgage terms. Countries like Japan and the UK have successfully implemented 40- and 50-year mortgages to address their own housing affordability challenges. In Japan, these longer-term loans help families secure homes in high-cost urban areas, while in the UK, 40-year mortgages have become a standard offering (OECD).

Addressing concerns about interest and equity growth

Critics argue that extended mortgage terms lead to higher interest payments and slower equity growth. While these concerns are valid, flexible payment options can mitigate the drawbacks. Borrowers can choose to pay more when possible, reducing the long-term cost of the loan. More importantly, the affordability of lower monthly payments can make the difference between owning a home and being stuck renting.

A modern solution for an evolving market

The American Dream of homeownership is at risk but adopting longer mortgage terms could restore that dream for millions of middle-class Americans. By extending mortgage terms and embracing flexible payment options, we can help ensure that homeownership remains achievable for future generations.

Darrin Seppinni is a mortgage professional, author and California Real Estate Broker.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.

To contact the editor responsible for this piece: [email protected]

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Title insurance giant First American Financial reported progress on restoring its systems from a pre-Christmas cybersecurity incident.

First American has fallen victim to data theft after a perpetrator exfiltrated data and encrypted data on certain non-production systems in late December. 

“First American’s network, including our employee email system, has been restored. This development allows us to resume communication through our standard business channels,” the company said on its website late Wednesday afternoon.

The company added: “First American Trust is online and operational and is fully able to securely send and receive wires.”

Since First American disclosed it has experienced a cybersecurity incident on Dec. 21, it has been slowly getting back on its feet to restore its systems and websites. 

The First American Financial umbrella includes First American Title Insurance and First American Title Guaranty, as well as nearly two dozen subsidiaries.

The following is the list of First American’s systems/platforms that are back online as of Thursday afternoon: 

This is the second major cyber security incident to hit the title industry in less than a month. In late November, Fidelity National Financial became the victim of a ransomware attack that took its systems offline for a few days.

Mr.Cooper, a victim of a cybersecurity attack in late October that exposed nearly 15 million current and former clients, is currently facing four class action suits as a result of the attack.

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