Hammer,
I pretty much echo what SD R said. If you can afford it, will stay and truly want to be there… go for it. Houses like that are very hard to come by and you are right in that someone often has to die to get one. More so, the heirs have to be in the position not to want to live there themselves which adds more difficulty. Lastly, the home is probably owned free and clear or close to it. If the market is tough or gets tougher, the heirs will rent it out until times get better unless they absolutely dont have any options. For a house like that with unobstructable panoramic view 1 block from the cliffs, the price seems good without checking comps. It’s the price of admission if you want to own something like that. In Manhatten Beach it would probably be 2X or 3X that.
Much of the advice you are getting comes from people on this board who have never tried to find a home like that. I have one in escrow that we searched 5 years to find. They are few and far between at any price not to mention what appears to be a reasonable price.
