New homes in pomona (Los Angeles, Vista: 2013, neighborhood, buyer)

[QuicksilverRS]

I am going to be relocating from the Midwest to the Los Angeles area and am having a hard time finding a descent home in my budget (high 400's to low 500's) for a family of 4. I came across some new homes in pomona across the street from the pomona cemetery. They are kb homes monte vista and they are nice large sized homes. I heard the schools in the area are bad, but has anyone seen these houses or can recommend the area?

[QuicksilverRS]

Monte Vista Community Pomona, CA | KB Home

[LBNative]

I wouldn't buy there. Generally, it's not a very safe city. It's a long drive to anywhere exciting for the kids. You can find a 3 bedroom / 2 bath home in the Lakewood/Cerritos/Cypress area in your price range. Those cities are WAY better than Pomona.

[timtemtym]

Will you be working near Pomona? That drive into downtown LA is a beast! I second the opinion to check out Cerritos/Cypress, it's a beast as well into downtown, but a nicer area to come home to. Lakewood would be good too since you'd be closer to the 710 which isn't normally horrible. I take 710 to the 10 to the 101 when I have to go to or from Hollywood. It is the reliably best route though still a solid hour or more.

[LBNative]

If you are working in LA, anywhere in Lakewood is about a 10 min drive to the 91. From there you have a few options to get to LA. Just stay away from Pomona. It's going to make it hard for you to enjoy CA.

[QuicksilverRS]

My work would be mostly at home and sometimes in monrovia so I don't need to be in LA. Claremont looked great, but it's much more expensive for smaller places. The new homes in pomona are 10 minutes from a new target and 13 min from a costco and by the freeway so I didn't think it would be that bad?

[genjy]

Why not look for something in Monrovia? Monrovia isn't as expensive as Claremont, and it is much much safer and nicer than Pomona.

Monrovia will also have a Metro Rail station in a year or two. Close proximity to a Metro Rail station is high up on the buyer's checklist nowadays, IMO. You won't regret owning a house in an area with access to rail.

[Texamichiforniasota]

I'm sure there are ok areas of Pomona, but what the previous posters are alluding to is it's reputation for having a lot of gang violence. There are probably ok areas, but the reputation of the city is not likely to help with resale value. There were 29 murders in Pomona in 2013, which is high for a city of 150K.

[timtemtym]

Originally Posted by genjy

Why not look for something in Monrovia? Monrovia isn't as expensive as Claremont, and it is much much safer and nicer than Pomona.

Monrovia will also have a Metro Rail station in a year or two. Close proximity to a Metro Rail station is high up on the buyer's checklist nowadays, IMO. You won't regret owning a house in an area with access to rail.

^^^ That ^^^

Yep, Moving from other parts of the country you really can't grasp how long it can take to go a few miles. My commute is 7 miles and it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour some days. I've always lived 7-15 miles from my job in other cities and my commute was usually 10-25 minutes. Now I wish I lived 3-5 miles. When I move next time, I'll make sure not to be more than 5 miles.

The Pomona valley and San Gabriel Valley aren't as congested as west LA of course, but it's still better to be as close as you can get with the neighborhood that fits your needs.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by QuicksilverRS

I heard the schools in the area are bad, but has anyone seen these houses or can recommend the area?

That area of Pomona Unified is pretty bad. Those nice new homes are for people who either don't have kids or send them to private schools.