How do people afford to buy a house here? (Los Angeles: loan, school districts)

[genjy]

We had a few houses for sale around here (SGV foothill area) a few weeks ago. ~1300sq/ft small houses... all asking about $430k-$450k.

Gone within a week. The pending signs went up almost as soon as the sale signs did.

What a contrast from the doom-and-groom "predictions" back in 2007 or so. The RE market is super-crazy hot right now.

[echoParkDate]

Originally Posted by jm1982

In every market there will always be distressed sellers - people that need/want to sell quickly ; divorce, job move, death , bankruptcy, etc.

Unless you can pay cash (i.e. the money is in your account today ready to be wired) you have zero chance of getting one of these in southern california.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by echoParkDate

Unless you can pay cash (i.e. the money is in your account today ready to be wired) you have zero chance of getting one of these in southern california.

True cash will make the offer much more attractive .. And most people that need money need it now .. Now in 45 days or whenever a traditonal loan closes.
Lots of investors will use other people's money , hard money , private money, etc. rather than conventional financing for these deals , I agree.

[WithDisp]

It's a rough market for the first time homebuyer.
Some cities are just full. : \

Inheritance was the only way I could have gotten my LA home when I did.

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by CapRate

I believe that because there is a transfer in ownership there should be a new assessment in value. I could see an exception for minors having that amount deferred until they hit 18.

And this is coming from someone that stands to inherent significant amount of RE in CA.

If you really do feel so strongly about it, are you going to donate a large chunk of your inheritance to the state because you don't want the benefit of Prop 13.

When you inherit a property with an annual tax bill of $1000 with a current assessed value of $1,000,000, no one is going to stop YOU from writing a $12,000 donation check to the state every year, you might even get a tax deduction out of it, but for some reason I don't see it happening.

[CA4Now]

Interesting mention of the four major housing price cycles in L.A. since 1975.

Is L.A. in another real estate bubble? - LA Times

[Ultrarunner]

Thing is Prop 13 made it so each transaction stands on it's own... it also eliminated the guess work and special deals some received from Assessors and the volumes of tax code.

Anyone can understand the few simple paragraphs of Prop 13.

Prop 13 does two things... it set up a system of property taxation based on fair market value at the time of transfer along with a 2% annual inflation cap...

Prop 13 also lets the voters approve additional assessments above Prop 13 limits.

Prop 13 has nothing to do with inheritance... this is covered by two other State Propositions.

I'm writing this as the new comer to a neighborhood paying the most taxes per square foot.

The couple in their 80's that I bought my home from was paying $1200 annually in taxes and it went to $8800 upon my purchase..

I don't begrudge them for paying less... they built the home in the 1950's.

Another way to say it is that I fully intend to be one of those 30 years from now with the low taxes... just as they were.

Prices have certainly escalated... prices have also fallen... just ask anyone that bought around 2010-12 how much more their property is worth in 2015.

[genjy]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

just ask anyone that bought around 2010-12 how much more their property is worth in 2015.

About 33% more. Bought my house in 2010 for about $375k when no one wanted to buy. It's easily worth $500k right now.

I wouldn't mind paying that ~$4000-$5000 annual property tax after it's paid off in 12 years. Talk about cheap rent.

[Ultrarunner]

I know location is supposed to be the only thing when it comes to Real Estate...

Timing can be just as important... some areas of California have almost doubled from the crash to the now...

There were so many foreclosures and home owners saying never again the market was awash with property...

Myself and a lot of my friends bought property the old-fashion way... we started with starter homes or homes that had problems... in other words we bought what we could afford.

Buying my first home was quite an experience... I kept looking and became more frustrated and then I started looking for the least expensive home on the MLS and ended up buying one... It was actually scheduled for a condemnation hearing and me buying it threw a wrench into the plans and by the time it was rescheduled... I had hauled off the trash... fixed the broken windows, painted the exterior and did a little front yard landscaping...

^^^ This is how I did it and I still own the home today.

[cs2go]

In the beach cities of Los Angeles, I know that people are living with other family members so they can afford the rent or parents/grandparents sell the house cheaply or just have them take over payments. It is very difficult to have the dream of
owning a home here especially if the schools are good and the neighborhood is good. A well two income family doesn't do the
trick anymore. If ALL Los Angeles Neighborhoods were considered "Good" with actual good citizens and good school district it would even out the landscape. None of this will happen with continued bad politicians/policies running everything and people not
being pro-active and just paying to live in Los Angeles. I would like to see people with $$buy in depressed areas and continue cleaning it up because the City won't. From a 20 year property manager throughout Los Angeles.