Torrance for th Retired

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by cb2008

What do you think of Torrance for a retired couple to move to from the East Coat? We are expecting another blizzard and it has been an awful winter. currently we own our own house.
We would like to rent for a while and eventually consider buying a small house or condo.
The things we need/like:
2 bed/ 2 bath.
Friendly, pretty neighborhood - flowers, trees.
Safe
Walkable/close to libraries, shopping, cafes.
Trails and hikes and other nature oriented opportunities. Maybe Meet-ups would be an option?
We will rent/buy a car if we rent for a few months, maybe even a year.

What can we expect to pay for an apartment/condo/townhouse?
If buy, what kind of condo fees, HOA fees should we consider?
What are good sources for information besides zillow, trulia etc?

What are taxes in Torrance? Property, town, state, local etc?
Is there water shortage or other annoyances?

I have a friend that deals with age restricted housing in a Torrance. Property taxes are just over 1%. I'd buy and live there if I was allowed. Zillow and trulia are insufficient and if they are still listed for a while, not a good deal. There is also an area in Orance County, Laguna Woods, but it had a high HOA for all of the amenities.

[cb2008]

What is restricted housing?

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by cb2008

What is restricted housing?

Age restricted senior housing. You have to be a certain age to live there.

[JohnG72]

Hi OP, rents for 2/2 apartments in Torrance run $1300-2000, with really nothing over that. Most common range right now is $1600-1800. There are SFR under $2500/mo but finding one with 2ba will be difficult. Also nice townhomes in that range but will push the upper limits of your budget.

SFR run around $550k and up and I'd suggest running searches of recent sold homes on redfin to get a more accurate idea.

All of Torrance is nice and walkable. Some is straight suburbia so you'll only have houses to walk to. Other areas have tons of business to walk to. The old town area has a nice feel IMO and prices of homes tend to be on the low end due to the old housing stock(finding a 2ba house there is tough)

[cb2008]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

Hi OP, rents for 2/2 apartments in Torrance run $1300-2000, with really nothing over that. Most common range right now is $1600-1800. There are SFR under $2500/mo but finding one with 2ba will be difficult. Also nice townhomes in that range but will push the upper limits of your budget.

SFR run around $550k and up and I'd suggest running searches of recent sold homes on redfin to get a more accurate idea.

All of Torrance is nice and walkable. Some is straight suburbia so you'll only have houses to walk to. Other areas have tons of business to walk to. The old town area has a nice feel IMO and prices of homes tend to be on the low end due to the old housing stock(finding a 2ba house there is tough)

Thank you, JohnG72
SFR - Single Family Residence?
Where are the nice Townhouses located and what is the range? can you give me some examples?
Is old town, old Torrance? Can you tell me more about the area, the streets that comprise the area?

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by cb2008

Thank you, JohnG72
SFR - Single Family Residence?
Where are the nice Townhouses located and what is the range? can you give me some examples?
Is old town, old Torrance? Can you tell me more about the area, the streets that comprise the area?

Yes single family residence...a stand alone house.

Yes old town = Old Torrance.

Roughly bounded by Del Amo Bl to the north, Sepulveda to the south, Crenshaw to the west, and Western to the east. The center of it is a walkable several block "downtown" area comprised mostly of 1 and two story restaurants, bars, and some shops. It is bounded by Cabrillo, Torrance Bl, Carson St. and Cota Ave.

If you go to google maps and do a street view on Sartori Ave south from Torrance Bl, you can get a real good view of what that downtown area is like.

Here is a house available in that area...outdated, but good price for the size:

1957 W. 235th St. Beautiful Home - Close to Schools & parks

And a townhome:

Large 3BR Owners Unit Townhouse

And another house:

Old Torrance home 3BR 2BA

Not many listings on craigslist today, but there are so many apartments and townhomes nearby to Old town that I imagine they might be listed somewhere. All the above seem almost too big for your needs.

A quick search on Redfin shows sold prices in the past three months from $480-650K, which is on the low end for Torrance. Some looked very nice.