Buying a decent house in LA when you're not rich - a pipe dream? (San Diego: oceanfront, apartment)

[socal88]

Your options definitely open up since you don't have to worry about school districts for kids. And given that you don't care about nightlife and perhaps don't mind living in a quieter area perhaps with fewer amenities, there are definitely a number of solid suburbs that aren't too expensive relatively speaking. Based on your combined income and assuming you've got savings in the high five figure range for a down payment, I'd say you could probably pay up to $600K for a house depending.

Obviously, it depends on where your husband ultimately finds a job, but below are my top recommendations:

Santa Clarita (north LA county)
Simi Valley (northwest LA county)
Chatsworth / Granada Hills (San Fernando Valley which is part of the city of Los Angeles)
Glendora / La Verne / Claremont (east LA county)

[sendmorecops]

Thanks everyone! This will definitely help me start narrowing my focus.

My husband is a veteran so we use a VA loan, which doesn't require a downpayment. I've used one of those 'how much house can you afford' sites, but I wanted some input from real people who live there and know how much it costs to drive, eat, etc. in addition to the housing costs. A house isn't enjoyable if you're eating ramen every night to afford it.

IL property taxes are pretty bad, about two years ago our mortgage jumped up over $100 because of a tax increase. :/

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by sendmorecops

Thanks everyone! This will definitely help me start narrowing my focus.

My husband is a veteran so we use a VA loan, which doesn't require a downpayment. I've used one of those 'how much house can you afford' sites, but I wanted some input from real people who live there and know how much it costs to drive, eat, etc. in addition to the housing costs. A house isn't enjoyable if you're eating ramen every night to afford it.

IL property taxes are pretty bad, about two years ago our mortgage jumped up over $100 because of a tax increase. :/

Gas is higher than most places in the nation , of course this matters more if you have a longer commute and depends on fuel economy of your car.

It was just announced there will be a new gas tax in CA And increase in car registration fees .

For food it's all over the map . If you are going to be making your own food and buying from grocery stores you'll probably spend around what you might buying at the market near where you live now .
It's possible stuff like produce would actually be cheaper since so much is grown in CA or Mexico so pretty local

You can order off the dollar menu at fast food places or have $200 per person meals at a fancy place .

At restaurants it's common to see prices of like $7 or $8 for a decent beer , $12 or so for cocktail . Of course depends where you go .
There's lots of competition too though so some places will have decent happy hours .. but they are not nearly as good as during the recession .

Sales tax is another one that's pretty high 8.75 percent.. although I don't know what it is where you are .

There are a ton of entertainment options that are cheap or free because of the huge supply of actors, comedians and musicians
You can easily find free events to attend several nights a week .

[426HemiCA]

Check out Ventura County too, if t commute is doable depending on what part of LA you work in, you may get more bang for the buck on housing.

[Cream1]

Originally Posted by socal88

Your options definitely open up since you don't have to worry about school districts for kids. And given that you don't care about nightlife and perhaps don't mind living in a quieter area perhaps with fewer amenities, there are definitely a number of solid suburbs that aren't too expensive relatively speaking. Based on your combined income and assuming you've got savings in the high five figure range for a down payment, I'd say you could probably pay up to $600K for a house depending.

Obviously, it depends on where your husband ultimately finds a job, but below are my top recommendations:

Santa Clarita (north LA county)
Simi Valley (northwest LA county)
Chatsworth / Granada Hills (San Fernando Valley which is part of the city of Los Angeles)
Glendora / La Verne / Claremont (east LA county)

Simi Valley is in Ventura County for what it's worth.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by sendmorecops

I've used one of those 'how much house can you afford' sites, but I wanted some input from real people who live there and know how much it costs to drive, eat...

Sure hope you don't follow that poster's advice of buying something that's 6 X your annual salary.

[Mr_Geek]

Well a lot of it depends on your other expenses, which a large number of people seem to ignore when making huge purchasing. Making 100k/year with zero other debt is MUCH different than having 2 car loans, student loans, and credit card debt. You are only focusing on 1 part of the equation.

[socal88]

Originally Posted by Cream1

Simi Valley is in Ventura County for what it's worth.

Thanks for the correction. My apologies.

I second the recommendation of looking into Ventura County in areas such as Thousand Oaks and Camarillo in addition to Simi Valley if it's within reasonable commuting distance.

[CaliRestoration]

Originally Posted by sendmorecops

IL property taxes are pretty bad, about two years ago our mortgage jumped up over $100 because of a tax increase. :/

If you're afraid of tax increases, California is the wrong place for you. They just bull rushed a gas tax that will end up costing the median percentile of residents an extra $600-$1200 a year depending on their commutes and class of car owned.

California is also trying to push California Single Payer Health Care. That could end up costing every single worker in the state 1-3% of their income due to taxes as well.

Also California was denied a grant from the Federal government for the bullet train. That could lead to another tax levy in the near future.

Also California is facing the worst pension liabilities crisis in the entire country. That one will also be very costly.

So if you're afraid of even worried about your taxes having an effect on your COL, I'm not sure why you would consider California to be honest.

California makes sense as a state to live if you're an ultra wealthy entrepreneur in tech, film, or government contracts. Also if you work in a union job (CalPERs, CalSTRS). Everyone else could literally experience a much better QOL living elsewhere.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by sendmorecops

I wanted some input from real people who live there and know how much it costs to drive, eat, etc. in addition to the housing costs. A house isn't enjoyable if you're eating ramen every night to afford it.
IL property taxes are pretty bad, about two years ago our mortgage jumped up over $100 because of a tax increase. :/

No tax on groceries, and they're less expensive with more fresh choices. Property tax, figure 1-2% of whatever the purchase price; cannot go higher than that yearly (and goes down if there's a real estate price fall).