Affordable Homes in LA-SoCal (Los Angeles, Lancaster: real estate, apartments, lease)

[memphisgirl7705]

I am from a "well off" (for the south, ha, a million dollar home would be a stretch for us) family, and for my parent's retirement and my own college education, my family and I are thinking about moving to southern california. (Whew, long sentence)

I am going to UCLA, and after looking through almost every city, I have come to find there are NO houses that meet our standards. My father doesn't want to spend all of his retirement money on this home, or have to finance it for 30 years. Are there no areas where you can purchase a 2-3 bed&bath home with around 2000 sq ft for $400,000? There are some places in Hemet, Perris, Lancaster, etc. with homes that easily meet this. However, is this too far a drive to UCLA?

Any ideas as to areas that are affordable?

Thank you so much!

[christi1981]

With traffic about 2- 4 hours during the week. Palmdale is in th eupper desert area of LA county and is where alll the LA gangs are moving into. If you are use to a nice area you will not like it here. My professor just got his PHD from UCLA and commuted and he said it was about 2 hours each day from his house in palmdale. Hope this helps. In California there are many nice houses but not nice areas. You can be in a nice area and then drive a block or two and be in ahorrible high crime area unless you are going to spend 1- 2 milllion minimum on a house.

[memphisgirl7705]

I can stand the commutes and the less-than-perfect areas, as I'll be a young college student. I feel for my parents though, they want to follow their only child, but if Cali isn't the best retirement state for them I don't want them to come.

I have a 2003 Mercedes C230, that gets close to 30 MPG, so like I said the commutes would be okay. Do you mean 2-4 hours EVERY week day, or 2-4 hours a week worth of driving hours??

What are some good(low crime) areas closer to UCLA? If I went alone, a 1 bedroom 1 bathroom teeny tiny apartment would be fine. About what would that run monthly? I found some for 650 a month, does "you get what you pay for" apply heavily in LA?

Thank you for the reply, and sorry for my wordiness! I'm just so excited and have very many questions!

[greggd]

You can check the multiple listing service for los angeles [mod cut - real estate listings] but it looks like $400,000 is small one bedroom condo prices in west los angeles.

I'd suggest you consider renting an apartment within walking distance of campus. There are some good deals in Westwood for students.

With regards to your parents, they should come out and rent for a year or so and see if they like living here. You never know, they may want to live somewhere with less traffic.

[memphisgirl7705]

Thank you for the site!

I searched 1 bed 1 bath residential lease, with the limit being $1000 a month. I got 5 results, lol.

903 NEW DEPOT ST #12A, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

Wherever that is seemed to be the cleanest, for $749 a month. Westwood looked very nice, but how is a college student supposed to afford $1400 a month?!

[greggd]

Originally Posted by memphisgirl7705

Thank you for the site!

I searched 1 bed 1 bath residential lease, with the limit being $1000 a month. I got 5 results, lol.

903 NEW DEPOT ST #12A, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

Wherever that is seemed to be the cleanest, for $749 a month. Westwood looked very nice, but how is a college student supposed to afford $1400 a month?!

New Depot Street is in downtown los angeles, right by Chinatown. That would not be a nice commute to UCLA. internet seaches for apartments will lead you to the overpriced and/or corporate owned bldgs. You need to drive around and look for the for-rent signs during the weekday cellphone in hand.

If 1000 per month is too much, then you need to share an apartment with a roomate/fellow student and live walking distance from school. There are many other students who look/depend on roomates for rent. UCLA can help too. Without the car/gas expense and spliting the rent, you should be fine.

[snb3]

You'll be stunned @ the wealth & costs of West LA. C230s are as common as Civics. During rush hour, it take me about 30 minutes to go from near downtown to Westwood area. I only live in metro LA as I work here and I refuse to commute from the burbs to LA.
Unfortunately, $400k will get you a 1 bd/1ba around there. For housing (rental or purchase), you might want to consider: Culver City, Sherman Oaks & Van Nuys other areas in the San Fernando Valley.

If you're family is following you here, you might have your parents look into buying a home out in Temecula/Murrieta areas as it is the better of the affordable places in Socal and rent a place for yourself near UCLA. Your parents WILL NOT want to retire to West LA w/o well over a $1mill.

[montevista1]

culver city or rent in marina del rey, from palmdale it will take you min 2hrs each way. Palmdale & Lancaster is ghetto!!

[UB50]

Your parents should buy a house out of town. That way you can visit on weekends. The commute from Palmdale/Hemet/Temecula is 2 hours one way each day!!

My cousin is very wealthy and she is considering buying a home in West LA or in Encino for her son to live in while he goes to UCLA. He'll probably need/want roommates though I don't have any details at the moment because she hasn't decided where she wants to buy yet. You might look for someone like this to room with. My cousin is a gazillionaire and a $10 million house isn't out of her price range (though she might not want to spend that much). At any rate -- cheaper housing is out there -- you just have to look for it!!

[Lars]

Culver City used to be affordable, and you might find something in Palms, but you can also get a good deal on a condo in Marina Del Rey, as they have massively overbuilt.