Buying a house in LA (Los Angeles, San Diego: apartments, leases, condo)

[magicmajenta]

Originally Posted by JTGJR

Please explain this statement. If this home has been your grandma's primary residence for 2 of the past 5-years, she would not have to pay any capital gains on the property under the amount of $250K, assuming she's the sole owner and the property is in the USA.

My Grandma isn't the owner. My mom and I are the co-owners. The property is priced right now by the real estate company above $250k. But we still owe some money to the bank and we will get less than half that which is what we have already paid for the property.

[magicmajenta]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Don't base your rosy opinion of Southern California on what you experienced in San Francisco. SF and LA may as well be different states. And the high desert isn't like either city. If you want a cheap non-coastal location in California, at least look at Fresno or Bakersfield instead of the Palmdale. At least those are actual cities and not a far flung barely-a-suburb of LA.

I'm looking at houses in Bakersfield and Fresno right now, and it looks promising. Any bad areas/neighborhoods I should be aware of.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by magicmajenta

I'm looking at houses in Bakersfield and Fresno right now, and it looks promising. Any bad areas/neighborhoods I should be aware of.

I'm not familiar with Bakersfield but I'm sure if you search or ask in the general California forum, you'll find more information.

[magicmajenta]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

I'm not familiar with Bakersfield but I'm sure if you search or ask in the general California forum, you'll find more information.

So If you were to advise me, I should definitely look for a home in those places instead of Palmdale. Because from the prices I am seriously considering those as alternatives. I'll just have to learn more about those places. Cool.

[Flashbaak]

I've lived in Palmdale/Lancaster for 15 years now; grown up here, went to college and moved back. In the $150k price range, yes, you're looking at bad parts of town. As a general rule, you want to avoid anything on the east side of either town. You can find decent neighborhoods on the east sides, for sure, just as you can find not-decent neighborhoods on the west sides. In certain neighborhoods in east Palmdale or east Lancaster, I definitely wouldn't feel safe, even just driving through.

That being said, we live on the west side of Lancaster, and I feel nothing but safe. There are foreclosures and short sales in our neighborhood (homes built in 2005) with over 3000 sq feet in the $250k range. There are most definitely decent, family neighborhoods without gangs and shootings, but I'm doubtful you'll afford them within the $150k range.

This area is definitely not a big city. We have shopping and dining, getting more all the time. They're building a new Claim Jumper right now at the mall. It's something you'd want to come check out yourself. We're about 45 minutes from Santa Clarita which has even more options for shopping.

Commuting to Los Angeles can be rough, to be sure. Many, many people do it, though. Thankfully my husband works in town, but I know the commute can be brutal. Without too much traffic, we can get to Burbank/Glendale in an hour, and LAX in 1.5 hours. It's rare to not have much traffic on the way to LAX though.

We love living here because of the affordability. We can afford a nice house in a nice neighborhood and still live within comfortable driving distance from Los Angeles for concerts, etc.

It does get hot! We're usually over 100F most of the time during the summer, but the evenings are gorgeous. It gets cold in the winter, but rarely snows. Not much rain, but plenty of wind.

I can see why some wouldn't like it here, but my family and I (3 generations live here) find it meets our needs perfectly. To the naysayers, I say... don't knock it 'til you try it.

Good luck to the OP.

aak

[JTGJR]

Originally Posted by magicmajenta

My Grandma isn't the owner. My mom and I are the co-owners. The property is priced right now by the real estate company above $250k. But we still owe some money to the bank and we will get less than half that which is what we have already paid for the property.

So, you're saying that you and your mom are the owners, but neither of you have occupied the home as a primary residence for 2 of the past 5 years? If you, personally, have been in residence, then you should qualify for the capital gains clause. I'm not sure how you and your mom, as co-owners, specifically plays out. But if you were both living in the house for 2-years, you would not have to pay any taxes on the $150K profit that you make when you sell the home and would not have to purchase a new residence within 90-days for tax purposes.

If you've not lived there for 2-years, you will pay capital gains on net profit. I would suggest that you speak with a real estate tax professional to better understand your particular circumstances before you rush into a major real estate decision.

[Panks]

Before you move to Bakersfield, try looking for condos in Woodland Hills, West Hills areas. I've seen them in the high 200's and with a good realtor, I'm sure you can get something in the low 200's. There are tons that are either short sales or owned by the bank.
There are probably a lot of other places to look for condos that others can suggest...Woodland hills is the only one I am familiar with thats why I mentioned it.

Good luck and don't give up!

[zombieon101]

Consider living in Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, or Camarillo. The Ventura County is a beautiful place to live, very close to the beach, and very safe. Prices have dropped to about $350,000 for a fixer (4 bedroom house) or $200 for a townhouse/condo.

There are a lot of people that say negative things about SoCal, and I can definitely see why. Downtown LA itself can be very dirty, trash, smog, graffiti, etc. But there is so much it offers - so much to do. The areas you are talking about (Palmdale) etc, are not really a good idea. I don't think you will like it.

But you can find nice places to live in SoCal and pockets of affordable areas. I'll tell you one thing,,, once you get hooked on the California lifestyle its almost impossible to think of living any other life. The more North you go (like Santa Barbara) the more beautiful it is. Good luck with your search.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by magicmajenta

I'm looking at houses in Bakersfield and Fresno right now, and it looks promising. Any bad areas/neighborhoods I should be aware of.

Some people say a generic statement of anything south of Shaw Avenue is bad.

That is way too simplistic and leaves out nice older neighborhoods like the Tower District (a diverse alternative lifestyle area), Huntington Blvd., Fig Garden (old Fig, not what the developers called New Fig Garden) and Sunnyside (all upscale tree lined older neighborhoods).

A more useful rule of thumb in Fresno is that older neighborhoods west across Highway 99 from downtown or east across Highway 41 from downtown (except Huntington) should probably be avoided unless you are advised otherwise. After that it becomes a question of individual neighborhoods.

Google Street View is a good way to get a feel for a particular street or neighborhood. Then as you said you plan to visit to see for yourself.

[missionhome]

I know this is the LA forum, but if you are open to living in Orange County, you might be able to make it into a small (and I mean very very small) condo. You can get around 600 square feet.

Mission Viejo is a suburb, but is one of the safest cities in the country so you don't have to worry about gangs or being in a bad neighborhood. There are less affluent neighborhoods, but no ghettos. You also aren't in the middle of nowhere either. There are plenty of jobs in Irvine and even in MV and then you are 25 minutes from the beach. The city has its own lake also. Schools at all levels are excellent. Here is a sample of one of the few sub-150k listings:
26261 Las Flores UNIT 36, Mission Viejo, CA | California Real Estate | Listing Information

There are few condos priced this low in good areas though. You just have to look hard and in the right places. The above condo is in a very safe area though.