First time homebuyer with 250,000 to spend! HELP where should I look! (Los Angeles: sales, renting)

[mroff25]

Hello,

I am a recent transplant currently renting in Hermosa Beach. I am currently looking to make my first home purchase being that it is such a buyers market. The problem is $250,000 seems to only get you a tiny house in a horrible gang ridden area.

I have looked in areas such as Torrance, Gardena, Anaheim, Van Nuys, etc... And have yet to find something in my price range that seems feasible. I am looking for a Single Family Home, preferably 2+ bedrooms, decent area (or atleast ACTIVELY up and coming).

I work out of my home which makes me flexible, my sales territory covers all of LA and OC so I would like to live somewhere where I could get to both with some convenience.

ANY SUGGESTIONS would be very, very appreciated. Thank you!

[bhcompy]

250k is still a tough buy in LA/OC. It will get you a very nice out in Riverside county.

I've been looking around that price and found some housing in decent areas in Buena Park and Lakewood, but they aren't the best locations.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by mroff25

ANY SUGGESTIONS would be very, very appreciated. Thank you!

SFR? Townhome? Condo?

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

You could move to Oxnard. Do you have $250,000 to pay cash for a home or is that all the home you can afford to finance? Oxnard on the coast and about an hour north west of downtown has homes in that range. For just under $300,000 you could get a new town home at Riverpark. With the $10,000 California first time buyer program (If you are a first time buyer.) and the $8,000 Federal First time buyer incentive that could get you near your $250,000 mark.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

You could move to Oxnard. Do you have $250,000 to pay cash for a home or is that all the home you can afford to finance? Oxnard on the coast and about an hour north west of downtown has homes in that range. For just under $300,000 you could get a new town home at Riverpark. With the $10,000 California first time buyer program (If you are a first time buyer.) and the $8,000 Federal First time buyer incentive that could get you near your $250,000 mark.

I believe the California program is only on homes that have not been inhabited before

[allenk893]

Originally Posted by mroff25

Hello,

I am a recent transplant currently renting in Hermosa Beach. I am currently looking to make my first home purchase being that it is such a buyers market. The problem is $250,000 seems to only get you a tiny house in a horrible gang ridden area.

I have looked in areas such as Torrance, Gardena, Anaheim, Van Nuys, etc... And have yet to find something in my price range that seems feasible. I am looking for a Single Family Home, preferably 2+ bedrooms, decent area (or atleast ACTIVELY up and coming).

I work out of my home which makes me flexible, my sales territory covers all of LA and OC so I would like to live somewhere where I could get to both with some convenience.

ANY SUGGESTIONS would be very, very appreciated. Thank you!

I would buy outside of Los Angeles in general with that minimal amount of money. Even with the crisis, 250,000 would still get you a gang-infested neighborhood. Look into where I live, San Antonio. 250,000 could buy you a nice 5 bedroom house. And the city isn't bad either.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

I believe the California program is only on homes that have not been inhabited before

SO true, forgot to mention that. I brought up the California program only because Riverpark is a new development. That being said, some Riverpark homes are being sold in the secondary market by former homeowners, or the bank. If you are buying from the developer, builder, ect. you can apply for the California program that gives you $10,000 over a 3 year period.

[Mike121]

I'd look into the neighborhoods in Los Angeles between USC and Culver City. The 90016 is OK. The 90018 is less nice but more affordable. A fair number of houses in the low $200s.

[JohnG72]

First off, OP if you do not have $60K cash(20% down plus 10K for closing costs), forget about it.

You say you are not looking for townhomes/condos. If you were, then Granada Hills is a nice place and has plumented in price. $250K MIGHT buy a nice townhome there. It still MIGHT buy a fixer upper house.

The only non ghetto area in Los Angeles county with houses that cheap is Arleta in SF Valley. It is a small suburb and is part of Los Angeles city. Its mostly latino with a sizable philipino minority and some older caucasian people. People THINK its bad because it shares the same zip code as Pacoima. It's not bad. Its ok. The crime rate is pretty low. Lots of spanish language oriented business'. If you have kids I would not send my kids to public schools there(or start them immediately on the weight bench and steroids).

[bhcompy]

FHA loans are secure and still being issued JohnG72. 3.5% down. And from what I'm seeing in the market getting your closing costs paid by the seller is not unheard of. Hell, when they prequalified me recently they said it was the norm