Can Thease Prices Be Real? (Santa Ana, Anaheim: bank owned, short sale, real estate)
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I'm looking an moving to Orange County in about a year (summer 2013) after i graduate college. I already have a job lined up and i am very aware of the fluctuating job situation in Southern California. But I've been wanting to move to Southern California for years now and now that i'll have enough income to afford it, i figure it'll be a nice time to migrate.
So would this property be in a super ghetto? At only $85k i'd expect there to be fire damage or something. But i found quite a few places in Seal Beach and Santa Ana that are quite affordable. I honestly don't know too much about those areas of Orange County. I have however spent time in mission viejo, and huntington beach areas and loved them, i just would like to be closer to the 5 so i can make the trip to downtown LA a little shorter when i want to see my family. I've lived in Downtown LA for a year in 2007 But didn't spend too much time in Orange County when i lived there.
I guess what i'm asking is:
A) Are these under $150K condos a reality in Orange County?
B) The Highest Density of thease homes under $150k appaear to be in Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Seal Beach. With others sprinkled in other cities. Are any of those three cities particularly high in crime rates?
C) I'd like to be Near at least some nightlife and not spend a fortune on a taxi to get home. Do any of those three cities i listed have any sort of nightlife?
-- From what i understand there's a decent amount of bars in Santa Ana.
D) I saw many of the places i looked at have a land lease, which I'd like to avoid like the plague. Is this a fairly common practice in condos in orange county?
I guess what i'm asking is:
A) Are these under $150K condos a reality in Orange County?
B) The Highest Density of thease homes under $150k appaear to be in Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Seal Beach. With others sprinkled in other cities. Are any of those three cities particularly high in crime rates?
C) I'd like to be Near at least some nightlife and not spend a fortune on a taxi to get home. Do any of those three cities i listed have any sort of nightlife?
-- From what i understand there's a decent amount of bars in Santa Ana.
D) I saw many of the places i looked at have a land lease, which I'd like to avoid like the plague. Is this a fairly common practice in condos in orange county?
A) Yes, they exist as you have seen. Its probably bank owned or at least a short sale or somewhere in the foreclosure process. Based on the age and style, they were likely built as apartments before going condo. The HOA could possibly be insolvent. Do you speak Spanish? Would you mind your neighbors 6 kids going wild on the other side of a paper thin wall from your bedroom? Do you mind using a coin-operated laundry room 200 yards from your unit?
B) Santa Ana and Anaheim are mostly ghetto. Huntington Beach and Mission Viejo, this ain't. Seal Beach is home to Leisure World, a retirement community where the owners pay cash for their units after selling their $750k single family home.
C) Other than hanging out in alleys and asking "where you from?", there's not a lot of walkable night life around the unit you posted. OC in general is not walkable. This isn't Hollywood.
D) Yes, in certain areas, many condos, even houses, are built on leased land. Huntington Harbor is famous for having land leases. You'd need to fully investigate the terms of that lease before buying. Would you care if the lease said you could buy the land outright for a dollar 5 years from now? Leased land may or may not be anything to worry about.
Last edited by EscapeCalifornia; 06-10-2012 at 06:06 PM..
This looks like a great opportunity for someone who wants a cheap home and doesn't mind a few inconveniences. They don't have to remain ghettos forever. Buy while the prices are low and pitch in to help restore the community.
Condos often have high monthly association fees (sometimes several hundred a month) so aren't always as affordable as the price would seem to indicate. Ask how much that is before you buy.
As far as a condo in Santa Ana, my brother has bounced around apartments in Santa Ana for a while and while he doesn't have "trouble", there are real issues everywhere he goes with tenants that blatantly disregard rules like tenancy and blasting music 24/7, plus problems with his car being vandalized. I wouldn't want to lock myself in to a property with a purchase like a condo without being very sure of the quality and respect of the neighbors in the complex. As far as the location, that area is more working class, but directly south it's kind of nice.
Condos often have high monthly association fees (sometimes several hundred a month) so aren't always as affordable as the price would seem to indicate. Ask how much that is before you buy.
Somebody must be getting rich off those association fees. Why are they so high?
When property values dropped condos took the worse of it.
Not many condos now are worth more than $150K.
It really depends upon the area because both condo and SFR sales are up in OC compared to the same period last year, but pricing trends differ for the two.
The latest figures cited by OCR (drawn from DataQuick) report a median condo selling price of $279,500; up 4% (SFR prices @$490,000 are down by 2%).
This makes sense because median OC wages, given today's generally more stringent lending requirements, are not high enough to qualify many for the purchase of a SFR.
I suspect that two-wage earning households make up the majority of those buying SFR's. Still, it makes you wonder if some lenders are still being too lax because the median household income for Orange County (2006-10) stands at only about $74,344: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06059.html
As a native of Santa Ana, I can tell you that is one of the least desirable parts of Santa Ana. I would never even consider buying property there. Plus, the building and condo look hideous.
I wouldn't go as far as to call that neighborhood dangerous, but in that vicinity where there will occasionally be gang-related crime, and I'm sure it's far from immune to property crimes. On the other hand, its probably safer than certain areas of in or near downtown LA.
As far as nightlife, there are two options in the general area that come to mind: South Coast Plaza, and the Artist Village in downtown Santa Ana.
Strangly enough, while that is a somewhat skethy neighborhood, you are probably less than 2 miles up Bristal from one of the fanciest shoping locations in the Country: South Coast Plaza. It's more restaruants than bars, and it might not be your scene, but there are lots of packed places over there.
The Artist Village in Santa Ana is also about 2 miles away, and is centered around the corner of Broadway and 2nd Street. This is one of the oldest areas of OC, and one of the few places that has a (semi) urban feel about it. This will give you an idea of what is out there: (http://www.aplaceforart.org/restaurants/default.asp). Some of the better places or Lola Gaspar, Memphis Cafe, Chapter 1, the Crosby and the Proof Bar, along with a new place run by the owners of the Lime Truck: The Playground (Playground DTSA). This area is probably the most up and coming place for young people in the County.
As far as the condo itself, I see a few issues.
First, Santa Ana is notorious for its population density, which is a result of multiple families living in single dwelling. If you look up the statistics, some areas of Santa Ana have the population density of a dense, urban city. This is because a 5 unit apartment building might have 15 families living in it. It's extremely common to have a family of 3-4 living in each bedroom of a 2-3 bedroom apartment, and another single man living on the couch. The fact is that this is how many immigrant families must live to make ends meet. I'd wager that this condo is in a building that houses many more families than it is built to hold, which is one reason why the price is so low.
Also, and I know I am delving into general real estate investment advice here, but it just doesn't seem to be a good investment. At $85,000 the place has probebly experienced very little appreciation over the years (it was built in 1964) and there is little reason to think that it ever will. Who knows what it originally sold for, but in close to 50 years, its only appreciated up to $85,000 when the rest of the OC has gone up 20 fold during that time. The building looks run down, and will probably continue to decline with such heavy use.
My two cents: rent until you have a little more income to afford a decent place.
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