Planning on moving (Irvine, Orange, Mission Viejo: real estate market, apartment complex, renters)

[angelkay]

Hey all, I just got back from a visit to CA, I am a traveling nurse and I am looking to relocate there from FL. What are the rules regarding real estate?? In terms of renting. Either apartments or houses. Until i am ready to purchase. Any and all information is appreciated.

[HarborEastGuy]

Try craigslist... Many really good deals on rentals there... That would
be my first choice... My 2nd would be to rent an apt from the Irvine
Company.. They are simply the best run, cleanest, newest, most yuppie
places to live anywhere... It's that simple..

[kturbe]

Angel, I am not sure what you mean what are the rules. It depends on your financial sitution. You can rent via an Apartment complex or maybe a condo which someone ones and then is renting out. Just depends on your needs and the area you want to live. Any thing I can do to help, let me know.

[CoastalHomeSeekers]

The local Pennysaver and the mls are two good sources for rentals. You could also try westsiderentals.com.

Once you have found a place you are interested in, you generally have to submit an application and allow the landlord (or agent) to run your credit report.

[djrun]

Welcome to Irvine!

Greetings,

One bit of advice is that nearly all apartment complexes in Irvine are owned by the Irvine Company. From what I heard it is a unique situation for a housing company to have a monolopy on a city this size. From my own account of the history of renting here, renter's rights are not strong at all. The Irvine Apartment Co. (the branch of the company that deals with rental units) have been known for disturbing rent increases and reluctancy to negotiate with tenants. However for the most part quality and service is excellent for renters if you aren't concerned with price. There are several designated "affordable housing" complexes in Irvine, however I have heard the wait list can be quite long.

As far as real estate value goes, South Orange County tends to hold well during drops in the real estate market. In particular Irvine real estate prices has maintained well during the second fiscal year quarter. Estimates put average home prices at $650 in the oldest built part of town. Newer homes will range upwards into the $700, $800 +

During the late 1990's average homes in Irvine were around $300-$400 and have greatly helped current homeowners who bought back then. Many, including my uncle, who bought in Irvine several years ago really got hurt.

Renting is a good option right now, some affordable units I recommend are Park West and other complexes around Michelson x Culver. If you are planning to stay longer in Irvine I would put of purchasing a home for another year or two for prices to drop. If you are only temporarily here then that won't be a problem for you.

Good luck!

[steve77]

After living in Orange county for most of my 50 years my advise is try to find a place outside the county if at all possible because the rents are a rip off. I'm not saying the landlords are doing anything wrong, but it's the value received for the money spent is rediculous.

Most people, especially real estate agents have their heads in the cloud and don't seem to understand what honesty means, because even to this day they'll tell you real estate is a good investment.

I'm an old stock broker, from the old school of buy low and sell high, but the pin head realtors seem to think you can make money buying high and selling low. It's real simple. Prices go up and down, and if you bought properties before 2003 in orange county you probably did very well. Many of my freinds bought homes in Ladera Ranch for about $400,000. in 2000, and sold them in 2005 and 2006 for about $1,000,000. and they only put about $60,000 in upgrades.

And those are the stories that the RE agents tell all their prospects, even in 2007. They forget to tell people about the poor guys who bought homes in Ladera Ranch for $1,000,000. in 2006 and had to sell them for about $800,000. in 2007. There's not enough time and space to write about some of the other HORROR stories where people lost hundreds of thousands due to the drop in prices.

Yeah, yeah, I know it's their fault and they shouldn't have listened to those jerky, disingenuois realtors that hyped em up so much they thought the market would go up forever and ever. And they should have known that you generally need to hold real estate for several years to make any money except if your real, real lucky.

But let me ask you a question if you please: If people used their common sense and didn't purchase those houses at the peak of the market then how do you suppose the owners could have sold them and how could the realtors have made a commission? You guessed it. It's a dog eat dog world there, and if you don't pay attention you'll get eaten alive. I'm sure it's hard to believe that those nice looking, well dressed realtors, who smile at you with ALL 32 TEETH could treat you like a MARK, and only be interested in making a commission, but it's true and many people learned that lesson the hard way.


I'm renting a 1 year old beautiful home in Hemet, CA for $1,450. per month, and it's 3,176 square feet. Nice home right off of a little lake in a private gaurd gated community. But in Orange county, CA you can't even get a slummy 2 bedroom apartment for that price. I was paying $1,850. per month for a tiny 2 bedrrom apartment in Ladera Ranch, CA, about 1100 square feet.

So if you can travel a little I'd advise you to find a place just outside Orange county where you don't get ripped off.

[Axiom]

Originally Posted by angelkay

Hey all, I just got back from a visit to CA, I am a traveling nurse and I am looking to relocate there from FL. What are the rules regarding real estate?? In terms of renting. Either apartments or houses. Until i am ready to purchase. Any and all information is appreciated.

Definitely do your your research and make sure you're comfortable with the cost of living differences. There are lots of online calculators that compare cost of living in different cities. I suggest you take a look as many of them as you can.

I don't know where you are in Florida, or exactly where you want to relocate in CA, but as an example: if you run a salary of $65,000 a year in Orlando FL one calculator estimates you would need to make $94,593 a year in Orange County to maintain the same lifestyle.

Most of the difference is due to housing costs.
This particular calculator estimates that an apartment that rents for $853 a month in Orlando would cost $1,483 in Orange County.
If you wanted to buy RE they estimate a house that sells for $355,000 in Orlando would cost $804,000 in OC

It is expensive to live in OC
Worth the cost?
For some folks, yes; for others, no.
You'll have to make that call for yourself. Just be sure you do it from a well informed point of view.

Good Luck

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Axiom

if you run a salary of $65,000 a year in Orlando FL one calculator estimates you would need to make $94,593 a year in Orange County to maintain the same lifestyle.

Most of the difference is due to housing costs.
This particular calculator estimates that an apartment that rents for $853 a month in Orlando would cost $1,483 in Orange County.
If you wanted to buy RE they estimate a house that sells for $355,000 in Orlando would cost $804,000 in OC

A $65K to $95K salary increase allows $853 to $1483 rent or $355K to $804K home purchase? The house price seems about right, maybe even the rent increase. But the salaries seem way off. Maybe from $65K to $185K.

[oc2nyc]

I am not exactly sure what you mean by rules. I can tell you that any place you would want to rent in Orange County will require a deposit of most likely first and last months rent. They will also ask for references and run your credit. I have never rented where this is not standard protocol.
Make sure to stay away form beach areas unless you want most of your income to go toward housing. It really depends on what you want from So. Ca.
If you want to be close to the beach, you will pay for it. If you just want the laid back lifestyle and nice weather than check more inland cities such as Irvine and Mission Viejo. Either way, do your research, you will most likely pay more to live here than you do in Florida.

[Axiom]

Originally Posted by Charles

A $65K to $95K salary increase allows $853 to $1483 rent or $355K to $804K home purchase? The house price seems about right, maybe even the rent increase. But the salaries seem way off. Maybe from $65K to $185K.

Take it up with the folks at Bankrate.
I do think they tend to estimate on the conservative side.

Thus why I suggested that the OP run his/her own numbers on as many calculators as possible to get a good feel for cost of living differences.