what's the best deal on a condo in OC of you want to spend aprx 200.000$ (San Diego: for sale, apartments)

[thomasfromdenmark]

I have seen some nice decent condos in san clemente, dana point laguna niguel and lake forrest etc etc.

What's the best deal you know of right now if you have a 175-225$K budget?

thanks in advance :L)

[bhcompy]

that budget is about 100k too low at least for most of OC i would say. the lowest in my area are about 350k.

keep in mind a lot of those low #s may infact be 55+ senior homes. Laguna Woods is full of those and it can throw off searches.

i looked up the ones in san clemente because that seems very low and infact those are 440sqft condos. it is extremely small. some of the ones in dana point are a little bigger(700sqft) and laguna niguel seems comparable, though i would be cautious because you may find some laguna woods listings under laguna niguel city. lake forest seems to have bigger options, but they are also 25-35 years old

[Mach50]

Go south of San Clemente 20 miles to Oceanside in SD county.

You can buy a hotel converted condo in Oceanside for under 200k, they are auctioning them off like crazy of course you will not be living in the esteemed OC.

[thomasfromdenmark]

Hi MACH are those studioes that was prior hotel rooms?

Di you have a link. I did notice that oceanside seams less exspensive but I went there in june and it seams a little outlaw? am I wrong?

Do you have a link just to show what you are refering to?

thanks in advance

surfs up

[Mach50]

Yes many hotel to condo conversions in San Diego County.
Haha yes indeed Oceanside is outlaw in parts, definitely not the pristine country club feel, a lot of military live there so it cannot be that expensive.

Sorry don't have a link, but I have some friends that live down there and say they are auctioning them off, close to the beach too.

[Aqua Bliss]

There's a condo complex in Lake Forest called Tuscany - They are apartment conversions and built within the last 5 or so years but there is a lot of short sales and foreclosures in that complex that is bringing the prices down anywhere from 190k - 200's.

The area is really nice actually though realtors will tell you to stay away from the complex since the amount for sale and being foreclosed in that complex doesn't bode well for it's future value, but it's worth a look.

Just do an MLS search for Condo's in Lake Forest and when you see any on the street "Rue De Valor" that is the Tuscany complex....

[califantastic]

You might consider looking in Florida. Prices there are going down much more dramatically than in California. And it is closer to Denmark.

[thomasfromdenmark]

thanks guys and yes florida is an option but what am I going to do there, I like CA more, the climate the people, the things to do, skiing, beaches all that stuff is to tempting for me to consider florida.

[k374]

Originally Posted by Aqua Bliss

There's a condo complex in Lake Forest called Tuscany - They are apartment conversions and built within the last 5 or so years but there is a lot of short sales and foreclosures in that complex that is bringing the prices down anywhere from 190k - 200's.

During the boom Lake Forest was ground zero for condo conversions in South OC. A lot of these "condos" are poor construction that are not really a wise idea to own because they are in need of repair soon. You don't want to buy a condo for $180k thinking you got a good deal and then get a $10k "special assessment" charge by the HOA 2 yrs down the road. Also the general construction quality is cheap since these were designed for use as apartments and not as condos.

My suggestion is to wait another year and then buy a better unit within your price range because condo prices are falling much faster than the higher end single family homes. I think late this year and next prices will fall drastically as Alt-A resets and defaults increase.

[califantastic]

Originally Posted by thomasfromdenmark

thanks guys and yes florida is an option but what am I going to do there, I like CA more, the climate the people, the things to do, skiing, beaches all that stuff is to tempting for me to consider florida.

Other than price and location Florida has no advantages over CA imo.

If you tell us more about what you are looking for we can make more specific recommendations. If I were you I would focus on San Clemente and north San Diego county.