Looking for a sweet deal (Santa Ana, Huntington Beach: for sale, real estate, foreclosures)

[socalmover]

I am being relocated to Huntington Beach, CA from Boulder, CO and looking for some advice. We are a young family (1 baby), and will be looking for a condo in the 200-300k range. Needs to be at least two bedrooms, and I not in a junky area (I have been told to stay away from Santa Ana). Anyone know of a nice, family area that would be close to my price range? We're pretty much priced out of Huntington, Costa Mesa and of course, Newport.

We bought a foreclosed house here in CO and fixed it up and look to make a nice profit off it. Looks as if the market is right to buy something similar out there. Seen any good deals? Any referrals for a solid realtor who knows a lot about foreclosed / short sale opportunities. Feel free to e-mail me.

[bhcompy]

i wouldnt hope for much.

los alamitos and rossmoor are nearby safer neighborhoods that offer condos.

here is one in los al listed at 340k

Condo/Townhouse/Co-Op - 3845 Farquhar Ave Unit: 305, Los Alamitos, CA, 90720 - Realtor.com

here are a few behind rossmoor center from 315k to 370k

Condo/Townhouse/Co-Op - 12400 Montecito Rd Unit: 211, Seal Beach, CA, 90740 - Realtor.com
Condo/Townhouse/Co-Op - 12200 Montecito Rd Unit: E202, Seal Beach, CA, 90740 - Realtor.com
Condo/Townhouse/Co-Op - 12200 Montecito Rd Unit: H204, Seal Beach, CA, 90740 - Realtor.com

honestly i think that would be the best area for a young family if you can afford it. safe, you can walk to shopping and limited entertainment(movie theater and bowling alley are gone now unfortunately, replaced by high rent stores like organic groceries, a wine bar, and some expensive clothing stores), and if you stay for a while the schools are in the top public schools in the la basin.

you may be able to find stuff in certain areas in stanton, anaheim, garden grove, midway city, and westminster as well, but i would be they would be in crummier areas and probably not worth it(to me, young family with an 8yo).

that said, we're moving to CO at some point soon and in our explorations(and broken down home negotiates), you get a lot more for your money in CO than here, so dont expect even getting half of the value you would in CO for what you're getting here. more like 3 or 4x more here for the equivalent in front range cities

[Broadmoor]

Try keeping an eye on my neighborhood in central Tustin. These are older single family detached homes, 3-4 bdrms/2 bath which sell for slightly more than your price range, but there are a few foreclosures and you might be able to negotiate a deal. Yards are a compact but a nice, manageable size for a family, and there's room to play - we also have a park and pool complex. The neighborhood is starting to revitalize, homes are getting fixed up. The style of homes are very similar to Eichlers but without the problems -- our windows are all standard sizes and the heating is conventional forced air, we do not have the radiant floors here. The houses look fantastic fixed up. We have a lot of teachers in our community. There is a homeowners' association but the dues are low and the people who run it are nice.
Pictures of homes for sale/rent are here:
http://www.myspace.com/broadmoortustin

[raisun]

If Seal Beach/Rossmoor works for you, I would definitely look into those condos on Montecito listed by bhcompy. I have two different friends that live there and its a decent, affordable (for OC) community. One of my friends is a young couple with a baby who's about to turn 1 and there unit works great for them. Its not big, but functional.

Good luck!

[socalmover]

Thanks for the great advice so far, guys.

Broadmoor- I checked out your neighborhood; it is awesome! You gotta love google streetview to get a good sense of what the place is like.

Keep me posted if you see any great deals there, I am definitely interested.

We've seen a few places a little bit further south in Laguna Niguel / Mission Viejo area. I know traffic down there is terrible (as an understatement), but would I be killing myself if I commutted from Laguna Niguel to Edinger/405?

[Broadmoor]

Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm not a realtor, but think that for the price, these houses seem like a screaming bargain. For essentially the same price per square foot as an attached condo, you get a real house with a park and pool. I forgot to mention we have atriums, too. If you (or anyone else) would like to get our little neighborhood newspaper electronically, send me a direct message.

[raisun]

Originally Posted by socalmover

would I be killing myself if I commutted from Laguna Niguel to Edinger/405?

What time of day will you be commuting? If you are working normal business hours, it actually might not be as horrible as you think. If you're willing to take the 73 toll road, you'll pick up the 405 around Fairview and pass a lot of the morning traffic into Irvine, and Fairview to Edinger is not that bad in the mornings when I head up that way. Same story in reverse on the way home.

[Broadmoor]

You can find real time commute conditions on Google maps, just adjust the zoom so you can see the freeways and click on the traffic view.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Broadmoor

You can find real time commute conditions on Google maps, just adjust the zoom so you can see the freeways and click on the traffic view.

You can take it a step further by clicking on traffic, then change to "Traffic at Time and Day" to get a feel of what traffic is like at various time - not just real time.

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by socalmover

We've seen a few places a little bit further south in Laguna Niguel / Mission Viejo area. I know traffic down there is terrible (as an understatement), but would I be killing myself if I commutted from Laguna Niguel to Edinger/405?

For the Mission Viejo area, here is my pick for the "sweet deal." The condo is located in Finisterra on the Lake. This is a lake front condo community with its own private beach on Lake Mission Viejo for resident use. It also has tennis courts, a clubhouse, and swimming pool. The unit is at the high end of your price range at $299,000 but I would offer a little less. This particular unit isn't waterfront, but you have a short walk to the beach and fishing areas and the unit has a partial view.

The unit is 2 bedrooms, 1.75 baths and 1,118 square feet. I estimate the drive time to be 35-50 minutes depending on the traffic and time you leave for work. Buying a used Toyota or Honda Hybrid with a carpool lane sticker will make it thirty minutes for sure.

27899 Redondela UNIT 184, Mission Viejo, CA | California Real Estate | Listing Information

Finisterra are the white condos across the lake in this photo. Lake MV is very clean and you can swim in it from the neighborhoods private beach. You can also rent kayaks, sailboats, and party boats to use on the lake. Trout, bass, sunfish, etc.. are in the lake also. I raised my kids in this area and the lake was a blast for them. Once your kid is a little older, the lake will be a great safe place to swim and put on the floaties because the water is so calm and flat. It is better than sending your two year old out into the ocean to get hit by waves and rip tides. I saved the ocean swimming until my kids were more confident swimmers, but the lake is perfect for the 2-6 years.