Santa Ana 92704 (Anaheim, Orange, Fullerton: real estate, 2011, foreclosures)

[mweaver1232]

Hi there,

My husband and I are currently on a house hunt and a property has caught our eye in Santa Ana off of Warner and Fairview. This will be the house we start a family in, so of course I am looking for the safety of the area as well as the school ratings.
I have a read a few previous threads on SA and understand that there are good and bad areas...but Im not sure if the area I mentioned is good or bad??

We were going to drive down there again this evening to scope it out and see what the surroundings are like at night since we've only been there during the day...but Im afraid that really wont tell us how that neighborhood operates.

All the negative stuff I have heard about SA (the schools moreso then the crime) are making me rethink about putting an offer down on this home.

Can you please help me?! Anything you know about that area (Warner between Fairview and Bristol..but closer to Fairview) would be GREATLY appreciated!

thank you very much!!

[ocexpo]

What's your budget? Is it detached? I might be able to suggest alternative areas.

I would avoid all of Santa Ana's zip codes. It may be a "nice" pocket of the city, but it is likely within 1/2 a mile of a gang zone and the schools it is zoned to are sure to be terrible (unless you like classroom instruction in Spanish and tough gang activity). There is NOTHING positive about Santa Ana for families (singles are a different story). I would highly advise against it.

[mweaver1232]

Originally Posted by ocexpo

What's your budget? Is it detached? I might be able to suggest alternative areas.

I would avoid all of Santa Ana's zip codes. It may be a "nice" pocket of the city, but it is likely within 1/2 a mile of a gang zone and the schools it is zoned to are sure to be terrible (unless you like classroom instruction in Spanish and tough gang activity). There is NOTHING positive about Santa Ana for families (singles are a different story). I would highly advise against it.

Thank you for your reply
Our max is 330k. Detached SFR. I know that is a bit of a roadblock when trying to find a relatively nice home in a nice area. We've also been looking in Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton and Orange. Most the homes were either crappy in ok neighborhoods or, like this one, a very nice home in a potentially crappy area.

I think Ill have to go with my heart on this one and probably skip it. Even if I could live with the crime (which I cant) I definitley do not want my children receiving poor schooling...and I defintley would like English to be the primary language.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Warner and Fairview isn't the worst part of Santa Ana but as noted above, you're never that far the the bad parts. You'd better budget private schools into your plans unless you want your kids turning into little cholos.

[bhcompy]

You may be able to find a property in Lakewood for the price(avoid anything east of the 605 or west of Lakewood Blvd unless you visit the neighborhood yourself to approve)

I see at least a half dozen properties under 350 in good areas of Lakewood. Lakewood's schools are mostly good, the neighborhoods are great for the most part. Stay away from any school that attends Paramount School District

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

You may be able to find a property in Lakewood for the price(avoid anything east of the 605 or west of Lakewood Blvd unless you visit the neighborhood yourself to approve)

I see at least a half dozen properties under 350 in good areas of Lakewood. Lakewood's schools are mostly good, the neighborhoods are great for the most part. Stay away from any school that attends Paramount School District

Thats what I was going to suggest. Lakewood can be pretty nice. And prices are in line with what OP wants to spend.

You may just want to wait a bit more too. While things have moved up a bit this month, I'm pretty sure that is just the normal spring bump real estate goes through nearly every year. I'd guess that things have a bit more to go before hitting bottom.

I like this blog quite a bit:

Southern California Real Estate Bubble Crash Blog

If you go back and read the 2005 articles and comments from the peanut gallery, the comments are laughable. Basically the blog writters started predicting the real estate crash that would be forth comming and how it was better to rent for the time being and consider purchasing foreclosures(their exact words) in a couple years. Some comments at the time were predicting continued growth including 10% more by this time. LOLOLOLOL.

They currently believe the market will bottom sometime in 2010 or possibly 2011 and stagnate for a while. They also predict a crash in the high end market around 2012-2013. The reasons are a bit detailed for me to go into, but the facts and logic are sound. Its worth reading IMO.

[mweaver1232]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

I like this blog quite a bit:

Southern California Real Estate Bubble Crash Blog

If you go back and read the 2005 articles and comments from the peanut gallery, the comments are laughable. Basically the blog writters started predicting the real estate crash that would be forth comming and how it was better to rent for the time being and consider purchasing foreclosures(their exact words) in a couple years. Some comments at the time were predicting continued growth including 10% more by this time. LOLOLOLOL.

They currently believe the market will bottom sometime in 2010 or possibly 2011 and stagnate for a while. They also predict a crash in the high end market around 2012-2013. The reasons are a bit detailed for me to go into, but the facts and logic are sound. Its worth reading IMO.

Thank you so much, I will definitley give it a read!

[CelticViking]

is there a reason why you want to be in the santa ana area? job location?
how about costa mesa, irvine, fountain valley, garden grove, newport, huntington beach, seal beach etc....?

[Future Buyer]

I would stay away from SA. I currently live there with my parents and I am planning on moving out as soon as I can. Probably the end of the year at the earliest. I grew up here and I can tell you that there are some very nice parts such as Floral Park but drive down to the next block and you're in a ghetto. My parents keep telling me to buy a house instead of a condo. I decided that I would rather buy a condo in a nice area than a house in a bad one.

[graciously]

yeah that area is alright no too bad unlike most of santa ana just east or down fairview through 17th but like said not far enough from undesirable areas sort of on border of another city.