Recommendations around Culver City? (Vista, Hawthorne: real estate, foreclosures, renting)

[TiredOfRenting]

Hi All,

My wife and I are renting Culver City, and so far love it here. We are looking to buy a place and unfortunately it seems a bit expensive here. So we're looking to move into any of the surrounding cities/areas within about, say, 10 miles? We've looked at Gardena, Hawthorne, and Lawndale so far.

Can anyone shed some light on the aforementioned areas? Lawndale seems a bit down-trodden, but there are a couple of nice homes. Gardena seems hit-or-miss, and Hawthorne much more so. We're having a hard time determining the good/bad areas and our agent isn't always very helpful.

Over and above that, we're also looking for recommendations on other good cities / areas to look out for. We understand that all cities have good/bad areas .. we're just not too sure how to determine those.

I should also mention that we are looking for a mixed / diverse neighbourhood. Anything leaning heavily one way or the other gets awkward (even with our own ethnicity).

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: Whoops, I meant for this to go into the LA forum. Apologies.

[lostinL.A.]

I was born and raised in Culver city and have been selling homes here and the westside.so.bay for almost 17 years. Yes CC is expensive and has held up much better than other area's over the last 2 years. Sony pictures....revitalized downtown...schools..safety...parks...have a lot to do with that. If you ask me the BEST value around right now is in Westchester. I think you get a lot more for your money there as prices have come down at least 10% if not more. Contact me if you want an agent that will work for you and negotiate the best deal. I can also keep my eyes open for a fixer in CC. Mike mikesellingLA@gmail.com

[2-Live-n-Die-n-LA]

Ahhh Culver City, my birth place, now Brotman's hostipal, previously Culver Memorial.

What about Palms, Mar Vista, West L.A. ? Probably not much less.

[lostinL.A.]

I am a 1980 Grad of CCHS as well. Go Centaurs vs St Paul ! On to Real estate: Palms is priced similar to Westchester. Mar Vista is still a bit Pricey but there are some area's that are affordable but are not the more desireable parts of Mar Vista. I search the MLS everyday so I come across some pretty appealing deals on a daily basis. For somebody who is looking to stay put for 4-5 years todays prices are going to bring equity, for those looking to flip or are not sure how long they will own the property, its still a bit risky. On the sellers end , there are a lot of listings out that are priced well compared to 1 year ago but people are not biting. Sellers need to stand out in this market in order to get their property sold. For example, a home in Westchester (3 br 1 bath 1200 sq ft in a good area ) looks good at $665,000 but lingers on the market... it is SOLD at $599,000. My point is price it to sell now because thats what it is going to sell for anyway and your going to lose 3-5 months wishing and hoping. You may end up a head even if you think your selling your home too cheap as prices could go down another 10% - 15% even in the nicer area's. Note: the valley is Cheap now and I have seen 2-3 bedroom fixers/foreclosures in Reseda,Canoga Park/ other area's that can be bought in the 300K range on good sized lots if you should know anybody who cannot afford the Westside. I it would be worth it for a lot of people even if they work on this side of the hill because with the drive, traffic, heat... the fact is its cheaper than a small 1 bedroom condo on this side of the hill! To each their own. Let me know if I can help in any way. MikesellingLA@gmail.com