The many reasons we love Lancaster ca! (Los Angeles, Palmdale: rent, hotel)

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by CKroach13

My husband is in the Air Force and we are getting transferred to Edwards AFB in April. Can anyone tell me what a good safe area is to rent a house? We have a toddler and a baby so we need a nice suburb where we don't have to worry about crime, ghetto people etc.

In Lancaster, anything in the 93536 zip code, "West Lancaster/Quartz Hill", is desirable.

In Palmdale, anything in the 93551 zip code, "Rancho Vista", is desirable also, as is the Country Club Estates which are just on the other side of the freeway.

The Rancho Vista area contains a large regional mall with Macy's, the Yard House, Sears, Dillard's, Claim Jumper, Olive Garden, Chili's, Johnny Carrinos, El Torito, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, BJ's, etc. Nearby is Lowes, two Starbucks, Vons, Kohl's, Wal-Mart, Target, Soup Plantation, Barnes & Noble, Trader Joes, Sports Chalet, Coffee Bean, Best Buy, Tuesday Morning, Micheal's, Applebee's, etc.

The Rancho Vista area of Palmdale is very typical of what you'd expect from a suburban Southern California community where retail and amenities are concerned.

Parts of Lancaster's 93536 are in town and a large part of it borders on being suburban and the other part is filled with ranches and almost rural. So, it really depends on what your taste in housing is. Anything around Antelope Valley College is a good bet as far as neighborhoods go.

Most of your shopping is in the two aforementioned zip codes so there is no need to venture to another part of town, unless you feel like hopping on the freeway to go to a more upscale store in Los Angeles.

93534 in Lancaster is sketchy. You've got some very gorgeous neighborhoods such as the Lowtree Avenue area, and then there are some that are more blue-collar. It gets "sketchy" the closer you get to Avenue I. Downtown Lancaster, aka "the BLVD" is its own little district within 93534 that has some neat boutiques, a theatre, art galleries, antique shops, a bowling alley, brewery and restaurants and a growing nightlife scene. Every Thursday evening is a full Los Angeles-style Farmer's Market with vendors from all over Southern California. The Downtown Lancaster area is an up-and-coming area that looks promising.

But north of Avenue I in the immediate vicinity of 20th Street West and Avenue H is a decent area and close to Edwards AFB via State Route 14.

I would avoid 93535 in Lancaster altogether and 93550 in Palmdale too! Those are not good zip codes for the time being and I hope that my honesty is appreciated. These zip codes tend to be rough and contain a mixture of low-income types with some blue-collar families scattered in. These zips may get better with time and when the housing market heats up again, but they are not desirable right now. That;s the cold, hard truth!

You should try to come to Lancaster/Palmdale and check out the Rancho Vista and Quartz Hill areas before settling on something. Other areas you might consider are Antelope Acres (93536), Leona Valley (93551) or Acton, which is adjacent to the southern side of Palmdale via State Route 14.

Come to the Antelope Valley and see for yourself. It is really too difficult to tell you where to go without you having some sort of idea first.

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by Texafornia

I'll be heading up that way over the weekend. Any place you recommend for a good chicken fried steak? How bout antique shops?

Lancaster Boulevard has some good antique shops. I think there are a few in Palmdale, Littlerock and Quartz Hill as well. The ones in Littlerock will be off of Highway 138 as you're entering town.

[iamtall]

Hey it was cool I drove down to the LA national cemetary a couple of weeks ago, to visit some family gravesights. I was talking to a lady that worked there, and asked where we were from. I told her I was from Lancaster, and it was cool, because she said she was just up there, and so impressed with all that was happening. She was going on and on about all the great things that Lancaster was doing, and has done. It made me proud to be from such a great city, and I just thought I would pass that along!

[Jenstemon]

Hey, I think it is great what Lancaster is doing in different parts of town. One thing in particular that is awesome is the neighborhood impact homes, all is hear is the great things that are happening in those neighborhoods because the homes. Lancaster is growing and changing in many positive ways. I am excited for all that is going on.

[Secured]

Hi Guys,

I am looking to purchase a multi-family building in Lancaster - I am not going to live there, but I am going to rent it to others. This property is located in 93534 zip code - in downtown, a couple of blocks south of the "BLVD" - pretty much by the J street and west of Sierra Hwy.

I had never been to Lancaster before I went there to see the property. The neighborhood was fine - typical working class homes - no bars on windows, graffiti or beat up cars. However, I think this area is at the bottom of the rental market, so I am concerned about the type of tenants I would get and the security.

Any thoughts on how this area is, not for me to live there personally, but to rent it to others. How is the local economy and where do people who live in this area work?

Any thoughts on this will be highly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[iamtall]

Originally Posted by Secured

Hi Guys,

I am looking to purchase a multi-family building in Lancaster - I am not going to live there, but I am going to rent it to others. This property is located in 93534 zip code - in downtown, a couple of blocks south of the "BLVD" - pretty much by the J street and west of Sierra Hwy.

I had never been to Lancaster before I went there to see the property. The neighborhood was fine - typical working class homes - no bars on windows, graffiti or beat up cars. However, I think this area is at the bottom of the rental market, so I am concerned about the type of tenants I would get and the security.

Any thoughts on how this area is, not for me to live there personally, but to rent it to others. How is the local economy and where do people who live in this area work?

Any thoughts on this will be highly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Your observations are pretty accurate. That is definitely one of the lowest income areas of Lancaster. The BLVD is up and coming, and the University of Antelope Valley is nearby, also up and coming. Yet, the areas around those are seedy. It is hard to know how to encourage you. I would not live in that part of town personally, but you really have to weigh the pros and cons. Eventually as the city and Sheriffs continue to improve that area, as they have been, it will become better. Please whatever you do, do not rent it to section 8. There are plenty of non-section 8 people that would rent. If you want to keep it safe, keep out section eight! And yes I know that there are some "good" section 8 recipients.

As far as jobs for the area. The majority employer is aerospace, either Edwards AFB, Lockheed, Northrup, Skilled Composites, etc. The people that work there are not going to live in that neighborhood though. There are also a number of people that commute down to LA or the valley to work. We have lots of military families that live up here, including myself. The majority of the AV is made up of law-abiding hard-working people, but there are also those that are not that way, and they tend to live around the area that you are thinking of investing in. Personally if you are not living up here, I probably would not encourage you to own property up here either.

I hope this helps!

[rob3gdd]

If you ask me, i say as long as you keep the section 8 tenants out and put people in with good credit scores and have a stable job as qualifications, you would typically keep the undesirables away. Also making sure the building is well kept with a nice facade will also help keep them away because i dont think they would even bother. If the neighborhood is going to change, you cant just run all the time. somebody has to be willing to go in and make a change. If you dont have flippers to come in and improve the area, it will stay the same.

[Chicano3000X]

Use to go with my dad to Lancaster to fix houses. We found some neat things on the lawn such as unused bullets and razor blades on the shelf.

[iamtall]

Originally Posted by rob3gdd

If you ask me, i say as long as you keep the section 8 tenants out and put people in with good credit scores and have a stable job as qualifications, you would typically keep the undesirables away. Also making sure the building is well kept with a nice facade will also help keep them away because i dont think they would even bother. If the neighborhood is going to change, you cant just run all the time. somebody has to be willing to go in and make a change. If you dont have flippers to come in and improve the area, it will stay the same.

I agree with you. The reason why Lancaster is improving is because people are willing to invest in depressed parts of town.

If you keep your building and landscaping up, you probably should not have problems. That part of town will again have a brighter future.

[NickSheridan]

LancasterisAwesome,

Well after seeing so many spectacular photos of the poppies in Antelope Valley over the years, I decided that this would be the year that I take time out to drive up there to see them . . . yet I’m learning that this is not a good year for wildflowers when I read the following on the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve website:

“Wildflower Bloom Status: 4/25/12
This year just isn't a good one for wildflowers. We had very dry winter with few plants germinating, and more have not appeared despite the recent series of rainstorms. The hills are mostly green with a few scattered poppies around, and a few other wildflowers here and there along the trails such as fiddleneck, slender-keeled fruit, goldfields, filaree, grape soda lupine and others.”

Since I will be in the area on May 5th, I’m wondering would it be worth paying the $10 to get into the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve or would I be better off just stopping along the side of some of the roads up there to look at poppies and take photos? Yet since I have never been to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve before, I’m not sure if there are other things to see and do once I get inside.

Your thoughts (if you have been to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve). Thank you.

Nick