Small house at 100k or less in Los angeles area? (Adelanto: apartments, rent)

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by seph22

The property tax and insurance is basically nothing if you buy a cheap house
if i were to rent i will end up losing 85k~ during my study

If i were to buy an apartment/house for 100k and after I'm done i can sell it for higher if the prices went up after 6 years, or the same, even if i were to sell it at half a price i still made a profit, and ignoring all that i might not sell it to begin with, i can keep it as in investment or a place where i stay during my vacations to USA since as i mentioned before this is not my first time in USA or let me family/friends stay in it when they visit LA in their vacations

Where are you getting your idea the taxes and ins are almost nothing? If you buy an apartment, which I think you are referring to a condo or townhouse the HOA fees will be very high.

You are planning on the first year at UCLA, any areas anywhere near UCLA would be 5 times the amount you are talking about. If you decide to locate in another area and commute you have to consider gas, etc. I just don't think you understand at all what purchasing a home in the Los Angeles area will cost you nor are you considering the pros and cons.

Nita

[seph22]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Where are you getting your idea the taxes and ins are almost nothing? If you buy an apartment, which I think you are referring to a condo or townhouse the HOA fees will be very high.

You are planning on the first year at UCLA, any areas anywhere near UCLA would be 5 times the amount you are talking about. If you decide to locate in another area and commute you have to consider gas, etc. I just don't think you understand at all what purchasing a home in the Los Angeles area will cost you nor are you considering the pros and cons.

Nita

That' was a response about buying a small house, from the research i did there is no HOA fess if you buy a house not an condo of a building, the rest you have to pay is almost nothing "if" you bought a cheap house.

I'm surprised that people here say 100k is nothing for a single room condo etc when i found plenty of condos at the range of 120-140k in downtown LA with a nice building so i just assumed getting a place outside downtown would be cheaper and puts me in the 100k mark or a little higher?

For me anywhere between santa monica to downtown LA is acceptable since I'll have access to a car

Just an example http://www.highrises.com/city/los-angeles/listing/12583933-2121-james-m-wood-blvd-los-angeles-city-ca-90006/ (broken link)
Is this area bad? the location is great for me and the building seems safe but what i know

http://www.highrises.com/city/los-angeles/listing/r1201561-2121-james-m-wood-blvd-307-los-angeles-city-ca-90006/ (broken link)
http://www.highrises.com/city/los-angeles/listing/p819867-360-s-kenmore-ave-108-los-angeles-city-ca-90020/ (broken link)

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by seph22

I'm surprised that people here say 100k is nothing for a single room condo etc when i found plenty of condos at the range of 120-140k in downtown LA with a new building/nice place

How do you know these $120-140k condos in downtown LA are nice? Post some addresses. How much are the HOAs?

[seph22]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

How do you know these $120-140k condos in downtown LA are nice? Post some addresses. How much are the HOAs?

Downtown LA Condos and Lofts

There is even 2 bedrooms in downtown LA for 149K listed, by nice i mean they are okay for a student standard building wise and look
also the previous links i posted HOA is 100-200$ and as far as I know HOA is not fully money thrown away but you get some services for that so i don't mind paying that low amount of money for taking my trash or free water .
Online prices are responsible but here everyone is like "100k wont even get you a closet in area 100miles away from la" which is why I'm confused

And i didn't only look at that site i searched in plenty of well known sites and didn't get trouble finding 100k-120k which i requested at max 120k I'm willing to go but my problem was that i don't know if that area is safe

[EscapeCalifornia]

Well, since you're so much more knowledgeable about LA real estate than everyone here, do whatever you want.

[seph22]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Well, since you're so much more knowledgeable about LA real estate than everyone here, do whatever you want.

You are being aggressive for no reason, you requested info and i posted it, if you have a problem it should be with the websites that post fake info if it's false info because I'm at the searching stage and never claimed to be an expert, what you said not available was available and i posted it it's called a discussion

[CA4Now]

Why are there two threads on the identical topic? //www.city-data.com/forum/los-a...s-angeles.html

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by seph22

You are being aggressive for no reason, you requested info and i posted it, if you have a problem it should be with the websites that post fake info if it's false info because I'm at the searching stage and never claimed to be an expert, what you said not available was available and i posted it it's called a discussion

First off, I made a mistake in the other thread assuming a mortgage. I admit that.

But seriously, if you want what most people consider a safe neighborhood, its not happening in the price range you are looking at.

The reason you are getting gruff responses is you are posting stuff that EVERYONE knows are unsafe....the James Woods addresses...thats literally one of the worst areas of Los Angeles. It's improving due to influx of Koreans as K-Town expands, but its still a crappy area...hardly safe by most people's measure. Just a mile from GREAT areas...that feature $250-300K lofts with $500+ HOA, but that is how LA is. It varies almost block by block.


The $149K places in downtown proper:

1.) Barry Shy owned(google it)
2.) HOA + property tax will equal around 600/mo. I believe SB Grand...where a lot of the sub $200K units are...is $250/mo HOA. Plus you also have to pay $150+/mo for parking as well. So all told, you are at $750/mo...
3.) Safe is debatable considering your perspective. I'm fine with it, but that particular area(5th/Broadway) brings out LOTS of shady people. Lots of people may consider it unsafe.

FWIW, there aren't particularly exceptions. Cheaper places will all have their flaws. There are diamonds in the rough, but you are talking $200K vs $230K, not really wider spreads than something like that. I have a friend who also believes he can find "deals" or see things where others do not. He winds up wasting some money and a whole lot of time trying to find that special something that somehow someway no one else sees but him.

[jaypee]

You can check out the LA crime map at Mapping L.A. - Los Angeles Times

The James Wood area was known as a good place to score [insert your favorite contraband] when I was growing up.

Westlake Crime - Mapping L.A. - Los Angeles Times
gives a 6-month summary and indicates that it is among the highest violent crime neighborhoods.

And those condos are 40% above your budget.

[Dunbar42]

The OP's thread in the LA forum got locked. The OP was basing their savings on $1300 in rent vs $300 a month in fees/taxes if they purchased something. I believe that comparable apartments would rent for more like $800-900 in those areas (possibly less). By the time you add in closing costs, HOA's, insurance, taxes and realtor fees (in 6yrs when selling) I doubt you'd save more than $100-200 a month. And of course you run the risk of breaking even or losing money too. I honestly think it's hard to build any sort of equity in real estate in 6 years and the OP would have a better chance saving money by finding an inexpensive rental.