Need city recommendations (Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank: real estate, rent, house)

[haiko17]

Hello,

This is my first post on this site and I could really use some help. We have been looking to buy a house for quite some time with no luck and it's really disheartening.

Currently we rent a house in the northern part of Pasadena and we really want to move out, especially since the neighborhood seems to be taking a turn for the worse. It doesn't help that our price range is ~300K. We are looking for a 3 bd house (2 bd would be fine if the lot is a decent size so we can add-on).

We are not against moving out of Pasadena to a neighboring city, though we would prefer to stay at least somewhat close due to work. So the range is as far west as North Hollywood and as far east as Arcadia.

So I am asking this forum for help on any city recommendations and any areas within those cities I should look at and avoid. I'm not too familiar with areas further away from Pasadena so input from others would help. I understand that the low budget is hard to work with, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[JohnG72]

Not happening on that budget. Sorry.

You can confirm this by doing a search on Redfin entering your parameters. You'll find a handful of properties in rough areas where the homes need work. If you can go up to $350k, you can find a cosmetic fixer in places like El Sereno and Sun Valley.

[LABornandRaised]

$300K is a tight budget. I'm already noticing housing prices starting to jump again from the recent bottom, so now is the time if you're gonna do it. Trust me, I'm obsessed with real estate and check redfin.com everyday.

If you're looking at North Hollywood, the zip codes that will accomodate your price range are 91606 (Valley Plaza area) and 91605 (closer to Sun Valley). If you can find one in the 91601 (Arts district), jump on it fast; it will not last. I highly doubt you'll find anything in the Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena areas for anything around $300K.

[Tasksgirl]

Is this area not a good area? I didn't think Pasadena had any bad areas..?
1736 Mentone Avenue, Pasadena CA - Trulia

Here's a home in that 91061 zip code that the previous poster mentioned..
11462 Albers Street, North Hollywood CA - Trulia