Where to live / NOT to live in the San Fernando Valley (Oxnard: for sale, 2013)

[genjy]

Nothing wrong with the SFV except for its relentless heat in the summer.

[jm1982]

L.A prices are pretty insane . I think it might be hard to find a place for under 215k in a decent area...especially since prices have actually gone up since inventory is down.

You might be able to find a small condo in a decent area for this price.

The problem is there are huge parts of the valley that the city doesn't care about. Neighborhood involvement is another thing too. Lower income or even middle class people are generally too busy working to complain to the city about issues.

I think it's pretty easy to tell where to live or not to live by just walking around an area or even driving through it.

I purchased my place as an REO ,and I knew the area wasn't great..but I was eager to buy something..not usually the best way to go about things. It looks like prices generally have gone up, and places aren't staying on the market long..but hard to tell how long that would last. I guess even if i can break even after having lived in the place for a few years that wouldn't be too bad.

Something like this seems like it wouldn't be too bad for the price
4353 COLFAX Ave #38, Studio City, CA 91604 | MLS# 13-657013 | Redfin
considering what places are going for. It's a co-op building though which I believe might be a bit different from condos.

[MBD37]

I had planned on buying instead of renting simply because I figured I'd only be there for two maybe three years max. I also don't want to pay capital gains tax and I think the only legal way to do that is to reinvest in real estate. I'd imagine HOAs are maybe $200 - $600 month maybe?

I'm totally okay with the place itself being old and crappy (it's just me)... I was just hoping to get in a decent area. Looks like that'll be hard though.

A couple people had said stay south of Magnolia St and Oxnard St. From what I gather that basically means the closer you can get to any of the hills the better you'll be. I take it N Hollywood is bad too?

I'll be working in Studio City. I'm not worried too much about drive time because I'm used to a 90 min commute now.

Thanks for your help everyone, and I apologize for being wordy... that's just how I roll.

[jm1982]

Then sounds like something like the place I posted in my last post would work. HOA is around $300 looks like.

A lot of north hollywood is "bad" but the part closer to Magnolia which is noho arts district is nicer. I personally think NoHo arts will improve even more and become more popular..(more and more places opening up now) and thus expensive..it's already not really 'cheap' .

Closest place in your price range is this :
http://www.redfin.com/CA/North-Holly...2/home/8163538

but it was built in 2005 , walking distance to metro which I personally view as a big positive. Traffic isn't getting any better and people are going to view being near subway stations as a huge positive (like they do in NYC).


Also there is an area called Valley Village that is generally considered pretty safe..it used to be part of North Hollywood but they broke away from it.

There are a lot of expensive, nice homes in Valley Village,and they seem to have a strong homeowners association.

I dont see any condos or anything under 215k there though.

Buying instead of renting might not be the worst idea. It looks like prices are going up and if you can even break even (after costs of owning ,agent commissions,etc) after 2-3 years I don't view that as being a bad thing.

Rent at $1,200 mo for 3 years will be $43,200..

Definitely not a bad time to buy if you can find something available in your price range.

[kttam186290]

LIVE HERE:
Encino
Tarzana
Granada Hills/Knollwood
Studio City
Valley Village
Sunland/Tujunga
Shadow Hills
Woodland Hills
West Hills
Porter Ranch
Lake Chatsworth
Calabassas
Topanga Canyon
Agoura Hills
Sherman Oaks
Lakeview Terrace
Toluca Lake
Burbank
Winnetka

NOT HERE! :
Van Nuys
Panorama City
North Hills
Mission Hills
San Fernando
Pacoima
Sun Valley
North Hollywood
Sylmar
Reseda
Northridge

basically, take a map of the Valley and any of the communities around the edges are good, while the middle is not so good. Facts are facts. Sorry if this isn't PC but it's honest. School rankings will back up my post.

[BRinSM]

re: not living north of oxnard. this is only relevant to certain parts of the valley (i.e. east of the 405). on the west side of the 405 i'd say victory is the street to say south of. and once you get west of around shoup, anything north is victory is mostly nice. think of it this way, the valley is like a peach. the area around the hills is nice and the middle is an ugly pit.

[Chicano3000X]

Originally Posted by LABornandRaised

Really? We're still playing this game?

Ya, it's only a game..

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

re: not living north of oxnard. this is only relevant to certain parts of the valley (i.e. east of the 405). on the west side of the 405 i'd say victory is the street to say south of. and once you get west of around shoup, anything north is victory is mostly nice. think of it this way, the valley is like a peach. the area around the hills is nice and the middle is an ugly pit.

Well put

[jm1982]

The livable places are all over 300k..

[Marv101]

If you're willing to pay $215K cash for a home or condo, I wouldn't do it either; at this point in time, you can live in a much nicer area and pay rent than trying to find anything for that price anywhere in the SFV.

That way you won't get stuck here with a mortgage should you come out here for a year and decide you don't like it.