Pro's and con's of buying in Harvard Heights (West Hollywood: crime, house)

[katemarcia]

Hi all!

Firstly, thank you for any advice. We are in the process of relocating to LA (my SO is already there and works in the Larchmont Village area). We're looking at homes to purchase and the Harvard Heights area appeals due to the beautiful old homes and its proximity to Larchmont. Of course, the prices are very appealing too. HH has its obvious issues (beautiful homes surrounded by some questionable homes etc.). I wondered if I could get a local's opinion on HH and if we are nuts to consider purchasing there? Right now, we're a professional couple (40's), like to have friends over for dinner or eat out, both very active (yoga, gym etc.), two dogs and now looking to start a family.

Thank you!

[hjt123]

I think it's a good long term investment, especially if you can get a nice Victorian or Craftsman. Lots of good Central American/Mexican or Korean food. Actually, that's like every restaurant in the neighborhood. Shoutout to Dino's Chicken.

It will take a while for HH to rebound from its 'hood' status though. The schools aren't that great unsurprisingly - lots of ESL kids, so hopefully you can afford private. There's also a gang presence (18th st & Bloods to be specific) but I wouldn't call it a crime ridden area. Still, there's a general seediness to HH with which you would need to be comfortable.

If you can find a beautiful house (of which there are many) worth all the drawbacks, go for it. I think as Downtown returns to its former glory, the neighborhoods that the wealthy abandoned for the westside will start to become very valuable again.

[GoBears98]

Where exact in HH are you looking? Koreatown has become increasingly popular and a lot of great Victorian remodels have been popping up

[katemarcia]

Hey there! Thanks guys for the responses. We like a few streets through HH including Oxford. There are some incredible, jaw dropping homes and I agree with exactly what hjt123 said.. for the long term (and we are thinking at least 10+ years) its a great investment but you need to be open to the risk factor while the neighbourhood transitions.

Koreatown is starting to really move in price and as people get priced out, they start to look elsewhere. I honestly couldn't imagine buying a 4+ bedroom house in LA with a wrap around porch, stained glass windows and a huge yard on a tree lined street within 3 miles of West Hollywood for under $800,000 but HH offers that. With the right security, we will be fine I think. Excited!

[yby1]

You should be fine. As you said, get the right security in place. Get to know your neighbors. Once you purchase and start fixing up your home, some your neighbors will get motivated to start fixing up their homes too. Do the little things to help out. Call the city or write your local politician with any concerns, such as litter, graffiti, etc... We've gotten a few litter strewn lots around our neighborhood cleaned up this way.