Moving to LA - Will I be able to afford a house? (Riverside: real estate, apartment)

[fajoooo]

I'm moving to LA from Norcal and I've been wondering how anyone can afford to buy a home in California. I'm 27 and have rented my whole life in the Bay Area, but I'm leaving because every apartment within an hour of my job is too expensive. Most people don't make anywhere near enough money to buy a cra*py house.

My question is, for those of you who have bought a house in LA/SF, how do you manage to do it? Is there something I'm missing about how all of this works? I make around 65k a year and my gf makes $50k. Do you think we could manage to afford a house in LA in the next 5-10 years?

I am looking to rent (for now) with a budget of $2,250. I'll be working in Whittier and not sure where to live. Any advice on that front? My gf will likely be moving in soon but not off the bat. She works from home. I'm Hispanic and she's Asian so somewhere with a big population of both would be great. I hear Monterey Park, Montebello, and Hacienda Heights fit this.

Thoughts?

[Miss Pip]

FHA loan is helpful for first time home buyers. You should be looking at real estate sites like Redfin and Zillow to see home prices and talk to real estate agents.

Monterey Park is mostly Asian and more on the expensive side.

Montebello is a mix of Asian and Latino.

Hacienda Heights is mostly Asian.

[Cloudwalker]

I don't know if you have much of a deposit, but there are properties in those areas from the low-mid $500,000s that I think you might be able to swing on a combined income of $100,000. Also, try looking for a property with the ability to "house-hack" so that you get help paying the mortgage, i.e. convert a garage into an ADU or part of your home into a Junior ADU.

I like Hacienda Heights a lot, although it might be a bit sedate at your age. Large lot sizes, generally pretty safe and quiet, sometimes views, lots of parks and green space.

[Cloudwalker]

I said "those areas" in my previous answer, but meant more Montebello and Hacienda Heights. Prices in Monterey Park have risen a lot in last few years.

Also, as with virtually all of LA, some parts of those cities are a lot better than others, the specific location matters. Make sure you do your homework on safety, etc.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by fajoooo

I'm moving to LA from Norcal and I've been wondering how anyone can afford to buy a home in California. I'm 27 and have rented my whole life in the Bay Area, but I'm leaving because every apartment within an hour of my job is too expensive. Most people don't make anywhere near enough money to buy a cra*py house.

My question is, for those of you who have bought a house in LA/SF, how do you manage to do it? Is there something I'm missing about how all of this works? I make around 65k a year and my gf makes $50k. Do you think we could manage to afford a house in LA in the next 5-10 years?

I am looking to rent (for now) with a budget of $2,250. I'll be working in Whittier and not sure where to live. Any advice on that front? My gf will likely be moving in soon but not off the bat. She works from home. I'm Hispanic and she's Asian so somewhere with a big population of both would be great. I hear Monterey Park, Montebello, and Hacienda Heights fit this.

Thoughts?

A conventional loan can qualify you on a monthly debt-to-income (DTI) ratio up to 45% but you'll need to provide a 20% down payment, plus closing cost which is usually another 2% of purchasing price. Based on your income alone ($65K), you can qualify to around a $500K house but the total monthly payment (including insurance & property tax) will be around $2323/mo. That's assuming you can get a 30 yr fixed loan at 2.5%.

If you qualify with your g/f's combined income, you can qualify to over $1M homes. So you'd better be nice to her

[ccm123]

I lived in Southern California for many years after college. The cost of living in most parts of LA is going to be less than the Bay Area. For sure, your housing costs should be much more affordable in LA, from my experience. Your other costs (utilities, groceries, insurance, gasoline, etc) should be less.

The San Gabriel Valley has a high concentration of both Hispanics and Asians. Starting from the western end (Alhambra) going East to roughly Diamond Bar/Walnut. Most of the cities “in between” these cities will have large concentrations of either Hispanics and/or Asians. I would say that cities such as Alhambra, Rosemead, Montebello, West Covina, El Monte and Monterey Park have large concentrations of both.

[stone26]

Originally Posted by ccm123

I lived in Southern California for many years after college. The cost of living in most parts of LA is going to be less than the Bay Area. For sure, your housing costs should be much more affordable in LA, from my experience. Your other costs (utilities, groceries, insurance, gasoline, etc) should be less.

The San Gabriel Valley has a high concentration of both Hispanics and Asians. Starting from the western end (Alhambra) going East to roughly Diamond Bar/Walnut. Most of the cities “in between” these cities will have large concentrations of either Hispanics and/or Asians. I would say that cities such as Alhambra, Rosemead, Montebello, West Covina, El Monte and Monterey Park have large concentrations of both.

I would skip El Monte if I was you. The rest of the cities mentioned are okay.

I will also second the FHA route. You'll have to pay Private Mortgage Insurance for a few years until you could refinance with 20% equity, but if prices keep rising, that may come sooner than you think. It took me about 4 years before I could refinance, but that was mostly because my original rate was pretty low (for the time), and I had to wait for the pandemic rates to show up for me to refinance and actually lower my mortgage payment.

[CALGUY]

This subject of houses in the SoCal area makes me think young buyers are not availing themselves of the opportunity to have something really nice with very little money, compared to a conventional home.
Buying a new double or triple wide mobile home is the best choice for a young person wanting to buy their first home.
These new mobile homes are every bit as good as a conventional home.

One problem is there are not enough mobile home parks in places where they are needed.
Canyon country has some there, and some in Orange county, also a large one in Cason, but none close to where most people work.
If I had a lot money to invest, I would buy some land in Riverside ,or San Bernardino county, and build a mobile home park for double, and triple wide mobile homes, and people could live relatively inexpensively, compared to a traditional home.

Mobile homes have changed greatly since the days they wee considered tin cans.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...4dUDCAc&uact=5

Perfect for someone just starting out.

[Racer46]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

This subject of houses in the SoCal area makes me think young buyers are not availing themselves of the opportunity to have something really nice with very little money, compared to a conventional home.
Buying a new double or triple wide mobile home is the best choice for a young person wanting to buy their first home.
These new mobile homes are every bit as good as a conventional home.

One problem is there are not enough mobile home parks in places where they are needed.
Canyon country has some there, and some in Orange county, also a large one in Cason, but none close to where most people work.
If I had a lot money to invest, I would buy some land in Riverside ,or San Bernardino county, and build a mobile home park for double, and triple wide mobile homes, and people could live relatively inexpensively, compared to a traditional home.

Mobile homes have changed greatly since the days they wee considered tin cans.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...4dUDCAc&uact=5

Perfect for someone just starting out.

Have you looked at the monthly space rent costs? They are very high just like HOA's.

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by Racer46

Have you looked at the monthly space rent costs? They are very high just like HOA's.

Yes, but where one saves is no huge mortgage payments on their house.
Not sure, but most mobile homes are below $200,000 so mortgage payments would not be that high, as compared to a traditional home.
Depending on the location, space rentals are, on average, in the $400 to $800 bracket.
Mortgage, plus space rental would still be a lot less that a conventional home.