What criterias did you use to buy a home? (Huntington Beach: real estate, rental)

[sassy168]

Hi all, i want to purchase a home sometime this year or next..but my husband and I can't decide which city to buy. We live in Fountain Valley and we like it so far but we can venture to Huntington Beach, lake forest..etc. I know that based on our lifestyle, it would be nice to live in Huntington beach, but the prices might be higher. Should we look to live in cities with better schools? lower crime rate? what did you all consider when you bought your first homes?

[k374]

why would you buy a home now? This is absolutely the WORST time to buy Real Estate. Research a little before making such a huge financial mistake. For more information visit these sites:

Piggington's Econo-Almanac | Southern California Housing Bubble News and Analysis
HouseBubble.com
Paper Economy - A Real Estate Bubble Blog (http://www.paperdinero.com/BNN.aspx - broken link) (RE video news releases archived here)

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by sassy168

Hi all, i want to purchase a home sometime this year or next..but my husband and I can't decide which city to buy. We live in Fountain Valley and we like it so far but we can venture to Huntington Beach, lake forest..etc. I know that based on our lifestyle, it would be nice to live in Huntington beach, but the prices might be higher. Should we look to live in cities with better schools? lower crime rate? what did you all consider when you bought your first homes?

I would not buy a house in SoCal for a least another couple of years just to be safe. We just sold our house in Irvine and moved to Texas 9 weeks ago and the poor couple that bought our house are already looking at a $75,000-$100,000 dollars drop in the price. I am sure they are worried but they plan on being there for 5-10 years so they probably will recoup their money and then some. The biggest concern I would have if you find your self having to sell for any reason. If so you could be looking at a substantial lose.

[kturbe]

The first thing I would recommend is you get pre-approved from a qualified lender to confirm exactly what you can afford and set a plan in place in case you need to save more, improve credit, etc. If they numbers are something you are comfortable with then, begin previewing open houses, have dinner, stop at a park and see if you like an area.

Generally speaking, location, schools, crime, commute times, pricing, desired home amentities, lot size and long term appreciation factor are all things I would recommend you consider. If this is your first home you are buying meet with at least 3 lenders and realtors to ensure they understand your goals and you feel you can trust they are looking out for your best interest.

Hate to see everyone jump on you whether now is a good time to buy, since you didn't ask that. So remember, If the time is right is only something you and your husband can determine based on your financial picture.

If the numbers work for you and your husband and you plan on being in your house for at least 5years or longer this is a great time to buy. Selection is good, Interest Rates are historically low, New FHA Insurance programs are being introduced and in several areas, pricing has increased and investors are calling.

Best of luck and if you have any further questions feel free to contact me direct!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by sassy168

Hi all, i want to purchase a home sometime this year or next..but my husband and I can't decide which city to buy. We live in Fountain Valley and we like it so far but we can venture to Huntington Beach, lake forest..etc. I know that based on our lifestyle, it would be nice to live in Huntington beach, but the prices might be higher. Should we look to live in cities with better schools? lower crime rate? what did you all consider when you bought your first homes?

Where do you work? What is employment Plan B (if you get canned)?
Where does husband work? What is employment Plan B (if he gets canned)?
Kids now? Later? When?
Price range for buying?
Is one income in the future (when raising kids for example)?
How many days per year are you actually going to visit the beach? Is it worth it to pay coastal real estate costs if this number is less than 15 for example?
Where are your parents? How important is it to be near them (for if/when you have kids or if/when they need help when they get old)?
Would you be willing to take a 20% pay cut to commute one hour less per day?
Would you be willing to commute one hour more per day for a 20% pay raise?
How far is the nearest fire station?
If kids, then where are the best schools?

I thought about questions like these before I thought about going to the beach or visiting clubs or skiing or hiking or cycling etc. When it comes down to it most of us are either at work, in our cars, or in our homes (TV, DVD, City-Data posting), running errands, going to car repair places, visiting doctors, going to libraries a lot more than we are recreating.

[sassy168]

i have read in those blogs how prices will keep falling in the next 2 years. However there are those people who say in the high demand areas the prices will sustain itself better..
looking at how prices keep dropping anybody would wait till at least it picks back up a bit...i want to wait till the end of the year or next year to buy...but i have been browsing.

We both work in IRvine. Kids soon, maybe this year. We're living in an apt now but i want to get a bigger place...but i hate to rent a bigger place and put money in somewhere that is not ours.

For first home, i thought we can stay in 5 years and if we made a good investment by then we can we can move to a bigger place..maybe worry about schools then? Ideally IRvine would be great for schools.

Location wise we have narrowed it down to HB and IRvine...FV. WE love living around here. PRice range we can afford 500k-600k. I have seen houses that i liked in HB for 500k that we like right now..but i see it keeps going down. So i guess wait and see for now. Would be great if the prices went down to 400s for the same house.

[Ultrarunner]

I'm often a contrarian... at least when it comes to Real Estate.

I bought my first home in 82 with interest rate around 15% and everyone told my I was foolish to buy... There were so many homes on the market that, like now, it was a buyers market.

For me, it was simple, I bought a run down rental home and fixed-it-up as I could afford to. Wish I would have had the foresight to have bought a couple more.

Everyone knows Real Estate is cyclical and people have to live somewhere... you can't stay at home forever and the US population continues to grow.

Now is the time to look... I did say look, not necessarily buy. This way, you will know when the right property comes along and be in a position to act.

Just my 2 cents...

[killer2021]

calculate what you can afford and stay within the budget. Otherwise go with the more expensive areas 1m+ because those areas are generally better.

[Humanoid]

If you like Irvine look at the Irvine housing blog, it will help you see where prices are going in the area:

Irvine Housing Blog

...but i hate to rent a bigger place and put money in somewhere that is not ours.

Currently you would be throwing away money if you bought a house instead of rented it. Remember that unless you are buying cash the majority of your mortgage payment is interest for many years and the tax and insurance money you'll never see again.

Anyhow, you shouldn't buy until the monthly cost of ownership is less or equal that of renting. For most of Orange County that means another 25~35% drop in prices.