would like updates on oxnard,PH area on housing... (Santa Barbara: real estate, 2013)

[the comforts]

I am just future planning for possibly a 2013 move from vermont to oxnard. PH area.

I was encouraged to start a thread to try and get a handle on things to research.

My hubby and I are wanting to see which neighborhoods have many of the types of housing we are interested in (and yes we have an agent already to help us when ready).

So let me throw this out..

2-3 bedrooms (2+den ok)
2 baths
kitchen with open plan or potential for ( no galley types please)
2 car garage
yard..back yard with room for patio, some grass area can be long or narrow, but no back alley (noticed a lot of them on the MLS)
Type:single family detached, would be first choice.

Now our budget is up to $280,000..(I just heard a lot of moans going on!!) ok.. maybe pushing up to $300,000. (yes we are probably dreaming!!)

I have seen a lot of bad press about some of the areas (ie La Colonia) and we would be mindful of things like that.

If anyone could suggest neighborhoods ie, El Rio, Pleasant valley etc. it would be so helpful.

I need to plot out some things before we visit in Nov, and meet with our agent..just thought you city data folks could help us streamline things..thank you in advance,,Linda

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

First off your budget will be fine for a home. Not all areas of the city are available but many are. We purchased a home in December of 2010 for $310,000 and I have since seen them in the $295,000 range. Our home is a 4 bed 3 bath though. In Port Hueneme and the South side of Oxnard prices are even lower. Also in El Rio prices are also lower. If you choose El RIo look for a home closer to Vineyard and further away from Rose Avenue. Both of those roads border El Rio.

The kind of home you are looking for more than likely will be South of 5th Street, North of Hemlock, West of Patterson, and East of Victoria. Another area would be near Oxnard College Just west of the college. That area is Pleasant Valley Estates.

[the comforts]

thank you for that information...yes I have also thought pleasant valley estates could be a possibility. .Still anyone know why so many properties have allies? Need an opinion for such a set up..I'd worry that anyone driving by could have quick access into your backyard then your home..just thinking..Linda

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Up untill the early 80's many Oxnard neighborhoods had alley's. In Port Hueneme I don't think you will find any though. I grew up in Port Hueneme near Ventura Road just north of Bard Road and none of those roads have alley ways. Just as soon as you leave Port Hueneme and drive into Oxnard all the streets have alley ways. Pleasant Valley Estates doesn't have them and not all streets in the area I told you about in my first post have them. Our home is in the North side and we don't have an alley although just 2 or 3 blocks south of us do have them. You won't find them on homes built from the late 80's anymore.

[the comforts]

thank you again!! I keep looking and looking on the mls and see so many foreclosures!! it is scary. anyone have any foreclosure horror stories?

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I wouldn't worry about all the forclosures. We bought a forclosure and are very happy with it. The fact is that I see 2012 as the year to buy. Many people that bought homes in the past had 5 year ARM's financing the purchase. Remember that the market started to deflate in 2007. Changes on how a person could finance a purchase of a home changed as well. With the 5 year mark hear now what you will see is a slow recovery and the amount of forclosures will decline. The bargains may be around for the next few years though. For people that are ready now, this is an opportunity to get a place at a great price. I see a window of opportunity that may end within the next 3 to 5 years. Even then I don't see price jumps like they had in the early 2000's.

In Oxnard you had a lot of people that were involved with the real estate business that didn't understand how it works. I know plenty of people that bought additional homes thinking that the prices would continue to rise. I kept thinking who would pay $500, 600, 700 or more thousand for a 30, 40, 50 or 60 year old home. I couldn't see how it could sustain itself, and it finally fell apart. One guy I know had 10 homes rented out and all of them were bought new from a developer. He lost them all.

[user_id]

The current prices aren't really "bargains", they are still not well aligned to incomes, etc.

I wouldn't worry much about buying a foreclosure, though I would worry about a neighborhood being dominated by them.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I would like to see it come down some more. I would define a bargain in Port Hueneme as a single family home selling in the $180,000 range. I base things on my parents old neighborhood. Currently you can find homes there in the $250,000 range. Over the past 20 years it seems that under $200,000 has been the bottom price range for that neighborhood. The lowest that I saw it was when homes were selling for $150,000 to $200,000 or so back in 2000 I think. By 2003 they had increased to the $300,000 range.

Let me add though as user_id suggests, that only works though if the local incomes will support home purchases at that range. I think that they can, but then my income surpasses the local average. In my neighborhood most of the people have owned their homes for many years and for the most part are retired. Only one family has been there less than 10 years. It is a stable neighborhood for now. I doubt that many of them could afford to purchase the homes that they are in with their current income.

Still others do move into the area that have the income to purchase but come from areas like Santa Barbara where they can not afford to buy a home.

[the comforts]

Oh I do value all your information! Part of the reason we are moving is to be closer to family and we are closing in on retirement..that said we will be on a fixed income. Living in the area we now live in (northern vt.) fuel prices and so much land to maintain, we just don't think it is for us any longer.

I will keep asking about the better areas for semi retired folks on a fixed income. We are very young looking and active so we're not ready for "sun city". lol

Thank you for giving your take on the foreclosure situation, kind of takes the fear out of buying that way a bit..

I have been told that the banks usually don't give a lot of leeway on their asking prices..anyone else agree?

Linda

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

When we bought our home the bank wanted $340,000 for it and we had planned to offer them $280,000 for the home. Out realtor reminded us that the last 3 homes we had placed offers on sold at a higher price. We were only looking at forclosure homes. We ended up offering $310,000 and they accepted the offer. We also asked for items that we wanted repaired or replaced like the water heater and the furnace. They declined and said it was being sold as is. I spent a week repainting the interior, replacing the carpet, water heater and repairing the furnace. we still think that we got a good deal on the home although not all would agree. We have seen some lower priced homes in the area. One was sold as a forclosure and someone is attempting to flip it now. It had been on the market for $296,000. Not sure what they are asking now for it.

Something to consider around here, our electric bill hovers around the $28 a month range and our natural gas (for heating and cooking) is somewhere around $30 a month. That is an average for year round. We have a single story home that is 1,670 square feet. I would say also that an average size lot in Oxnard is between 6,000 and 8,000 square feet. Chances are it will be easier and cheaper to maintain a home here than in Northern Vermont.