[Former SD resident]

thanks for the replies. it’s a moot point now, the house with a pool has accepted an offer. our agent said it was at list (can the sellers agent even disclose that info, though I wouldn’t be surprised if our agent was just throwing that out there), I don’t see how it’s going to appraise if that’s the case. asked us if we want to be backup and we passed.

based on my desktop appraisal price based on recent comps put it at 660 with list at 700, are homes jumping in price that fast (comps all closed this month) or are buyers kicking in the difference, or sellers lowering? maybe 40k isn’t that much to some people?! should add that we’re also look in north Orange County (fullerton, brea).

[Former SD resident]

Almost 2 years later my husband has found a great job in LA. We put our house on the market and within 2 days had a bidding war and a contract over ask! Couldn’t have dreamed of a better response to our home especially here in North Carolina where the market is still soft. So now we are on our way to LA county. Does anyone know of a good Piggington type site where I can get info on the LA/North OC housing market? and yes we plan to rent while we decide where we want to ultimately land. Also, heard there are a lot of scams on craigslist for rentals, does anyone know a good site to look for home rentals? Thanks

[Former SD resident]

we fully anticipate this job to be long term and to offer a lot of upside potential for my husband. now having said that we do like to plan for a worst case senerio so that is why I mentioned irvine having more jobs for him.

[Former SD resident]

Thanks again for all the responses. I do want my husband to have the shortest commute possible, but also have to balance that with a good neighborhood and schools, looks like either way he will be commuting. Seems like when this move was just a possibility I was able to find smaller fixers in Pasadena & Eagle Rock, but now they are virually impossible to find. As BG stated inventory is very low and with low rates supply/demand take over and will push prices higher. We do anticipate my husband being able to work odd hours or work remote at least 1 day/week but that will be after 6 months or so once he’s gotten the hang of things at his new job.

I didn’t see a response to my Northern OC question. Would Fullerton, Brea, Buena park be a longer commute than Valencia? The area seems nice on paper and it would be closer to family/friends in Socal and if hubby ever had to find another job he’d be closer to irvine, another employment center for him.

[Former SD resident]

[quote=spdrun]Why not snap up a bunch of rentals in less-nice areas and use them to finance rent on a two or three bedroom apt in a nicer part of town (read: near the beach)?

The American perception that you have to own the place where to live to be “somebody” is asinine.[/quote]

Not really a practical option for us. We’re a fairly young family with a 3 year old special needs child and a 1 year old. Don’t think we can take on rentals too. Just want to live in a decent safe neighborhood with good schools, but maybe that is too much to ask in the LA area.

[Former SD resident]

bump.

anyone know if north OC should be a consideration (if we’re considering Valencia). the schools seem better than LA and looks like we could afford a decent home in buena park or Fullerton within our price range. would the commute be just as bad from Fullerton as Valencia/ woodland hills? thanks for any advice you can give.

[Former SD resident]

Another thought is North Orange County. I saw a few small pocket communities with newer homes in our price range (buena park) and of course there are plenty of older homes. The big question is, is the area nice and safe, are the schools good, etc? If my husband had to find another job there are a lot, for what he does, in Irvine. Also, we still have several friends and family in SD so the drive would be shorter. So for those in the know, would you consider North OC or is Nroth LA still a better bet?

[Former SD resident]

[quote=FormerSanDiegan]other FS D –

What part of SD did you live in previously ?

We lived in San Diego for a decade+ before moving to LA. We lived in Central / Central Coastal San Diego (Clairement, then Bay Park) and didn’t want to live too far inland for climate purposes. This pointed us to areas like Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, etc (which were a bit too expensive). But we found some nice pockets on LA’s west side that are really nice places to live. You shouldn’t omit these areas in your search.

The places you are looking are nice, but to me the heat and air quality in places like Pasadena overcame the positives you’ve already mentioned.[/quote]

I grew up around the Poway/RB area then the last 4 years after college rented in Carmel Valley. We don’t really like the idea of the extreme heat but schools and safety are our biggest considerations. We do have an Autistic 3 yr old son (and 1 yr old daughter) and will be trying to take advantage of the additional services offered in CA, both through our insurance and school system.

What nice pocket areas did you find? I’ve heard about torrance and culver city but seems a little out of our price range. We’re looking for a 3/2 SFH under 675K, we can technically afford more on my husbands salary but don’t want to stretch too far with a special needs child. We are planning on renting initally to get a better feel for the area but also feel a little clueless on where to rent. If it’s true that the only reasonable place we can afford is out in Valencia then I feel we should rent out there to see if hubby can handle it, otherwise we’ll have to re-evaluate if a townhome/condo would be better.

Thanks for all your input.

[Former SD resident]

Looks like I’ll have to take a closer look at Valencia. I initally dismissed it b/c I thought it looks too far out to commute, but if public transit is an option then we’ll consider it. Just curious why people say the commute from valencia would be better than woodland hills? seems like there is a commuter bus from WH that takes about 1 hour and from Valencia the train seems to be about an hour too, what’s the difference? Is the bus time much less reliable?

Desmond, why do you say we couldn’t afford a home closer than Valencia? I’ve seen what seem to be nice homes in Glendale, Burbank, Eagle Rock in the low to mid 600s, if we buy in at range are we buying in a poor area? We’re not opposed to an older/smaller home if it’s been updated and taken care of. I kinda like the character of some of the older homes I’ve seen Eagle Rock, Glendale, Burbank, etc.. but we definitely can’t do a fixer with 2 young kids.

[Former SD resident]

Thanks CA Renter. We are attactrated to the SFV because like everyone else it seems like the schools are better and you get more for your money. We would love to live closer to DTLA, but we require good schools and at least a 3BD/2BA and stongly prefer a SFH. Our budget is $675K so if it’s possible to get in a good neighborhood for that than we’re more than willing to live there. We do plan to rent initially but with 2 small kids, and the low interest rates we’d like to buy sooner rather than later.

I’ve heard good things about Eagle Rock, is that a nice area? Any others we should consider closer to DTLA? Thanks again!

[Former SD resident]

Is there a piggington equalvent for LA? Maybe I can ask this question there.

[Former SD resident]

we are leaning toward woodland hills, but the commute is an issue. ive heard there is a commuter bus from there that goes straight DT or a train, hopefully that’s the case and hubby can use public transit and get some work done while commuting. do you think the commute will be longer than 1 hour? also, fwiw he’s going to shoot for a 6-3:30 work day.

[Former SD resident]

Thanks. We’re currently in NC but planning to move to move back to CA soon. Don’t really want to spend 1300 on a plan as we’d like to have one in place before the move and then we’ll have to change it after. I’ve heard it’s easy to change documents with the software. Again our situation is not complicated. No prior marriages or step children, everything is if one spouse dies or incapacitated the other spouse handles everything. and then of course who we’d like to raise our kids if we both died. Pretty simple just want to avoid complications if anything tragic happens. If anyone has experience with any software please let me know.

[Former SD resident]

[quote=HLS][quote=Former SD resident]or amerisave? currently offering 4% with $3430 credit[/quote]

Understand that the $3430 credit may be needed to cover your closing costs. Make sure that you understand the hard costs and what will be left over.

You are on the right track. I told you that the quote you received yesterday was ripoff-ridiculous. 😉

Also realize that pricing does change daily (up or down) but you still should be able to get 4.00% or less at zero cost and still possibly get additional credit.[/quote]

Thanks again HLS! When we get back to Cali, which I know we will EVENTUALLY, I will definitely call you when we are ready to buy. 🙂

[Former SD resident]

or amerisave? currently offering 4% with $3430 credit

[Author]

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