question for realestate gurus...

[blkTJ]

why is this property so cheap???

there are a handful of places like this in canyon country. just wondering why... anyone know???

thanks.

Brian.

[Jeeper]

Cheap is a relative term! About $140k out here!

[Bruce David]

Brian,
Yeah, it does seem comparably cheep.
Call the agent and ask why.
Find out about C&C's and if it has association / home owners dues.
Get the address and do a drive by.

I'm no guru by any means, but I looked for two years
before finding a place.
If you have any specific question ,shoot 'em this way.

[Jerry Bransford]

Originally posted by Bruce David Find out about C&C's and if it has association / home owners dues.

VERY good advice. Some HOAs are in financial diffculty due to the the developer setting the monthly dues artificially low in order to help initial sales. When the HOA is in trouble due to some kind of problem with insufficient reserves, that usually means big assessments to the homeowners.

Also, belonging to a HOA means you lose some rights and will be forever under some committee's thumb... maybe even down to having a say if you can work on your Jeep in the driveway.

I belonged to two HOAs years ago and hated it. On the last two homes I purchased, a main criteria I gave the RE agent was that there be no HOA. Cheaper and less likely to have problems.

[Jason L Williams]

Brian,
Keep in mind that now houses are not going for the inflated prices like they were in the first half of the year. They now are on the market longer and prices have come down. Buyers can afford to be a little more picky. Plus I would also consider location. What is the property near? Were the fires of last year near there?

[speaceman]

Built on a landfill?

Radon gas issues?

Pet cemetary in the backyard?

Haunted?

Ex meth lab?

Just my guesses.

[TObject]

Brian,

You do not have a good real estate agent and it shows. Find a good agent, it will not cost you any money.

[cbremer]

brian, no matter what you do... get a home inspection. even if you buy a brand new house... or even one under construction! builders like to cut corners to save money

always make your purchase offers contingent on a satisfactory home inspection!! you typically have to pay for the inspections (which aren't cheap- about $400-500, but worth every penny), so don't go overboard with them- only inspect the 2 or 3 houses you are the most serious about buying.

older homes may have defects that the seller isn't being honest about, or simply doesn't know about. if the inspector discovers defects, you can lower your offer (if the defect is repairable), make your offer contingent on repairs being made, or walk away. of course, if it's something like a cracked or crumbling foundation, or the house isn't properly bolted to the foundation, that's pretty major and should be avoided. if the seller honestly didn't know about the defect, they must now disclose that defect to any future potential buyers.

good luck and make your agent do some work to earn their commission

[blkTJ]

Thanks for the input folks.

Sergey you're right. I'm at the very beginning stage of all of this. I made some phone calls to agents and am waiting for replys.

[speaceman]

If you're looking at the valley at all, I have a really good real estate person.

She doesn't sell out in canyon country though.

PM me if you are interested.

[Jeff Weston]

Brian,

I'm not a real estate guru, though I am an engineer who makes the bulk of my living through new home subdivisions. I looked on the ASSESSOR'S WEBPAGE and based on the ASSESSOR'S MAP it looks like this isn't a single family residence. Its A.P.N. (2805-002-002) lists its use as multi-family residential.

With this information and the picture you supplied, I can almost guarantee that this home is actually a condominium. It has all the appearances of a single family home but you own the unit of airspace and the association owns the common ground (streets, parkways, etc.). Don't necessarily be spooked off by this. These have become quite common developments in the last 10 years. I've probably done 500 or so units in that time. You can expect to have probably 5' setbacks on each side of the house and a 15' or so deep rear yard. There may or may not be community swimming pools or tennis courts or ...

Yes, there will certainly be an HOA. I wouldn't be spooked by that in this case. For one thing, your front gardening and insurance may be taken care of by the HOA. As for paint color restrictions, I'm not sure that's so bad. Anybody with a neighbor with a pink house or parked cars on the lawn probably wishes there were an HOA. Also, since it was built in '99, the HOA fees are probably pretty stable.

I could go on and on about this stuff but I've got three new subdivisions starting up right now that I'm already falling behind on. If it makes you feel any better about this value, I've had units like this sell in Carson recently for the high $4K's. For a SFR at $259,990 you'd be looking at Palmdale or Lancaster. At the very least, look into it as an option. The worst that can happen is that you see what you don't want to buy and can apply that knowlege to the next house you look at.

Good luck!

[edit] If you have any other questions about it feel free to ask.

[speaceman]

As a personal preference, the only time I would live in something that LOOKED like a house, is if it BEHAVED like a house.

All my friends that moved into new subdivisions down in SD are fairly unhappy about thier standard of living and the amount of involvement the HOA has in thier every day life, compared to the people I know that live in regular houses or even regular condos.

My first owned residence was a condo and I had no where near as many issues (nor do my friends who still live in regular condos) as my friends who live in Sub Divisions seem to have.

I don't know what it is about HOAs for subdivisions, but it seems like, they have a much higher chance of becoming facist-like in their actions.

If you are even considering moving into anything that has a HOA, make sure you talk to as many residents as you can, to find out if it is a crazy one.

I'd say that there is about an 80% chance that the board is crazy, but there are degrees and the worse the board is, the more miserable your life will be living there.

Also make sure that you really do your homework on how much reserves the HOA has, and if they are in any financial troubles or lawsuits that they are in.

[blkTJ]

thanks guys, interesting info Jeff.

Truth be told, I'm looking at spending somewhere in the low 300s due to monthly payment affordability and down payment restrictions. As it is I'll have to do an 80/15/5 or an 80/10/10 with a little help from the family(and no more Jeep mods).

So it looks like condos will have to appeal to me(I really don't want to commute from the antelope valley every day).

Shalom, please pm me that number, If it's gonna be a condo it might as well be in the valley, closer to work.

thanks again.

[Jeff Weston]

Brian,

Commuting from the AV to Burbank = SUCKS! Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, Valencia, etc. to Burbank shouldn't be too bad with the hours you work. My 2 cents is that whether it be the SFV or Canyon Country, it'd be better to have no common walls and a garage instead of a traditional condo with subterranean parking and your neighbors headboard pounding against your wall. Either way, it sounds like you're on the right path with your financing so you can avoid PMI. Good luck!

p.s. get your agent to show you homes even if it's not necessarily something you think you'd buy (e.g. the house you listed above). I took something away (good or bad) from each home that I saw before purchasing mine.

[speaceman]

Originally posted by blkTJ
thanks guys, interesting info Jeff.



Shalom, please pm me that number, If it's gonna be a condo it might as well be in the valley, closer to work.

thanks again.

Will do.

I'll try to get it to you tonight or tomorrow.

The valley has some pretty nice townhouse set up type condos, where a typical floor plan will be 3 level split with a 2 car garage at the bottom. You can usually get away with quiet jeep mods in places like that. At least you'd have a place to store tools and parts.

I've seen a bunch of that type of floor plan in various areas of Van Nuys.

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Jeff Weston


Yes, there will certainly be an HOA. I wouldn't be spooked by that in this case. For one thing, your front gardening and insurance may be taken care of by the HOA. As for paint color restrictions, I'm not sure that's so bad. Anybody with a neighbor with a pink house or parked cars on the lawn probably wishes there were an HOA.

Be glad you do not live in San Juan Capistrano.

Those of you that know where the Jeep Dealer is beside the 5 on the way to my house, need to look up and left as you pass it on the way down. You will notice a very interesting house.

Now, I've only heard the story second hand, but having built in SJC, seen the two stages of color on the home, I'm inclined to believe it.

A gentleman remodeled his very nice home on the hillside overlooking the harbor and lower valley in SJC. Nearly finished, he pulled in a painter and chose a color. Finished the exterior painting and the city came along and ticketed him with a code violation, specifically that he chose a color not approved by the city.

Homeowner embarks on an exercise in civil disobedience and pays the painter to do the whole exterior in black and white tiger stripes. ( I saw it in this stage)

City tickets again and after a period of time has elapsed, starts legal proceedings, takes said homeowner to court and by some process forces him to paint the house a genuine San Juan Capistrano selected, voted on, and approved, not to be any other, color of which he has a few limited choices.

Judging by the color chosen, he picked the ugliest beige offered and had the painter spray the house. The whole house, every speck of the exterior, including hardware, window frames, glass, fireplace chimney, roof, footings, everything is that color. One giant ugly beige blob and has been that way for at least 5 years that I know of.

It is truly awesome and you have no appreciation until you have dealt with the SJC building dept. Did you know that you cannot put up a building in SJC unless it has a tile roof? Not just any, it has to be on their approved list.

[blkTJ]

Originally posted by mrblaine
Be glad you do not live in San Juan Capistrano.

Yikes!!!

[Dan-H]

blaine, I want to see pics of that house.

[JeepGal]

I replied on MJR...Brians seen this...

If you notice...one of them says "Land lease and HOA..."

Jeff is right on the nose...these are land leases, very similar to Condos (depending on the lease agreement)...you dont own the land under your home. Also very similar to Mobile Homes in a park.

Some leases are pretty cool...a 99 year lease for example. It might never affect you in your lifetime. But some require monthly payments (as it sounds this one does.) It could still be very worthwhile.

So, basically, all youre buying is the home. The property taxes are usually divided between all the homeowners.

Hope that clears up some of the confusion.

Tam