# Where to buy in Southern California. Condo/Townhome not Timeshare



## tprosser100 (Jul 16, 2009)

Hi,

I know this is a bit off subject but I do love my timeshares and TUG. I also trust what TUG's members have to say. That is why I am coming to you to get some sound advice.

I am looking to purchase a second home (condo/townhome) in sunny Southern California. I want to be close to the beach but realize that I may have to go inland to be in the price range I am looking for. I don't want to spend over $150K. I am looking for a safe neighborhood as we will probably stay the 3 summer months and then sporadically on and off throughout the rest of the year. No fixer uppers or land leases. I want to be within 30 minutes of Disneyland. 

1. What cities would you suggest I look in?
2. Is my price range realistic?
3. I have 3 children, any areas more focused around families?
4. It seems like the right time to buy? Do you think so?

This is a life long dream of mine to fulfill and I am very close to making it a reality. Any other suggestions or advice is appreciated. 

Thanks, Ted


----------



## SDKath (Jul 16, 2009)

A 2 bedroom condo close to the beach in So Cal is about $2.5 million.  

You would more than likely need to purchase in the desert (ie Riverside) to be able to find anything for your price range!  It's about an hour East of Disneyland.  Sorry...

Katherine


----------



## ricoba (Jul 16, 2009)

SDKath said:


> A 2 bedroom condo close to the beach in So Cal is about $2.5 million.
> 
> You would more than likely need to purchase in the desert (ie Bakersfield) to be able to find anything for your price range!  Sorry...
> 
> Katherine



Not quite true.  

I just did a quick search on Realtor.com and found 62 listings for condo's in and around Anaheim (Disneyland) in the $150,000 price range.

I would think that Anaheim, Buena Park, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, would be good places to start to look if you want to look at condo's around Disney for a good price.

Now as Katherine does point out, these prices won't get you a parking space in the beach cities, but away from the beaches, prices have moderated quite a bit.

The situation here that I find in SoCal is that one street may be great then a block away there are the urban problems of drugs, crime and gangs.  Each of the cities I listed in North Orange County have mixed areas, so you would probably want to check things out in person before you put any money down.


----------



## cr4909 (Jul 16, 2009)

tprosser100 said:


> 1. What cities would you suggest I look in?


 See below.


> 2. Is my price range realistic?


No.  Assuming you are looking at min 2 BD or 3 BD, I'd suggest a bare minimum of $200K.


> 3. I have 3 children, any areas more focused around families?


  Most of OC is family-friendly so you shouldn't have a problem, as long as you stay out of the high-crime areas.


> 4. It seems like the right time to buy? Do you think so?


 Absolutely.

You could try Anaheim, Garden Grove, Orange (stay away from Santa Ana).  All these cities have decent areas and gang-ridden areas as well.  That's why you need a good realtor or someone with knowlegde of the area to guide you.  There are some moderately priced, well-kept condos in these cities, but one block away there may be a shi--y apartment complex with gangbangers.

Another option is in south County, say Mission Viejo and Lake Forest (more expensive).  San Juan Capistrano also has some moderately priced condos and would be much closer to the beach and about a 40-minute drive to Disneyland.  Their school system has problems (by OC standards) and they do have some gang issues, but it's generally a good area and you might find what you're looking for here.

If you lift the Disneyland restriction, San Diego is priced slightly cheaper.  There are several inland communities in metro San Diego (Fallbrook, El Cajon, etc.) that may also fit your bill.

As with everything, you get what you pay for.  Of course you're not going to get nearly a nice a place with $150 or $200 K as with $500 or $600 K, but you might be able to find a bargain that fits the bill.


----------



## csalter2 (Jul 16, 2009)

tprosser100 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I know this is a bit off subject but I do love my timeshares and TUG. I also trust what TUG's members have to say. That is why I am coming to you to get some sound advice.
> 
> ...



Realistically speaking if you want to be close to the beach, for $150,000 it is not going to happen. Thirty minutes inland will not give you the beach. You will be in traffic for longer than 30 minutes if you are 30 miles away. Riverside could be a very, very long ride. 

Garden Grove, Anaheim and Santa Ana are not generally regarded as the safest places in Orange County but there are some areas in each of these cities that are nice. However, the amount you want to spend will be higher than what you desire to pay.  If you want safe and decent closer to Disney or beach, you will need at a very bare minimum double the amount you are willing to pay and that is stlll not enough. 

You will need to find a repo to get the types of deal you want.


----------



## John Cummings (Jul 16, 2009)

I agree with the others. You can get a very nice 2BR condo for $150,000 where I live in Murrieta or Temecula in SW Riverside county. Unfortunately we don't meet your criteria for being 30 minutes from the beach or Disneyland. It will be about 1 hour to either the beach or Disneyland and downtown San Diego. Murrieta and Temecula are 2 cities that adjoin each other with a metro population of about 350,000. It is a very family oriented area with a very low crime rate.


----------



## Rent_Share (Jul 16, 2009)

Notice we quote commute time in minutes/hours not miles traffic is a factor . . ..


----------



## tprosser100 (Jul 16, 2009)

Thanks for the reply’s. I to agree that Garden Grove and Mission Viejo are two great cities to find what I am looking for. 2 bedroom, 2 baths is all we need as we will not spend too much time there but more like using it as home base. I am comfortable with a 30-minute drive to the beach. Disneyland is not the first priority so it can even be 45-60 minutes drive. 

Why stay away from Santa Ana? I definitely will scout these places out in person but I am looking to get a feel where locals would suggest browsing. I agree you get what you pay for. I want to keep my family safe and away from gangbangers. School district does not having any bearing for me as my kids will not attend school while we are there. Just vacation  

Is there a specific city you think has quicker access to the beach because of lesser traffic and or straighter shot? 

Thanks again for the reply’s. Any direction narrows my search  

Ted


----------



## John Cummings (Jul 16, 2009)

Santa Ana has a lot of gang problems and has a pretty high crime rate. Garden Grove is pretty good we always stay in Garden Grove for 2 or 3 nights when we go the Ducks and Angels games. The Manhattan Supper Club in Garden grove is the best steakhouse I have eaten at.

Mission Viejo is probably out of your price range though it would be an excellent choice. It has the distinction of being one of the safest cities in the US. It is pretty close to the beaches in Southern Orange county.


----------



## cr4909 (Jul 17, 2009)

tprosser100 said:


> Is there a specific city you think has quicker access to the beach because of lesser traffic and or straighter shot?



San Juan Capistrano probably is closest to the beach (maybe 10 minutes) depending on exactly where you are.  Other communities in south County that may be worth a look are Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills (not to be confused with ultra-expensive Laguna Beach).  A quick scan of the realty listings shows some 2 BD condos for under $200K in these cities.  Just be sure to take the monthly HOA fees into account, usually around $200-$300.  

As mentioned earlier, Garden Grove has some good areas and not so good areas and it is a bit further from the beach (Huntington Beach would be closest).  But it's also worth a look.


----------



## SDKath (Jul 17, 2009)

My friend's 2BR Mission Viejo condo cost her $450,000 8 years ago.

Seriously, for $150,000 it's not gonna happen in So Cal.  Your best bet is to be about 30-45 min from the beach with traffic.

Oh, and San Diego is definitely not cheaper.  At least not the beach cities.

Katherine


----------



## csalter2 (Jul 17, 2009)

*You will need Luck*

I actually live in Mission Viejo and am as close to the beach as one can get from the city. It is a 7 minute drive via the streets. I don't use the freeway. In fact the closest beach is right where the Ritz Carlton is in Dana Point/Monarch Beach. It is a good location for your desire. 

However, you may need to have to find someone who is in a bad situation in order to get the price that you are looking for. $150,000 is really not a reasonable expectation. Now if the 2 bdrm is super super tiny and really old and a fixer upper as is maybe they are out there. 

Mission Viejo is a very nice place. Aliso Viejo has some smaller 2 bdrms as well and young couples are trying to flee their mortgages. Maybe you can find a good deal there too. It is even closer to the beach than Mission Viejo. However, for the price you want I must say again that you will need luck.


----------



## Rene McDaniel (Jul 22, 2009)

It's slightly more than 30 minutes away (figure about 45 minutes) from Disneyland, but that's not too bad, and it is a near the beach.  You might want to contact a local realtor to keep you informed of deals in OCEANSIDE, California.  

We own a 1-bedroom condo that we use as a vacation rental at North Coast Village, which is a large secured, gated complex that sits directly on the beach in Oceanside.  It's just down the street from The Blue Whale timeshare, where we are owners -- and we love the family atmosphere of that particular stretch of beach.

We bought ours over ten years ago for less than $150K, and the prices for 1-bedrooms were around $399K for the last couple of years, but there is currently a distress unit unit on the market for $190K on realtor.com which would be an excellent investment (999 N. Pacific, Oceanside CA 92054).  You could also do a search of the zipcode 92054 which is the section of Oceanside that is closest to the beach. 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...117.336044&spn=0.307374,0.559616&z=11&iwloc=A

I realized that a 1-bedroom is not a good solution for a family with 3 kids.  Although the great thing about the North Coast Village units is that the HOA office handles weekly or monthly rentals for you.  We rented all our summer weeks this year (mid-June thru Labor Day), and rent monthly to snowbirds January through April, who enjoy being at the beach, even off-season.  I'm not sure if you would have any success renting to snowbirds in winter if you were not in a beach area.

http://www.redweek.com/posting/R315062

Anyways, the fact that you can find a condo that sits DIRECTLY ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN for around $200K, means that by working with a good realtor you might be able to find a 2-bedroom for less than that somewhere more inland in the Oceanside or Vista areas.  You might also check inland Carlsbad, where there was a HUGE building boom over the past 5 years -- they might possibly have condo foreclosures now or in the future.  However, Carlsbad is more upscale than Oceanside which is less expensive because of Camp Pendleton, and the presence of the military.  Rents tend to be cheaper in Oceanside, despite the proximity to the ocean.

Just one more area to consider.  I suggest printing off a good Southern California map off the internet, then typing zip codes you are interested in, into the Realtor.com website to see what's available.  $150K may be hard to find (unless you are okay with a "double-wide"),  but $180-$200K might be do-able.  Good luck on your search!

--- Rene McDaniel


----------



## John Cummings (Jul 22, 2009)

You have to be very careful searching in Vista and Oceanside as there are some pretty dangerous areas in both cities. In Vista the area north of 78 is pretty bad whereas the area south of 15 is newer and OK. Oceanside has improved a lot in the last few years and there are some good areas. The problem is that your price range is very likely to put you in a bad area in both cities. I am not saying you can't find what you want but be careful.

I strongly suggest that you use a home relocation web site for info about the areas you are interested in. That way you can get the demographics, crime rate, etc., etc. Some allow you to check by zip code which is much better as some areas may be very good where others are very bad. One caveat with the web sites is on the housing data. Typically the data is too old to reflect the current pricing. That you can get by simply searching for sales.


----------



## Rene McDaniel (Jul 22, 2009)

John Cummings said:


> You have to be very careful searching in Vista and Oceanside as there are some pretty dangerous areas in both cities. ......The problem is that your price range is very likely to put you in a bad area in both cities. I am not saying you can't find what you want but be careful.



I agree with John about using caution when looking at areas in Vista and Oceanside -- that why I suggested using a GOOD realtor -- one who knows the area well.  If you are buying a property as an out-of-towner, I think it would be very dangerous NOT to use a local realtor with a strong history of the area -- past history, and future plans.

But sometimes things that make an area unattractive for traditional families that have kids in school.  For example, I think Oceanside schools are very poorly rated.  But if you are buying a vacation home -- schools do not have to be a deal-breaker for you.

I think that right now is a great time to scout around for deals in Southern California, because there are there are deals out there (like the one I mentioned in our complex), where there is 1 condo owner listing at $190K, while others in the same complex are still listing for $300-$500K and not selling.  Sometimes there is a divorce, or a death/probate, job loss, or leaving-the-state, and people just need to sell & move on.  After all, you do not need to find 20 condos -- you just need to find 1.

If you can find a nice condo WEST of interstate 5 (Irvine & south) -- that will make it a good investment.  If you can find one WEST of Pacific Coast Highway (also called Coast Highway) --- you will have an even better investment.  Proximity to the Pacific ocean is always a good thing.

I am not as knowledgeable about condos around Disneyland, but again, I would suggest finding a good realtor who knows that area and that market.  Maybe you could find an agency that handles vacation rentals for that area, and find out what the desired condo complexes are and how wide of a circle can you draw around Disneyland to look.  If you play your cards right, you might be able to find a condo complex that you & your family would enjoy, that could also be rented as a weekly vacation rental the other 9 months that you are not there.  Maybe try checking the vacation rental by owner website, I know a lot of owners in our complex use vrbo.com.  Actually, a good rental condo by Disneyland might be an EVEN BETTER investment than a beach condo, because you would have year-round demand, rather than seasonal demand.  I don't know, but you might have to pay a premium to get anywhere near Disney.  Did you know that Disney is planning to put in Disney Vacation Club (DVC) units into Disney Anaheim?  There is plenty enough to do in the Orange County area to justify spending a week there.  But would your family want to spend 3 months every summer in hot, concrete-jungle, traffic-filled Anaheim vs. being near the beach??  

Definitely plan on spending some time investigating the various options in person.  You're at a disadvantage if you don't know the various areas you're considering first-hand.

Just my two cents worth.
---- Rene McDaniel


----------

