Originally Posted by Lady of Pearl (Post 1410944)

I hear that now is a good time to buy, unlike last summer when I was looking. There are even some real estate agencies that are now offering assistance to those who work in the public sector like teachers, and firefighters to buy at reduced rates. However, I am not in the market now as I am tired of moving! and will save for that 20 percent downpayment to lessen that mortgage payment!

Originally Posted by abaici (Post 1414713)

I am. I'll see you there next Saturday! I did not see any 2 bedrooms in my areas of interest. You are right, two bedrooms are more desirable. I am interested in a single family, however, I don't think it fits my lifestyle. I'm not one to worry about lawns and what not. I see that I will have to compromise a little bit on the location. Torrance is usually very expensive. I don't mind Gardena. I personally want to live on the Westside. That's my thing. I saw a really cute bungalow a while back in Hollywood. Overall, I'm not feeling Hollywood too much. Kinda cool, but I don't know. I'm trying not to look too much. I don't want to be too depressed with the loan people snap me back to reality. lol.

Originally Posted by Conskeeted7 (Post 1414707)

I've bought 2 foreclosures. I, personally, did not find the process to be any different than conventional real estate. Of course, you want to have an inspection to determine if you'll move forward with the property. I never had any trouble getting an inspection. However, you may have a hard time getting the bank to fix anything that you find. So, be prepared to handle that cost on your own. For me, it was worth it to fix things on my own because I bought the houses at 50% of market value and there were no structural issues, strictly cosmetic.

You can find information on foreclosures in your county office (if it's being foreclosed because of taxes) or some realtors work closely with them as well. We actually found ours by driving around and seeing houses that looked 'under the weather.'

Originally Posted by SummerChild (Post 1415686)

Dang Soror, you've done everything in the real estate market! I want to be like you when I grow up. :)
I often see foreclosures listed but the ad often states something that made me think that you could not inspect the property before you bid. A realtor was telling me that he gets listings of pre-foreclosure properties so I'll follow-up with that. Did you find that it was much more expensive (like you had to pay out of pocket some huge % or could you just come with proof of loan funds)? I been reading a few articles and read a short book.
So it sounds like it was not all that risky at all - in your experience b/c you were able to get an inspection ahead of time.

SC

Originally Posted by abaici (Post 1410547)

I signed up for that workshop. I'll see. I spent the last year working on my credit. It wasn't bad, but there was room for improvement.

You are far ahead of me.

I think the downtown lofts are cool, however, it's just way too much. I think my problem is tied to being a native Californian. There are not enough gorcery stores and other things to make it attractive to me. But, they are in the process of building it up. I hate to even THINK of how much it will cost once they are finished.

Originally Posted by SummerChild (Post 1423009)

Hey Soror, it was great to see you. Just to let you know, there are 2 bedrooms/2 baths falling below the NACA limit in our area. I can tell you about some of the complexes that I've found if you like whenever you get ready.

SC

Originally Posted by abaici (Post 1425052)

COOL! My appt is in June.