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Find Better Home Values In The West Coast

Written by Michael Lazar  -  Tuesday, 30 September 2008
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)


 
west coast housing marketIf you have even picked up the newspaper lately, sometime within the past year or two…heck even three, than you already know about the current state of the residential market. Not to depress you further, but homes are falling in value sharply, mortgage lenders are turning blue in the face and this fanfare is all complimented by rising costs of food, fuel and energy—and seemingly - there does not seem to be an ideal place to jam your money into a home investment in the West Coast, that is unless you know where to look and when.

How to avoid the inner city money scramble


The first rule of thumb is avoiding the costliness and the clutter of the hot commodity inner city areas. For those looking in LA, or other parts of California like San Diego, veer away from the inner city money sucker. Instead look to buy homes in places that are near major freeways and do not border the ocean. You can essentially chop the price of the same home in half, while still living in an upper class neighborhood that will not leave you penniless come the 1st of each month. The key is finding nice suburbs that offer low crime rates and afford easy access to the nearby metropolises but cost nearly half the price to live in. s

Take your time looking for a home


Don’t rush into a home purchase - it's the biggest purchase that you will ever make. Instead decide on four or five ideal suburbs. Look around and check out the schools, the crime rate, the employment rate and any nearby amenities that you can find. What housing is available, what do you have to put down? How many foreclosures have occurred in this area? Are there any discounted homes for sale that are bank-owned?

Check multiple areas


la homes for saleNever limit yourself to just one area, that's rubbish. Always make sure that you have several areas to choose from on your plate. The more places you can look, the more options that you will have available to you when it comes to decision making time. Sure it can be exciting to look for a new home, but it is far less exciting to go broke in the process and end up in a worse situation afterwards.

Look at property value trends over a five year period; look at projections.

Finally, ask your real estate agent to pull property value trends over a five year period, inclusive of a five year projection from that area. Your best bet will be to find an ideal suburb with a median cost of living that offers the best chances of your home going up, rather than down in value. The last thing that you want to do is not conduct enough research prior to making the largest purchase of your life. And then end up sitting on a home that is depreciating in value while your monthly payment stays the same.
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