Job Relocation to OC

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sejinro_IHB

New member
Hello All,

I am a recent MBA graduate and in the process of securing some jobs, and there might be a good opportunity down in South Orange County. I would like to live in Irvine as I am somewhat familiar with the area (went to UCI for undergrad) and plus, I have a family and the schools in Irvine are desirable. Further, Irvine is a safe neighborhood for kids.

I currently own a home that I bought back in 1999 in North Los Angeles area.

What to do here?

It seems prices have gone down somewhat but mayeb I just until later.

Thanks in advance for the input!
 
My suggestion . . . read past forum discussions. There are tons of great information. Also, the "Analysis" tab has great information as well.
 
Sejinro

Sell the place in LA and rent either a house or large apartment here. Deals are plentiful and who knows you might hate it here and want to move back to north LA
 
FWIW...I rent a Townhouse from the Irvine Co, we didn't have neighbours either side for around the first 3 months, even now there are a LOT a vacant units here so I can see them offering some incentives if they aren't already doing so....
 
Look on Craigslist under Apts/Housing. Most of the Irvine Apartment Communities post special pricing there much cheaper than their market rates on the www.rental-living.com website. There seem to be some good deal right now --- lot of $1,000 off 1st month, etc.

Just make sure to avoid the section of Craigslist highlighted in an earlier forum post today. It seems apartments are not the only thing for sale in Irvine.
 
All good comments and recommendations. Thanks!

I am thinking about renting my own in LA and using the profit (rent - mortgage) to assist with the rental here in OC. Luckily I bought my home in 1999 before the rise of home prices and got in early so my mortgage is low. Currently, based on rental data in my area, rental rates are higher than my current mortgage. Yes, but of course, there is a demand issue as there are more than 10 properties in my area for rent. In any case, I have somewhat of an advantage as I can drop the rental price a bit given my low mortgage.

Thoughts? I would hate to let go of my LA home right now as I got in early. Sub $400K for a brand new home.
 
Sejinro,

Unless you want to be a landlord, and you believe real estate to be a good investment, I would sell the place. However, since you can cover your costs with the rent, it doesn't harm you to keep it.
 
Well, the price of your current house is most likely inflated, which if sold, could give you a nice tax-free profit since it was your primary residence. Even if you have drop your price below all others, you would have a better chance of selling. If you are in this long-term, then you could use your existing house as a rental property while you save up for another home in a few years. It's a financial calculation that only you can make, I doubt your home will see it's current value for awhile, either cash out now, or keep it as a rental.

There seems to be quite a few tax advantages for rentals, but make sure you factor in property taxes, insurance, maintenance fees, property management fees (if you're using one), mortgage, and some basic utilities expense.
 
all it takes is one bad renter to make you never want to be a landlord again. you have the chance to take $500K taxfree in an environment where housing is unlikely to go up and at best tread water for the next decade. I would just take the tax free profits and put it in a CD, the money you make on a worry free, risk free investment of say 4%, 5% is likely to be greater than the 0% appreciation or negative appreciation (aka depreciation) from real estate for the next several years.
 
Again, good comments and recommendations. I will seriously take all this info and execute a decision soon. Of course, once I hear back from the prospective employer.

Thanks!
 
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