Off Topic But I Need Your Help Guy's

[LB Blue]

I'm looking to buy my first house soon, and I was looking in the city of Fontana due to the low cost for a nice looking house (3 rooms 2 baths 350k). I'm single so I don't need 3 rooms, but most houses now a days come 3 or more. I havent done much research on the area, but I would like any input on buying my first house and what to look for or watch out for.

Thanks for all replies in advance.:D

[Berlioz]

I'm looking to buy my first house soon, and I was looking in the city of Fontana due to the low cost for a nice looking house (3 rooms 2 baths 350k). I'm single so I don't need 3 rooms, but most houses now a days come 3 or more. I havent done much research on the area, but I would like any input on buying my first house and what to look for or watch out for.

Thanks for all replies in advance.:D

Is it a new house or an older one? Scope out the area where you are planning to buy, obviously. On an older house, do a very thorough walk through, find any hidden damages and repairs that may need to be done. Look for things like water damage on the ceilings, cracks in and around the foundation, check out any wooden fixtures around the house, check the attic for proper insulation (youd be amazed how high electric bills can jump, also check air ducts and vents to see if there are areas where heat and air cond. is escaping) pay attention to dry wall, especially in areas like the bathroom and laundry room....ive seen poor patch jobs more than once, indicating that some significant damage had occurred. Check the electrical areas, its not uncommon for an electrician to get lazy and put your house out of code.
Are you looking for a fixer-upper or a turn-key house?

Some things may seem little, but for the price of a home now-a-days, dont get suckered by a great list price just to inherit somebody's mess that they swept under the rug. Check out comparable homes in the area, its a buyers market and dont hesitate to negotiate the asking price. Let your needs dictate what you buy. Houses are moving slow right now to taking your time wont hurt. A good realtor should cover all this with you, but it never hurts to take a knowledgable friend or professional with you on your walk through.

On new homes, be wary of association costs. I personally think that associations dont justify the dues that they ask for. I pay almost 300 a month for my condo and its questionable as to what they are doing besides some gardening work every few weeks. They have their advantages, but it is still something to look out for.

[Retired96]

One thing to consider about Fontana, is that the winds can roar in that city. Its at the base of the cajon pass and when we have the Santa Ana winds its not uncommom to have hurricane force winds.
I live in Upland which is 12-15 miles west and we rarely get strong winds. I would look into moving to Upland, its a much nicer community with a low crime rate. Fontana has a much higher crime rate.

You might pay more for a home in Upland but your property values over time will go much higher than those in Fontana.

[LB Blue]

Great advice guys, thanks.... I'm looking at condo's as well, but I hear your money is more worth more putting into a house. I was thing about a fixer-upper, but I hear that can be a tough market (flippers). What do you think about town-homes? I have a buddy who lives in one up in Mira Loma, but I couldnt live out there. That horse/cow smell will drive me crazy (it smells like horse/cow crap all day) but his town-home is very nice.

I would have to hire a professional to come check-out those things you mention, because I know I could probably be tricked with just the patch-up work done.

Upland huh, I wish I could afford it, remind you, I'm single so I have to pay that bill with my lonely cop income..:( (well atlease for now). I think 350k would do me best, if I went over I could be hurting just to make it (tough having solo income these days). But I will take my time buying and hopefully put a nice down payment on some property that could make a nice profit when ready to sale. People would always tell me, never to buy your dream house first because you will sale it after a few years. Is that true?

[Biz_mikee]

Take your time. They don't call it "Fontucky" for nothing :p

[bar room heroes]

LB Blue,
I was a Loan officer for the past 8 years and my biggest advice would be to find a GREAT REALTOR and BETTER LOAN OFFICER..

Ask about seller concessions and pay low fee's.. PM me if you have any specific questions.

Brian

[IMachU]

There is a lady who is married to a police officer. She is a realtor in the west end of Garden Grove. There are a LOT of Long Beach Coppers in my hood, and the prices are comparable, especially now with the market the way it is. PM me for her name....both her and the other realtor that work this area exclusively (her daughter is CHP) are VERY cop-friendly.

[FPD GUY]

LB Blue- You can PM if you have any specific questions about Fontana. It's not Upland, but also not as bad as it was 10-20 years ago. The north end is a different world.

[SgtCHP]

Upland has a number of homes that are greatly reduced at this time because of the housing market. One near me is listed at $335,000 and is valued at well over that. Be certain to look all around the region. Anything in the North Fontana, Rialto, Rancho Cucamonga will subject you strong, menacing winds.

[mike951]

Okay from a Real Estate Appraisers perspective (me), if there is no significant price difference and you can afford it go for the 3 bedroom as you will have a much easier time selling when that times comes (3 bedrooms are way more marketable than 2 bedrooms). Given the turmoil with the market I would hold off on the house flipping until the volatility subsides. Wherever you decide to live make sure you get a great Realtor, just as important, do your homework (lender wise). Some lenders will promise you the world and then when it comes time to sign your loan documents there could be possible hang ups, loaning in distressed markets can sometimes scare away lenders. Given the difficulties with the market some lenders might not want to play ball where you want to buy. If you do decide to live in Fontana prepare yourself, getting a great deal on house is one thing, but ask yourself if you want to live on street with 7 foreclosures, dead lawns, and empty houses. While you might take great care of your house the same won't be true for people who can't pay their mortgage, there goes the market appeal for the neighborhood which could ultimately drive values further down as strong buyers will not want to buy in these areas. Also, if values remain to fall there could be issues with equity, or the lack thereof, this may prevent you from refinancing at a later time. Hopefully, this crappy market will turn around some time soon, but if it doesn't you must be prepared.

[Garbage Man]

If you are looking in Fontana I would look at the officer next door program through HUD if its still around..I purchased my home in Whittier through them (Home was put on the list accidentally) about 7 years ago now.most ofthe proerties that came up were in Fontana and Rilato... I am 7 years out of date but if the progrma is still in effect you get the house for 1/2 the starting bid price. So I bought my house 7 years ago fro 1/2 the starting bid price of 148 (whish is 74,000 for the non math majors) now its worth 525.ooo at that time most of the Fontucky homes were about 50,000... that was for a 10 year old 5 bedroom on 10,000 square feet of land.

[Retired96]

There was a article in last weeks Daily Bulletin re: a tract of homes in North Fontana. There were 30 homes and 15 of them had been forclosed on and were vacant. Dead lawns etc.

I drove around North Upland today and was amazed at how many homes had for sale, bank owned. These same homes were selling for 700k and up 18-24 months ago.

[Jrdeputy]

NEgative on Fontana...come a lil closer in. I would look at the future investment potential rather than having somethin new and big.

[LB Blue]

All you guys are great, I knew I could count on all of you for the best guidence. Looking for a house sounds like a 24 hour job.

I hear those COP programs are not all that great because they give you a house near a problem area (like your really gonna solve that problem off duty). But i guess that would be a great investment (fixer upper).

I was thinking of buying within the next 3 or 4 months, but now that I have all this great advice, I need to prepare and do more research for my first house. I will let you guys know once I do buy, but its not looking like it will be anytime soon now.

[IMachU]

You might wanna buy before summer, which is the traditional buy/sell time. Prices go up a little historically, but in this market anything can happen, bad or good.

[Garbage Man]

All you guys are great, I knew I could count on all of you for the best guidence. Looking for a house sounds like a 24 hour job.

I hear those COP programs are not all that great because they give you a house near a problem area (like your really gonna solve that problem off duty). But i guess that would be a great investment (fixer upper).

I was thinking of buying within the next 3 or 4 months, but now that I have all this great advice, I need to prepare and do more research for my first house. I will let you guys know once I do buy, but its not looking like it will be anytime soon now.

Well heres the thing about that, remember I am 7 years out of date but, I imagine some of this is still true.

HUD does everything by zip code. So if they have a revitalization area (Thats city manager talk for hell hole) in the same zip code as a good area then you wait for a home to come up in the good area. For example in Pomona there was an area that looked really nice, I remember all the streets had president names, it was inthe same Zip code as a tenement project.

A funny bit here, there was another area in San Juan Capistrano called the missions, it was a condo complex that was full of illegals. When I got my house I sat next to a copper who told me that a lot of guys form his agency were moving in there and it was causing a lot of vacancies to come up...his agency? ...INS...dont know how that all worked out either.

My home was given a Compton zip code by mistake, never hurts to look, HUD makes a lot of mistakes.

At the time I was into it about 3 cops a month were moving into the area in the south end of Fontana near Jarupa..I dont know how that all worked out but if they are still there it is probably not that bad a place, The north end is what Compton would look like of it was all built 20 years ago.

Frankly unless I baught a home for 1/2 price I wouldnt buy one now at all...not until year end, thats when we are supposed to hit bottom. Could maybe drop another 10 to 20% by then.

[Garbage Man]

I just looked it up and it looks like they are still up and running. Nothing in the Fontana area right now but they seem to be posting new props daily...When you look at the listed price remember you pay 1/2 that. Here is the link.

http://hud2.towerauction.net/e14/gen_list/county_pages/CA.htm

They even had a little home (2/1) in LB that shows an appraised value of $325,000 but they are selling it for 1/2 of $310,000..its probably in a bad area but then I said it was in LB

[LB Blue]

Thanks for that link G man. I have to save that for later now.:cool: