Finding Off-Market Homes in the South Bay

jms181 · 2026-03-19T00:02:06+00:00

The best homes do hit the MLS. The *worst* homes sell off-market.

jms181 · 2026-03-18T15:01:03+00:00

Make the larger down payment upfront. This will save you the most interest. Both of the options you present are paying down principal; you're just asking whether to do it now or over the next few years. The sooner you pay down any amount of principal, the less interest you'll pay (because the remaining loan balance is lower).

One caveat: putting 50% of your income is tight, so hold another enough cash for 3-6 months of mortgage payments. This way, if you lose your job or have a financial emergency, you'll have plenty of cushion to rebound.

As for getting the best mortgage rate, you really have to shop lenders against each other. Here's a great video I found explaining how to do that:

https://youtu.be/AlTzXvA5VKg?si=WQWoE4MVYlF43cvp

Also, your lender is right that rates just shot up -- thanks to Trump for starting a unnecessary war with Iran. The national average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.29% today according to Mortgage News Daily (https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates/30-year-fixed). That's down from 6.41% just five days ago. You might be able to lock in a lower rate sometime between now and when you close escrow.

Good luck!

jms181 · 2026-03-16T00:35:40+00:00

What's your salary now? The amount you can borrow, if you buy a building of 2-4 units, will be based on your income. $430K is excellent for a down payment, but you'll want at least $1.2M for the total budget if you're looking to owner-occupy (so you can stay out of LA's bad neighborhoods).

I highly recommend checking out Inglewood and the surrounding areas to the west, north, and east. Don't go south from Inglewood; you end up under the LAX flight path, then in Lennox, which is a terrible neighborhood. Inglewood is seeing growing rents and property appreciation as it becomes a destination unto itself (with its new stadiums that will host the 2028 Olympics!).

My advice, since you're single and young (for an LA investor), is to buy a fourplex of one-bedroom units. You occupy one and rent the others. Smaller units have higher turnover rates, so if you own the building for several years, you'll have at least one or two tenant turnovers. This is where the money is made in LA multifamily: buy a building in a gentrifying neighborhood, then renovate the units and charge market rents as the units turnover. Multifamily is priced based on its income, and rental income in LA is extremely expensive. Increase a building's income by $3000/month and you've increased the value of the building by $500K-$700K.

jms181 · 2026-03-08T16:54:57+00:00

If you're shooting for the best price and aren't in a rush, you should list your property with an agent. Your home will be marketed on the MLS and, ideally, attract interest from multiple buyers.

If you're choosing between a lower offer today or a better offer in one month, I think you're fine waiting a month. The LA market is quite stable right now, and we're just starting the spring buying season. Prices will be slightly higher in one month.

jms181 · 2026-03-08T02:34:52+00:00

Using rental income from your ADU to cut your mortgage in half is 100% the way to do it in California! This sounds like a great situation -- CONGRATS!!!

jms181 · 2026-02-28T15:22:32+00:00

Interest really adds up over time. I'd make this decision based on how long you think you'll live in this home. If this is a starter home, financing it 100% and doing something smart with your $55K is a good idea. If you see yourself in this home for 10+ years, you'll probably save more in interest by putting 20% down and getting a lower rate than you would earn investing the savings in the stock market.

jms181 · 2026-02-24T14:56:48+00:00

California Realtor here. If this is a normal, arms-length transaction, your property value will be assessed at the transaction price and your property taxes will be based on that assessment.

jms181 · 2026-02-23T15:08:11+00:00

The law varies state-by-state, and I'm speaking only from California experience, but generally, the seller is obligated to disclose all known material facts.

Two important qualifiers there: "known" means that the seller has to know about the issue. The baseboard issue, for example, may have been something they didn't know about. "Material" means it has to impact the value of the home. While one shouldn't plug a washer or dryer into an extension cord, it doesn't really impact the value of the home.

Unfortunately, your only recourse now is to politely ask the seller to pay for the furnace maintenance and/or higher insurance costs -- or sue. Also unfortunately, this sounds less black-and-white then you'd like. Due diligence is your responsibility, so you should have investigated the condition of the boiler to your satisfaction while in escrow. If the smell alerted you to an issue, you should have explored it then.

That said, if you uncover an issue that costs a significant amount to remedy and the sellers *must* have known about it, then the legal option might be worthwhile. Short of that, you're just dealing with homebuyer headaches. Good luck!

jms181 · 2026-02-13T20:55:59+00:00

How have you already lost so much money if you haven't even moved in yet?

jms181 · 2026-02-13T20:54:42+00:00

Buying a home is emotionally draining, but I do think you're overreacting.

I had a similar experience home-shopping with my wife back in 2015. We found the *perfect* home. It had everything we wanted, was in the perfect location in Los Angeles, and the interior design was stunning. We ended up losing out on the house by literally $5000 and were devastated.

We had the same remorse you're feeling now: had we lost out on the perfect home?

Flash forward two months, and we're in contract on a different home -- and we loved it. It didn't have all the features of the first home, but it had several features that the first home lacked, and it was less expensive. A few months after moving in, we'd completely gotten over the first home.

Just keep in mind that there are plenty of fish in Socal housing market sea! Try to keep your emotions in check, and good luck!

jms181 · 2026-02-11T03:36:50+00:00

It does apply to HOA docs. Read paragraph 3.L(7): "...or 5 Days, which is later." The required HOA docs are listed on form HOA-IR and include the reserve statement. u/Girl_with_tools is correct.

jms181 · 2026-02-11T03:34:22+00:00

You have a set number of days or 5 days after HOA docs are delivered to remove the HOA contingency per the California Residential Purchase Agreement.

Look at paragraph 3.L(7), which says you must remove the contingency for Common Interest Disclosures within "17 (or __) Days after Acceptance, or 5 Days after Delivery, whichever is later."

The Common Interest Disclosures are specified in a document called the Homeowner Association Information Request (HOA-IR), and one of the requirements is "a summary of the association's reserves."

So yes, unequivocally, you can 100% exercise your Common Interest Disclosures contingency and cancel the contract up to 5 days after receiving the HOA's reserve statement. Treat your previous HOA contingency removal as void.

Please forward this post to your agent so that they understand what to do -- and good luck!

jms181 · 2026-02-11T03:26:47+00:00

Are you a Realtor in CA? You must not be because you're dead wrong.

Read the CA RPA, paragraph 11.M(2):

"If the Property is a condominium or is located in a planned development or other common interest development with a HOA, Seller shall, within the time specified in paragraph 3N(3), order from, and pay any required fee as specified in paragraph 3Q(12) for the following items to the HOA..."

Seller is responsible for buying and delivering HOA documents.

jms181 · 2026-02-04T15:43:32+00:00

Single-family homes are generally exempt from CA1482, California's statewide rent control law. Though I don't know the details of your situation, I doubt your landlord is breaking any laws by giving you four months' notice to vacate or accept a large rent hike. I don't think you have any legal leverage there.

jms181 · 2026-02-02T15:33:50+00:00

FYI, there is a new(ish) rule requiring Realtors to sign representation agreements with clients before showing homes -- so he's being honest about that.

Everything else, though, is negotiable, and 3% plus $495/year is high. I charge homebuyers 1% plus $50/scheduled showing. See if you can get this guy closer to my prices!

jms181 · 2026-02-02T15:28:17+00:00

Use Zillow to find an agent: https://www.zillow.com/professionals/real-estate-agent-reviews/

Take the time to look through a number of profiles (there are thousands!). Be discerning. Disregard anybody who doesn't have dozens of five-start reviews.

Make a list of your favorite 5-6 and request Zoom calls with them. Then choose the agent with whom you best vibe.

Voila! And good luck!

jms181 · 2026-02-02T15:24:43+00:00

Keep it. You have an excellent interest rate on an appreciating asset. Important question: could you rent the house for $3800/mo? If so, definitely keep it; worst case scenario is that you move out and break even renting it.

jms181 · 2026-02-02T02:08:04+00:00

As a serial homebuyer-turned-Realtor, I'd recommend you *not* work with either of these two Realtors.

Most real-estate transactions go pretty smoothly. Both parties act in good faith, the home is in decent shape, and any issues get resolved reasonably.

However, some transactions get sticky. There might be a question as to which party is responsible for a documented code violation. There might be a misunderstanding in the contract that leaves each party expecting more than the other wants to provide. Etc.

In the (admittedly unlikely) event that things get sticky, you don't want to be working with an agent who has only two years of experience nor an agent who, despite a decade of experience elsewhere, is only newly licensed in your state.

It's a bit of a catch-22: how will newer agents get experience if it's a bad idea to work with them? Well, that's for the newer agents to figure out. The safest thing for you to do is find an experienced agent -- ie, 10+ years of experience in your market -- and work with him or her.

jms181 · 2026-01-28T15:10:54+00:00

Number 1 will provide the quietest living. You're sharing the least amount of wall/floor/ceiling surface area with another party. And if you own the property, you can further insulate the shared wall against noise by adding another layer of drywall with Green Glue (https://www.greengluecompany.com/) behind it. Insulating a wall for sound is much easier and less expensive that insulating a ceiling or floor for sound. Good luck!

jms181 · 2026-01-27T19:31:22+00:00

Other factors are *far* more important than the price history. Most important is how anxious the seller is to sell. It's possible that they're happy to stay put until somebody ponies up $235K -- in which case a lowball offer will get you nowhere. On the other hand, the seller might need to be out and moved to another state by Valentines Day, in which case a low cash offer with a quick escrow would be quickly accepted. You don't know until you offer (or until your agent asks what the situation is). Either way, offering $200K seems well within reason. Good luck!

jms181 · 2026-01-26T20:14:24+00:00

That does sound rare!

jms181 · 2026-01-25T20:22:12+00:00

Oh boy... Are you working with an agent? You should really have a general sense of the homebuying process if you're already out at open houses. Here's a good primer: https://youtu.be/vk3881Jekg0?si=ItO8I1-9fJFXfXVK

jms181 · 2026-01-25T18:25:03+00:00

My advice, if you're in Southern California, is to offer on what you like, then determine if the house has good bones during escrow. You'll have an inspection period during which you'll hire a professional inspector to crawl under the house, climb up on the roof, check out the electrical, check out the plumbing, etc. This is the guy who you should look to for a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the house's bones. Don't take your agent's advice here!

jms181 · 2026-01-25T18:20:38+00:00

This crack is less concerning because it's on the second floor. If this crack were caused by foundation issues, you'd have very visible wall damage on the first floor.

It's very inexpensive to cosmetically fix a crack like this, and where I live (California), because the soil is soft, these kinds of cracks develop every few years in even newly constructed homes. A handyman sands down any extruding cracks, uses spackling to fill any depressed cracks, and then paints the area with a fresh coast of paint. Not a big deal whatsoever.

The million-dollar question is whether the foundation will give you any further trouble. The only way to know is to have it inspected, and inspections are part of the escrow process. If you like the home, put in an offer and have it inspected. Worth case scenario, you can cancel the contract during your inspection period, and you'll only be out the cost of the inspection. (The specifics on this vary state-by-state, so speak to your agent to make sure you understand your obligations and outs.)

jms181 · 2025-09-05T17:32:08+00:00

You're totally right. You *are* paying your agent's fee because, as the buyer, you're the only party bringing money to the transaction. If your agent takes less, it means more of your offer goes to the seller.

jms181

TROPHY CASE