First time home buyer and really confused!?

Me and my boyfriend are buying a home for the first time, my job is requiring me to move from the Boston area, to the Los Angeles county area. because we live so far away we've been looking online for some help. but, we dont really understand it. we saw this beautiful house in a gated community that we loved and it said it was $8,600... that does make sense to me or my boyfriend. at first i thought it was the monthly payment but they it said the monthly payment would be like $45 per month... does this make any sense? Also is there any good websites that help me get through all this house buying stuff.... plus is you have any good advice i would love to hear it!

Unless it is a cardboard box, and the gated community is the gate around the back of the local Walmart - then you are right, it doesn't make sense.

This could be some owner finance deal - where the owner carries a note on top of the lender financed amount of a home. In other words - the house would be financed for $496,000 (the average price of a home in LA), and the owner would carry a note of an additional $8600 with payments of $45/mo to cover as a "down payment" on the house.

You need a good real estate agent to help you. The best advice I can give, and you probably won't like it, is don't buy a house with someone you aren't married to. Commit to each other before you even think about combining finances.

Buying a house in Los Angeles can be quite expensive. If you want something easy to use to do your search go to latimes.com and then real estate. If you know the area that your interested in you can just enter that and it will give you all of the listings for that city. Good luck with your search. And also the house that you saw for $8,600 it was most likely $8 million 600 thousand. Especially if it is in a gated community.

does NOT make sense at all
I live in Calif and there isn't anything that wil cost only 45.00 per month..not even association dues...like for condo living
Where in Calif?

The Federal Agency HUD can give you a lot of info about mortgages types. Its free. Good luck with your new house and be careful....Buena Suerte!

Uhm, hire a broker in the area you want to buy. It's worth it.

It does not make any sense unless someone is recently divorced and has control of the property but the profits go to their former spouse. Like the Cadillac a lady sold for 50 bucks because her husband's will said the profits should go to his Mistress.

you can go to a realtor near you and tell them you got transfeerred to la and they can hook you up with realtors out there in the area where you will be moving. they will also give you websites to go onto and look for homes. that is your best bet.

Go to these websites they should offer u some help =]

http://www.hud.gov/buying/index.cfm

http://www.lendingtree.com/smartborrower/First-time-Home-Buyer.aspx

First things first...hire a realtor. Especially if you don't know the area you are moving to extremely well. LA is an extremely desirable area, and real estate probably goes fast. Your realtor will do all the legwork for you. He or she is free, so use them!
The seller pays the realtor's commission, so you, the buyer, are only paying for your house. Also find your self a very reputable mortgage lender, get referrals, from contacts in the area, your realtor, and other people you trust. Because the morgage industry is full of scam artists just looking to make a buck.
Also, make sure your credit is spotless, because lots of people who thought they had pretty good credit are being denied loans because the market is so bad right now. So get all your credit reports from the three major bureaus for you and your co-buyer, and start clearing up any problem areas. there are lawyers who can help you clear all your credit up in less than a year. Ours charged $750 as a flat fee, and went to town on our credit. Stay away from credit counseling services...they damage your credit...they pretty much say to lenders "I can't manage my own money, so I had to get someone else to tell me how to act like a grown up and pay my bills."
Finally meet with a financial planner to talk about your budget...see what you can really afford. Most mortgage lenders over lend, and that's how people get into trouble. a financial planner will help you look at the big picture of buying real estate. He can help you figure out your mortgage payment, monthly assesments (if in a condo) utilities, homeowners insurance, estimate money needed for routine repairs, the costs of maintaining a home (yard maintenence, garbage collection,,,,the list is very long...) Most financial planners tell you that you should have 3 to six months worth of all those monthly expenses in a savings account for an emergency (unemployment, illness, death of spouse/co-buyer, etc.) you should have at least 25,000 in a savings account, or you have no business buying a house...practice saving.
Last but not least, DON'T apply for any credit except for your house loan until you get into your home...no cars...no credit cards, no Best Buy cards or payment plans for tvs...none of that is more important than buying your first home. If lenders see you applying for credit all over the place, that is a red flag...it looks like you are desperate, and they want to see you acting responsibly. Also if you apply with more than one morgage lender (NO lending tree.com, they bombard you with emails and phone calls, not very reputable) do it all within a span of 2 weeks. this way it won't affect your credit or FICO score...Again that thing about looking desperate for credit...you have a 2 week window to shop for a specific kind of credit (whether it is a credit card, mortgage, or home equity loan, etc) before thay start to look at it as a negative...
And remember, If you think a deal is too good to be true, it most certainly is,especially in this market.
Good luck! Buying your first home is the best and most stressful thing you'll ever do!

I am a Realtor in Los Angeles and I wanted to tell you that the figures are impossible unless the property will be gifted... If you want to be as close to Los Angeles as you can I would suggest SF valley which you can find a house 3+2 for $550.000 and up... Or a condo that is 2+2 in LA..

That is impossible, no house is that cheap especially in Los Angeles. You should move over there rent for three months and during that time look for a house.

Contact a realtor in LA.
Remember LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.

It might be worth it to fly out and meet a realtor and establish a relationship, look at neighborhoods then they can send you photos etc of houses you might like

Your $8600 deal sounds bogus. It is a tax sale deal.

For a gated community in LA, you say $8,600? $45/month? Either we've time-warped into the 1930's or you need to add a couple zeros to both of those numbers.

Sorry honey, but that's a typo! It's either a house that costs $860K or the monthly lease is $8600. Ignore the little calculator that says what your monthly payment would be, that just goes by whatever number is there (even if it's wrong).

I used to live in LA and the houses are really expensive. Why don't you call a realtor and ask her to send you some listings of houses in your price range? You might want to rent for a while so you have time to go look at houses.

My hubby and I used to rent an old, small house for $1900 a month, and if we wanted to buy the house it would have cost $550K. That was in Glendale, CA (in the valley).

Wow, moving from one crappy, overpriced market to the only one in the country that is even more overpriced. My condolences. At least LA has better weather...

$8,600 is probably a typo. They probably mean $860,000..or even $8,600,000, knowing how California is.

Find a real estate agent in the area and they will do all the work for you

Yeah, that's just ridiculous. Is it condemned or something? Toxic mold? I would totally avoid it. Your best bet is to contact a Realtor familiar with the area, they are often glad to work with you via email or telephone. Good luck!

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