Los Angeles - First-Time Home Buyer, what do you think?
First time home buyer in LA County looking for some opinions about the current situation. Having trouble deciding whether these are normal issues and what to do in current situation.
We’re under a contract on a 1980 townhouse. Listing price $675k, our offer for $642.5k got accepted. The home was appraised at $700k, so the purchase price seems good with the appraisal.
2 stories, 1600 sq feet, and a two-car garage down below. In a nice, safe neighborhood, next to a big mall, Costco, and parks. We absolutely love the area. Visually, the home is in a good condition and is essentially ready to move in, although we’d want to replace the flooring only prior to moving in, just our preference.
The home inspector had left all of the water running during the inspection and found a few issues:
- Active moisture behind primary shower, source hasn’t been confirmed, possibly grouting?
- Active moisture near a plumbing cleanout in the garage, located right under the guest bathroom.
- A/C wasn’t cooling properly during the inspection, although the condenser is from 2022.
- Corrosion on some laundry plumbing/drains.
- Drywood termite evidence in the attic and primary bedroom/closet. (Termite company quoted $756 for local treatment, although a whole-structure fumigation would be preferred, but this is an attached unit)
- Balcony has dry rot in the joists/decking, although inspector said HOA to correct.
- Some previous moisture staining, wall/ceiling cracking/patching, a failed bedroom window, older water heater, and several smaller electrical/safety issues.
The HOA is $759/month. It increased dues by 15% this year and charged owners a one-time $455 special assessment, citing increased insurance costs, operating expenses, and the need to fund reserves. HOA Docs 5.pdf
On the positive side, the HOA had about $983k in reserves as of August 2026, plus about $83k in operating cash, and is budgeting roughly $282k/year toward reserves going forward.
We still have our inspection contingency and are negotiating repairs/credits, so we can still walk away without simply forfeiting our deposit.
I know a 46-year-old townhouse isn’t going to have a perfect inspection, and the appraisal being almost $60k above our purchase price makes me hesitant to give up what could otherwise be a good deal.
For people who have bought condos/townhouses before: does this sound like normal older-complex stuff that you would negotiate and move forward with, or are the combination of termites + moisture + HOA insurance/litigation/maintenance issues enough that you would walk?
What would you absolutely want resolved or verified before removing contingencies?
We are also aware of the ridiculous interest rates but we will be able to afford the payments and plan on refinancing once they do go down in the future.