Santa Monica Mortgages

Santa Monica is one of the prime Los Angeles County locations. It's right on the beach. Depending on where you live, it can take anywhere from three to 15 minutes to walk to the beach. In addition, you are right near the entertaining Santa Monica Promenade, also known as Third Street Promenade. This strip is about four blocks long and is lined with movie theatres, clothing shops, an eclectic mix of restaurants and bookstores, all capped off by a large mall.

Two blocks west of the Promenade you hit the beach. The surrounding area consists of luxurious apartments, condos, night clubs, fancy restaurants and expensive boutiques. If you're going on the weekend, expect large crowds. There is ample parking for all, but you might have to drive around a bit on Saturdays and Sundays.

Los Angeles Area Codes

Santa Monica also has a 310 area code. For those who live in Los Angeles, you know that 310 is one of the better area codes. Since Los Angeles County is home to so many people, there are about six different area codes in about a 20 mile radius. Just by looking at the area code you can tell if someone lives in downtown, the Valley, Pasadena, Hollywood or the West Side. Santa Monica is considered part of the West Side.

As this is such prime property and it is in Southern California, do not expect mortgages to be cheap. Not only do you get everything described previously, but you get warm weather most of the year, sun almost all the time and access to possibly the most amount of retail stores in the United States. Your mortgage should be no more than one third of your income, though, as any bigger can bring a large risk of default.