Lincoln Heights sits northeast of Downtown, on the far side of the river from Chinatown. It was subdivided in 1873, which makes it the oldest residential suburb in Los Angeles, and it was called East Los Angeles until 1917, when residents voted to rename it after the high school.
The housing reflects that age: small lots, houses from the late nineteenth century onward, a good deal of Victorian and Craftsman stock, and hill streets that were laid out for a horse-drawn streetcar rather than for two cars. Along the river the edges are still industrial, and that boundary moves.
A house here can be a hundred and thirty years old, which is not a problem in itself and is a reason to inspect properly. Foundation, framing, electrical, plumbing, and the permit history on anything added at the back are the things that decide whether an old house is a bargain or a project.
Ask Mario about Lincoln HeightsWhat to check in Lincoln Heights
- On a nineteenth century house: the foundation, the framing and whether it has been retrofitted.
- Original electrical and plumbing, and what a lender will want done before closing.
- The permit history on any addition or back unit.
- What the lot backs onto — the industrial edge along the river is closer on some streets than others.
Questions about Lincoln Heights
Is Lincoln Heights the same as East Los Angeles?
It was the original one. The neighborhood was called East Los Angeles from 1873 until 1917, when it was renamed Lincoln Heights after the high school. The unincorporated East Los Angeles further east is a different place.
Are the houses here really that old?
Many are. It was subdivided in 1873 and there is housing from the late nineteenth century onward. Age is not a defect, but it changes what the inspection has to cover and sometimes what a lender will require before funding.
Downtown is not one market. It is a few hundred buildings, and the building decides nearly everything — what the dues are, what they actually cover, whether a lender will write a loan in it at all, whether the parking space is yours or the building's, whether the "loft" is a 1920s office floor with twelve-foot windows or a 2008 tower with a pool deck. Two units a block apart with the same square footage and the same price can be completely different purchases. I would rather spend the first conversation on the building than on the tour.
Licensed in California since 1993, in a market that has to be read one building at a time.
Mario Cabello, REALTOR® · CA DRE #01163184
