Commute Is a Trade-Off for Own Home

The choice was clear for newlyweds Bill and Lisa McCallick: rent an apartment in Hacienda Heights where they grew up, or move eastward to a less expensive area where they could afford to buy a house.

The McCallicks, married just last month, chose to move. “Where we live now has its inconveniences, but they’re nothing compared to the satisfaction we have of owning our own home,” said Bill McCallick, a 26-year-old accountant with a real estate firm.

Both McCallick and his wife, an accounts representative at a bank, would have preferred to purchase in Hacienda Heights. “But the homes we were looking at were in the $200,000 to $400,000 range,” he said. “It was just out of our league.”

So the McCallicks packed their bags and headed about 25 miles east to the Riverside County community of Mira Loma, where they bought a handsome three-bedroom, two-bath single-family home for $112,000. Even though the house they purchased was far less expensive than some other properties they toured, Bill still needed to sell a ski boat he had bought a few years ago to help raise the down payment. Lisa’s father helped out by loaning them some cash and co-signing their loan application.

Selling the boat wasn’t the only sacrifice the couple had to make: Lisa must now drive about 50 miles round trip each day to her job in City of Industry. “My old drive was only about 3 miles each way,” she said.

Despite the inconveniences, the McCallicks say they have no regrets. “The area is really pretty nice, and the neighbors are just terrific,” Bill McCallick said.

“There’s nothing like the feeling you get when you own your own home. It’s so nice to come home at night, look around the house and say, ‘Hey, we own this. This is ours!’ ”