The homes in Los Alamitos
The city covers about four square miles, but the Joint Forces Training Base takes up a large share of that, so the residential part is compact. The oldest tract homes are from the late 1940s and 1950s, built for people who stayed after serving at the base. More tracts followed through the 1960s. There is also a good deal of apartment and condo housing for a city this size.
Homes here are mostly single-story houses on modest lots, many of them enlarged or rebuilt over the years. That means two houses on the same street can differ a lot. Ask Tony to check the permit history on any addition, and have the roof, plumbing and sewer line inspected on the older homes.
Neighborhoods and tracts
Carrier Row is the neighborhood most people know by name. Its streets are named for World War II aircraft carriers, and it was built as three small subdivisions in 1947 to 1948, 1950 and 1955. Later tracts include Dutch Haven from 1960, Rossmoor Highlands from 1961, and Suburbia, New Dutch Haven, Greenbrook and College Park North from about 1967. Old Town and Apartment Row are other names you will hear.
Rossmoor, next door, is a separate unincorporated community. It shares the 90720 ZIP code and the school district with Los Alamitos, but it is not inside the city. Listings sometimes blur the two, so ask Tony to confirm which side of the line a home is on.
Schools
Los Alamitos Unified School District serves Los Alamitos, Rossmoor and Seal Beach, along with small portions of Cypress and Long Beach. It has six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. Los Alamitos Elementary, McAuliffe Middle School, Oak Middle School and Los Alamitos High School are in the city. Hopkinson, Lee, Rossmoor and Weaver elementary schools are in Rossmoor, and McGaugh Elementary is in Seal Beach. Confirm the assigned schools for any address with the district.
Parks, shopping and landmarks
City parks include Little Cottonwood Park on Farquhar Avenue, with ball fields and a walking loop, Laurel Park on Bloomfield Street, Orville R. Lewis Jr. Park and Stansbury Park. St. Isidore Historic Plaza dates from 1921. The hospital on Katella Avenue is now UCI Health Los Alamitos. The base is home to the USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center. Los Alamitos Race Course is just east on Katella, inside Cypress.
Getting around
Katella Avenue and Los Alamitos Boulevard are the two main streets, and they cross in the middle of town. The 605 is just to the west, reached from Katella, and the 405 and the 22 are to the south near Seal Beach. Coyote Creek marks the line with Long Beach on the northwest. OCTA runs the local buses. Long Beach Airport is the closest commercial airport.
Buying in Los Alamitos
Tony works in Los Alamitos from his office at The Real Estate Solution in Cerritos. He is a REALTOR and a licensed mortgage loan originator (NMLS ID 2359276), and he can go through what you may be able to borrow before you tour. The base has an active airfield that flies military helicopters, so some streets hear aircraft. Ask Tony to check how close an address is, and whether it is near Coyote Creek for flood map purposes.
Selling in Los Alamitos
The city is small, so buyers often know exactly which streets they want. Be precise in the listing: city of Los Alamitos or Rossmoor, the tract name if it has one, and permits for any expansion. Tony has held a California real estate license since 2007 and speaks fluently in English and Arabic. Ask Tony to walk the house with you before you spend money on repairs.
