I'll PM with my brother's address and email. My sister-in-law is a Realtor in the south side of LA (Cerritos) and they run a small mortgage brokerage. It can't hurt to ask around! The housing market is NUTS out there. Not like anywhere else.

Realtor.com recently updated the features in it's browser. Some of the data imput folks haven't figured out the html so not all images of houses display properly. You might want to try their older search engine, via the map instead of the zip code directory (though searching by zip code is very efficient once you know where you want to look). Here is the basic California map at Realtor.com. Click on the part where you want to search, and narrow it down with each successive map.

I found two houses to buy through Realtor.com. The first, in a move I anticipated making about three years about to New Mexico, didn't work, but that had nothing to do with Realtor.com. (It was a gorgeous A-frame in the Manzano Mountains on .75 acres, overlooking a mountain with no logging or roads on it's timbered surface. Big Sigh.). The house I'm in now was one I located via Realtor.com and drove past several times. I thought "yuck" because of the lack of landscaping and the overgrown hedges, but when I decided I had to rule this one out because it did fit all of my criteria, I was blown away by the wonderful woodwork and proportions inside. Even needing work, it was still a stunner. The images and information at Realtor (or any real estate broker's web site) is like looking through a keyhole, and you need more information. But it is an excellent start!

As it happens, though I haven't finished all of my interior remodeling yet, I'm making serious inroads on the landscaping. This yard will be spectacular in a couple of years. I chopped out that hedge last month. ;-)

SRS