With a 115k (+15%) salary you can very easily afford a house near down town LA. Cities you will want to look at are Monterey Park, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Downey, Whittier, Alhambra. These are what are called Gateway cities (provide simultaneous access to LA/Pasadena/Long Beach/OC etc), a 3Bed/2bath will range from 400k-700k (Monterey park/Montebello high end). For a 2 bed/2 bath Townhouse/Condo you will look at about 325k-500k depending on the city. Pursue a government backed Fannie Mac loan, programs exist where you can do 1% down, you are then gifted 2% and you walk in with 3% equity. You can then (if you choose to) pay off more of the loans principle as soon as you close on the house, then refinance (yes this will cost you a very small amount upfront but save much on the monthly cost).

Don't let the hordes scream at you that you can't make it comfortably near downtown LA, it almost seems as if people want everyone outside LA to think that so more people don't move to LA.