New Homes in La Costa Area

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Submitted by jordan on July 28, 2008 - 11:48am

Hi everyone. I've been reading this forum quite a bit lately, and recently joined. Reading through the posts and comments on the La Costa area (esp. ones on the new developments) have been very informative. Thank you! I do have some questions still, that I'd like to put out there. Perhaps it could also help other prospective buyers looking into this area?Having lived in orange county for the past 20 yrs and going to school at ucsd, i'm not too unfamiliar with the area, but could definitely use some advise from better informed locals. I've been working in new york for some time and upon returning recently (before I move for business to Shanghai), I've decided to purchase a home for my parents (for all their years of hard work getting me out and going!) and since we used to frequent La Costa Resort when I was younger I decided to do a little research on the area. Upon doing so, my parents and I decided that a new home development might be the best fit for us as my father loves to do landscaping and my mother loves to decorate interiors. The past weekend we made a trip down again and my parents fell in love with the area as they love to hike and enjoy nature. Also, carlsbad seems like the furthest south they would like to go as many of their friends are in irvine. So far we have checked out La Costa Ridge and La Costa Greens both to their liking. We're not looking for something incredibly fancy, but having more interior space would be nice. That said the price range I'm looking at is around 700-800k, perhaps a little bit more if necessary. I know that's a bit hard to do in these neighborhoods although doable. Mainly this is bc I would like to put down about 50-60% down on the house and I wouldnt be able to do that with most of the homes starting at $1 mil. And seeing that it will be the two of them a mcmansion doesnt seem necessary.

Although a nice view of the ocean and the mountainside would be great, my parents are not too concerned about the view itself. However, like all buyers we are concerned about getting the best deal possible. The primary concern in this respect is the investment potential of these homes for my parents once they sell it down the line. Just as a note, once settled, they are not planning to move for at least 10 years. We really felt like the Dolcetto houses (Plan 2) in La Costa Ridge were a good fit. Although not the best view, as the backyard was a hillside lot, the house was in the mid 700,000s with some upgrades already built into the price and at 3500 square feet was quite spacious for the two of them (and the many guests they usually have visiting). The kitchen and master bath were of very good size which was what my mother was interested in most.

Nevertheless I've been reading about the comments on Dolcetto homes (and yes it is built by KB, which I'm not completely thrilled about either) and have not seen many positive reviews. One esp. about the buyer backing out with $50k deposited was sending off red flags for me. But Im wondering if this is perhaps bc most of the ppl who were commenting were looking for a great family home with children and good school district? Or is there actually something really wrong specifically with this development that would hurt resale value in the future???

While talking to the KB home sales rep however, I asked about the lot that was adjacent to it that had yet to be developed and she told me that it would starting in a few months by a different company (coleridge?). But with the way some of the builders have been going out of business or slowing down their building Im not sure if I should count on that happening anytime in the remaining year or even 2009, esp since I dont know if the homes on that site will be within my price range. Does anyone have any additional information on it?

Finally, La Costa Greens also looks good ie John Laing, but I believe the HOAs are a bit higher than LCR due to the community centers? I've lived in a planned community in orange county and I rarely use it myself, so I'm not really sure if it's worth the extra costs every month. Any thoughts on developments in this area esp. the ones in gated communities? Also are there any other new developments in La Costa? What my parents and I agree on so far is that the La Costa area is beautiful and definitely a place they'd like to live; but with the price range I'm at, we'd like to get the most bang for my buck esp. in the future for my parents. Thanks so much for your site. I'll be commenting and checking in regularly.

‹ $299k Bay Park so do you think they were angry they were losing the house? ›
You are looking in my
Submitted by sdrealtor on July 28, 2008 - 12:02pm.

You are looking in my backyard. I was out this weekend looking for one of my good friends who wants a 2nd home to shuttle between the the east coast and SD. I found some very nice homes in the high 2000 sq ft range with nice lots, some views and built by better builders than laing or KB. I think the builder will take low 700's or maybe even in the 600's. There were a couple really good floorplans also.

If you have private questions, feel free to use the private message function.

We visited the homes at
Submitted by sc_alum on July 28, 2008 - 12:23pm.

We visited the homes at Dolcetto several times, drawn mainly by the low PPSF relative to other homes in Carlsbad and the "large lots" that they advertise. Our findings:

The houses are indeed on large(er) lots (10 to 11,000 sq feet, average), but the houses are situated in such a way that the liveable use space is quite small. Large slopes on the side yards and back yard, awkward placement of the house on the lot, etc.

KB has sold I believe all of the land they had slated for future phases to other developers. They haven't yet had buyers for all their current phase, thus the unfinished lots you are seeing. They didn't say what the other surrounding land that they sold would be developed into, but that raised a huge red flag to us.

The HOA's were quite high, for no ammenities other than the gate.

There is a water reclamation plant spitting distance from the models. We've only visited on fairly windy days... Not sure if it will have any... "odor" on a calm, summer day.

San Marcos school district, and depending on the map, it often renders you in San Marcos rather than Carlsbad. At the very least, you are right on the border.

That's about all - we really really liked the houses, and were very tempted by I think it was plan 4 in Dolcetto. If you go up the road that Dolcetto is on, you'll run into some new homes by Pulte as well. They were more solidly built out than the Dolcetto neighborhood, meaning without the unknown of what the rest of your street was going to look like. And because they're higher on the hill, and down the other side, many of the lots have ocean views rather than views of old areas of San Marcos and a water reclamation facility.

Hope that helps...!

Edited for one more thing: Every time we've gone there, they've been begging us to make any sort of an offer. In case they didn't tell you the same, their list price right now is a wish list, and they are EXTREMELY willing to bargain, so I would not hesitate to start with a near-insulting low ball. That's what we would have done, at least.