All of your questions are excellent considerations concerning the purchase you desire to make, and I’m sure you’ll receive lots of advice here.

We faced a similar choice when we moved from Carmel Valley to Rancho Santa Fe many years ago. In Carmel Valley everything was basically “outside your front door” as it is in Del Sur and 4S Ranch–schools, shopping, etc.

In RSF, as you might find in The Lakes, you’ll have to make more effort to accomodate your children’s needs. That said, in The Lakes, you will still be much closer to everything you need even if you do buy there, than we were in RSF.

In the end, since this was our chance to buy our forever dream home at an incredible price, we chose RSF over convenience. Our kids attended private schools anyway, and we were able to get them to all of their activities. Over twenty years later, we’re all glad we made the choice we made.

All of that said, of course, there are no guarantees concerning real estate purchases. When we purchased our home, we knew we would, most likely, be staying it the house for the rest of our lives, so that was not a factor in our decision.

If you feel you may desire, or may need to sell, you’ll have to factor that variable into the equation as well.

Hopefully, there will be some factor that will influence your decision one way or the other, and I wish you the best!

We dropped by Marston and found the homes essentially squeezed into tiny lots on the non-powerline side, and the side with decent lot size had the powerlines. Making the whole development highly undesirable.

MR and HOA are probably about the same, but you’ll have a gated community with the Lakes. So resale wise the Lakes will likely hold up better.

[quote=ocrenter]We dropped by Marston and found the homes essentially squeezed into tiny lots on the non-powerline side, and the side with decent lot size had the powerlines. Making the whole development highly undesirable.

MR and HOA are probably about the same, but you’ll have a gated community with the Lakes. So resale wise the Lakes will likely hold up better.[/quote]

I agree with ocrenter as well. I feel that Marston is way overpriced for the location and lot size. I’m not sure if Scripps Ranch or Poway would work for you locationwise. But there are nice homes there without the Mello Roos.

[quote=kcal09][quote=ocrenter]We dropped by Marston and found the homes essentially squeezed into tiny lots on the non-powerline side, and the side with decent lot size had the powerlines. Making the whole development highly undesirable.

MR and HOA are probably about the same, but you’ll have a gated community with the Lakes. So resale wise the Lakes will likely hold up better.[/quote]

I agree with ocrenter as well. I feel that Marston is way overpriced for the location and lot size. I’m not sure if Scripps Ranch or Poway would work for you locationwise. But there are nice homes there without the Mello Roos.[/quote]

I don’t know if OP has ever been to Standard Pacific’s Ballasario development in Stonebridge. It may not be right for OP’s commutes and needs, but they should see for themselves what $1.2 million should get them. And they’ll realize how overpriced Marston truly is.

My wife and I just faced the exact same decision and wound up buying a new home (not Marston) in Del Sur. For us, community trumps house; we have two kids just entering school, so–this time–we’re moving for them. Here are our views:

Home quality: Lakes wins. They’re just nicer, more luxurious homes than in Del Sur. That said, the Standard Pacific offerings in Del Sur aren’t bad either… they just aren’t on par with the Lakes.

Community: Del Sur wins, hands down, especially for a family. If you have two kids going to school (like we do), living in a place where they can walk to their friends, school, etc. is *very* nice. Plus we get to meet other parents with similar values, plus Del Sur has more parks and HOA amenities (Fall Festival, etc.). The Lakes has… a gate. Oh, and 24 hour security to make sure you don’t have any guests who park on the street, which you get for the bargain basement price of an extra 300-400 in HOA fees per month. Speaking of which, 500+ in HOA per month for a gate? The Lakes has literally *no* other amenities – no pool, no parks (okay, one small park and a short walking trail). You have to pay a lot extra to get access to the Crosby amenities.

Schools: Even – you’re on the same MR schedule in Del Sur and the Lakes, and have the same assigned schools. That said, I’m not aware of any overcrowding at Del Sur – if you pay the MR, you get priority placement, plus the brand new Design 39 school (K-8) is opening up.

Prestige: Honestly, I think this is a bit of a toss-up. I know, I know… it’s the Lakes “at Rancho Santa Fe” and it has a gate! But seriously, the Lakes is like the red-headed stepchild of Rancho Santa Fe. If you want prestige, buy in Santaluz, Crosby, Cielo, the Covenant, etc. I guess I’ll give this one to the Lakes, but not by much.

Price: FYI, Lennar at the Lakes is usually more than 1.2MM with options. That said, I think Marston is overpriced – 1.1-1.3MM for a yard that backs to a power line? Just doesn’t make sense to me… but, people keep buying them, so what do I know?

At the end of the day, I think it comes down to which you value more: community or house/prestige.

Disclaimer: We wound up buying a 2955 sq ft at Hawthorne… smaller than we would have liked, but 300-400k less on a lot that looks right down the canyon and isn’t anywhere near power lines. Not really the same market as Marston/Lakes, but it made a lot more sense for us.

What does everyone think about the Van Daele homes in The Lakes? They are obviously not on the same level as the Lennar homes location-wise but the floor plans seem well designed.