ctr is right. There are several areas to escape the heat in PHX but they are 5-8 hours drive away and there is only air service to the bottom of San Juans via PHX to DRO on US Airways.
In that amount of time, david and his family could be back in SD to visit relatives.
ctr is in error about Ramona, but in any case, it is likely too expensive for this family. Like Santee, several “big box stores” and supermarkets have come into there in recent years. It is VERY modern now.
In addition, there are MANY white-collar professionals residing in Santee and Ramona. Not sure about Lakeside, but the smell of pines (gathered around large boulders in the front yard) is absolutely incredible there in the winters. Lots of wildlife abound in the small hills around Barona Indian Reservation (which is also partly reesidential). There is a LOT to be said for having a spread to park your toys on sans HOAs telling a homeowner what they can and can’t do. I will agree that the bulk of the Lakeside crowd are probably older and have lived there most or all of their lives.
I DID manage to take a closer look on Google Maps at the Sycamore Cyn finger from Santee to the back side of Miramar MCAS yesterday. I had not realized it but its main road now goes all the way into the back of Scripps Ranch. I’m surmising it is two-lane most of the way and passes a large landfill to the west which is presumably supposed to be expanded at some point.
Does anyone know the length/time of the drive between Sycamore Cyn (Santee) and Rancho Bernardo? How many traffic lights are there through this maze? I would think as one got towards the back on SR in the morning, people would be leaving their homes to catch I-15 and a LOT of traffic might join as they were making their way to RB.
But perhaps I’m mistaken and its only a 20-minute drive.
If actually open for thru traffic, this represents non-fwy access between Santee and SR/RB/Poway biz parks. That’s huge!
david, Sycamore Cyn (Santee) is less than 30 years old and its SC Elementary School has a 950 API score. You won’t be able to find that consistently even in the most “sought-after” family areas in SD County or even if you could afford to buy in Scripps (SDUSD)!
Here’s a short I found yesterday in SC, asking $299K w/a 14K+ lot!:
This is why I think the “opening bid” price of $299K on Strathmore Drive will be bid up quite a bit regardless of current condition and but primarily due to lot size.
It would seem to me that a buyer putting just 5% down (such as david) wouldn’t have a chance at a SFR in this coveted area… but who knows?
As of yesterday, there were currently six other <$350K non-shorts (or "traditional" SFR listings) in Santee, all ~50 years old and ranging in price from $250K to $340K. All but two were in a "Carlton Hills" subdivision and three of them needed some work. Out of those three, one was a FNMA Homepath property (the largest one at 1600 sf) which needed extensive work but FNMA would loan the buyer the funds to rehab it.
I didn’t see too many flips there but haven’t viewed all the sold comps yet. I found my “Santee study” to be very interesting and can now see why buy-to-let investors like the area so much.
Conclusion: Sycamore Cyn is borderline for the OP to buy into but other parts of Santee are possibly very doable … depending on owner and competition.
****************************************
ctr, you might be interested to know that “Old Chula Vista” (~1 mile from the bayfront) has been a “flipper’s dream” for almost three years now 🙂 These flipped houses around me sell like hotcakes! Cleaned-up homes that have been rentals for decades lift ALL boats. I’m happy to see that there are people with the wherewithal to do this as it helps the values of ALL surrounding owners!
We just witnessed the recent bombing of the old power plant at the bottom of SD Bay :=0
