Exactly! That’s the conclusion I came to as well. And I haven’t even physically been to Santaluz yet but doing a lot of due diligence on the area.
From my due diligence, it looks like a proportionally high number of speculators bought in some parts of the development. Especially some realtors that got burned not flipping fast enough. So I imagine that inventory will get cleared out eventually at lower prices with this group of people.
But it looks like many others can just afford to hold on for long periods of time. It seems like the median age there is older. We will be the exception for the most part as I’m still in my mid 30’s and my wife mid 20’s.
It does look like much of the area is wealthier as you described. I’m not really interested in the area for that reason. I’ve just found that nicer areas like that are more prone to do well over the long haul and the area is much better cared for and the development doesn’t really go downhill like a lot of lower end or more affordable areas or developments. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but I’ve seen that over and over in other developments around the world.
For me, it just comes down to personal taste in architecture, the high end area and the look of the development and homes in the area. Also, the safety aspect doesn’t hurt and the school district in the area is top notch and a big factor in our consideration where we live since we have 2 young children.
I toy with the idea of “early retirement” but I’m still fairly young and I enjoy working so not sure that is in the cards for me. But we do make enough with cash flow from other investments and rental properties so that we could theoretically “retire” if we wanted. Most likely I’ll go back to work or work out of the house in a home office. I do consulting and can work anywhere there is internet and phone.
I’m curious to know now what % is retirees there?
I’ve seen on various forums of people kind of badmouthing Santaluz. Yeah, the high MR and HOA fees leave a bad taste in my mouth as well…but much of the bad talk seems almost to be from people that couldn’t afford to live in Santaluz in the first place which isn’t a really good reason to badmouth an area.
Yeah, the lots are smaller in some of these developments and high fees but besides that seems like if you’re not buying for “investment” reasons and buying purely to live it would be a high quality of life.
I’d still love to hear the other side of that from people that actually live within Santaluz. I read some old posts from people that live there but nothing recent.
A poster was kind enough to email me some options in 92128 which also is on the Poway School District. There are a few nice homes in that area but they tend to be older for the most part. It’s great with lower HOA and many have low/no HOA but still not so much to choose from in that area and I still much prefer the look of the more modern homes/area in the Santaluz area.[/quote]
ER, due to your screen name, I had you pegged as late forties or beyond. Until you just posted that you needed schools for 15-18 years, I didn’t realize your kids were so young and you were so young. Most members of your generation DO prefer brand-new or near-new construction and “Tuscan-style” architecture.
The “mid-century” listing you posted in LJ is priced pretty well. I predict it will sell for within $100,000 of its list price. These types of homes aren’t easy or cheap to renovate. Even if the sellers bought it recently for +/- $1M and put $100,000 into renovations, that may very well have been materials only. In addition, there is lot clearing, replanting and landscaping on a large, mature lot. I don’t have to tell you that all of this is a lot of work (and inconvenience to daily life even if contracted out). The buyer here will also be paying for the privacy of a nearly 1/2 AC well-landscaped lot in a highly sought after exclusive area. Since it is an “open” floor plan, the fact that it is smaller than what you are looking is secondary, IMO. In fact, the buyer of this home will most likely be a retiring “baby-boomer.”
The Muirlands is EXACTLY what I had in mind for you and your family. I surmised you would be “retiring” soon once your kids got out of high school (somehow I thought they were HS students). Even if you purchase a property in the Muirlands for up to $1.3M, you will be able to recover the money in a sale down the line. I realize you are looking for a long-term home but you have to take into consideration that you may want or need to sell it at some point in the future.
Of course, you must be aware that MR/HOA is NOT tax-deductible. It is too soon to tell yet, due to your area of choice being currently far from “built out,” but this area COULD feasibly deteriorate if too many owners (esp those who own vacant lots) stop paying their HOA dues for any reason. There, the future value and saleability of your property is entirely dependent upon the action or inaction of your neighboring homeowners, no matter what improvements you choose to make. In the Muirlands, many, many of these properties have been paid for for YEARS. There is no danger of heavy distress, no HOA and no MR. And as I previously mentioned, there is an endless “captive audience” of buyers for this area.
Why don’t you order “plat maps” from the County Assessor (or buy them when you come to visit) of SantaLuz (organized in binders on the east wall by first 3 digits of parcel no). They are 11″ x 22″ each and cost $2. Their office is located at 1600 Pacific Hwy in dtn SD (1 mi south of the airport). It is a large circa 1935 refurbished building with a tiled fountain in front facing Harbor Drive and the bay, situated between Ash and Grape Sts. The assessors office is on the north end on the 1st flr and all the green spaces towards the bldg are free for 2 hrs.
Once you have these maps, you can visit the development and mark all the addresses on it (note home style and approx SF) as well as note the vacant parcels. You can then, in your leisure, determine the overall indebtedness of each developed parcel and decide for yourself how feasible it will be that these encumbrances (along with property taxes, HOA and MR) will continue on into the future.
Just because some lots are sold now and have handsome-looking houses on them, this says NOTHING about the future viability of an area, especially a far-flung, relatively new area such as SantaLuz.
