ER, I viewed three of your SantaLuz videos last night. SantaLuz cannot be compared to the Del Sur tract that the newswoman is investigating for MR overcharges as they are apples and oranges for a variety of reasons.
SantaLuz (the SFRs at least) are situated on spacious lots, thus you aren’t listening to your neighbors’ toilet flush. A (renowned?) golf course designer came into the picture early on (before housing was even in the picture) and created a world class golf course to run with the lay of the land. You have a full-service gym/spa on site as well as a restaurant which serves only the residents and their guests. I think it is interesting that young families (mostly newcomers to SD?) ultimately decided to buy into SantaLuz and the comaraderie among neighbors is very good due to all of the organized community activities. However, I personally would not like living behind a guarded gate (and we DO have a few of these type of subdivisions in South County, btw). Insomuch that your neighbors cannot store their non-running vehicles in front of their houses, for example, is a blessing, you are paying HIGH HOA dues ($440 mo for a SFR?) for enforcement of those covenants, conditions and restrictions. But you are correct in that you are getting tangible services (cable TV, broadband internet and trash P/U) for the money as well as the full service gym with classes, pool and jacuzzis (along with availability of on-site trainers, golf pros and masseuses, for example) is very nice. I don’t golf but would find the rest very convenient. And I was intrigued by the round-lot concept, capturing distant ocean and surrounding views since the development appears to sit up pretty high.
And for you (unlike the masses who purchase[d] elsewhere in 92127), I would leave the public schools issue out of the equation because you made an early payoff of your obligations to the CFDs encumbering your property and it was formally accepted as “paid in full.” Whether or not a buyer will pay you for your trouble and expense is immaterial in your case, IMO. The reason being that the PUSD is in deep sh!t and will remain so far into the future (which is not your problem anymore). You have kid(s) who are or will ostensibly attend the public schools there and so ~$60K is not that great of a cash outlay in light of the fact that you state will hold your property longer than ten years.
From your videos, it truly DOES appear that buyers in SantaLuz buy into a “convenient lifestyle” over buying just a home. However, I’ll bet if you ask your “buddy” in LG whether he would choose to buy in SantaLuz (if he could afford it) knowing it would cost him an additional ~$940 month in MR/HOA, that he would say no. I can see how younger buyers with minor children took the place of the “empty nester” buyers the development originally expected would be its target market. No matter how “well-heeled,” the mindset of many “empty nesters” who are already retired to soon to be retired is of conserving funds, not throwing ~$940 month to the wind. Especially in light of the low-interest environment we have today. You have to take into account that not only does this group not know if they will ever be able to enter the job market again (even on a part-time basis), they don’t know how long they will live and thus how long their funds need to last. For these reasons, it is folly for many in this demographic to throw ~$940 month out the window (or even $800, considering they were going to pay for cable/trash elsewhere) to live in a development where they may or may not regularly use its amenities.
I did enjoy the videos and thought your community was well-planned, ER. Many of your “brethren” in the rest of 92127 are no doubt paying just $100 to $150 less than you are every month in MR/HOA and not getting anywhere near level of amenities you are privy to OR the spacious lots. For this reason alone, I think you got a good deal for the house and lifestyle that you and your family wanted.
