For a whole host of reasons, I believe the healthiest to live in and best-built houses in SD County were those built prior to 1950. That said, Scarlett, the areas you are looking to buy in don’t have this type of inventory.
On slab foundation, my preferences are as follows:
My first choice would be an early 60’s house with a wide covered front porch and covered back patio with one or two 5 or 6 ft patio doors (facing the same direction) leading out to it. This home would be oriented towards the backyard and have 0-2 small windows facing the street. I prefer a very wide (flagstone or travertine) foyer with a step-down living/dining area, brass intercom system still working and wall-vacuum originally installed. This particular type of home is not in your price range, unless you are willing to do substantial work on it. The garage could be attached or detached. Lot should be 7500 to 22,000 sf. Stay away from homes without even a partial attic. One bathroom big enough for a 7′ two-sink vanity, if not already there.
My second choice would be a 90’s house with rounded corner bead used on its drywall, perhaps use of an archway or two, double-paned windows already installed and built-in appls (even if old). I would NOT buy a property with more than one clerestory window or a vaulted ceiling more than 10′ at its highest point (HUGE waste of heat). Properly installed dbl-paned skylights okay. Rollout skylight okay in bathroom. 2+ car garage attached. One-story preferred on 6000 to 9000 sf lot. One bathroom big enough for a 7′ two-sink vanity, if not already there.
I wouldn’t buy a property built in the late seventies and eighties because SD County properties had several “construction issues” during this era and City/County officials were issuing bulk permits to developers so fast and furious from ’84 to ’90 that they didn’t have the personnel to oversee each building segment properly. PBT plumbing was commonly used in subdivisions (and later only partially replaced with copper by many property owners who later rec’d a settlement from the class-action suit). More than half the affected owners spent their 1994 PBT settlement proceeds on something other than plumbing. In addition, any cedar shake roofs still existing today may now be uninsurable. Even if a fire ins binder could be obtained in escrow on a property with shake roof, the homeowner will generally have less than a year to replace the roof (a $15-$30K job) in order not to be non-renewed. Accoustical “popcorn” ceiling in some or all rooms may need to be removed prior to move-in (messy (if not done before move-in) and expensive (if you don’t do it yourself). Beaten up wall heaters may need to be replaced with furnaces. The property may not have any insulation and little/no attic space.
The “best built,” IMO, is the late ’50’s/60’s house. Yes, even though garages were built with cedar/redwood planks :=]
