Hello all, been away for a while, hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.
The last post I gave I think that I commented on utilities being high here, and an ac bill at $800. Yes it is true, no joke. My two neighbors here in Harveston both gave me an unsolicited report of their ac bill, over $650 each, and that was for a 3500sqft home. I also work w/ a guy that lives in French Valley and his bill was $800 once. The most I’ve paid on my ac bill on a single story 2500sqft home is $200, but I keep my home warmer than most and use fans. TG says that 400-500 will keep a 3500 sqft home “cold all the time” in the summer, and I’d have to disagree with this from the tales I hear. I would also have to say that water and gas, if they are cheap (which is debatable), they won’t be for long. There isn’t an excess of either right now.
As for the details about the different communities, I can offer some too. I rent in Harveston, but wouldn’t likely buy here. High taxes, small lots, a $140 HOA, and in my opinion, the people are generally snobby here. The location is great, the lake is nice, and the community seems safe.
Morgan Hill HAD the most overpriced homes in the area, but due to the forces of economics this is changing rapidly. The taxes are high, I don’t know about the HOAs, and the lots are good size. I’m not crazy of the location of anything south of 79. I don’t care for the casino, the traffic, pechanga parkway, or being so far away from the movies, restaurants, Costco, etc. Getting to these areas from Morgan hill.. you have 2 or 3 options… pechanga way to 15 to winchester, or take margarita, Butterfield stage, or maybe ynez. Either way, I could get to the mall area from Wildomar faster than from Red Hawk. Wolf Creek seems even worse, being closer to the Casino, and seems like smaller lots.
Vintage Hills and Chardonnay Hills are nice mellow areas of Temecula in my opinion. They have a great location, decent to great tax rates, some really large lots in an established areas.
There are a few areas that haven’t been mentioned. Starlight Ridge and Rancho Highlands. Starlight Ridge is across from Albertsons on Rancho CA rd. It has older homes, built in the 80s. These are the largest lots of ANY tract homes in all of Temecula. I’ve seen .25-.5 acres in there. Also, many big trees, super low taxes, and many hills and views. The location is great. The homes are older and smaller though. Many have been renovated and updated during the bubble.
Rancho Highlands is another nice community located of Ynez, just west and slightly south of Oscars on the Pond. There are some nice homes, mostly larger, and big lots, low taxes, and a great location.
Crown Hill is in south-ish eastern of Temecula, has some nice homes, some decent lots, I believe an average tax rate. I don’t know what the HOA costs. I wouldn’t call this a “premium” area though. I used to ride dirt bikes here long before there was any grading let alone houses.
Paloma Del Sol has a great location, and despite what people have said, there are large homes there.. some are over 2900sqft. This area has lots of schools, parks, walking paths, and pools. I think they have 5 pools just for the residents of paloma del sol.
Paseo is more expensive than paloma, and has larger homes, but less amenities.
