[quote=sdresident]Thanks ER for very good insights.
Yes, this itself is a stretch for us.
Wondering if we might be over paying (high ppsf) for this house. Yes, checked out delsur. It is also priced in the 760s (base price) & high melo roos (300 per month more than lennar home), but ppsf is 250.[/quote]
You’re certainly welcome.
Well, just be careful “stretching” more than you can comfortably stretch. As mentioned, I have a few college classmates that moved out to San Diego many years ago and they were all doing great when they could use their homes as virtual ATM machines and the values of their houses kept going up….. but once the recession came they all moved out of the area.
I’d just say have some savings aside AFTER the down payment. It seems like so many people in this market are really stretching to buy and what they can afford under the “perfect scenario” of stable job situation with them and their spouses and no one losing a job, etc.
San Diego is a funky market for being such a big city. It has a small town feel to it. Add in the “sunshine tax” factor of nothing special salaries and poor economy and job market (other than if you’re in Biotech or Engineer that could work at Qualcomm type situation, or other possible C-Suite type jobs) the job market here isn’t that great. In fact, you could argue it’s fairly mediocre for being a large metropolitan area.
In other major cities you lose a job and it’s not too tough to find a replacement job where you can earn the same or more. Whereas here in San Diego from what I can see from people I know losing jobs..it takes them a while to find another…or they can’t find a job where they made as much. I even met some people that couldn’t find a job and are commuting to Los Angeles daily/weekly!!
So be honest with yourself to make sure you can comfortably afford the property. I give you BIG kudos for mentioning “this itself is a stretch for us”. Many people in San Diego even when that’s the case won’t admit something like that. Either from pride or more aptly severe DENIAL or many times BOTH.
I guess different people will have different opinions on if it’s worth it to pay the higher price per sq. foot in Carmel Valley vs. Del Sur. It seems like in both areas, there aren’t a shortage of people that will snap up these properties.
Probably the decision for me would come down to how big of a property you need, do you plan on having more kids in the future and need a bigger property (i.e. more bedrooms), where do you work and is the Carmel Valley location much closer to your work, do you already have kids going to school in Carmel Valley and want to keep them in the same school district type of thing?
Wherever you decide to buy…. don’t make the mistake of just planning on what you can afford under the ‘best case’ scenario. People almost always plan on the maximum they can afford on ‘best case’ scenarios. Also, factor in what would happen in a not so best case or even a worst case scenario.
I’ve purchased MANY properties for myself and on behalf of clients of mine and the biggest problem I’ve seen is people that go into a real estate purchase only thinking of the ‘best case’ scenario. Unfortunately in life things happen. So my advice would be to think about that kind of thing as well.
