Thanks guys. All GREAT points. Another point that I discovered today is that when buying there is a 1/4 of a point fee that I’m told is split 50% between the buyer and seller. It’s called the “Santaluz Enhancement Fee”. Not a big fee but still those doing due diligence should keep this in mind.
Also, I was told the city of San Diego has a “Supplemental Tax- one time assessment”. I forgot to ask my realtor today when I was out and about. But is this tax just based on what the closing price is compared to the latest appraisal price the property tax is currently based on?
I spent all day looking at houses in Carmel Valley today and driving around the area more. Some of the areas are nice. I thought the area in Pacific Highland Ranch had some attractive homes. The biggest problem to me is the density. The houses all sit on top of one another for the most part.
We saw a house on Aster Meadows Place and really there isn’t any privacy as you have houses on both sides looking into your house and 3 houses on the backyard that all can see into your house and to the back yard. There is a jacuzzi/hot tub in the backyard but not sure I’d want to spend time in it with the wife with all my neighbors watching. So much for walking around naked in the house as well.! Ha, ha. The Mello Roos was low and the HOA was really cheap but really who wants to spend $1 million + with all your neighbors looking into your house??
We also looked at a house listed at around $1,250,000 in the gated community of Collins Ranch in Carmel Valley. They had some beautiful homes there but even there on a big home of almost 4,900 sq. feet… your neighbor can look onto you easily. But the biggest rub was that we heard more street noise from Highway 56 than ANY of the homes we toured and walked around even directly facing Camino del Sur in Santaluz. By a long shot! And consider this was a non-peak traffic time on the weekend.
I was really surprised about that as on a map, Highway 56 isn’t really that close to Collins Ranch but the sound is such that it echos so you have traffic noise which I would have never imagined just looking on a map.
We love the location of Carmel Valley and it’s proximity to the city and the ocean… but the density is just about a killer for us. But I think some people exaggerate a bit when they say all the homes are cookie cutter homes there in Carmel Valley. There are some beautiful homes but the density there compared to other areas is a big negative with the houses so close together but especially the many apartment and townhouse complexes in the area.
So that is my 2 cents. I still think Santaluz is a unique and beautiful development. But definitely you have the downside with the HOA and especially the Mello Roos fees and the uncertainty if they will go up. After reading that URL I wrongly assumed MR fees were fairly fixed but looks like I might have assumed wrong.
Thanks everyone for your great and helpful comments.
