zRob congrats at Biogen. I know a few people there. You will be pretty darn close to work if you choose to live there. Lucera is also a complex I know well. Some of the units actually look out into Rose Canyon which is nice. Lucera is a large conversion (from apartments) back in 2004 I believe. Nothing really noteworthy about the complex. Since the conversion is fairly recent all of the units have the granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
Also being on the top floor is good as well.
Now just a note about Lucera… I know people who bought in Lucera at the conversion in 2004 and they are now underwater by about 15%. So in this particular complex pricing is 15% BELOW 2004 pricing. As for concerns about renting… I don’t really have to many. Lucera is not quite as jam packed as some of the other complexes in the area. It is middle of the road quality wise, there are some beater complexes and some nicer ones in the area. They will be making a trolley stop I think, right below Lucera as the trolley runs through Rose Canyon but that is still off in the future. You may want to try to negotiate with the landlord and tell him you found some other nice places to see if you can drive him down to 1600-1700 but he may not bend that much. Right now is a good time to negotiate cuz there is not quite as much demand there. Once August rolls around it will crowd up more as UCSD students come back for school.
Like I said, check Craigslist to see if you are in the ballpark comparitively.
