4 closure Ranch errr scratch that “Fire proof” Ranch = new nickname for 4S Ranch

[raptorduck]

All this time that I have been looking for a house in Rancho Santa Fe, I thought I had figured out what are all the neighborhoods/subdivisions.

I thought 4S Ranch was a seperate town and did not know it was part of RSF. Should I be looking there as well? Why do people call it 4closure ranch if it is part of RSF and why all the animosity towards that part of RSF? I know high end homes also foreclose, but the suggestion I see is that there are lots of foreclosures in 4S Ranch. Why is that?

I assume these are the same types of houses I have seen in the rest of RSF and in my price range, and of course far beyond it, but I have not seen the kind of homes RSF has ($2-$30 million!) foreclose up here like subprime loan homes have, which here are under $1 million. My own current neighborhood of barely $1 million tract homes has one that is about to foreclose I suspect. It is currently a short sale. But I have seen no foreclosures in the $2-$4 million market here (not that I have been looking for foreclosures either).

I suppose I should go ahead and finally educate myself on 4S Ranch and contact my agent about the area.

[SD Realtor]

Hi Raptor –

4S Ranch is kind of on the boundary between Rancho Bernardo and RSF. 4S is considered RB rather then RSF because it is composed of tract homes while RSF is generally more higher end.

The animosity you hear on Piggington against 4S is there because… well because it is… I cannot give you a why it is there, but that it is alive and well. However I would say that 4S is IMO one of the neighborhoods that could see substantial depreciation because it may have been prone to buyers stretching themselves to thin when buying a home in the past several years. I wouldn’t say 4S is high end, I would say that 4S is a nice community with alot of professionals in it and alot of tract homes. It is a desired destination for many families due to schools, larger homes, nice community, etc, but it is not what you looked at.

Definitely do not confuse 4S with say Fairbanks or even Crosby, Cielo or even Santa Luz. If you go look there you will be very disappointed if you think it compares to them. It has great schools and is a nice community for sure, but from your previous posts, I do not think it is something that you will find to your taste. Does it hurt to look? Probably not.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

Hi Raptor –

4S Ranch is kind of on the boundary between Rancho Bernardo and RSF. 4S is considered RB rather then RSF because it is composed of tract homes while RSF is generally more higher end.

The animosity you hear on Piggington against 4S is there because… well because it is… I cannot give you a why it is there, but that it is alive and well. However I would say that 4S is IMO one of the neighborhoods that could see substantial depreciation because it may have been prone to buyers stretching themselves to thin when buying a home in the past several years. I wouldn’t say 4S is high end, I would say that 4S is a nice community with alot of professionals in it and alot of tract homes. It is a desired destination for many families due to schools, larger homes, nice community, etc, but it is not what you looked at.

Definitely do not confuse 4S with say Fairbanks or even Crosby, Cielo or even Santa Luz. If you go look there you will be very disappointed if you think it compares to them. It has great schools and is a nice community for sure, but from your previous posts, I do not think it is something that you will find to your taste. Does it hurt to look? Probably not.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

Hi Raptor –

4S Ranch is kind of on the boundary between Rancho Bernardo and RSF. 4S is considered RB rather then RSF because it is composed of tract homes while RSF is generally more higher end.

The animosity you hear on Piggington against 4S is there because… well because it is… I cannot give you a why it is there, but that it is alive and well. However I would say that 4S is IMO one of the neighborhoods that could see substantial depreciation because it may have been prone to buyers stretching themselves to thin when buying a home in the past several years. I wouldn’t say 4S is high end, I would say that 4S is a nice community with alot of professionals in it and alot of tract homes. It is a desired destination for many families due to schools, larger homes, nice community, etc, but it is not what you looked at.

Definitely do not confuse 4S with say Fairbanks or even Crosby, Cielo or even Santa Luz. If you go look there you will be very disappointed if you think it compares to them. It has great schools and is a nice community for sure, but from your previous posts, I do not think it is something that you will find to your taste. Does it hurt to look? Probably not.

SD Realtor

[raptorduck]

SDR. Thanks. I apologize for posting before I did my search on what 4S Ranch is. I found their website. Indeed, it looks like a community of tract homes, not unlike my current neighborhood in San Jose. And not a one in my price range, square foot goal, or lot size goal.

The article 4SBuyer posted says it is part of RSF and info I found on the Shelter-in-place concept says it is part of the RSF Fire District. That threw me off. But it is not RSF schools or any of the RSF zip codes. Certainly looks like it is part of Rancho Bernado/San Diego proper. It is near the 15 it appears, so not nearly as appealing to me as Carmel Valley would be if I were looking for tract homes since I would work in CV. I can’t tell if 4S Ranch has the same quality of homes as CV (which are very simlar to my current neighborhood) or whether the schools are as good as CV. It appears the homes there are less expensive than CV.

Based on its web site, I don’t think 4S Ranch has what I am looking for. I am looking for a 20 yr house that I can continue to grow my family into and grow old in. It has to be on at least 1 acre, not less than 5BR, and not less than 6,000 sf, and preferably has a guest house/casita. Fairbanks Ranch is still my first choice, though I continue to look at other parts of RSF and still have at least one eye on Santaluz and Cielo.

So to prevent any futher ignoramus confusion on my part, what is Santa Fe Hills? What town is it part of? It is also in the RSF fire district and appears to be part of RSF, but perhaps not either, because it is the same zip as Santaluz, I think. Perhaps it is part of Rancho Bernado. Are there homes like the ones I am looking for there?

[raptorduck]

SDR. Thanks. I apologize for posting before I did my search on what 4S Ranch is. I found their website. Indeed, it looks like a community of tract homes, not unlike my current neighborhood in San Jose. And not a one in my price range, square foot goal, or lot size goal.

The article 4SBuyer posted says it is part of RSF and info I found on the Shelter-in-place concept says it is part of the RSF Fire District. That threw me off. But it is not RSF schools or any of the RSF zip codes. Certainly looks like it is part of Rancho Bernado/San Diego proper. It is near the 15 it appears, so not nearly as appealing to me as Carmel Valley would be if I were looking for tract homes since I would work in CV. I can’t tell if 4S Ranch has the same quality of homes as CV (which are very simlar to my current neighborhood) or whether the schools are as good as CV. It appears the homes there are less expensive than CV.

Based on its web site, I don’t think 4S Ranch has what I am looking for. I am looking for a 20 yr house that I can continue to grow my family into and grow old in. It has to be on at least 1 acre, not less than 5BR, and not less than 6,000 sf, and preferably has a guest house/casita. Fairbanks Ranch is still my first choice, though I continue to look at other parts of RSF and still have at least one eye on Santaluz and Cielo.

So to prevent any futher ignoramus confusion on my part, what is Santa Fe Hills? What town is it part of? It is also in the RSF fire district and appears to be part of RSF, but perhaps not either, because it is the same zip as Santaluz, I think. Perhaps it is part of Rancho Bernado. Are there homes like the ones I am looking for there?

[raptorduck]

SDR. Thanks. I apologize for posting before I did my search on what 4S Ranch is. I found their website. Indeed, it looks like a community of tract homes, not unlike my current neighborhood in San Jose. And not a one in my price range, square foot goal, or lot size goal.

The article 4SBuyer posted says it is part of RSF and info I found on the Shelter-in-place concept says it is part of the RSF Fire District. That threw me off. But it is not RSF schools or any of the RSF zip codes. Certainly looks like it is part of Rancho Bernado/San Diego proper. It is near the 15 it appears, so not nearly as appealing to me as Carmel Valley would be if I were looking for tract homes since I would work in CV. I can’t tell if 4S Ranch has the same quality of homes as CV (which are very simlar to my current neighborhood) or whether the schools are as good as CV. It appears the homes there are less expensive than CV.

Based on its web site, I don’t think 4S Ranch has what I am looking for. I am looking for a 20 yr house that I can continue to grow my family into and grow old in. It has to be on at least 1 acre, not less than 5BR, and not less than 6,000 sf, and preferably has a guest house/casita. Fairbanks Ranch is still my first choice, though I continue to look at other parts of RSF and still have at least one eye on Santaluz and Cielo.

So to prevent any futher ignoramus confusion on my part, what is Santa Fe Hills? What town is it part of? It is also in the RSF fire district and appears to be part of RSF, but perhaps not either, because it is the same zip as Santaluz, I think. Perhaps it is part of Rancho Bernado. Are there homes like the ones I am looking for there?

[4Sbuyer2002]

Trust me . . . not even I would make the contorted stretch and suggest that “4S Ranch is part of Rancho Santa Fe” (I wish). It is located just east of Rancho Santa Fe but the types of homes are very different and in a much different category than the housing stock of Rancho Santa Fe. Don’t get me wrong 4S Ranch is nice and there are many nice homes there. It’s just not Rancho Santa Fe. Howver, it is part of the Rancho Santa Fe fire district and as such was built according to very strict construction standards intended to make it less prone to the types of fires we witnessed this last week. Yes it is part of the Rancho Santa Fe fire district. Yes it is just east of Rancho Santa Fe. Yes the homes are nice homes in a well planned Master Planned Community. No it is not part of Rancho Santa Fe. No the homes there are not in the same category of the average home in Rancho Santa Fe.

So far the “4closure” moniker is unwarranted. There have been foreclosures of course but given the thousands of homes there the rate of foreclosure in 4S is well below average for the state or the San Diego area. Most likely because the average home owner there has more resources to stave off foreclosure. I guess its because the 4S/4closure phrase is catchy but not descriptive . . . at least not yet.

grateful owner . . . .

[4Sbuyer2002]

Trust me . . . not even I would make the contorted stretch and suggest that “4S Ranch is part of Rancho Santa Fe” (I wish). It is located just east of Rancho Santa Fe but the types of homes are very different and in a much different category than the housing stock of Rancho Santa Fe. Don’t get me wrong 4S Ranch is nice and there are many nice homes there. It’s just not Rancho Santa Fe. Howver, it is part of the Rancho Santa Fe fire district and as such was built according to very strict construction standards intended to make it less prone to the types of fires we witnessed this last week. Yes it is part of the Rancho Santa Fe fire district. Yes it is just east of Rancho Santa Fe. Yes the homes are nice homes in a well planned Master Planned Community. No it is not part of Rancho Santa Fe. No the homes there are not in the same category of the average home in Rancho Santa Fe.

So far the “4closure” moniker is unwarranted. There have been foreclosures of course but given the thousands of homes there the rate of foreclosure in 4S is well below average for the state or the San Diego area. Most likely because the average home owner there has more resources to stave off foreclosure. I guess its because the 4S/4closure phrase is catchy but not descriptive . . . at least not yet.

grateful owner . . . .

[4Sbuyer2002]

Trust me . . . not even I would make the contorted stretch and suggest that “4S Ranch is part of Rancho Santa Fe” (I wish). It is located just east of Rancho Santa Fe but the types of homes are very different and in a much different category than the housing stock of Rancho Santa Fe. Don’t get me wrong 4S Ranch is nice and there are many nice homes there. It’s just not Rancho Santa Fe. Howver, it is part of the Rancho Santa Fe fire district and as such was built according to very strict construction standards intended to make it less prone to the types of fires we witnessed this last week. Yes it is part of the Rancho Santa Fe fire district. Yes it is just east of Rancho Santa Fe. Yes the homes are nice homes in a well planned Master Planned Community. No it is not part of Rancho Santa Fe. No the homes there are not in the same category of the average home in Rancho Santa Fe.

So far the “4closure” moniker is unwarranted. There have been foreclosures of course but given the thousands of homes there the rate of foreclosure in 4S is well below average for the state or the San Diego area. Most likely because the average home owner there has more resources to stave off foreclosure. I guess its because the 4S/4closure phrase is catchy but not descriptive . . . at least not yet.

grateful owner . . . .

[SD Realtor]

sdr can probably help you more with the santa fe hills question.

There is a Santa Fe Hills in San Marcos and I am 99.9% sure that is NOT what you are looking for and there is a Santa Fe Hills subdivision in 92075, Solana Beach which is more desireable then San Marcos but still don’t think it fits your bill. I do not really know what map you are looking at with regards to the RSF district. I went into the MLS and typed in Santa Fe Hills in the subdivision field to find out the locations.

Have you thought about the Del Mar Mesa? That is on top of the Mesa to the south of Highway 56. Ask your agent to show you some properties over there. Not sure if you will find a full acre lot but it may be more to your liking.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

sdr can probably help you more with the santa fe hills question.

There is a Santa Fe Hills in San Marcos and I am 99.9% sure that is NOT what you are looking for and there is a Santa Fe Hills subdivision in 92075, Solana Beach which is more desireable then San Marcos but still don’t think it fits your bill. I do not really know what map you are looking at with regards to the RSF district. I went into the MLS and typed in Santa Fe Hills in the subdivision field to find out the locations.

Have you thought about the Del Mar Mesa? That is on top of the Mesa to the south of Highway 56. Ask your agent to show you some properties over there. Not sure if you will find a full acre lot but it may be more to your liking.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

sdr can probably help you more with the santa fe hills question.

There is a Santa Fe Hills in San Marcos and I am 99.9% sure that is NOT what you are looking for and there is a Santa Fe Hills subdivision in 92075, Solana Beach which is more desireable then San Marcos but still don’t think it fits your bill. I do not really know what map you are looking at with regards to the RSF district. I went into the MLS and typed in Santa Fe Hills in the subdivision field to find out the locations.

Have you thought about the Del Mar Mesa? That is on top of the Mesa to the south of Highway 56. Ask your agent to show you some properties over there. Not sure if you will find a full acre lot but it may be more to your liking.

SD Realtor

[raptorduck]

Best I can tell, Santa Fe Hills are also between RSF and Santaluz or, more accurately, between the The Crosby and Santaluz. I think that is still Rancho Bernardo, but the lots seem very large from what I was able to find yesterday.

I have looked at a few homes in Del Mar Mesa and Del Mar Meadows. Too dense for my taste and the homes more McMansionish than I want, though a few were large enough. Overpriced too. I saw one that has been on the market for 250 days or so that is listing for probably $500k more than it should compared to comps in RSF. And every house on the street looked virtually identical. That is what I have now and I am trying to get away from what I have now.

I am not against McMansions per se, Cielo is McMansions and even Santaluz, but I want at least the illusion of variety. Those areas you mention left nothing to the imagination, your neighbor had a virtually identical house. In Cielo for example, you may find the same model in many places, but not usually on your street. You may not even see it on the way to your street. But there are clearly many of the same models scattered throughout the area, others not so much. Some even look semi custom.

I view $1 million+ homes as tract, McMansion, high end McMansion, semi custom, and custom. I am on the left of that hierarchy now in, as my father would say “an overpriced cookie cutter home.” He was a building contractor. I prefer the far right custom homes (Fairbanks Ranch, the Covenant, RSF Farms, Rancho Valencia, Del Mar Country Club), but am not above a high end McMansion that is one of 20 models in a subdivision/area (Cielo, Santaluz), rather than 3-4 (my current neighborhood).

Essentially I am looking for the opposite of what I have now, which is why I am not looking in Carmel Valley. I have a 2,600sf 4BR, Mediteranian tract home that I paid way to much for 8 yrs ago in a semi-gated community, on a wopping 4k sf lot that is one of 4 floor plans and 4 exterior models to choose from in the neighborhood and where you can pick from 6 exterior colors and trims. In other words, too dense, and you may have trouble identifying your own house without an address cuz it don’t stand out. It is “expensive” (a relative term) only becasue it is in a “nice” part of San Jose (don’t confuse with what you in SD consider nice, even in the city of SD, you have to lower your standards in the Bay Area) near key highways and employers, and at 17 yrs old, is very new for the Bay Area where there is not much new construction in popular areas and 30-60 yr old ranch homes are a dime a dozen.

To me, the nicest parts of the Bay Area are Los Altos Hills, Woodside, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, and Los Altos. They are also the most expensive, along with uberpricy Atherton. But none of those towns are as nice as RSF, Del Mar, or La Jolla IMHO. They are nicer than Santaluz, but Santaluz still wins b/c it is in SD and you get twice the house per $$ in Santaluz than those Bay Area towns (though Santaluz is still overpriced for SD).

To boot, you get a much bigger house in SD. In those nice parts of the Bay Area above, a 6,000 sf house on 1+ acre will set you back $7 million or more, although you can find either very old or low quality newer ones for $5 million or so. In RSF you can find that for $3 million or so, less than 1/2 as much.

There is a 5,800 SF 5BR custom Mediteranian 1/4 mile from my current house for sale (not in my tract neighborhood, just beyond it) on 4/10ths of an acre selling for $3.5 million. Overpriced, yes, but it would cost double that in one of the above towns (as would my own 1/2 the size on 1/4 the lot cookie cutter abode). Homes that large are very rare up here and common down there. Believe it or not, in this general neighborhood of San Jose, the average home is 1,800-2,000 sf. My house is considered big, over 3,000 sf is considered huge. The one above is by far the largest I have seen in this immediate area.

Apologies to 4SBuyer for hijacking his/her thread. And no disrespect intended for residents of Del Mar Medows, Mesa, or CV. After all, I live in a tract home. I actually like my current house and neighborhood quite a bit and used to live in CV and loved it. I just want something different now, for many reasons.

[raptorduck]

Best I can tell, Santa Fe Hills are also between RSF and Santaluz or, more accurately, between the The Crosby and Santaluz. I think that is still Rancho Bernardo, but the lots seem very large from what I was able to find yesterday.

I have looked at a few homes in Del Mar Mesa and Del Mar Meadows. Too dense for my taste and the homes more McMansionish than I want, though a few were large enough. Overpriced too. I saw one that has been on the market for 250 days or so that is listing for probably $500k more than it should compared to comps in RSF. And every house on the street looked virtually identical. That is what I have now and I am trying to get away from what I have now.

I am not against McMansions per se, Cielo is McMansions and even Santaluz, but I want at least the illusion of variety. Those areas you mention left nothing to the imagination, your neighbor had a virtually identical house. In Cielo for example, you may find the same model in many places, but not usually on your street. You may not even see it on the way to your street. But there are clearly many of the same models scattered throughout the area, others not so much. Some even look semi custom.

I view $1 million+ homes as tract, McMansion, high end McMansion, semi custom, and custom. I am on the left of that hierarchy now in, as my father would say “an overpriced cookie cutter home.” He was a building contractor. I prefer the far right custom homes (Fairbanks Ranch, the Covenant, RSF Farms, Rancho Valencia, Del Mar Country Club), but am not above a high end McMansion that is one of 20 models in a subdivision/area (Cielo, Santaluz), rather than 3-4 (my current neighborhood).

Essentially I am looking for the opposite of what I have now, which is why I am not looking in Carmel Valley. I have a 2,600sf 4BR, Mediteranian tract home that I paid way to much for 8 yrs ago in a semi-gated community, on a wopping 4k sf lot that is one of 4 floor plans and 4 exterior models to choose from in the neighborhood and where you can pick from 6 exterior colors and trims. In other words, too dense, and you may have trouble identifying your own house without an address cuz it don’t stand out. It is “expensive” (a relative term) only becasue it is in a “nice” part of San Jose (don’t confuse with what you in SD consider nice, even in the city of SD, you have to lower your standards in the Bay Area) near key highways and employers, and at 17 yrs old, is very new for the Bay Area where there is not much new construction in popular areas and 30-60 yr old ranch homes are a dime a dozen.

To me, the nicest parts of the Bay Area are Los Altos Hills, Woodside, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, and Los Altos. They are also the most expensive, along with uberpricy Atherton. But none of those towns are as nice as RSF, Del Mar, or La Jolla IMHO. They are nicer than Santaluz, but Santaluz still wins b/c it is in SD and you get twice the house per $$ in Santaluz than those Bay Area towns (though Santaluz is still overpriced for SD).

To boot, you get a much bigger house in SD. In those nice parts of the Bay Area above, a 6,000 sf house on 1+ acre will set you back $7 million or more, although you can find either very old or low quality newer ones for $5 million or so. In RSF you can find that for $3 million or so, less than 1/2 as much.

There is a 5,800 SF 5BR custom Mediteranian 1/4 mile from my current house for sale (not in my tract neighborhood, just beyond it) on 4/10ths of an acre selling for $3.5 million. Overpriced, yes, but it would cost double that in one of the above towns (as would my own 1/2 the size on 1/4 the lot cookie cutter abode). Homes that large are very rare up here and common down there. Believe it or not, in this general neighborhood of San Jose, the average home is 1,800-2,000 sf. My house is considered big, over 3,000 sf is considered huge. The one above is by far the largest I have seen in this immediate area.

Apologies to 4SBuyer for hijacking his/her thread. And no disrespect intended for residents of Del Mar Medows, Mesa, or CV. After all, I live in a tract home. I actually like my current house and neighborhood quite a bit and used to live in CV and loved it. I just want something different now, for many reasons.

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