55+ Communities

[brg654]

Looking for some active adult communities in San Diego or Orange County for my parents. They are on the east coast and looking to live closer to me when they retire. I’ve heard of Laguna Woods Village but not much else. Google search is not very impressive compared to what you find on the east coast…is this type of housing popular or zoned here?

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!

[svelte]

Yes it is.

(a) How much do they want to spend?
(b) What characteristics in a 55+ home and location are important to them?

[spdrun]

Why not just a normal condo or house? Is spending one’s old age surrounded by lizards(*) really good fun?

(*) – in EMT parlance, not in bearishgurl’s parlance.

[CA renter]

[quote=spdrun]Why not just a normal condo or house? Is spending one’s old age surrounded by lizards(*) really good fun?

(*) – in EMT parlance, not in bearishgurl’s parlance.[/quote]

Have to interject here…we have kids and are extremely fortunate to have a few other families with kids on our street. While we love it, and some of the elderly folks seem to like it, there are other “elders” who absolutely HATE having kids playing outside, riding bikes, etc. We even had one neighbor who called the cops *multiple times just because our kids were riding past their house, and this was all in the afternoon — not late at night or in the early morning.

If some older people like things to be extremely quiet and dead all day and night, I thing it’s best for them to live in 55+ communities. That way, everyone can be happy. Just my 2 cents.

[brg654]

a) Price range – Current house will sell for about $200k (yes, the east coast is cheap). I can chip in another $200k and go up to about $400 total.
b) They’d like to have access to dining, movies, art and theatre. To give you an idea, they are considering the Villages in florida but worried that it’s in the middle of nowhere.

Personally, I think a downtown condo would suit them best, but that’s out of their price range and too close to me.

[Hatfield]

[quote=brg654]I’ve heard of Laguna Woods Village but not much else.[/quote]

Places in Laguna Woods are surprisingly inexpensive. My Dad bought a 2BR/2BA unit a few years back for around $90k. It’s a fairly basic condo, but the places get nice pretty quickly as you go up the price scale. The one I wanted him to get was around $170k, and it had a huge back balcony (~ 10′ x 20′) overlooking the open space preserve to the northwest. But my dad’s too frugal for that.

HOA fees are on the high side, but you get an awful lot of amenities – horseback stables, a dozen clubhouses, a library, woodshop, darkroom, golf course, several swimming pools, etc.

I think the reason you can buy units so inexpensively is that the CC&Rs are quite strict. 55+ and you’re not allowed to rent out a unit for more than 6 months out of they year, so LW is 90% owner-occupied.

Having said that, it is possible to do a short term (3-6 month) rental in Laguna Woods. That’s what my parents did before they moved there, and I suggest that your folks might want to do that also. Laguna Woods isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, so I think renting a furnished unit for six months might be a good way to see whether they like it.

[spdrun]

We even had one neighbor who called the cops *multiple times just because our kids were riding past their house, and this was all in the afternoon — not late at night or in the early morning.

Probably not a function of age as much as general level of crabbiness — might have been the same at age 30. I used to have a 30-something closet case as a neighbor who felt it was his right to lord over the world around him.

[svelte]

[quote=brg654]a) Price range – Current house will sell for about $200k (yes, the east coast is cheap). I can chip in another $200k and go up to about $400 total.
b) They’d like to have access to dining, movies, art and theatre. To give you an idea, they are considering the Villages in florida but worried that it’s in the middle of nowhere.

Personally, I think a downtown condo would suit them best, but that’s out of their price range and too close to me.[/quote]

Close to art/theater but not downtown are largely conflicting goals.

If you found a place close to the trolley or coaster you could make it work though.

Lots of 55+ communities in SD county…you just need to figure out how far you want to drive to see them. 🙂

Oceana (Oceanside), Vista Del Mar (Oceanside/Carlsbad), Lake San Marcos (San Marcos) and Seven Oaks (Rancho Bernardo) come to mind.

[scaredyclassic]

Only 3 more yes and I can retreat to laguna woods.

Sounds bad

[FlyerInHi]

You can get a condo for free, yes free (or virtually free) in Laguna woods. Comes with HOA of $2000++ including meal service.

When my cousin moved from Florida she was renting in Laguna Niguel. I told her to buy in Laguna Woods. 2/2 for $75. But those prices are over.

I like Laguna woods because it’s in the middle of a regular suburban community. Not isolated, out of the way. Close to airport, well maintained, pretty upstanding residents. Not the mobile home type of people.

[xiomarasword]

I live in the Groves, in Irvine, 55+. Its a really great location. You can walk to a few grocery stores, and can bike to 7 movie theatres, and you are very close to good medical facilities, and public transport. The airport and amtrack are nearby. plus you’re in Irvine. We are a guard gated community so it’s very safe, and if you check it out online you’ll have an idea about it’s location and amenities. Yes, it is a mobile home park, but it’s resident owned and the dues(185) are very low, even though you have many of the same amenities as Laguna Woods.I think Laguna woods has upwards to 18,00 residents ( not sure) while the Groves has only about 500. You could easily pay cash here,( 200-450) and either renovate or put a new home in. Many have garages here. Check it out on line and if you have any questions , just pm me. There are also resident owned mobile home parks in San Clemente with ocean and golf course views for about the same price. There are issues here with the type of people that every else has discussed, but I think you’d find that kind of thing anywhere. There are lots of options

[brg654]

thanks for the responses, everyone. have a safe and happy new year!

[Author]

Posts