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[an]

[quote=UCGal]Not all the lots there along soderblom are a full 10k sf lots… several are in the 8k sf range. (Still big). And a lot of the houses are more like 2k sf.

You might consider an east UC neighborhood as well. Look at the homes on Dirac, Pavlov, Bromfield… especially the ones that back to the canyon. Large lots, many with views.

And there are other small pockets – newer homes (compared to your mentioned neighborhood and the one I mentioned which are early 60’s era) –
Lahitte Ct, Hurd/Millikan/Willard.
The homes along the canyon – Wellesley, Mercer Lane, Condon…

Clairemont also has pockets. Some of the homes on Avati and it’s side streets are on larger lots with peek-a-boo views of the bay.

You need to look at individual houses/lots. UC in general has a 5k nominal lot size. So often you’ll get 5k sf lots on one side of the street (non canyon side) and 17k lots on the other side. Same is true in Clairemont.

In general – the older the neighborhood the wider the lots… My hood has an issue keeping postal carriers – every time we get a new postal carrier they apply for a new route because they realize the homes are spread apart and are old-school with the mailboxes at the front door. Too much walking.[/quote]
You’re right, not all Soderblom are full 10k+ lots, but the one development that I’m referring to (the last 3-5 blocks on the west end of Soderblom are. Along with a few streets north-west of that area.

With regards to other area of UC, those seems to be 60-70 ft wide lots. Although it does have tree-easement, those lots tend to only have 6k-7k of usable lot. I’d like to have 1/4 acre usable lot, like the Soderblom development.

My initial impression of UC and Clairemont is, they’re similar to MM, but with slightly larger lots (6k-7k average vs 5k average). Until I saw the Soderblom development. Those houses seems to average around 12k lot. Which is why I’m trying to see if there are more sub-area around SD that are similar to this development. I guess I should be more clear in that I’m looking for sub-area (developments) that have average lot of 1/4 acre and not just individual houses. If it’s individual houses, there are a few in 92126 & 92121 that I’m currently looking at that have ~20k sq-ft lot (most of that 20k lot is also usable) w/ an amazing view of the Lopez Canyon and hot air balloon and sunsets. They go for around $600-800k. I would rather that those if it comes down to individual houses.

[Rhett]

Sounds to me like somebody has developed housing envy when doing school drop offs and pick ups.

[Scarlett]

I fell in love with that area (Soderblom) too. Yes, the trees have their charm. Not sure if many of the houses there are that big though.

[an]

[quote=Rhett]Sounds to me like somebody has developed housing envy when doing school drop offs and pick ups.[/quote]
Nah, not housing envy at all. Envy would be those houses along the shores :-). This is more like, oh, I didn’t know development like these exists and I wonder if there are more like it around SD because this is the kind of feel that I desire. Since I hate commuting with a passion, anywhere other than MM right now is no good for me.

I was actually going to submit an offer on this one last year: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5513-Stresemann-St-San-Diego-CA-92122/17191066_zpid/, but I changed my mind because of the commute. Among other factors.

Right now, reachable envy would be: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5664-Greenshade-Rd-San-Diego-CA-92121/16791472_zpid/ or
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10766-Juniper-Park-Ln-San-Diego-CA-92121/16791780_zpid/

These house would meet all of my criteria except for the tree-easement.

[an]

[quote=Scarlett]I fell in love with that area (Soderblom) too. Yes, the trees have their charm. Not sure if many of the houses there are that big though.[/quote]
The original houses I think around around 1900-2700 sq-ft. But there are a few that have been complete remodel and they’re now 4000 sq-ft. The lots are big enough where you can put 4000 sq-ft house there and still have a decent size yard.

[spdrun]

These owners have owned their house for many many years, so they wouldn’t need to sell. If market is up, they might sell, but if it crash, they’ll stay put.

Two words for you: estate. sale.

[an]

[quote=spdrun]

These owners have owned their house for many many years, so they wouldn’t need to sell. If market is up, they might sell, but if it crash, they’ll stay put.

Two words for you: estate. sale. 🙂 They’ll stay put till they croak.[/quote]
Yes, but that has nothing to do with the crash or bubble. They can and do croak any time.

[spdrun]

Point being that there will be some inventory in any neighborhood, simply because codgers do “move on” eventually. The cheaper that inventory is, the better for you.

[flyer]

I agree, finding just the right place may take some time, so it’s good you’re in no rush.

For example, I know that just about everyone in our large family plans to keep their homes in the family and pass them along to their kids, and we plan to do the same. Since we’ve enjoyed many wonderful years in our homes, we want our kids to have the same priviledge.

Relatively speaking, when you consider how little we all paid for our homes on large lots with great views, compared to what they are worth today, it just makes sense, and most of our friends are doing the same.

Since none of us know when we’re going to “croak,” I think many people in San Diego and other expensive cities may also be on board with this plan, and that may be one reason prime real estate is somewhat difficult, but not impossible, to find. It’s a kind of being at the right place at the right time sort of thing.

[an]

flyer, I totally agree. Which is why I’m starting my initial search and with no real time table. If I find it, great, but if I don’t, that’s fine too. But the type of place I’m looking for are hard to find in San Diego, I have to be ready and “be at the right place at the right time”.

I myself have no plan on selling my place as well. If or when I do move, my current place will be converted to a rental acting as a source of retirement income as well as being passed on to my kids when the time comes. If the next 50 years is like the last 50 years, even at today’s price, it would look dirt cheap many years down the road. It’s just the nature of inflation and depreciation of our currency.

[flyer]

Good plan, AN.

We just happened to find our “dream home” in our early 30’s, and were in a position to act. We’ve now been in RSF for over 20 years, and have done a complete remodel and expansion–in essence, almost a complete “tear-down”–over that time period. Same story for many of our family and friends.

Just a mere 20+ years ago in San Diego, as some of the other “elders” on the board can verify, it was really pretty easy to find and buy your “dream home” here.

Going back a little further, other examples are family members who bought ocean view properties in Sunset Cliffs and Point Loma in the 70’s and ’80s for between $70K-$100K or less, that are now worth $3M+++, and all were passed on to their kids.

I could tell you story after story along those same lines, because that type of pricing was the “norm,” for upscale housing until San Diego became an employment hub, and then all bets were off. Much like Palo Alto, and other areas that grew exponetially due to business growth, San Diego has followed suit.

I’m not sure we’ll see the same astronomical property value growth those of us who are older saw in past decades in the near future, (I’m sure kids who want to live here hope that’s true) and, although I know you want to take your time, I’d still say, if you do find your “dream home,” sooner rather than later might prove wiser.

[CA renter]

[quote=SK in CV]Might try Del Cerro too. Much of the area has tree lawns. (though most of the trees were yanked because of the damage they did to the sidewalk.) Most of the homes are ranch style. 2500 square feet might be a little over the average, but there are plenty that are that big and bigger. 1/4 acre lots are rare, but a lot are >8,000 square feet. Good views are pretty common. And the price range is within your limits, maybe even cheaper.

Might be hard to find everything you want, but you can get most of it there.[/quote]

Exactly. I was also thinking of Del Cerro. If not for the commute, we would have seriously considered buying there (our tastes are very much in line with what AN described).

Have you considered older La Costa, AN? There are some incredible view properties on large lots, and you might be able to get one in your price range. There aren’t many true “tree-lined” streets, but there are more trees here than in most parts of SD County. You just know that you want to live in “Nirvana”! 🙂

[flyer]

A few other thoughts for you, AN, with regard to choosing your “dream home.”

Like you, our first consideration was space, space, and more space, but we still wanted to be close to family, the coast, and easily acessible to freeways, airports, shopping, restaurants, medical care, golf, tennis, etc.

My wife wanted a home in which she could raise the kids and entertain, as well as room to paint, write, and a space for her beloved grand piano. On top of that, our kids wanted horses, so, our “Nirvana” was clearly RSF–hands down. Bear in mind, housing prices at that time were still very “reasonable,” so it was “doable.”

My point is, whenever you make this decision, think about how you want to live your daily life in your “dream home,” and factor all of those elements into the equation. Like us, it may, in many ways, help you clarify your options.

[bearishgurl]

Yes, flyer is correct. A “fixer” could have been had inside the RSF covenant for well under $300K as late as 1994. However, the cost to “fix it up” under covenant guidelines would have been quite a bit greater than properties outside the covenant, as he can attest to, as there are two layers of bureaucracy to go thru (county and covenant) with the covenant having the final say.

AN, if this is to be your retirement home and you are insistent on the 100′ frontage, I would urge you to consider the many uninc areas of SD Co. You may not get sidewalks but you can’t have everything. As a perk, many uninc areas in the county have a lower tax base than inc areas do, depending on where they are, due to the dearth of services provided (sidewalks, frequent street lights, subsidized trash pickup, etc). A good portion of these uninc residential streets are so lonely that the residents just walk their dogs in the middle of the street and move over when a car is coming.

When you retire, you won’t really CARE about commute time. If you buy the property in the next few years (while you are still working), you can fix it up minimally to lease out and do a major remodel just before or after you finally move into it.

Your problem is that the type of property you want doesn’t usually pencil out very well as a rental, due to their initial cost and carrying costs, incl property taxes.

I don’t think you will be able to find a “coastal” view property in 92106 or 92107 (as flyer mentioned) for =<$800K without either dropping your sf req drastically, buying a two-story, buying on a smaller lot, and/or buying a very heavy fixer. And believe me when I say that the "heavy fixers" of ANY size in these areas are snapped up by VERY local all-cash buyers (neighbors), often as "FSBOs" and "pocket listings." I've been watching (in person) certain pockets of 92106 on and off for over 18 years. And my reqs aren't anywhere near as "stringent" as yours. The best deal, view-wise, I've ever seen a local cash buyer snap up for the <=$300K range was on the corner of Hugo and Clove (Fleetridge) about a decade ago. It was a thrashed two story that termites had taken over situated on a std lot with a fantastic sit-down view of the dtn skyline.

That dude had his porta-potti out and scaffolding and chain link around it within hours of closing and got right to work scraping :=0

And I can’t even tell you how many SD (and SJ!) “boomers” I’ve known who have a seaworthy vessel slipped at Shelter Island. If they could get their hands on a WWII box of ANY size in ANY condition in 92106 for a song, they would downsize from their (Bonita, Esco, EC, Jamul, etc) spread after a gut/remodel and move there in a flash. They don’t mind living in <=1400 sf and neither would I, for that matter :=] That is your "competition" for 92106/92107.

[Anonymous]

How about this?

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3470-Hillcrest-Cir-Carlsbad-CA-92008/16618434_zpid/

[Author]

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