Bargains in Lake Elsinore

[cashman]

Was snooping around Lake Elsinore last weekend and dropped in on these models called Rosetta Hills by Lennar, and was absolutely shocked at how low the prices were. They had six models priced from $375K to $418K. The small plan was 2904 ft. for $375K which calculates out to $129 per ft. The large plan was 3873 ft. for $418K which calculates out to $108 per ft. This is before negotiating, which I got the impression from the sales person, is not out of the question. Just before looking at these, I looked at some homes in Corona, just 10 minutes up the freeway that were almost twice as expensive! I couldn’t believe it! These prices are cheaper than French Valley, which I thought was the lowest because of their remote location and desolate landscape. In contrast, these Lennar homes in Lake Elsinore are less than five minutes to the I-15, are on a hill with views of the mountains and Elsinore area, which I know is nothing to rave about, but sure beats what French Valley has to look at. Plus, there’s all new shopping centers minutes away with Lowes, Home Depot, Staples, Costco—you name it. Being a renter the last couple of years paying $2700 per month for a piece of junk, this is sure tempting!

[mydogsarelazy]

Hi Cashman,

Since I live ten minutes from Elsinore — in Murrieta — I want to get you to consider looking a bit further south.

If you have kids, you want to be in Murrieta or Temecula for the better schools. Also, the Costco/Lowes/Home Depot complex is helpful, but you would end up at Temecula Mall for the restaurants sooner or later. Temecula is the world capital of chain restaurants.

I would think that you could get some really good deals in these areas as prices fall. How about checking out the repos at Harveston, or seeing what kind of bargains Lennar is offering over there?

My personal “avoid” list includes Elsinore (sorry about that) Menifee (weak schools, one sheriff for the whole area)
and French Valley (good if you are in prison or have a private plane though).Wildomar has some pretty areas, but it won’t be a city for awhile.

Why do I say to avoid Elsinore? I am a teacher, last semester one of my students came to an evening class two hours late and told me “Sorry I am late, but I live in Elsinore and a SWAT Team had closed the street to deal with a guy holed up in the 7-Eleven.”

Happy home shopping.

JS

[The-Shoveler]

Cashman,

Were there any upgrades (ie.. deck off the master, granite counter, tile floors etc…)

Just curious .

And where are you paying 2700 per month rent (what area)???

[hipmatt]

A.. Why are you paying 2700 per month in rent? .. doesn’t seem to smart.. there are many rentals in Lake Elsinore for under 1500 per month.

B.. Those prices still seem high to me for Elsinore. I am not interested in living in Elsinore at any price, but I would say that to be priced right they should be going for 200-300k at the max.

C.. French Valley is 8 minutes from Temecula. Lake Elsinore is 20. There are many more reasons why French Valley is priced higher than Elsinore, but I don’t want to beat a dead horse.

[want a good deal]

The last few days of heat should help cool off the housing market there further.

[cashman]

To answer some of your questions, I am not concerned about schools as my kids are all grown up. I am currently renting in Diamond Bar, $2700 a month for 3000 ft. The area is nice, but the house is junk. I am semi-retired, work out of my home, so I can move anywhere, within reasonable distance to LA and OC. The prices of these new homes in Elsinore are the lowest anywhere I’ve seen in So. Cal. for the footage. Lennar includes standard many upgrades, such as granite kitchens, stainless appliances including refer, complete yard fencing, etc. Seems like at close to $100 a ft, I don’t know how the builders can go much lower. I have looked in Murrieta, but prices are higher and it’s further down the freeway. I would prefer to be closer to LA than further (for my work). Again, $100 a ft. for nice and new is awfully tempting.

[patientlywaiting]

How about Oceanside? I think it should nicer in Oceanside than in Elsinore.

[HLS]

Cashman, you MUST look beyond the price per sq foot.
It might be the cheapest that you can find, no argument.
There is a REASON why it’s cheap there.

In the 1980’s Moreno Valley/Sunnymead turned cow pastures into “cheap” housing. In addition to the bargain hunters, It attracted a whole bunch of trailer trash and LA gang families BECAUSE it was cheap and turned the area into a depressing place. AND it gets HOT there.

You have no control over how trashy your neighbors will be.

I’d rather pay $200 a ft and buy half the house in a good area, than be hypnotized by $100 a ft pricing.
I’d rather live in a senior mobile home park with a generation that understands respect than “a tempting bargain” in Lake Elsinore.

There are plenty of decent areas to look at. LE wouldn’t be one in my book.

[golfproz]

I your are nearer retirement age and the kids are gone then why are looking at such big homes? Those big homes have big maintenance bills, HUGE electric bills and you gotta clean them suckers!. One other thing about Elsinore is the SMELL from the lake can get pretty freakin bad. Especially when it’s hot and the fish start dying. Only an issue it your near the lake though. I also liked the Lennar homes. They do include some very nice standard stuff. I’ve read some BAD stuff about Lennar though and that makes me sorta hesitant about them. I’de definately hire a good inspector if I was tempted to buy a Lennar home.

[gn]

I don't know how the builders can go much lower.

Cashman, when prices were going up, they went above the levels deemed possible by most people. Likewise, on the way down, they'll go down below levels most people can imagine.

It attracted a whole bunch of trailer trash and LA gang families BECAUSE it was cheap

HLS, currently, is Moreno Valley considered a very bad neighborhood with bad schools ?

 

[golfproz]

My mother in law lives there. Like every big city (it’s over 200,000 people) it has nice areas and bad areas. Most of the city is pretty decent but you would not want to go down to the edgemont area at night unless you are looking to buy crack. The sunnymead Ranch area and the Moreno Valley Ranch areas are both very nice areas. The school system there is also varied. There are 3 newer highs schools which are average and 2 older ones that are below average. None of the schools are going to win any awards out there. The town has a few rough areas, but what big town doesn’t. It’s no where near as bad as most of the people that have never been there would have you believe.

[mydogsarelazy]

Just needed to reply to that comment about big homes being inefficient.

We have 2700 sq feet — A KB Home finished 3 years ago — with double paned vinyl windows and extra insulation panels in the roof.

Our electric bill last month, with air-conditioning set at 77 was $315.00.

This house is more efficient, and has a lower power bill than my previous home in Hemet which was around 1700 square feet.

JS

[HLS]

For an area that is 20-25 years old, it’s disappointing IMO.

My point is that there are other communities that were “created” +/- 20 years ago that are much nicer than Moreno Valley became.

By offering the cheapest housing, you attract ALL kinds, good and bad, and create a fringe area pretty quickly.

Phillips Ranch and Chino Hills were also created previously, and I think to this day that they are nicer family/quality of life areas than Sunnymead. They never offered “cheap”
I remember Orange County before Mission Viejo and Irvine built up. They are far older than Moreno Valley and I still don’t think that they have “nice areas and bad areas”

It’s a poor excuse to say “like every big city” and just except that there is no alternative lifestyle.

Just realize that if you want a larger house at the cheapest sq ft price around, rest assured that you aren’t the only one noticing that.

Into retirement years, I would be looking at a 55+ community with like minded people who want to enjoy their lives, and not take a chance on who the partying loud neighbors might be in a large “cheap” house.

Lake Elsinore was a fringe area 40 years ago, and it’s hard for me to think of it differently, even if they did add a Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Home Depot and and Outlet Center (that you wouldn’t know existed if you didn’t drive by it)

[golfproz]

It’s not a poor excuse to say most cities have good and bad areas. Phillips Ranch is nice but it’s part of Pomona. Most of Pomona is way worse than MoVal. I worked in Pomona for a lot of years and most of it’s a gang infested hell hole. Chino Hills also has nice areas but again there are areas in Chino Hills that are ghetto (such as to the North of Los Serranos golf course) or near the 71/60 split. I don’t want to seem like a MoVal advocate but it’s just not that bad and 50+% of the city was built in the last 6 or 7 years and it’s pretty nice.

[Tuba]

Sometimes even 55+ communities you get what you pay for. My parents bought into The Colony in Murrieta around 2000, they paid in cash and thought the same idea of like minded people. But, they had trailer trash retiree’s (they need to retire someday too) living next door. The neighbors across the street ran a business out of their garage and kept it open during the day with lawn chairs in the driveway hanging out all day. The couple next door had a big huge dog as a pet and he barked all the time. Oh, and don’t dare ask nicely to stop a retired neighbor’s dog from barking, you know how older people are, and the older trailer trash ;). Yeah they got yelled at, and then bad looks everyday from then on out. My parents tried everything to complain to the association. In the end they sold it in 2002 with a profit and bought a brand new golf course view home in Murrieta in a all ages neighborhood. They are very happy now. I think it’s how much your tolerance level is and your situation. If you can put the blinders/ear muffs on then you should be alright. I am in lala land now in Oceanside, but my son just turned 1 year, I don’t want to put blinders on him during his school age years (I am saving now for the good school district areas). Good luck.

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