Best Family Areas for Low-$1Millions Budget

[yuhtey]

Greetings.

I’m having trouble deciding which neighborhood suits my needs best. Any and all comments welcome. I’ve been out on home tours and have the following observations so far:

Carmel Valley is sort of bullshit. Either I’m walking back through the 1990’s in a trac home filled with czarist-Russia trinket furniture, honey-stained wood, white appliances, and pools that will have to be removed. Ok, maybe some of these seemingly 80-year-old owners have gone ahead and put in some tasteless flooring to gussy up the place, but the westerly properties for the most part are in need of a complete freshening. Ok, so new construction… right, Pardee. Even their models are falling apart already. They are literally going as cheap as they possibly can because their land is indeed very valuable. Overall, it seems CV is out of my budget to find something I’ll like. Are the schools really worth it? This place feels CROWDED.

Encinitas has slim pickings. And the 5 north traffic is really bad. Is anyone OK with driving home everyday at 5pm from the south to get back to Encinitas? What are the neighborhood positives? Maybe the stop/go is worth it overall.

Santaluz, even with all of its fees and taxes still looks really nice. Anyone live inside those gates? Is it too “elitist” for pragmatic people? Any other input on this one? I’m wondering if this neighborhood is sensitive to price swings. Doesn’t seem as stable as it looks. Just a hunch there.

Del Sur looks ready to support the little ones. But the Mello-Roos for Poway Unified is eye-watering. And the place feels removed. Driving up there gives me the sense that I’m way out from the rest of the city. New construction is pretty much done and the remaining stuff is priced higher. Standard Pacific strikes me as an organization that uses particle board cabinets with metal drawers and tries to charge $1.5M for a house. Oh wait, that is what they actually are doing.

Alright enough smarmy commentary – would appreciate your thoughts. thanks.

[Hobie]

You might check Skyranch in Santee. good reviews. And maybe even look at Newport Coast. Lots of good stuff up there.

[yuhtey]

Thanks for the input.

Clantee not really in the cards.
Newp is too far a drive from SD, and I’m pretty sure the needed budget would have to be the low-2Millions.

[Anonymous]

You would love Temecula

[XBoxBoy]

It’s hard to say much without knowing much about your situation. Where will you be working from? Personally, I would really consider the impact of my commute if I were you.

Looks like you are only considering North County? What about Mission Hills, or Kensington, or North Park? Are you willing to go into an older neighborhood?

How important are schools? How many kids and what ages? How important is a yard? Would you trade being able to walk to stores for a smaller house?

[ocrenter]

[quote=Hobie]You might check Skyranch in Santee. good reviews. And maybe even look at Newport Coast. Lots of good stuff up there.[/quote]

another great thing about Skyranch is it is only 10 minutes away from La Jolla.

[bearishgurl]

I’ll bite.

yuhtey, if you want “quality construction” of 2000 sf or more on a well-located bigger than city-standard lot in SD County (over 5K sf city, over 6K sf county) in your price range, you should be prepared to do some work on it after COE. Or be prepared to live in the home while working on one room at a time.

I think your posts are spot on except for a few caveats. Santee hasn’t been “Clantee” in over 20 years. There are likely few to zero 80+ yo longtime owners in CV as this area’s development originally broke ground in the mid-eighties. 60+ yo longtime owners …. yes … but a proliferation of 80+ yo longtime owners … uhh, no. Sorry you didn’t like the decor of the furniture of the listings you viewed in CV but those furnishings weren’t actually for sale :=0

I get the impression from your posts that you may have grown up in SD County, left at one point (for college and/or work) and are now considering returning here or already renting here (for work?) with kids in tow. If this is the case, where does the bulk of your family live? You will undoubtedly need their help with your kids and living more than 45 minutes away from them will make your lives hardscrabble when it doesn’t have to be … especially if both parents in your household work.

I agree with XBoxBoy. I think you would be most happy with a custom built home which is adorned with “real” hardwoods and travertine and the like. Age is entirely inconsequential! If you have 2 kids or less and your limit is 2 kids, then you don’t need more than 2000 feet to raise them in and could get by with 1650 sf if the lot is ample, imho. Within the City, these homes tend to be more expensive, hence you will need to lower your size expectations. Within the County (and most of its cities), I believe you could find a suitable custom home to buy, even on a 1/2 AC (or slightly larger) lot in your price range. It may very well need work but you don’t have to do all the work at once. The land will be all yours and you won’t have to constantly listen to your neighbor’s toilet flush or put up with their overflowing trash/recycle bins blowing into your yard on trash day. OR pay Mello Roos.

Out in the county, I would suggest you check out 92028, 92019 and 91902.

And for G@d’s sake, stay OUT of the PUSD! That District’s debt bomb will likely implode before all your kids get out of the public school system there. If you think the taxes + MR within the PUSD are high now, just wait! There are provisions within CA law enabling county assessors to raise taxes (in this case, add accelerated bond payments) to the ad valoream portion of each affected parcel’s tax bill (irrespective if it is located within a CFD … or not). See:

http://piggington.com/powaythe_real_debt_bomb

http://piggington.com/poway_school_bonds

Future property tax hikes will undoubtedly affect resale value of homes within the PUSD, ESPECIALLY within those CFD’s which already have exorbitant MR (ex: Del Sur).

Expect a mass dumping of properties within the PUSD beginning three years BEFORE their (sub-prime) school bond comes due.

[flyer]

Welcome to the realities of buying a home in San Diego in 2015.

As a native who purchased property here a long time ago, and who has also lived elsewhere, I agree with many of your comments concerning the choices you have available to you at this point in time.

A million doesn’t go as far as it used to around here, so, you will most likely have to decide what you can live with and what you can’t, based upon your financial situation, schools, access to work, etc. There’s a lot of give and take in CA housing today, so be prepared to be flexible.

[poorgradstudent]

If you work in Sorrento Valley (QCOM, biotech), Encinitas isn’t that awful of a commute. Frankly the commute in SD at 5 PM is pretty bad unless you live near where you work.

I get your dislike of Carmel Valley. The bang for the buck is pretty low there. It’s near coastal prices without serious coastal benefits, aside from being a bit cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than those of us east of the 15.

[Coronita]

[quote=ocrenter][quote=Hobie]You might check Skyranch in Santee. good reviews. And maybe even look at Newport Coast. Lots of good stuff up there.[/quote]

another great thing about Skyranch is it is only 10 minutes away from La Jolla.[/quote]

You stole my line. That’s trademarked. Watch out for the lizards.

[Coronita]

I am considering getting a place in Carlsbad, though if you work in Sorrento valley, that would be a suckville commute.

[Hobie]

As mentioned, Skyranch is not Santee. It should have its own zip code as its in the hills with a terrific view. You must not have lived here for very long. Are you from back East?

BG has some excellent points regarding south county. Check them out. Another local hidden spot is called Elfin Forest. In the hills between Escondido and RSF. Some jewels in there.

You have pretty much have called out the only other acceptable spots in SD. I would look near the border. It might be more of a drive than you would like but doesn’t have the issues you have already discussed. Good Luck. Good news is interest rates should remain low for a while.

[paramount]

[quote=harvey]You would love Temecula[/quote]

Agree, Temecula worth a look:

*Safe
*Well Ran City
*Great real estate values
*Low crime
*Great schools

I would check out Meadows, Morgan Hill, Santiago Estates.

[yuhtey]

[quote=harvey]You would love Temecula[/quote]

good one.

[yuhtey]

[quote=ocrenter]
another great thing about Skyranch is it is only 10 minutes away from La Jolla.[/quote]

that’s stated like a realtor!

santee sucks. i would never live there. last time i visited a friend back in 2008 there was a freak in boots with nazi crap on.

[Author]

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