Best Family Areas for Low-$1Millions Budget

[Coronita]

[quote=yuhtey][quote=flu][quote=yuhtey]flu, you’re main issue is that you are equating CV to a porcshe GT4[/quote]

Your issue is you can’t accept the fact that pricing in Carmel valley for a good home is pretty close to a gt4. Anyway, have fun renting.[/quote]

renting has been very good to us, after we sold our last property while we have been gauging neighborhoods. it has provided an excellent window into life in CV without the commitment – and it gives us an edge over other buyers who are contingent on selling their own property prior to closing escrow.[/quote]

And like I said. Have fun renting. There’s nothing wrong with it. If you really don’t know where you want to live.

[yuhtey]

[quote=scaredyclassic]If ones age is right on border of boomer and gen. X, does one get to choose?[/quote]

all that matters is that you are probably aligned more with the boomers. gen x is more characterized as being in teens through the 80’s and early adults through the 90’s. sounds like you were an adult through the 80’s and then mid-life into the 90’s.

consider yourself lucky. the bulk of gen x has had a rough go at it.

[yuhtey]

[quote=flu]

And like I said. Have fun renting. There’s nothing wrong with it. If you really don’t know where you want to live.[/quote]

ok, have fun in your 90’s (or maybe even 80’s) tract home. do you have white tiles on your bathroom counters? i love that stuff.

[ocrenter]

[quote=flu][quote=yuhtey][quote=flu][quote=yuhtey]flu, you’re main issue is that you are equating CV to a porcshe GT4[/quote]

Your issue is you can’t accept the fact that pricing in Carmel valley for a good home is pretty close to a gt4. Anyway, have fun renting.[/quote]

renting has been very good to us, after we sold our last property while we have been gauging neighborhoods. it has provided an excellent window into life in CV without the commitment – and it gives us an edge over other buyers who are contingent on selling their own property prior to closing escrow.[/quote]

And like I said. Have fun renting. There’s nothing wrong with it. If you really don’t know where you want to live.[/quote]

Second that, absolutely nothing wrong with renting at all.

That is as long as such renter is not bitter about it. Unfortunately that does seem to be the case for the OP.

[yuhtey]

[quote=ocrenter]

Second that, absolutely nothing wrong with renting at all.

That is as long as such renter is not bitter about it. Unfortunately that does seem to be the case for the OP.[/quote]

the only ones bitter are those who live in CV… it backs my assertion to the ‘t’

oh wait, AN lives in mira mesa but covets CV for some reason. AN, CV is not that special, you can be secure in MM.

[Coronita]

[quote=yuhtey][quote=flu]

And like I said. Have fun renting. There’s nothing wrong with it. If you really don’t know where you want to live.[/quote]

ok, have fun in your 90’s (or maybe even 80’s) tract home. do you have white tiles on your bathroom counters? i love that stuff.[/quote]

Actually, my tiles are green in Carmel valley. They are linoleum in the bay area. So for me, tile is a huge upgrade!!!!! Plus i didnt spend anywhere near $1.3m. My wallets thank me… And because i didnt spend so much on my primary, i have a lot more things here that generate passive income instead of a primary home just sitting there as a liability. And most likely next month, the primary will be free and clear. So I will enjoy that nice extra $2600/month that I no longer need to pitch to a 15year along with the rest of my passive income. Not to me to mention the entire equity and my ass is now mine and not the banks. .muhahaahahahaha…

For me, a primary home is a place to live, with a decent school district, so my kid can grow up in an environment with other kids from also good families. As long as it doesn’t fall down, I don’t “need” to spend money on huge upgrades, especially with a little one breaking things and dropping things. I think I’ve put off repairing my bslcony for 4years now, despite me recommending my handyman to like 4 neighbors who have all done their upgrades. My tenants see more upgrades than I do. And thats OK because I don’t care. Just like some people don’t care about the cars they drive.

So far I havent met too many people that are pretentious, people who are considerably more wealthy than me who either own dental or doctor practices or is an exec at a company or a partner at a law firm. Maybe you are just hanging out in the wrong crowd or trying to be someone you aren’t.

So again, if you want something that is really nice, pay up. Because that’s the current market rate.

Or you could wait. Maybe you can get lucky. If your planning to pay cash, which it sounds like you are, you can probably wait for rates to rise. When rates rise, the weaker buyers that need to take out loans will drop off, at least in theory. So long as you aren’t the one that’s going to be mortgaging to death, a slight rise in rated probably won’t affect you as much as those that have a smaller down. I think most people in Carmel v out at least 50% down for a sfh. I don’t think many just do 20% because that gets into jumbo loan territory versus conforming plus.

Also some think that with Qualcomm laying off so many people, that will impact housing supply. I don’t personally think so because old Qualcomm employees probably already vested and have their homes paid, while new Qualcomm employees don’t have enough stock and options to play in this submarket to begin with. But who knows.
Good luck!

[an]

[quote=yuhtey][quote=ocrenter]

Second that, absolutely nothing wrong with renting at all.

That is as long as such renter is not bitter about it. Unfortunately that does seem to be the case for the OP.[/quote]

the only ones bitter are those who live in CV… it backs my assertion to the ‘t’

oh wait, AN lives in mira mesa but covets CV for some reason. AN, CV is not that special, you can be secure in MM.[/quote]lol, I don’t want to live or covet in CV. Try again.

[flyer]

Interestingly, we don’t know any bitter people in CV. Many of them purchased their homes years ago and have either stayed or easily moved up to something bigger and better in the area or elsewhere.

More recently, a few friends and family purchased homes around San Diego, including CV, during the last downturn a few years ago, and are very glad they got in on that window of opportunity. We still have several rental properties there, and are very happy with the arrangement, so I’m just not seeing the bitterness in any way, shape or form.

[njtosd]

[quote=scaredyclassic]The problem is most things just aren’t worth the money. It makes us kind of sad. But they’re not worth it. Crap shacks generally aren’t worth it.

Very few things are worth it:

1. A nice walk. Totally worth it.

2. A good bed. Absolutely worth it.

3. A great bowel movement. Worth it.

4. Exercise. Worth it.

5. An 3lectric toothbrush and floss. Worth the money.

6. My ping-pong table. Very worth it.

7. Nice glass to drink whiskey from. Worth it.

8. One of out 5 cats. Worth it.

9. Mmmm. Costco membership. Worth it I guess.

10. Burrito from Aztek tacos on the 79. Way Worth it.

I can’t think of much else that provides good value.[/quote]

When my kids want expensive stuff, I ask them to name off the three best times they’ve had. Invariably these times involves being with a group of other people – the amount of money involved was not really relevant. Then I ask them to tell me an item that they received that still makes them happy – usually it is something that would be valueless to someone else. Money provides convenience and reduces worry. We’ve lived in a number of houses – some bigger, some smaller. I was the least happy in the largest house (NJ).

[njtosd]

[quote=flyer]Interestingly, we don’t know any bitter people in CV. Many of them purchased their homes years ago and have either stayed or easily moved up to something bigger and better in the area or elsewhere.

More recently, a few friends and family purchased homes around San Diego, including CV, during the last downturn a few years ago, and are very glad they got in on that window of opportunity. We still have several rental properties there, and are very happy with the arrangement, so I’m just not seeing the bitterness in any way, shape or form.[/quote]

It’s a perception bias. People want to believe that those who they see as affluent are sad/bitter/superficial. They only real stereotype that I see is that a lot of the people in CV are a little anxiety ridden – which led them to work hard in school and at their jobs and earn enough money to pay for a higher than average priced house. One of my daughter’s friends makes herself do 50 push-ups if she gets a low A on an assignment. It’s a bit worrisome.

[njtosd]

[quote=yuhtey][quote=flu]

And like I said. Have fun renting. There’s nothing wrong with it. If you really don’t know where you want to live.[/quote]

ok, have fun in your 90’s (or maybe even 80’s) tract home. do you have white tiles on your bathroom counters? i love that stuff.[/quote]

You remind me of one of those women on “House Hunters” who looks down on a house because of superficial items that would be cheap to change. In the words of Tina Fey (coincidentally in the 30 Rock episode entitled “Idiots are People, Two!”) “Why can’t people see past paint color?”

What would you consider to be the ideal counter material? Frankly I like the off brand man-made faux marble at Ikea.

[flyer]

[quote=njtosd][quote=scaredyclassic]The problem is most things just aren’t worth the money. It makes us kind of sad. But they’re not worth it. Crap shacks generally aren’t worth it.

Very few things are worth it:

1. A nice walk. Totally worth it.

2. A good bed. Absolutely worth it.

3. A great bowel movement. Worth it.

4. Exercise. Worth it.

5. An 3lectric toothbrush and floss. Worth the money.

6. My ping-pong table. Very worth it.

7. Nice glass to drink whiskey from. Worth it.

8. One of out 5 cats. Worth it.

9. Mmmm. Costco membership. Worth it I guess.

10. Burrito from Aztek tacos on the 79. Way Worth it.

I can’t think of much else that provides good value.[/quote]

When my kids want expensive stuff, I ask them to name off the three best times they’ve had. Invariably these times involves being with a group of other people – the amount of money involved was not really relevant. Then I ask them to tell me an item that they received that still makes them happy – usually it is something that would be valueless to someone else. Money provides convenience and reduces worry. We’ve lived in a number of houses – some bigger, some smaller. I was the least happy in the largest house (NJ).[/quote]

As usual, great points, nj.

Agree that, for us also, our most fulfilling times in life are not directly related to the amount of money spent, and yet, funding our lives is a necessary evil in this world.

To that end, we’ve tried to take steps to put the financial aspect of our lives on auto-pilot as much as possible, so we have more time for what really matters to us, and I think a lot of people are trying to do that.

[Coronita]

[quote=njtosd][quote=flyer]Interestingly, we don’t know any bitter people in CV. Many of them purchased their homes years ago and have either stayed or easily moved up to something bigger and better in the area or elsewhere.

More recently, a few friends and family purchased homes around San Diego, including CV, during the last downturn a few years ago, and are very glad they got in on that window of opportunity. We still have several rental properties there, and are very happy with the arrangement, so I’m just not seeing the bitterness in any way, shape or form.[/quote]

It’s a perception bias. People want to believe that those who they see as affluent are sad/bitter/superficial. They only real stereotype that I see is that a lot of the people in CV are a little anxiety ridden – which led them to work hard in school and at their jobs and earn enough money to pay for a higher than average priced house. One of my daughter’s friends makes herself do 50 push-ups if she gets a low A on an assignment. It’s a bit worrisome.[/quote]

I hadn’t thought about that. I ask my kid to do a few jumping jacks when shes dozing off or in dreamland and needs to wake up to finish her work. I don’t think I can do 50 pushups (yet)

[Coronita]

.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=yuhtey]it’s a-sian, not b-sian.

we implement the kneeling on dry rice technique on our 16-month-old when he can’t get the animal puzzle pieces back in place in under 30 seconds. discipline!

i will clarify that the assumption about my wife is wrong. she is from orange county and they all think san diego is for losers. i have a hard time disagreeing with her most of the time. although – stories from the irvine battlefield are not pretty these days. apparently the fobby chinese and indians are driving everyone south to mission viejo. ouch.

we are in agreement about the locations here. CV no doubt has some of the highest end homes in the county, but the real draw is the school system and the low tax/hoa proposition. we could “take it our leave it” but are watching closely because every once in a while a really great place comes up in our price range. as you can imagine, we are getting good at spotting turds online without needing the viewing. “oh, is that an old-timey grandfather clock next to her majesty’s dining set? oooh, look at that pointless square-tiled granite countertop…REJECT”

they are not terribly overpriced, but one would think 100k to 200k off of sticker would allow for some updating. we are the type of buyers who don’t lowball.[/quote]

If I were you and absolutely had to buy in CV I’d find a house that needs a lot of updating then do the remodel. Contact the listing agent directly and put in strong offer.[/quote]

Thanks for re-posting the OP’s post of yesterday here, FIH. I referred to it from memory this morning cuz I had to go somewhere. It was the actually the “pointless” kitchen countertop, not the kitchen floor that made the OP and his spouse reject this CV listing and call it a “turd.” They didn’t like the pattern in the granite countertops so rejected the listing outright for that reason, people!! This happened in a chronically low, trickling-in inventory situation. Umm, beggars can’t be choosers.

OP, if that “’90’s palace” had “granite” in it, it’s already been “freshened up.” In the ’90’s, 6″ square ceramic tile and Corian was used by developers on countertops in coastal CA tract homes. Sorry you don’t “like it.”

Most cosmetic fixers still have Formica or ceramic tile (with what’s left of the crumbling molded grout) for kitchen-countertop material (or Corian with cigarette burns in it).

I’m not sure you two are cut out to purchase a cosmetic fixer. Just an obviously recently-replaced kitchen countertop with the “wrong” pattern/color throws you guys off to where you are paralyzed and in a tailspin … instantly rejecting a listing for a really dumb reason.

FIH may be able to set you up with a good granite person, to replace a perfectly good countertop should you come to your senses and make an offer on said listing and (God forbid) get it accepted.

OP, why don’t you post the “turd listing” you rejected here so some of these very knowledgeable Piggs can “critique it” and tell you what they think it’s worth … in their “expert opinion.”

That’s what you should have done when you created this thread. In SD County, it doesn’t get any better than Piggington when a new buyer needs advice on current values in a given area. And you desperately need it.

[Author]

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