Fairbanks Ranch vs. Santaluz vs. Cielo vs. rest of Rancho Santa Fe

[raptorduck]

The content of this post has been deleted at the request of the original poster.

[Alex_angel]

Commuting into CV from either area is going to be a nightmare, but since you probably own a Bentley then the drive should be comfy.

It seems that you have millions to drop on a house so here is my advice. Look at Del Mar Mesa. These homes rival those you will find in RSF and Santa Luz. The commute would be a no brainer and the views are fantastic.

[CMcG]

Welcome in advance to San Diego. How terrific that you have so many beautiful and luxurious areas to choose from. A friend recently spoke to a woman who sold her home in the Covenant and moved further up the North County coast. She loved the RSF environment but complained that it takes too long to do anything there; e.g. 20 minutes just to get to a gas station.

Somebody complained on here (or another blog — I don’t remember) that in order to do anything to your home in the Covenant, you have to go before the very strict Art Committee. That comment was countered by someone who said the rules are just as strict in the communities adjacent to the Covenant, such as Santaluz.

[SD Realtor]

Personally I would take FB Ranch, (north side) if you can afford it… It is very well established and more lush compared to the other selections you mentioned. You are correct about Cielo, it will give you the best views. I have been up there a few times lately but it is out pretty far out there and not being able to cut through the Crosby sucks. Interesting that you feel RSF is best for your family. I take it that is because you feel the school districts are preferable? Just my guess but given the Torrey Pines schools, Del Mar and La Jolla schools, or even the plethora of quality private schools in those locales, it would seem to me that you have the benefit of selection, (assuming you could afford them)… My point being that as the other poster pointed out, driving to CV from the locations you mentioned is a pain, especially as you head out more East and North.

By far the most established (and I would guess but cannot confirm) would be Fairbanks Ranch. As far as foreclosures, my “opinion” is that even very high end areas will suffer foreclosures but the more recently built high end areas will suffer more foreclosures then the more established high end areas. I believe that for a variety of reasons such as demographic, equity stake that the homeowners have, and spending patterns/risk aversion of those with old money as opposed to new money.

Crosby, Bridges and Cielo will have a similar microclimate which will be warmer then FB due to the fact that they are east of FB and built on the western slopes of the hills.
If you are really into golf then yeah the Bridges and Crosby are your best bet and that cannot be argued.

Anyways I could go on and on but I think alot of people on the board will give you valuable feedback as well. My recommendation (and it is biased) would be North Side of Fairbanks Ranch…You could rub elbows with Trevor Hoffman seeing as the Padres will most likely choke their way out of the playoff race.

SD Realtor

[raptorduck]

Thanks for your comments. Unfortunately, I don’t have unlimited funds. Although I can spend up to $4.5 million, I prefer to spend $3.5 million or less and pay a fair amount below asking in this market. That does not get you all that much in the nice parts of the Bay Area, not much at all. It gets you about 1/2 of what you can get in RSF.

For the record, while I recently owned an Aston Martin, I don’t own a Benteley, although I reserve the right to buy one if it fits in RSF. 😉

Del Mar Mesa? I think the Del Mar Medows/Grand Del Mar house we toured was in Del Mar Mesa? I thought it was overpriced for what you got compared to other houses I saw down there and the houses too close to eachother. The lot was about the right size though. Our minimum preference is 1 acre.

Traffic is one concern, particularly from Cielo. All one lane roades I noticed in RSF. I commute in off hours, so my bigger concern is for my wife when she is taking the kids places in RSF, going shopping, to the mall etc. We nixed La Jolla primarily due to traffic getting in and out. We nixed Del Mar because you get so much less sf/lot for the $$, although in some cases, the view/beach proximity had us really thinking. We need a large house on a large lot as we are a large family.

Speaking of which, where do people buy their groceries or go to the mall if they live in FBR, Cielo, Santaluz etc?

[CardiffBaseball]

You can also consider Olivenhain (I can never remember how to pronounce) which is part of Encinitas. I think you can find two acre lots, with large square footage, but slightly more convenient access to shopping and errands.

As far as malls, you have UTC down in UTC or where I live my wife will typically go up to Carlsbad Outlets, or the Carlsbad/Oceanside mall along 78 and El Camino Real.

From RSF there might be a mall in RB that is closer than Carlsbad.

[sdrealtor]

I have to echo the Fairbanks North side sentiment. Friends of ours own the largest property there and I have spent alot of time there. It is beautiful and exclusive but still feels like a family neighborhood. For shopping you can shoot out the back through Santaluz to all the new shopping off 56 with little traffic. You also have also have a couple small shopping centers nearby and in the Village of RSF. Getting into CV shouldnt be impossible either. In your price range you should be able to find something nce but you may need to do some updating.

[raptorduck]

Thank you for your comment on FBR. Interesting that you prefer North Gate. We toured houses in both. Seems to me NG is slightly older. I found the homes in South Gate more striking and we are preferring it over North Gate, although that is really splitting hairs. NG has the equestrian center, large lake, and club we noticed. Both are amazing. There is nothing remotely as nice as FBR in the Bay Area IMHO.

I don’t play golf, but we would want to join a club for the non-golfing things. I always hear, however, that homes along the fairway etc are worth more and appreciate more. We toured one next to the Del Mar golf course (which, was not in Del Mar?).

The commute sounds not so good. When we have been there on the weekend, traffic has been light compared to bay area mountain weekend traffic. I will be there Friday and maybe we should drive those commutes during rush hour to see.

We think it is best for our family because we can buy much larger homes in RSF and the lots are big. We have a large extended family that will be visiting often and we plan on 6 children of our own (3 so far). That is the criteria. We liked the privacy/seclusion of RSF, country type setting, while still being only a few miles from the beach. While we thought Del Mar was gorgeous, particularly west of Camino Del Mar, it was too dense for our needs and the homes smaller than we prefer. When we looked at schools, CV schools actually seemed a little better than RSF schools, but both were pretty comprable to the schools our kids are in up here. There is always private school.

[New_Renter]

Raptorduck,
I would avoid Cielo altogether. This community has faired the worst out of the newer RSF area developments (Bridges, Cielo, Crosby, Santaluz). I love Santaluz, but the disadvantage is no access to Carmel Valley Schools (Torrey Pines High, Canyon Crest Academy, CV Middle, etc.). Santaluz goes to Black Mountain Middle & Mt. Carmel High in Rancho Penasquitos (Poway district).

I would advise RSF Farms, Fairbanks, Del Mar Country Club, Rancho Pacifica, or Del Mar Mesa. As SD Realtor said, Fairbanks is well-established plus has great facilities (lake, horse stables, hiking, Tennis, etc.). RSF Farms if quite convenient to get into Carmel Valley via RSF Farms Rd. and has great security (if that is important to you). Rancho Pacifica average lot size (1/2 acre) might be too small for you, but the homes are nice and it’s close to Carmel Valley.

For my tastes, the inconvenience of living in the Convenant outweighs it’s supposed prestige. Covenent, Bridges, Cielo, Crosby would all be a royal pain in the @ss for commuting anywhere. Traffic has only worsened in recent years around those developments.

BTW, to see Del Mar Mesa, make the 1st left you come to when exiting south at Carmel Country Rd. from I-56. Meadows Del Mar is the 2nd Left.

[bsrsharma]

where do people buy their groceries

Considering the narrow roads, if I lived there, I would buy my groceries online from Safeway/Vons (unless I wanted to just go out for a drive). In recent years, I have become a good online shopper but poor in-store shopper. (When I go to a store, I don’t remember where all the stuff is and have to run around searching. Too embarassing to ask where potato chips are!)

[raptorduck]

Thanks. I will ask my agent about those. I think we saw a house in Del Mar Country Club. Is it near RSF Farms? It was gated, but w/o a guard. I did notice this week that Santaluz is Poway school district, but those seem pretty good as well.

One thing my agent told me about Santaluz is that they prefer drought resistant landscaping. Looking at pictures it looks kind of like a dessert. The houses look great, but we prefer lush tropical landscaping and not dessert terrain. Are there CC&R’s in Santaluz that would prevent us from planting palm trees and putting in more grass?

FBR is our preference, but finding the right house in our price range is another story. It is the views that have us still thinking about Cielo. Prices are lower too. We are not looking to spend as much as we can afford just because we can. We are looking for the best house for our family in those areas at the right price for that particular house.

[Rockemsock]

Maybe it’s just because I was used to driving in LA traffic, but “Nightmare” traffic seems a bit extreme. I lived in Encinitas for 5 years (moved a few months ago) and commuted into Sorrento Valley daily. I typically left my house at 8:30 and arrived just after 9 (35 minutes), and I left at 7 and got home in just over 20 minutes. Driving home at that time was a bit easier because traffic north on the 5 at the merge (Racetrack) was lighter. Driving into work I tried multiple different routes and the one I enjoyed the most was taking side-streets through Rancho Santa Fe all the way to Via De La Valle (the racetrack). The 5 is rarely slow after Via De La Valle down into Sorrento Valley. The reason I liked going through RSF, is because there was NEVER any traffic…you drive slower, and have stop signs on occasion, or get behind someone that is checking out the scenery, but it’s still a much more enjoyable commute…even if it takes a few extra minutes.

Honestly, I now live much farther north in San Elijo Hills and I still prefer the drive through RSF…it takes me about 10-15 longer than it used to, depending on what time I leave, but there’s just something about the rural roads through beautiful countryside that makes commuting more enjoyable.

On a side note, is it too much of a hassle to rent in RSF? You could rent for a year and then really get a feel for the area. Not to mention the fact that just about every person on this site will suggest that holding out is a safe bet.

Good luck and welcome to Heaven on Earth (leave your rain-gear up north, you won’t need it).

[SD Realtor]

Good post New_Renter…

To the original poster you absolutely should go ahead and check out the commute on a weekday. This is absolutely a non trivial issue. Either way, commuting via the 56 corridor or the 5 corridor is something you should prepare for so definitely I would advise you to come down during a weekday to experience the commute in both directions.

I like Del Mar Mesa as well. I will say I already have seen some pretty substantial depreciation there and I expect it to continue on par or possibly even exceeding the Covenant. There is a nice foreclosure on Mesa Norte. It sold originally for 2.275M in 2005 and is now owned by the Bank of New York but they have not put it back on the market yet that I know of. Commute wise Del Mar Mesa will blow away anything in FB, the Covenent, etc…

Also regarding North vs South FB, I have no real basis for my preference nor do I have hard stats showing exceptional value/appreciation of either side over the other. My basis was only on some of the friends I have that live there that they prefer north to south. So take it with a small grain of salt.

SD Realtor

[raptorduck]

Sure we could rent, but we don’t like to pack and move so only want to do it once. We can stay where we are and hold out for at least another 12 months if needed. Since we are not desperate, we will only buy when we find the perfect house at a price that will provide some protection against further declines.

My current commute is 24 miles and 1-1.5 hrs in Bay Area gridlock! That is what I am trying to improve upon. Seems I am looking at under 1/2 hr from RSF to CV through some very pretty roads. Anything is better than 5 lanes of herds of metal.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

Moving from the Bay area, you will be pleased with the relatively cheap housing and relative lack of traffic in the areas you are looking. (Same goes for those wanting to move from many parts of LA)

[Author]

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