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

[Eugene]

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

I may be mistaken but I think most people who live in FBR Cielo etc. don’t really buy groceries, they have servants/butlers/maids who do it for them.

If you have 3 mil to spend on a house, you can certainly afford a $50k/year servant to take care of the house, water the lawn, wash your Aston Martin, and buy groceries.

[raptorduck]

I forgot to ask about Del Mar Meadows. We looked at it this past weekend. We saw a very nice house, but it was a clone of its neighbor, which was a clone of its neighbor. In fact, all the houses looked identical. Does any one know how many builders put up homes in Del Mar Meadows? From what I can tell, not more than two or so and the model we looked at is very common. It came accross as a pure McMansion. It was nice and all, and decent size, but kind of like our current house in that it is identical to every other house in the neighborhood. For $3.5 million, that is not so good.

[sdcellar]

raptorduck– Yes, you can definitely ignore some of the comments regarding Santaluz. I think some have confused the drought tolerant native landscaping for neglected landscape, but if anyone really looks, they can see that it’s actually very well cared for.

I actually like it and it sounds like you may have come around as well. I meant to remark on your comments regarding limiting the amount of grass and types of palm trees (I like palms too), but I think you can see now, that the guidelines are for things that work with what they’re doing there. I think they’ve done a good job.

One other comment that I believe was incorrect was regarding which high school Santaluz kids would attend. I believe they used to attend Mt. Carmel as somebody posted, but I’m almost certain they now to to Westview, which is a beautiful new school that’s only a couple of years old. Still in the Poway Unified School District, but I think you’ll find it’s right up there with the Del Mar schools (ducks).

Finally, in Santaluz, you would buy your groceries at Albertsons a couple of miles away. It’s nice and new and frequently visited by Santaluzers. I shop there myself, although, I’m just a mere peasant. Perhaps I’ll see you there one day (unless you decide on Fairbanks or Cielo or RSF, of course!)

[SD Realtor]

sdcellar you are correct… I was corrected a few months back about Westview as well by Manmom… I have not personally checked but I heard Westview is a quality school.

SD Realtor

[New_Renter]

Westview is great, but if you live in Santaluz you go to Mt. Carmel until the new Del Norte High School (in Del Sur) opens up (2009 I think is the 1st freshman class?).

Go ahead and try it yourself. Type in a Santaluz address (such as 7571 Montien) into the form on this link and see what you get:

http://powayusd.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/admin/bss/planning/addresslookup.asp

If you live in Fairbanks Highlands you get to go to Westview, which btw, might be another development to check out. I love the feel in FH, and you get a massive fully-usable flat lot.

[raptorduck]

We looked at a few houses in Fairbanks Highlands the first time we went. The neighborhood was very nice, as were the homes, and I agree, the lots were very usable and large. Believe it or not, the homes were not quite large enough however. We need at least 6,000 sf, and preferably more. 6 BR or more is also a preference and no less than 5 plus a bonus room.

[sdcellar]

Wow, I can’t believe that, but it sounds like you’re right based on that website. You’da thunk with all that mello-roos, they’d get the new schools (plus they seem like the kind of folk that would kinda sorta insist). Del Norte makes sense though, I guess they just have to wait a little longer. I thought I’d last heard 2010 on that, but I’ve probably got that wrong too!

[sdcellar]

woohoo. At least I got that one right! 2010.

[New_Renter]

Jeez Raptorduck, are you guys the authors of “Cheaper by the Dozen” by any chance? 😉

[New_Renter]

Sdcellar, we’ll see if 2010 sticks…With all the foreclosures in the area they might run out of money from lack of tax base!

[sdcellar]

New_Renter– Agreed!

Also, I think the real shortfall will be whatever they were expecting from Del Sur. Buildout’s going to take just a weeeeee bit longer than originally anticipated.

[raptorduck]

NewRenter. Lets see, my wife and I have 3 kids, then we want 3 more, my dad will be living with us, and possibly my wife’s grandmother, my wife’s family lives within an hour and will be over A LOT, that is parents and 8 brothers and sisters, dozens of cousins, and 9 uncles/aunts. Put it this way, our leading candidates so far have guest houses, and one of them has 2 guest houses!

[sdcellar]

New_Renter– My rightness was shortlived (if it ever existed at all). An article in the Corridor News this morning said Del Norte will be opening for the 2009-2010 school year.

Attendance will be limited to Freshman and Sophomores, and they’ll add a class a year after that. Construction has started as well–guess I either haven’t been in 4S Ranch for a while or I haven’t been paying attention.

[sddreaming]

Personally I would avoid the newer areas like Cielo and Santaluz because we are in a housing downturn. An area like Fairbanks Ranch should have more established home owners with more equity in their homes and a stable mortgage. Even though you may stay for the long term, how desireable will your neighborhood be if your neighbors can’t afford their loans as they reset or choose not to weather a housing downturn and send their keys back to the bank? I would especially stay away from developments that are not complete, unless you like having empty lots next door.

I plan to return to San Diego in the next 1-3 years and am considering the same neighborhoods as you for basically the same reasons – kid friendly, like space around me (I live in Michigan right now and the openness grows on you), etc. So your thread is very interesting to me.

BTW, a benefit – drawback of living in San Diego is that you will have more out of town visitors as well. I don’t have that problem in Michigan. Add another bedroom to your criteria.

[raptorduck]

sddreaming. I agree. That is one reason why we prefer FBR. As for Cielo and Santaluz we do like the homes there, but have concerns about those communities in this market. One would think that some compensation could be lower prices, but not all sellers agree and are holding on to their asking prices, particularly in Santaluz. On a per square foot bases and taking into account Mello Roos and these risks Santaluz asking prices appear more inflated than FBR.

But we are looking for a long term purchase and those areas should recover from the downturn. Nonetheless, we are indeed not willing to pay as much as sellers want in Santaluz or Cielo and are more willing to pay closer to asking in established areas like FBR, RSF Farms, and Rancho Valencia.

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