Marston @ Del Sur versus Lennar @ The Lakes

[NewBuyerConflicts]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are truly conflicted if you can’t tell by my username. We are looking at buying for the first time our hope to be long term home. Due to schooling and commute, we have narrowed it down to Marston at Del Sur or Lennar at the lakes.

The cruz is that they are very different homes and communities but for 1.2 Million we are just not sure which one to go for. It is a lot of money.

In Del Sur, we love that our kids will be able to walk to school, the overall design of the home of indoor and outdoor which we have yet to see anywhere else and the family/community feel. But we are going to look at the power lines and will the home be worth buying seeing they are in the high end of the Del Sur neighborhood.

The Lakes, we are looking at a great view, but it is gated which to us is not a plus or minus. It means we need to drive our kids to school and the benefit of having a bit more space also means the lost of close friends for our kids. Plus the home is beautiful but doesn’t offer the wow factor of the Marston bi-fold doors.

Please help with your thoughts on these neighborhoods. It is just a lot to spend and it feels like comparing apples and oranges. At the same time, I would hate that if we need to move earlier to then have something where we lose our savings because we put too much value on something which we severely limit our ability to relocate if life forces us to do so. WE are not looking at this as an investment but a home but doesn’t mean we want to not have the flexibility to change with what life throws at us.

[duchess]

We’ve visited both sets of models and had a similar decision to make regarding being within walking distance of schools. We chose a house where we’d have to drive to school (Crosby to Solana Santa Fe) over one where we could walk (Santaluz).

I always think about having to sell our house in a bad market. Power lines seem to turn buyers off more when the market is bad. In your spot, I’d probably go with the Lakes. My preference is also to not be in the highest price range of the neighborhood.

Not sure if you’re set on new construction, but have you looked at the resales in the Crosby? Since you’d be driving to school anyway, the schools are different and the district seems to be run in a more fiscally sound manner than Poway.

[flyer]

All of your questions are excellent considerations concerning the purchase you desire to make, and I’m sure you’ll receive lots of advice here.

We faced a similar choice when we moved from Carmel Valley to Rancho Santa Fe many years ago. In Carmel Valley everything was basically “outside your front door” as it is in Del Sur and 4S Ranch–schools, shopping, etc.

In RSF, as you might find in The Lakes, you’ll have to make more effort to accomodate your children’s needs. That said, in The Lakes, you will still be much closer to everything you need even if you do buy there, than we were in RSF.

In the end, since this was our chance to buy our forever dream home at an incredible price, we chose RSF over convenience. Our kids attended private schools anyway, and we were able to get them to all of their activities. Over twenty years later, we’re all glad we made the choice we made.

All of that said, of course, there are no guarantees concerning real estate purchases. When we purchased our home, we knew we would, most likely, be staying it the house for the rest of our lives, so that was not a factor in our decision.

If you feel you may desire, or may need to sell, you’ll have to factor that variable into the equation as well.

Hopefully, there will be some factor that will influence your decision one way or the other, and I wish you the best!

[joec]

Wanted to add that even if you lived right next to the school in Del Sur, it doesn’t mean you will get to go with the overcrowding in that area and the large number of new homes in Del Sur.

You can google poway unified schools full or look at some of the messages here for more info…

Best bet is to check the school in The Lakes and see which schools they attend and compare.

[ocrenter]

We dropped by Marston and found the homes essentially squeezed into tiny lots on the non-powerline side, and the side with decent lot size had the powerlines. Making the whole development highly undesirable.

MR and HOA are probably about the same, but you’ll have a gated community with the Lakes. So resale wise the Lakes will likely hold up better.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=ocrenter]We dropped by Marston and found the homes essentially squeezed into tiny lots on the non-powerline side, and the side with decent lot size had the powerlines. Making the whole development highly undesirable.

MR and HOA are probably about the same, but you’ll have a gated community with the Lakes. So resale wise the Lakes will likely hold up better.[/quote]

As usual, ocrenter is spot on target. I always agree with his advice and it’s not any different here.

ocrenter – I should really thank you again as you were the one that got me turned on to Santaluz which is the area we ended up buying 3 years ago and LOVING!

[kcal09]

[quote=ocrenter]We dropped by Marston and found the homes essentially squeezed into tiny lots on the non-powerline side, and the side with decent lot size had the powerlines. Making the whole development highly undesirable.

MR and HOA are probably about the same, but you’ll have a gated community with the Lakes. So resale wise the Lakes will likely hold up better.[/quote]

I agree with ocrenter as well. I feel that Marston is way overpriced for the location and lot size. I’m not sure if Scripps Ranch or Poway would work for you locationwise. But there are nice homes there without the Mello Roos.

[ocrenter]

[quote=earlyretirement][quote=ocrenter]We dropped by Marston and found the homes essentially squeezed into tiny lots on the non-powerline side, and the side with decent lot size had the powerlines. Making the whole development highly undesirable.

MR and HOA are probably about the same, but you’ll have a gated community with the Lakes. So resale wise the Lakes will likely hold up better.[/quote]

As usual, ocrenter is spot on target. I always agree with his advice and it’s not any different here.

ocrenter – I should really thank you again as you were the one that got me turned on to Santaluz which is the area we ended up buying 3 years ago and LOVING![/quote]

you are way too kind, ER!

ER brought up Santaluz. I think it is quite instructive here. I would put Santaluz, Crosby, and the Lakes within the same league. Del Sur is very nice, but it is just not in the same league of homes. So the question is should you be paying the same price for homes in a community that is considered next level down. And would future buyers be willing to pay the same premium for your Del Sur home as they would for homes within Santaluz/Crosby/the Lakes?

[ocrenter]

[quote=kcal09][quote=ocrenter]We dropped by Marston and found the homes essentially squeezed into tiny lots on the non-powerline side, and the side with decent lot size had the powerlines. Making the whole development highly undesirable.

MR and HOA are probably about the same, but you’ll have a gated community with the Lakes. So resale wise the Lakes will likely hold up better.[/quote]

I agree with ocrenter as well. I feel that Marston is way overpriced for the location and lot size. I’m not sure if Scripps Ranch or Poway would work for you locationwise. But there are nice homes there without the Mello Roos.[/quote]

I don’t know if OP has ever been to Standard Pacific’s Ballasario development in Stonebridge. It may not be right for OP’s commutes and needs, but they should see for themselves what $1.2 million should get them. And they’ll realize how overpriced Marston truly is.

[an]

[quote=ocrenter]I don’t know if OP has ever been to Standard Pacific’s Ballasario development in Stonebridge. It may not be right for OP’s commutes and needs, but they should see for themselves what $1.2 million should get them. And they’ll realize how overpriced Marston truly is.[/quote]I totally agree about Stonebridge. After seeing a few models and driving through the development, I feel that Stonebridge is more luxurious than either Del Sur or 4S. Del Sur feels very very overpriced to me. I’ve been to most Del Sur models and I know a few people who live there. Del Sur just feel too packed together for my taste. I love those extra wide (100’+ wide) lots in Stonebridge. It just makes the house seem more luxurious.

[anonlawyer]

My wife and I just faced the exact same decision and wound up buying a new home (not Marston) in Del Sur. For us, community trumps house; we have two kids just entering school, so–this time–we’re moving for them. Here are our views:

Home quality: Lakes wins. They’re just nicer, more luxurious homes than in Del Sur. That said, the Standard Pacific offerings in Del Sur aren’t bad either… they just aren’t on par with the Lakes.

Community: Del Sur wins, hands down, especially for a family. If you have two kids going to school (like we do), living in a place where they can walk to their friends, school, etc. is *very* nice. Plus we get to meet other parents with similar values, plus Del Sur has more parks and HOA amenities (Fall Festival, etc.). The Lakes has… a gate. Oh, and 24 hour security to make sure you don’t have any guests who park on the street, which you get for the bargain basement price of an extra 300-400 in HOA fees per month. Speaking of which, 500+ in HOA per month for a gate? The Lakes has literally *no* other amenities – no pool, no parks (okay, one small park and a short walking trail). You have to pay a lot extra to get access to the Crosby amenities.

Schools: Even – you’re on the same MR schedule in Del Sur and the Lakes, and have the same assigned schools. That said, I’m not aware of any overcrowding at Del Sur – if you pay the MR, you get priority placement, plus the brand new Design 39 school (K-8) is opening up.

Prestige: Honestly, I think this is a bit of a toss-up. I know, I know… it’s the Lakes “at Rancho Santa Fe” and it has a gate! But seriously, the Lakes is like the red-headed stepchild of Rancho Santa Fe. If you want prestige, buy in Santaluz, Crosby, Cielo, the Covenant, etc. I guess I’ll give this one to the Lakes, but not by much.

Price: FYI, Lennar at the Lakes is usually more than 1.2MM with options. That said, I think Marston is overpriced – 1.1-1.3MM for a yard that backs to a power line? Just doesn’t make sense to me… but, people keep buying them, so what do I know?

At the end of the day, I think it comes down to which you value more: community or house/prestige.

Disclaimer: We wound up buying a 2955 sq ft at Hawthorne… smaller than we would have liked, but 300-400k less on a lot that looks right down the canyon and isn’t anywhere near power lines. Not really the same market as Marston/Lakes, but it made a lot more sense for us.

[flyer]

Since none of the communities being discussed even existed when we purchased in RSF, it has been interesting to visit all of them with friends who are looking in the area.

There are definitely pros and cons to each area, but our friends have mentioned they don’t want anything east of I-15– for various reasons–no matter how great the house is.

As far as the OP is concerned, IMO, as long as you can actually “afford” the house–whether prices go up or down–you’ll enjoy the area, regardless of where you buy.

My wife and I were raised in LJ, and,–although we’ve lived all over the world–we feel San Diego is one of the finest places on earth.

[toddt]

What does everyone think about the Van Daele homes in The Lakes? They are obviously not on the same level as the Lennar homes location-wise but the floor plans seem well designed.

[NewBuyerConflicts]

kcal09,

We did look at Ballasario and they were lovely homes. But for us, it is too far of a drive seeing that they are more inland than either Marston or the Lakes where it is more of a straight line off the 15.

We do agree that $1.2 Million is a lot for that area and at this time the high end of the Del Sur neighborhood. If it wasn’t for the great design of the home meaning the indoor to outdoor which we have yet to see much in new builds we wouldn’t be as tempted.

[NewBuyerConflicts]

[quote=duchess]
Not sure if you’re set on new construction, but have you looked at the resales in the Crosby? Since you’d be driving to school anyway, the schools are different and the district seems to be run in a more fiscally sound manner than Poway.[/quote]

Duchess,

We did look at some resales at the Crosby and Santa Luz. We are trying to stay under 1.5M and for the price point, the lot size is a bit smaller than we like. With one kid on the way and the dream of a second, plus a dog, two kitties, we wanted a bit of a yard for them to have access to.

I think it is just trying to figure what we can get for the biggest bang for our buck while keeping in mind the main focus. That is that this ultimately is home for us for hopefully the next 10-20 years. 🙂

[Author]

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