should I buy in temecula

[Ren]

When I say “coast”, I generally mean north county coastal or a location in San Diego proper that is near the coast (like Bay Park). I probably wouldn’t consider areas like North Park just because they can command a premium without what I would consider to be a premium location.

I think buying a house anywhere (coast or not) is a mistake if the payment is dangerously high for your income. By dangerously high, I mean there would be a risk of losing the house if one or both owners lost their job. I’m a firm believer in being extremely conservative when it comes to budgeting. If a couple can survive with one spouse on unemployment and the other working full time at a gas station, that’s a good start (and that’s not even a worst case scenario – think major injury/illness if you want to go there). If not, or if the property wouldn’t at least break even as a rental, they’re paying too much for housing and they should be renting a smaller place.

It’s not that the value of my house in Temecula will enable me to retire early on the coast, it’s that my $1k mortgage will enable me to save several thousand more per month than I would otherwise, over the next 15 years, all of it reinvested in rental property. Our current property will become a rental as well, and it was chosen with that in mind. For the retirement property we’re thinking 40% down and a 15-year loan, so it won’t be completely mortgage-free, but because other sources of income will cover it, it’s not a concern.

Our current tax rate is 1.5%. There are bonds involved, but I don’t know the details. That’s one of the downsides to this area, but like all the other downsides, it’s minor – that 1.5% is on a house that cost me $250k, so it’s not like I’m paying exorbitant amounts in taxes. We have several rather well off friends in Carlsbad who pay more in taxes than our entire PITI. At the same time, it isn’t a mistake for them to buy on the coast, because they can easily afford it.

Other benefits to TV which aren’t mentioned often are lower child care costs and HOA fees (ours is $46/month, and that includes a community pool). Those two alone make up for the gas used in the commute.

Anything near the coast would be a better long-term investment than TV, if you buy at the right price. In my opinion, we’re not there yet. You also have to consider that part of what makes an investment a good one is if you’re not over-extending yourself, which allows you to put some of your eggs in other baskets.

[temeculaguy]

Bearish girl, I concur with what ren said, it’s the budget that matter most but there are other less expensive places that exist in SD, they just dont ofer what Temecula does, especially for those with kids. I’m not disputing that some people aren’t unhappy or that some paid too much during the bubble and may take a long time to recover, but that can be true for a lot of areas. Right now, if you do your homework, you can spend about 300k for a 3000 sq ft house built within the last 5 years. Your taxes will be between 4 and 6k because it’s based on purchase price, so for about 2k a month, you can get more than you need and with top notch schools, probably only surpassed by the carlsbad/encinitas or poway districts.

As far as long term investments, Temecula proper is nearly built out, most houses purchased today are almost rent nuetral from day one, I can find rentals that cash flow from day one, no place in S.D. has the same opportunity. What I think you need to do is actually come check it out or get a tour from a local, your impression is from another time and it’s not the same place it once was. I still think there are nicer places in S.D. than where I live, but comparing apples to apples, dollar for dollar, the 270k i spent on my place would run me between 700k and 1 mil to get a comparable feel as far as the physical house and the community it is in, and that wouldn’t allow for the rest of my plan, the rest of my plan is more important than the real estate part of my plan.

I also think the market in most sd areas is still overpriced so it will appreciate less in the coming years. My place was purchased at peak in the 600’s and then they put money into it, losing it two years later as it value fell below half, in my opinion, the air had already be let out, most of sd has yet to lose similar numbers so it will either still do it, or fail to rise because there is a limit as to what people can afford using traditional mortgages. A 300k place in some of the less desirable places you mentioned willhave just as hard of a time getting to 600k as mine will in the future. Because little old falling apart places with rotten schools dont attract young families, migration out is as likely as migration in. Look at these boards, people talk about places within 5 miles of highways 52, 56 or 5, the Temecula Valley is one of the other places that gets people talking about it and moving to it, more so than the east county or south bay, there’s a reason. The reason is that low crime, good schools and low prices is a winning formula. It was the formula for the Santa Clarita valley in the 1980’s and much of S. Orange county in the 1970’s. All of the talk of this place becoming palmdale or vegas after prices crash never materialized. We are a few years into the recession, prices have remained stable with slow upticks since 2008. The local government and the retail is just fine, they are doing better than most other places and much better than San Diego. My guess it’s because of people like ren and scardey, people who are spending between 10 and 20% of their income on housing, it’s not all they could afford, it’s all they were comfortable affording, a whole new paradigm.

[temeculaguy]

Bearish girl, I concur with what ren said, it’s the budget that matter most but there are other less expensive places that exist in SD, they just dont ofer what Temecula does, especially for those with kids. I’m not disputing that some people aren’t unhappy or that some paid too much during the bubble and may take a long time to recover, but that can be true for a lot of areas. Right now, if you do your homework, you can spend about 300k for a 3000 sq ft house built within the last 5 years. Your taxes will be between 4 and 6k because it’s based on purchase price, so for about 2k a month, you can get more than you need and with top notch schools, probably only surpassed by the carlsbad/encinitas or poway districts.

As far as long term investments, Temecula proper is nearly built out, most houses purchased today are almost rent nuetral from day one, I can find rentals that cash flow from day one, no place in S.D. has the same opportunity. What I think you need to do is actually come check it out or get a tour from a local, your impression is from another time and it’s not the same place it once was. I still think there are nicer places in S.D. than where I live, but comparing apples to apples, dollar for dollar, the 270k i spent on my place would run me between 700k and 1 mil to get a comparable feel as far as the physical house and the community it is in, and that wouldn’t allow for the rest of my plan, the rest of my plan is more important than the real estate part of my plan.

I also think the market in most sd areas is still overpriced so it will appreciate less in the coming years. My place was purchased at peak in the 600’s and then they put money into it, losing it two years later as it value fell below half, in my opinion, the air had already be let out, most of sd has yet to lose similar numbers so it will either still do it, or fail to rise because there is a limit as to what people can afford using traditional mortgages. A 300k place in some of the less desirable places you mentioned willhave just as hard of a time getting to 600k as mine will in the future. Because little old falling apart places with rotten schools dont attract young families, migration out is as likely as migration in. Look at these boards, people talk about places within 5 miles of highways 52, 56 or 5, the Temecula Valley is one of the other places that gets people talking about it and moving to it, more so than the east county or south bay, there’s a reason. The reason is that low crime, good schools and low prices is a winning formula. It was the formula for the Santa Clarita valley in the 1980’s and much of S. Orange county in the 1970’s. All of the talk of this place becoming palmdale or vegas after prices crash never materialized. We are a few years into the recession, prices have remained stable with slow upticks since 2008. The local government and the retail is just fine, they are doing better than most other places and much better than San Diego. My guess it’s because of people like ren and scardey, people who are spending between 10 and 20% of their income on housing, it’s not all they could afford, it’s all they were comfortable affording, a whole new paradigm.

[temeculaguy]

Bearish girl, I concur with what ren said, it’s the budget that matter most but there are other less expensive places that exist in SD, they just dont ofer what Temecula does, especially for those with kids. I’m not disputing that some people aren’t unhappy or that some paid too much during the bubble and may take a long time to recover, but that can be true for a lot of areas. Right now, if you do your homework, you can spend about 300k for a 3000 sq ft house built within the last 5 years. Your taxes will be between 4 and 6k because it’s based on purchase price, so for about 2k a month, you can get more than you need and with top notch schools, probably only surpassed by the carlsbad/encinitas or poway districts.

As far as long term investments, Temecula proper is nearly built out, most houses purchased today are almost rent nuetral from day one, I can find rentals that cash flow from day one, no place in S.D. has the same opportunity. What I think you need to do is actually come check it out or get a tour from a local, your impression is from another time and it’s not the same place it once was. I still think there are nicer places in S.D. than where I live, but comparing apples to apples, dollar for dollar, the 270k i spent on my place would run me between 700k and 1 mil to get a comparable feel as far as the physical house and the community it is in, and that wouldn’t allow for the rest of my plan, the rest of my plan is more important than the real estate part of my plan.

I also think the market in most sd areas is still overpriced so it will appreciate less in the coming years. My place was purchased at peak in the 600’s and then they put money into it, losing it two years later as it value fell below half, in my opinion, the air had already be let out, most of sd has yet to lose similar numbers so it will either still do it, or fail to rise because there is a limit as to what people can afford using traditional mortgages. A 300k place in some of the less desirable places you mentioned willhave just as hard of a time getting to 600k as mine will in the future. Because little old falling apart places with rotten schools dont attract young families, migration out is as likely as migration in. Look at these boards, people talk about places within 5 miles of highways 52, 56 or 5, the Temecula Valley is one of the other places that gets people talking about it and moving to it, more so than the east county or south bay, there’s a reason. The reason is that low crime, good schools and low prices is a winning formula. It was the formula for the Santa Clarita valley in the 1980’s and much of S. Orange county in the 1970’s. All of the talk of this place becoming palmdale or vegas after prices crash never materialized. We are a few years into the recession, prices have remained stable with slow upticks since 2008. The local government and the retail is just fine, they are doing better than most other places and much better than San Diego. My guess it’s because of people like ren and scardey, people who are spending between 10 and 20% of their income on housing, it’s not all they could afford, it’s all they were comfortable affording, a whole new paradigm.

[temeculaguy]

Bearish girl, I concur with what ren said, it’s the budget that matter most but there are other less expensive places that exist in SD, they just dont ofer what Temecula does, especially for those with kids. I’m not disputing that some people aren’t unhappy or that some paid too much during the bubble and may take a long time to recover, but that can be true for a lot of areas. Right now, if you do your homework, you can spend about 300k for a 3000 sq ft house built within the last 5 years. Your taxes will be between 4 and 6k because it’s based on purchase price, so for about 2k a month, you can get more than you need and with top notch schools, probably only surpassed by the carlsbad/encinitas or poway districts.

As far as long term investments, Temecula proper is nearly built out, most houses purchased today are almost rent nuetral from day one, I can find rentals that cash flow from day one, no place in S.D. has the same opportunity. What I think you need to do is actually come check it out or get a tour from a local, your impression is from another time and it’s not the same place it once was. I still think there are nicer places in S.D. than where I live, but comparing apples to apples, dollar for dollar, the 270k i spent on my place would run me between 700k and 1 mil to get a comparable feel as far as the physical house and the community it is in, and that wouldn’t allow for the rest of my plan, the rest of my plan is more important than the real estate part of my plan.

I also think the market in most sd areas is still overpriced so it will appreciate less in the coming years. My place was purchased at peak in the 600’s and then they put money into it, losing it two years later as it value fell below half, in my opinion, the air had already be let out, most of sd has yet to lose similar numbers so it will either still do it, or fail to rise because there is a limit as to what people can afford using traditional mortgages. A 300k place in some of the less desirable places you mentioned willhave just as hard of a time getting to 600k as mine will in the future. Because little old falling apart places with rotten schools dont attract young families, migration out is as likely as migration in. Look at these boards, people talk about places within 5 miles of highways 52, 56 or 5, the Temecula Valley is one of the other places that gets people talking about it and moving to it, more so than the east county or south bay, there’s a reason. The reason is that low crime, good schools and low prices is a winning formula. It was the formula for the Santa Clarita valley in the 1980’s and much of S. Orange county in the 1970’s. All of the talk of this place becoming palmdale or vegas after prices crash never materialized. We are a few years into the recession, prices have remained stable with slow upticks since 2008. The local government and the retail is just fine, they are doing better than most other places and much better than San Diego. My guess it’s because of people like ren and scardey, people who are spending between 10 and 20% of their income on housing, it’s not all they could afford, it’s all they were comfortable affording, a whole new paradigm.

[temeculaguy]

Bearish girl, I concur with what ren said, it’s the budget that matter most but there are other less expensive places that exist in SD, they just dont ofer what Temecula does, especially for those with kids. I’m not disputing that some people aren’t unhappy or that some paid too much during the bubble and may take a long time to recover, but that can be true for a lot of areas. Right now, if you do your homework, you can spend about 300k for a 3000 sq ft house built within the last 5 years. Your taxes will be between 4 and 6k because it’s based on purchase price, so for about 2k a month, you can get more than you need and with top notch schools, probably only surpassed by the carlsbad/encinitas or poway districts.

As far as long term investments, Temecula proper is nearly built out, most houses purchased today are almost rent nuetral from day one, I can find rentals that cash flow from day one, no place in S.D. has the same opportunity. What I think you need to do is actually come check it out or get a tour from a local, your impression is from another time and it’s not the same place it once was. I still think there are nicer places in S.D. than where I live, but comparing apples to apples, dollar for dollar, the 270k i spent on my place would run me between 700k and 1 mil to get a comparable feel as far as the physical house and the community it is in, and that wouldn’t allow for the rest of my plan, the rest of my plan is more important than the real estate part of my plan.

I also think the market in most sd areas is still overpriced so it will appreciate less in the coming years. My place was purchased at peak in the 600’s and then they put money into it, losing it two years later as it value fell below half, in my opinion, the air had already be let out, most of sd has yet to lose similar numbers so it will either still do it, or fail to rise because there is a limit as to what people can afford using traditional mortgages. A 300k place in some of the less desirable places you mentioned willhave just as hard of a time getting to 600k as mine will in the future. Because little old falling apart places with rotten schools dont attract young families, migration out is as likely as migration in. Look at these boards, people talk about places within 5 miles of highways 52, 56 or 5, the Temecula Valley is one of the other places that gets people talking about it and moving to it, more so than the east county or south bay, there’s a reason. The reason is that low crime, good schools and low prices is a winning formula. It was the formula for the Santa Clarita valley in the 1980’s and much of S. Orange county in the 1970’s. All of the talk of this place becoming palmdale or vegas after prices crash never materialized. We are a few years into the recession, prices have remained stable with slow upticks since 2008. The local government and the retail is just fine, they are doing better than most other places and much better than San Diego. My guess it’s because of people like ren and scardey, people who are spending between 10 and 20% of their income on housing, it’s not all they could afford, it’s all they were comfortable affording, a whole new paradigm.

[burghMan]

Honestly paramount, it sounds you are feeling sorry for yourself for reasons other than where you live.

My wife and I moved to Temecula in 2004. We bought, even though I knew the home would never be a good long-term investment. We were “downsizing” – at least in price – from a condo in West LA, so I rationalized it as “reducing my position” in RE at the time.

We chose Temecula because were going to raise our family there. With an 18 month old child and two in the oven, we were looking for the suburban life on a cul-de-sac. And I think we found a pretty nice one.

I have no regrets. None. Temecula is our home. We have every intention of raising our kids through high school there. Since I’ve come to CA, I’ve been fortunate enough to live in many places, including some high-end neighborhoods in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Temecula is great for families. There are no gangs – that is nonsense, and the stats prove it. Sure the city council is a bunch of boneheads – but that’s true more places than not. There is a conservative political slant for sure. I’m generally pretty moderate/liberal but it’s not a problem if I just don’t talk politics with my neighbors (which is good advice in any neighborhood…)

Wine country is nice. We see balloons every weekend – sometimes they fly right over our house! Our kids attend one of the best-ranking public schools in the state.

Don’t listen to the haters. Check it out for yourself. If you decide not to stay, be sure to take some wine home with you.

[burghMan]

Honestly paramount, it sounds you are feeling sorry for yourself for reasons other than where you live.

My wife and I moved to Temecula in 2004. We bought, even though I knew the home would never be a good long-term investment. We were “downsizing” – at least in price – from a condo in West LA, so I rationalized it as “reducing my position” in RE at the time.

We chose Temecula because were going to raise our family there. With an 18 month old child and two in the oven, we were looking for the suburban life on a cul-de-sac. And I think we found a pretty nice one.

I have no regrets. None. Temecula is our home. We have every intention of raising our kids through high school there. Since I’ve come to CA, I’ve been fortunate enough to live in many places, including some high-end neighborhoods in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Temecula is great for families. There are no gangs – that is nonsense, and the stats prove it. Sure the city council is a bunch of boneheads – but that’s true more places than not. There is a conservative political slant for sure. I’m generally pretty moderate/liberal but it’s not a problem if I just don’t talk politics with my neighbors (which is good advice in any neighborhood…)

Wine country is nice. We see balloons every weekend – sometimes they fly right over our house! Our kids attend one of the best-ranking public schools in the state.

Don’t listen to the haters. Check it out for yourself. If you decide not to stay, be sure to take some wine home with you.

[burghMan]

Honestly paramount, it sounds you are feeling sorry for yourself for reasons other than where you live.

My wife and I moved to Temecula in 2004. We bought, even though I knew the home would never be a good long-term investment. We were “downsizing” – at least in price – from a condo in West LA, so I rationalized it as “reducing my position” in RE at the time.

We chose Temecula because were going to raise our family there. With an 18 month old child and two in the oven, we were looking for the suburban life on a cul-de-sac. And I think we found a pretty nice one.

I have no regrets. None. Temecula is our home. We have every intention of raising our kids through high school there. Since I’ve come to CA, I’ve been fortunate enough to live in many places, including some high-end neighborhoods in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Temecula is great for families. There are no gangs – that is nonsense, and the stats prove it. Sure the city council is a bunch of boneheads – but that’s true more places than not. There is a conservative political slant for sure. I’m generally pretty moderate/liberal but it’s not a problem if I just don’t talk politics with my neighbors (which is good advice in any neighborhood…)

Wine country is nice. We see balloons every weekend – sometimes they fly right over our house! Our kids attend one of the best-ranking public schools in the state.

Don’t listen to the haters. Check it out for yourself. If you decide not to stay, be sure to take some wine home with you.

[burghMan]

Honestly paramount, it sounds you are feeling sorry for yourself for reasons other than where you live.

My wife and I moved to Temecula in 2004. We bought, even though I knew the home would never be a good long-term investment. We were “downsizing” – at least in price – from a condo in West LA, so I rationalized it as “reducing my position” in RE at the time.

We chose Temecula because were going to raise our family there. With an 18 month old child and two in the oven, we were looking for the suburban life on a cul-de-sac. And I think we found a pretty nice one.

I have no regrets. None. Temecula is our home. We have every intention of raising our kids through high school there. Since I’ve come to CA, I’ve been fortunate enough to live in many places, including some high-end neighborhoods in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Temecula is great for families. There are no gangs – that is nonsense, and the stats prove it. Sure the city council is a bunch of boneheads – but that’s true more places than not. There is a conservative political slant for sure. I’m generally pretty moderate/liberal but it’s not a problem if I just don’t talk politics with my neighbors (which is good advice in any neighborhood…)

Wine country is nice. We see balloons every weekend – sometimes they fly right over our house! Our kids attend one of the best-ranking public schools in the state.

Don’t listen to the haters. Check it out for yourself. If you decide not to stay, be sure to take some wine home with you.

[burghMan]

Honestly paramount, it sounds you are feeling sorry for yourself for reasons other than where you live.

My wife and I moved to Temecula in 2004. We bought, even though I knew the home would never be a good long-term investment. We were “downsizing” – at least in price – from a condo in West LA, so I rationalized it as “reducing my position” in RE at the time.

We chose Temecula because were going to raise our family there. With an 18 month old child and two in the oven, we were looking for the suburban life on a cul-de-sac. And I think we found a pretty nice one.

I have no regrets. None. Temecula is our home. We have every intention of raising our kids through high school there. Since I’ve come to CA, I’ve been fortunate enough to live in many places, including some high-end neighborhoods in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Temecula is great for families. There are no gangs – that is nonsense, and the stats prove it. Sure the city council is a bunch of boneheads – but that’s true more places than not. There is a conservative political slant for sure. I’m generally pretty moderate/liberal but it’s not a problem if I just don’t talk politics with my neighbors (which is good advice in any neighborhood…)

Wine country is nice. We see balloons every weekend – sometimes they fly right over our house! Our kids attend one of the best-ranking public schools in the state.

Don’t listen to the haters. Check it out for yourself. If you decide not to stay, be sure to take some wine home with you.

[CA renter]

Good posts from TG and ren.

Mr. CAR and I were talking just the other day about all the great things posters have said about Temecula on this blog. It sounds like paradise to us. We couldn’t care less about how “upscale” the coastal area is because we’re not here for the status or anything like that. Unfortunately, we’re stuck on the coast because of commuting reasons (yes, lots of people commute for hours a day, but after doing it for years, we are done with that and would rather rent near work than spend hours in traffic every day). I’m counting down the days until we can get out of this overpriced hell, quite frankly.

If not for the commute, we would already be in Temecula. It sounds like a great place to raise a family, and I congratulate those who’ve made the decision to have a comfortable and *affordable* lifestyle in TV.

[CA renter]

Good posts from TG and ren.

Mr. CAR and I were talking just the other day about all the great things posters have said about Temecula on this blog. It sounds like paradise to us. We couldn’t care less about how “upscale” the coastal area is because we’re not here for the status or anything like that. Unfortunately, we’re stuck on the coast because of commuting reasons (yes, lots of people commute for hours a day, but after doing it for years, we are done with that and would rather rent near work than spend hours in traffic every day). I’m counting down the days until we can get out of this overpriced hell, quite frankly.

If not for the commute, we would already be in Temecula. It sounds like a great place to raise a family, and I congratulate those who’ve made the decision to have a comfortable and *affordable* lifestyle in TV.

[CA renter]

Good posts from TG and ren.

Mr. CAR and I were talking just the other day about all the great things posters have said about Temecula on this blog. It sounds like paradise to us. We couldn’t care less about how “upscale” the coastal area is because we’re not here for the status or anything like that. Unfortunately, we’re stuck on the coast because of commuting reasons (yes, lots of people commute for hours a day, but after doing it for years, we are done with that and would rather rent near work than spend hours in traffic every day). I’m counting down the days until we can get out of this overpriced hell, quite frankly.

If not for the commute, we would already be in Temecula. It sounds like a great place to raise a family, and I congratulate those who’ve made the decision to have a comfortable and *affordable* lifestyle in TV.

[CA renter]

Good posts from TG and ren.

Mr. CAR and I were talking just the other day about all the great things posters have said about Temecula on this blog. It sounds like paradise to us. We couldn’t care less about how “upscale” the coastal area is because we’re not here for the status or anything like that. Unfortunately, we’re stuck on the coast because of commuting reasons (yes, lots of people commute for hours a day, but after doing it for years, we are done with that and would rather rent near work than spend hours in traffic every day). I’m counting down the days until we can get out of this overpriced hell, quite frankly.

If not for the commute, we would already be in Temecula. It sounds like a great place to raise a family, and I congratulate those who’ve made the decision to have a comfortable and *affordable* lifestyle in TV.

[Author]

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