Some Advice Please

[romo2882]

Hello all, since being turned on to this site by a friend several months ago I have been a regular reader of these boards and have been blown away by the honest assesments of this market and the quality of the posters. I’d like to run my situation by some of you, hoping to benefit from the knowledge and experience around here. My family bought our 3-bed house in Vista (work in the vicinity of Balboa park) in 2000 and are looking to sell this year, because we have simply outgrown it, not to mention the growing trend of multi-family homes nearby and some of the less than desirable school districts. I am sitting on some pretty good equity. I can still sell and walk away “up” a decent amount even considering the market downturn. Now the question of where to buy. I think I make pretty good income, but I am simply priced out of SD. These “shell-game” loans are out of the question, I am a 20%+ down,30 year fixed kind of guy. I was considering Temecula,Winchester,Murietta, which is still priced with some sanity (can get a 2500+ sq. ft 4 bed for mid 400’s) but this will add at least an hour to my commute, but I dont see any other choice, a comparable home in SD is still 750+. Would sitting on my house seeing which way the market goes the remainder of this year be a good idea, or should I sell sooner rather than later, antcipating a larger dip coming). I guess I am asking a “what would you do in my shoes” question. Appreciate your advice!

[startingout]

Congratulations to you for being in such a desirable position, able to move up into a better house- I, for my part, would be happy to just get into a house period, but it looks like my generation is screwed.

My only comment would be that Murrieta/Temecula/Winchester are NOT priced with any sanity when you consider where they are located- just because the price is lower doesn’t mean that it isn’t vastly overvalued.

I would consider what would bring more joy to my way of life- a bigger house and 2 hours on the highway everyday, or making my life fit into my current house, and having 2 more hours per day to spend with family. Whichever one works better for your family, there’s your answer.

[startingout]

Congratulations to you for being in such a desirable position, able to move up into a better house- I, for my part, would be happy to just get into a house period, but it looks like my generation is screwed.

My only comment would be that Murrieta/Temecula/Winchester are NOT priced with any sanity when you consider where they are located- just because the price is lower doesn’t mean that it isn’t vastly overvalued.

I would consider what would bring more joy to my way of life- a bigger house and 2 hours on the highway everyday, or making my life fit into my current house, and having 2 more hours per day to spend with family. Whichever one works better for your family, there’s your answer.

[bigmoneysalsa]

Read Rich’s bubble primer. Understand that San Diego home prices will be affordable for you if you are willing to rent for a couple of years.

Sell now. Price aggressively for a quick sale.

Rent someplace closer to work and enjoy a higher quality of life. I assume from your comment about outgrowing your house that you have young children. They will benefit much more from getting to see you an extra 2 hours everyday then they would from a big house in Temecula.

Buy back in whenever San Diego prices become affordable for you.

[hipmatt]

I would sell your home if you can. I think thatis the smart thing to do. You say that you like SD, I would rent in your favorite SD area, something close to work. You may find that in a few years you can afford that home in SD that you dream of.

I STRONGLY encourage you to STAY AWAY from Tem, Mur, Winc as they are extremely overpriced too, and the commute is gonna get worse, plus gas has no where to go but up. Your quality of life would suffer. Traffic is horrible up here(I live here), and the people are getting crazy. Don’t buy into a floor plan, buy into location. But right now, don’t buy anything. RENT!

[SD Realtor]

romo –

My advice would be to sell your home and rent a home that is larger and closer to your employer to reduce your communte. What sort of rent could you afford? I believe that the upcoming (current) depreciation cycle is going to hurt certain regions more then others. I feel that the areas such as Temecula, Murietta and Winchester could get hit pretty hard, perhaps as hard or harder then Vista. I also advise that if you are going to buy out there, take a very hard look the raw numbers with regards to how much you would be spending a year on fuel and car repair. Finally and perhaps most important the quality of life. If you have outgrown your home I would guess you have kids so you will need to subtract time with your family and add time sitting on the road.

You do not have to own a home to life a good life with your family. I rent, and really do want to buy, and there are some definite downers about renting, but for your situation I think selling, pocketing the cash, and then renting for awhile closer to San Diego may do you well.

SD Realtor

[cashman]

Sell as fast as you can. Take advantage of the temporary dead cat bounce in the market. Take the money and run! Rent, park your money in a CD or high yield money market, put a portion, say 10 percent, in gold. Rent until the end of 2008, then assess the market at that time. There is no reason to buy any sooner. You might be surprised that you can afford a home where you really want to buy.

[romo2882]

Thank you everyone for your replies so far. The recurring theme of the replies is quality of life, and when framed in those terms it forces one to clarify for themselves their priorities. Time spent with the family is #1 and everything else flows from that, so I definately see renting closer to work my most desirable option, should I decide to sell. I already regard my commute from Vista to Balboa Park nightmarish, so to tack on additional hours for the trek up and down the 15 from Riverside Co. just might be unbearable. It’s just hard to wrap my head around the price differential between the counties, and to resist the urge to jump into that area based on price alone. I need to start regarding my time as being valuable as well 🙂

[romo2882]

SD Realtor,

Thanks for the reply. I need to crunch the numbers on the rent affordability. My timing worked out pretty well to where I bought the house near the base of the spike with a good amount down, so my mortgage + prop tax is less than a lot of the rent amounts I am finding on some of these search engines for similiarly spec’d properties.

[little lady]

Temecula/Murrieta area has allot of repo/bank owned/and shortsales already. Go to craiglist and pop in the afore mentioned groups. You’ll find them, and this is just the beginning, they are going down. Wait……

[recordsclerk]

Although I too belive the housing market is going to crash, I can’t gaurantee it and would not gamble on it. Since you live in your home you should not treat it as an investment. You said the current home you live in was purchased in 2000 and if you haven’t taken out an equity loan against it, your payment and tax should be very favorable. Like you said you may not be able to rent the same place for less then you are paying now. Selling your house and putting the procedes into a CD is not a bad idea. The interest on the CD would help you with some of the rent. Other things you should consider:
1. the hassell of moving (twice)
2. the school district
3. the commute
4. relocating your family and the affect it will have on them.
5. the cost of selling and buying a home.
There are some places in San Diego, but not near Balboa Park that are affordable. There is a new development in Fallbrook right next to the freeway with larger homes for around $500,000.
I am a home owner that purchased in 2001 and wants to move up. My neighbors rent the house next to mine for more then I pay for mortgage, taxes and insurance. I was fortunate to buy back then. I’m not going to sell now and rent because it doesn’t favor my situation. I can save more money for my next home by staying in my current home. I am sitting on the fence waiting for prices to drop and if they don’t I can live with that.

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