Where to buy with $1mm? Oceanside? La Costa?

[nybuyer]

So here’s the deal. I’ve been watching LA/OC/SD housing markets for the last 4 or 5 years now – and been utterly dumbfounded with the rate at which prices were rising – just like all the other bubble watchers out there.

I’ve saved and saved and saved waiting for what’s now happening in the market – price correction!

I’ve now got a budget of $1mm ($400K of which is cash) to spend in So. Cal, and have become increasingly partial to SD, given the relative value you get compared to the OC/LA.

I spent all of last weekend looking at new communities in Oceanside, Carlsbad and other parts of San Diego, and really liked a couple of the developments: Buckingham by KB Homes in Oceanside, Tiburon at Stonebridge Estates, and Scripps Preserve at Stonebridge. Any thoughts on these???

The value at Buckingham in Oceanside is unbelievable ($130-150/sf…1+acre lots). I’m just not sure about the area, the military base, etc. Its only 8 miles from the coast, so weather-wise, it should be great. Does anyone have a view on this development/area?

With Tiburon/Scripps Preserve, I liked the wooded area, but I’m still concerned about price (at the top/over my budget), and am not sure about the location – seemed very exurb-y. I love the homes and the layouts though. Again, still within 10 miles of the coast, so I’m guessing the climate will also be pretty temperate. Thoughts?

Any other areas/developments I should consider???

Thanks in advance!!!

[SDEngineer]

Oceanside isn’t generally considered a good area of San Diego to buy in – yes, it’s on the coast, but it’s demographics are pretty low end, it’s a long commute to most of the good job centers and attractions in San Diego (with the exception of the Carlsbad area jobs/attractions), it has significant gang issues in areas, an overall poor school district, and is generally considered a lower middle-class area to live in.

Scripps Ranch is considered a well-to-do upper middle-class area, some of the best schools in San Diego (Poway Unified School District, one of the two best in SD), and while definitely a suburban area, isn’t too far out from the main job centers and attractions in San Diego. Drawback is that the particular developments you are looking at are at the edges of Scripps Ranch, which is considered to be a very severe wildfire hazard area.

Between the two, I’d take Scripps Ranch in a heartbeat (and have – lived in San Diego all my life, I’ve lived in Scripps twice. I wouldn’t live in Oceanside unless I was paid to). Just keep your fire insurance up to date in Scripps, and make sure your builder is creating a very good perimeter (and that you maintain that perimeter once bought).

You might also try looking in the Carmel Valley and 4S Ranch areas – both are also high end areas with excellent schools with ample choices in the million $$$ range.

[SDEngineer]

Oceanside isn’t generally considered a good area of San Diego to buy in – yes, it’s on the coast, but it’s demographics are pretty low end, it’s a long commute to most of the good job centers and attractions in San Diego (with the exception of the Carlsbad area jobs/attractions), it has significant gang issues in areas, an overall poor school district, and is generally considered a lower middle-class area to live in.

Scripps Ranch is considered a well-to-do upper middle-class area, some of the best schools in San Diego (Poway Unified School District, one of the two best in SD), and while definitely a suburban area, isn’t too far out from the main job centers and attractions in San Diego. Drawback is that the particular developments you are looking at are at the edges of Scripps Ranch, which is considered to be a very severe wildfire hazard area.

Between the two, I’d take Scripps Ranch in a heartbeat (and have – lived in San Diego all my life, I’ve lived in Scripps twice. I wouldn’t live in Oceanside unless I was paid to). Just keep your fire insurance up to date in Scripps, and make sure your builder is creating a very good perimeter (and that you maintain that perimeter once bought).

You might also try looking in the Carmel Valley and 4S Ranch areas – both are also high end areas with excellent schools with ample choices in the million $$$ range.

[SDEngineer]

Oceanside isn’t generally considered a good area of San Diego to buy in – yes, it’s on the coast, but it’s demographics are pretty low end, it’s a long commute to most of the good job centers and attractions in San Diego (with the exception of the Carlsbad area jobs/attractions), it has significant gang issues in areas, an overall poor school district, and is generally considered a lower middle-class area to live in.

Scripps Ranch is considered a well-to-do upper middle-class area, some of the best schools in San Diego (Poway Unified School District, one of the two best in SD), and while definitely a suburban area, isn’t too far out from the main job centers and attractions in San Diego. Drawback is that the particular developments you are looking at are at the edges of Scripps Ranch, which is considered to be a very severe wildfire hazard area.

Between the two, I’d take Scripps Ranch in a heartbeat (and have – lived in San Diego all my life, I’ve lived in Scripps twice. I wouldn’t live in Oceanside unless I was paid to). Just keep your fire insurance up to date in Scripps, and make sure your builder is creating a very good perimeter (and that you maintain that perimeter once bought).

You might also try looking in the Carmel Valley and 4S Ranch areas – both are also high end areas with excellent schools with ample choices in the million $$$ range.

[SDEngineer]

Oceanside isn’t generally considered a good area of San Diego to buy in – yes, it’s on the coast, but it’s demographics are pretty low end, it’s a long commute to most of the good job centers and attractions in San Diego (with the exception of the Carlsbad area jobs/attractions), it has significant gang issues in areas, an overall poor school district, and is generally considered a lower middle-class area to live in.

Scripps Ranch is considered a well-to-do upper middle-class area, some of the best schools in San Diego (Poway Unified School District, one of the two best in SD), and while definitely a suburban area, isn’t too far out from the main job centers and attractions in San Diego. Drawback is that the particular developments you are looking at are at the edges of Scripps Ranch, which is considered to be a very severe wildfire hazard area.

Between the two, I’d take Scripps Ranch in a heartbeat (and have – lived in San Diego all my life, I’ve lived in Scripps twice. I wouldn’t live in Oceanside unless I was paid to). Just keep your fire insurance up to date in Scripps, and make sure your builder is creating a very good perimeter (and that you maintain that perimeter once bought).

You might also try looking in the Carmel Valley and 4S Ranch areas – both are also high end areas with excellent schools with ample choices in the million $$$ range.

[SDEngineer]

Oceanside isn’t generally considered a good area of San Diego to buy in – yes, it’s on the coast, but it’s demographics are pretty low end, it’s a long commute to most of the good job centers and attractions in San Diego (with the exception of the Carlsbad area jobs/attractions), it has significant gang issues in areas, an overall poor school district, and is generally considered a lower middle-class area to live in.

Scripps Ranch is considered a well-to-do upper middle-class area, some of the best schools in San Diego (Poway Unified School District, one of the two best in SD), and while definitely a suburban area, isn’t too far out from the main job centers and attractions in San Diego. Drawback is that the particular developments you are looking at are at the edges of Scripps Ranch, which is considered to be a very severe wildfire hazard area.

Between the two, I’d take Scripps Ranch in a heartbeat (and have – lived in San Diego all my life, I’ve lived in Scripps twice. I wouldn’t live in Oceanside unless I was paid to). Just keep your fire insurance up to date in Scripps, and make sure your builder is creating a very good perimeter (and that you maintain that perimeter once bought).

You might also try looking in the Carmel Valley and 4S Ranch areas – both are also high end areas with excellent schools with ample choices in the million $$$ range.

[SD Realtor]

nybuyer a couple of questions… Have you been living here in San Diego long? Also what sort of commute are you looking at? What part of town do you work in? Are schools important or not? Are you a beach person or does something like that not really matter?

I guess what I am getting at is if you had your whim at ANY location in San Diego where would it be? If you could take your ideal home and plop it on any lot in the county what would be best for you? I think that is an important consideration given what you have stated.

Based on the two regions you spoke of, to me it is a no brainer, I would rather be in Scripps then Oceanside. Yet that is only my choice and it is also driven by my need to be in a somewhat central location in the county and my engineering offices in Sorrento Valley. As for Scripps itself my taste is not for the Preserve or Stonebridge. Personally I feel that those areas are still in for a pretty heavy ride down. If I have my choice I would go for old Scripps south of Pomerado but that is just me. As a side note I think Oceanside is also going to continue to get hit pretty hard.

As for the fire hazard card that is a true fact that cannot be denied. Yet if you are going to scratch off homes because of fire hazards then ALOT of areas will drop off your list.

Again this is just my personal taste and it has no bearing on what may work for you. If I had more money I would gravitate towards the coast rather then live in Scripps. Noting against Scripps cuz I like it here but if I could get a 2500 sf home on 10k sf lot in say Carmel Valley with no MR then I would. Not much of that out there though except I do like the area off of Del Mar Heights and pricing there is just starting to come down to that level and there are no MR there. I also would like Cardiff west of 5 but pricing there is not at 1M yet for most of the stock… Again, I could go on forever reeling off places I would rather be if I had a million but if you can answer some of the above questions I may be able to throw you some ideas.

Of course, if you could rent for another year or two that would be most optimal.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

nybuyer a couple of questions… Have you been living here in San Diego long? Also what sort of commute are you looking at? What part of town do you work in? Are schools important or not? Are you a beach person or does something like that not really matter?

I guess what I am getting at is if you had your whim at ANY location in San Diego where would it be? If you could take your ideal home and plop it on any lot in the county what would be best for you? I think that is an important consideration given what you have stated.

Based on the two regions you spoke of, to me it is a no brainer, I would rather be in Scripps then Oceanside. Yet that is only my choice and it is also driven by my need to be in a somewhat central location in the county and my engineering offices in Sorrento Valley. As for Scripps itself my taste is not for the Preserve or Stonebridge. Personally I feel that those areas are still in for a pretty heavy ride down. If I have my choice I would go for old Scripps south of Pomerado but that is just me. As a side note I think Oceanside is also going to continue to get hit pretty hard.

As for the fire hazard card that is a true fact that cannot be denied. Yet if you are going to scratch off homes because of fire hazards then ALOT of areas will drop off your list.

Again this is just my personal taste and it has no bearing on what may work for you. If I had more money I would gravitate towards the coast rather then live in Scripps. Noting against Scripps cuz I like it here but if I could get a 2500 sf home on 10k sf lot in say Carmel Valley with no MR then I would. Not much of that out there though except I do like the area off of Del Mar Heights and pricing there is just starting to come down to that level and there are no MR there. I also would like Cardiff west of 5 but pricing there is not at 1M yet for most of the stock… Again, I could go on forever reeling off places I would rather be if I had a million but if you can answer some of the above questions I may be able to throw you some ideas.

Of course, if you could rent for another year or two that would be most optimal.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

nybuyer a couple of questions… Have you been living here in San Diego long? Also what sort of commute are you looking at? What part of town do you work in? Are schools important or not? Are you a beach person or does something like that not really matter?

I guess what I am getting at is if you had your whim at ANY location in San Diego where would it be? If you could take your ideal home and plop it on any lot in the county what would be best for you? I think that is an important consideration given what you have stated.

Based on the two regions you spoke of, to me it is a no brainer, I would rather be in Scripps then Oceanside. Yet that is only my choice and it is also driven by my need to be in a somewhat central location in the county and my engineering offices in Sorrento Valley. As for Scripps itself my taste is not for the Preserve or Stonebridge. Personally I feel that those areas are still in for a pretty heavy ride down. If I have my choice I would go for old Scripps south of Pomerado but that is just me. As a side note I think Oceanside is also going to continue to get hit pretty hard.

As for the fire hazard card that is a true fact that cannot be denied. Yet if you are going to scratch off homes because of fire hazards then ALOT of areas will drop off your list.

Again this is just my personal taste and it has no bearing on what may work for you. If I had more money I would gravitate towards the coast rather then live in Scripps. Noting against Scripps cuz I like it here but if I could get a 2500 sf home on 10k sf lot in say Carmel Valley with no MR then I would. Not much of that out there though except I do like the area off of Del Mar Heights and pricing there is just starting to come down to that level and there are no MR there. I also would like Cardiff west of 5 but pricing there is not at 1M yet for most of the stock… Again, I could go on forever reeling off places I would rather be if I had a million but if you can answer some of the above questions I may be able to throw you some ideas.

Of course, if you could rent for another year or two that would be most optimal.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

nybuyer a couple of questions… Have you been living here in San Diego long? Also what sort of commute are you looking at? What part of town do you work in? Are schools important or not? Are you a beach person or does something like that not really matter?

I guess what I am getting at is if you had your whim at ANY location in San Diego where would it be? If you could take your ideal home and plop it on any lot in the county what would be best for you? I think that is an important consideration given what you have stated.

Based on the two regions you spoke of, to me it is a no brainer, I would rather be in Scripps then Oceanside. Yet that is only my choice and it is also driven by my need to be in a somewhat central location in the county and my engineering offices in Sorrento Valley. As for Scripps itself my taste is not for the Preserve or Stonebridge. Personally I feel that those areas are still in for a pretty heavy ride down. If I have my choice I would go for old Scripps south of Pomerado but that is just me. As a side note I think Oceanside is also going to continue to get hit pretty hard.

As for the fire hazard card that is a true fact that cannot be denied. Yet if you are going to scratch off homes because of fire hazards then ALOT of areas will drop off your list.

Again this is just my personal taste and it has no bearing on what may work for you. If I had more money I would gravitate towards the coast rather then live in Scripps. Noting against Scripps cuz I like it here but if I could get a 2500 sf home on 10k sf lot in say Carmel Valley with no MR then I would. Not much of that out there though except I do like the area off of Del Mar Heights and pricing there is just starting to come down to that level and there are no MR there. I also would like Cardiff west of 5 but pricing there is not at 1M yet for most of the stock… Again, I could go on forever reeling off places I would rather be if I had a million but if you can answer some of the above questions I may be able to throw you some ideas.

Of course, if you could rent for another year or two that would be most optimal.

SD Realtor

[SD Realtor]

nybuyer a couple of questions… Have you been living here in San Diego long? Also what sort of commute are you looking at? What part of town do you work in? Are schools important or not? Are you a beach person or does something like that not really matter?

I guess what I am getting at is if you had your whim at ANY location in San Diego where would it be? If you could take your ideal home and plop it on any lot in the county what would be best for you? I think that is an important consideration given what you have stated.

Based on the two regions you spoke of, to me it is a no brainer, I would rather be in Scripps then Oceanside. Yet that is only my choice and it is also driven by my need to be in a somewhat central location in the county and my engineering offices in Sorrento Valley. As for Scripps itself my taste is not for the Preserve or Stonebridge. Personally I feel that those areas are still in for a pretty heavy ride down. If I have my choice I would go for old Scripps south of Pomerado but that is just me. As a side note I think Oceanside is also going to continue to get hit pretty hard.

As for the fire hazard card that is a true fact that cannot be denied. Yet if you are going to scratch off homes because of fire hazards then ALOT of areas will drop off your list.

Again this is just my personal taste and it has no bearing on what may work for you. If I had more money I would gravitate towards the coast rather then live in Scripps. Noting against Scripps cuz I like it here but if I could get a 2500 sf home on 10k sf lot in say Carmel Valley with no MR then I would. Not much of that out there though except I do like the area off of Del Mar Heights and pricing there is just starting to come down to that level and there are no MR there. I also would like Cardiff west of 5 but pricing there is not at 1M yet for most of the stock… Again, I could go on forever reeling off places I would rather be if I had a million but if you can answer some of the above questions I may be able to throw you some ideas.

Of course, if you could rent for another year or two that would be most optimal.

SD Realtor

[farbet]

La Costa Valley LCV. here is a good one you can deal on. OC Blog

http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2008/05/case-for-more-stringent-re-licensure.html

[farbet]

La Costa Valley LCV. here is a good one you can deal on. OC Blog

http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2008/05/case-for-more-stringent-re-licensure.html

[farbet]

La Costa Valley LCV. here is a good one you can deal on. OC Blog

http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2008/05/case-for-more-stringent-re-licensure.html

[farbet]

La Costa Valley LCV. here is a good one you can deal on. OC Blog

http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2008/05/case-for-more-stringent-re-licensure.html

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