[amy]

update – we’ve decided against making an offer for new construction (we’ve been looking at Viridian in La Costa Greens by Davidson and Messina in La Costa Ridge by Shea). There are many reasons why we have decided to continue renting, at least for now, but the major three are:
1) builder security. We’ve seen three builders within a 5 mile radius of here pull out or go bankrupt over the last few months (Magnolia Estates by Barratt, Symphony in SEH by California Cove and K Havorian in La Costa Greens). Davidson is private so there’s no way to check their finances, but they have to be hurting. The lot we were interested in is a premium lot, and we weren’t on Davidson’s Priority List, but we still could have bought it as it had gone through three interested parties in less than a week. We don’t want to lose thousands of dollars if the construction company folds – a very real prospect.
2) Mortgage companies are almost all requiring a minimum of 20% down. We can technically do this, but we don’t want to invest any more than 10% in a downpayment. My credit score ranges from 790-805 and my husband’s is right there too, but that just doesn’t matter anymore – banks won’t even talk to you unless you are willing to put 20% down. We talked to several brokers, including Anika (who several of you referred me to) and they all said there just isn’t anything else out there. One broker had a 10% down option (out of 20 mortgage lenders he dealt with) but there’s no guarantee that the program will still be in place when we closed in 6-8 months. Which brings me to our final reason –
3) Interest rates. Rates are climbing, and most experts agree that they will continue to do so, despite the Fed’s decision to hold for now. Anika told me she would not be surprised to see rates as high as 8-9% by year end. We would not be able to lock today’s rate, but instead would have to go with whatever deals/rates we could find 45 days before close. Since we don’t have a crystal ball, but we do have brains, we decided that these were not risks we wanted to take.

So the search continues….

[amy]

SD Realtor – thank you so much for your advice & positive email. We LOVE the lot one house is on, but realize that things happen for a reason, so we are ok with walking away if the builders won’t deal (I will be sad, but like the song says, “I will survive”). It’s interesting as this is a premium, large view lot and I was told that it was reserved for Priority List #1 and that there were two other people in line behind them if it fell through (the lot just opened last week) but then I went by the sales office again this weekend & when the sales people saw me they just about threw a party, they were so happy to see me. Apparently everyone on the “Priority list” had contingencies so they had to pass. We weren’t even on the list (we refuse to fill out those pre-qual forms unless we are ready to buy) and now the lot/house is ours if we want it. So even premium lots are not moving quickly now. If they won’t deal, we will just wait & either come back later when it’s fallen out again or find another seller/builder who will deal. We want cost reduction, bottom line.

[amy]

SD Realtor – thank you so much for your advice & positive email. We LOVE the lot one house is on, but realize that things happen for a reason, so we are ok with walking away if the builders won’t deal (I will be sad, but like the song says, “I will survive”). It’s interesting as this is a premium, large view lot and I was told that it was reserved for Priority List #1 and that there were two other people in line behind them if it fell through (the lot just opened last week) but then I went by the sales office again this weekend & when the sales people saw me they just about threw a party, they were so happy to see me. Apparently everyone on the “Priority list” had contingencies so they had to pass. We weren’t even on the list (we refuse to fill out those pre-qual forms unless we are ready to buy) and now the lot/house is ours if we want it. So even premium lots are not moving quickly now. If they won’t deal, we will just wait & either come back later when it’s fallen out again or find another seller/builder who will deal. We want cost reduction, bottom line.

[amy]

SD Realtor – thank you so much for your advice & positive email. We LOVE the lot one house is on, but realize that things happen for a reason, so we are ok with walking away if the builders won’t deal (I will be sad, but like the song says, “I will survive”). It’s interesting as this is a premium, large view lot and I was told that it was reserved for Priority List #1 and that there were two other people in line behind them if it fell through (the lot just opened last week) but then I went by the sales office again this weekend & when the sales people saw me they just about threw a party, they were so happy to see me. Apparently everyone on the “Priority list” had contingencies so they had to pass. We weren’t even on the list (we refuse to fill out those pre-qual forms unless we are ready to buy) and now the lot/house is ours if we want it. So even premium lots are not moving quickly now. If they won’t deal, we will just wait & either come back later when it’s fallen out again or find another seller/builder who will deal. We want cost reduction, bottom line.

[amy]

SD Realtor – thank you so much for your advice & positive email. We LOVE the lot one house is on, but realize that things happen for a reason, so we are ok with walking away if the builders won’t deal (I will be sad, but like the song says, “I will survive”). It’s interesting as this is a premium, large view lot and I was told that it was reserved for Priority List #1 and that there were two other people in line behind them if it fell through (the lot just opened last week) but then I went by the sales office again this weekend & when the sales people saw me they just about threw a party, they were so happy to see me. Apparently everyone on the “Priority list” had contingencies so they had to pass. We weren’t even on the list (we refuse to fill out those pre-qual forms unless we are ready to buy) and now the lot/house is ours if we want it. So even premium lots are not moving quickly now. If they won’t deal, we will just wait & either come back later when it’s fallen out again or find another seller/builder who will deal. We want cost reduction, bottom line.

[amy]

SD Realtor – thank you so much for your advice & positive email. We LOVE the lot one house is on, but realize that things happen for a reason, so we are ok with walking away if the builders won’t deal (I will be sad, but like the song says, “I will survive”). It’s interesting as this is a premium, large view lot and I was told that it was reserved for Priority List #1 and that there were two other people in line behind them if it fell through (the lot just opened last week) but then I went by the sales office again this weekend & when the sales people saw me they just about threw a party, they were so happy to see me. Apparently everyone on the “Priority list” had contingencies so they had to pass. We weren’t even on the list (we refuse to fill out those pre-qual forms unless we are ready to buy) and now the lot/house is ours if we want it. So even premium lots are not moving quickly now. If they won’t deal, we will just wait & either come back later when it’s fallen out again or find another seller/builder who will deal. We want cost reduction, bottom line.

[amy]

I have a 2 yr old, an almost 4 yr old and an almost 6 yr old – all boys. They all have pretty good manners, but I am always encouraging consistency. There are a couple of books that we all (kids & adults) love that have also reinforced they what & why of manners for kids…”Time To Say Please” by Mo Willems (the guy who wrote “Knuffle Bunny” and many other great books) and “Do Unto Otters” by Laurie Keller (who wrote “Scrambled States of America” – another favorite). Also, my two oldest boys are taking karate now which also reinforces respect & manners. Karate might be too young for your child – Jake was 3.5 when he started and he’s just now getting the hang of it. The right preschool can really help too – for some reason kids seem to listen better when it’s not their parents teaching them! 🙂 Good luck & kudos for making the effort!

[amy]

I have a 2 yr old, an almost 4 yr old and an almost 6 yr old – all boys. They all have pretty good manners, but I am always encouraging consistency. There are a couple of books that we all (kids & adults) love that have also reinforced they what & why of manners for kids…”Time To Say Please” by Mo Willems (the guy who wrote “Knuffle Bunny” and many other great books) and “Do Unto Otters” by Laurie Keller (who wrote “Scrambled States of America” – another favorite). Also, my two oldest boys are taking karate now which also reinforces respect & manners. Karate might be too young for your child – Jake was 3.5 when he started and he’s just now getting the hang of it. The right preschool can really help too – for some reason kids seem to listen better when it’s not their parents teaching them! 🙂 Good luck & kudos for making the effort!

[amy]

I have a 2 yr old, an almost 4 yr old and an almost 6 yr old – all boys. They all have pretty good manners, but I am always encouraging consistency. There are a couple of books that we all (kids & adults) love that have also reinforced they what & why of manners for kids…”Time To Say Please” by Mo Willems (the guy who wrote “Knuffle Bunny” and many other great books) and “Do Unto Otters” by Laurie Keller (who wrote “Scrambled States of America” – another favorite). Also, my two oldest boys are taking karate now which also reinforces respect & manners. Karate might be too young for your child – Jake was 3.5 when he started and he’s just now getting the hang of it. The right preschool can really help too – for some reason kids seem to listen better when it’s not their parents teaching them! 🙂 Good luck & kudos for making the effort!

[amy]

I have a 2 yr old, an almost 4 yr old and an almost 6 yr old – all boys. They all have pretty good manners, but I am always encouraging consistency. There are a couple of books that we all (kids & adults) love that have also reinforced they what & why of manners for kids…”Time To Say Please” by Mo Willems (the guy who wrote “Knuffle Bunny” and many other great books) and “Do Unto Otters” by Laurie Keller (who wrote “Scrambled States of America” – another favorite). Also, my two oldest boys are taking karate now which also reinforces respect & manners. Karate might be too young for your child – Jake was 3.5 when he started and he’s just now getting the hang of it. The right preschool can really help too – for some reason kids seem to listen better when it’s not their parents teaching them! 🙂 Good luck & kudos for making the effort!

[amy]

I have a 2 yr old, an almost 4 yr old and an almost 6 yr old – all boys. They all have pretty good manners, but I am always encouraging consistency. There are a couple of books that we all (kids & adults) love that have also reinforced they what & why of manners for kids…”Time To Say Please” by Mo Willems (the guy who wrote “Knuffle Bunny” and many other great books) and “Do Unto Otters” by Laurie Keller (who wrote “Scrambled States of America” – another favorite). Also, my two oldest boys are taking karate now which also reinforces respect & manners. Karate might be too young for your child – Jake was 3.5 when he started and he’s just now getting the hang of it. The right preschool can really help too – for some reason kids seem to listen better when it’s not their parents teaching them! 🙂 Good luck & kudos for making the effort!

[amy]

I’m not buying either of these houses, or anything else for a while. But I thought it might make for an interesting discussion as Amber Lane has been the subject of some recent posts. But thanks for your classy comment.

[amy]

I’m not buying either of these houses, or anything else for a while. But I thought it might make for an interesting discussion as Amber Lane has been the subject of some recent posts. But thanks for your classy comment.

[amy]

I’m not buying either of these houses, or anything else for a while. But I thought it might make for an interesting discussion as Amber Lane has been the subject of some recent posts. But thanks for your classy comment.

[amy]

I’m not buying either of these houses, or anything else for a while. But I thought it might make for an interesting discussion as Amber Lane has been the subject of some recent posts. But thanks for your classy comment.

[Author]

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