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Interesting stuff New Guy. The ironic thing is that many homeowners screw themselves by filing these class action law suits against builders. Once people claim their homes have construction defects they have to disclose this and that typically reduces the value of their homes. Who wants to buy in to a development that is known to be poorly built when there are other options out there. This is especially a poor situation when there are in fact no ‘defects’ to speak of.

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They could never build there. It’s in a flood plane.

Here are details of the project:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060319/news_2m19lagoon.html#

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Which community is that?

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All communities have their issues. I think Del Sur is pretty nice. I understand about the bridge thing now. I was initially thinking if the bridge closer to Carmel Valley Road (not the one just past Santaluz).

There is a pretty wide range of properties out there. I don’t think they all are yardless. And, who needs a driveway? I would rather have landscaping or house in that space. Squeeze in the sqft. 😉 Ironically, San Diego has such great weather, but we build the largest houses in the smallest amount of space possible with no yards.

Anyway, if I could afford it, I would move there. I still think it has a great location. Close to 56 and 15, and not a bad ride to the beach down Del Dios -> Via De La Valle or though Fairbanks on San Dieguito Road -> Via Del La Valle. Bring the dogs to dog beach.

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That makes sense. I remember talking to lenders and them telling me how much I could ‘afford’ doing all sorts of various tricks… stated income, etc. I always thought it was strange they could tell me I could afford some rediculous payments. I would always say: no… I can’t afford that.

Seems like a combination of lenders, realtors, and ill-informed consumers. The perfect frenzi storm. Not to mention the ponzi schemers I just read about. Crazy stuff.

I’ve worked with many real estate agents. It shows how important it is to work with the right one. They should be looking for the best interest of the customer, not themselves. I guess that goes for the lender too. I can see all of the greed now.

Too bad they don’t make the real estate agent exam much harder. That thing is a joke. And, these ‘agents’ are advising people on probably the most expensive asset they own.

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Why would you want to live out of the states? I know different areas of the world are cheaper, but I feel this is the best country in the world. I have not travelled everywhere, but have been to many places. I would not trade the USA for anywhere.

San Diego is my choice for retirement locale. The wheather is just too good here.

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Thanks TheBreeze. Interesting read and very shameful.

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I’m pretty sure Camino Del Sur was built with expansion in mind.

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What traffic problems are you referring to? It is pretty close to both the 15 and the 56. There are plenty of roads going in and out. Right now it doesn’t connect to the 4S ranch area, but it will soon. I don’t see traffic as an issue relative to the rest of the county.

I agree that mello-roos are brutile. 1.9% is a lot to pay especially when you get to the more expensive homes. Unfortunately I think that is really hurting the builders. Another reason I don’t like prop 13.

From what I understand, sales have been a bit slow. Construction has slowed down but still moving.

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Some good suggestions here. I guess I should have stated that leaving San Diego is not an option. 🙂

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Why does everyone think it has been fraud that has inflated pricing so much. I can see some speculative buyers bringing up the pricing a little, but I’m not understanding the theory that there are a select few who have made out like bandits here. The speculators are taking on risk too.

What am I missing?

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That makes total sense. I wan’t meaning to say you did the wrong thing. I was only making the point that RE is a good investment, just now now as you said.

I have lived here in San Diego for almost 30 years. Real estate has always been more expensive here than LA/SF with respect to wages. SD is so much better than LA although the influx of people over the last 5-10 years has been insane. Traffic is unbelieveable around here sometimes. But, I guess that is the price to be paid to live in a nice area. We could be in Kentucky or something.

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I can understand what you are saying. It it nice to be able to have low monthly payments and be able to have the ‘liquidity’ of your residence (being able to pretty much walk away at any time).

If I were to come here today, I would not buy a place. I would do exactly what you are doing. The amount of money reqired to buy a house and keep up with the payments is tough, especially considering what you can get by renting here.

But, what if you would have bought a place from the beginning instead of renting all of those rooms? Sure, you would not have been living in Del Mar or Solana Beach. But, you would have had an appreciating asset along with a vehicle for tax write-offs, etc.

In the long term, real estate makes great sense. For short term, you need to keep an eye on the market. As I said, now I would not buy. Kensington is a great place by the way.

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I did some research on these programs to try and figure out why they are so expensive ($3,500). Basically, $1,000 of that goes to the company and the remainding $2,500 is a commission structure. The more loans you sell, the more commission you get. And, if you can get people to work for you, you get a percentage of all of their deals including people that work for them. Supposedly this is a structure used in the insurance industry, but it sounded like a pyramid-type structure to me.

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Who would buy that house?

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