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earlyretirement
Participant[quote=ocrenter]
I think they may have contract obligations to the bond holder to keep it at a certain interest rate??? just speculation on my part.
haha, we are in lizard country, aka Stonebridge. According to some people’s Thomas Guide, the place is so far flung they didn’t even assign a page #![/quote]
Yes, I thought about that as a possibility. Like with the PUSD Capital Appreciation Bond mess and the lack of them being able to refinance lower. It’s all shady and even when you try to investigate and find answers it’s usually a dead end.
Our only hope with that is the media and that they continue to press forward with investigations and reporting it. It’s the taxpayers biggest ally.
Stonebridge is great….. We have a friend living there and they LOVE it and our realtor also lives out there and raves about it. Such beautiful homes as well. That’s a great area. far flung..ha ha. Yeah, I get a crack out of some of that “far flung and lizardland” talk….
Participant[quote=EconProf]We agree on most of this, ER. Like much in economics and finance, decisions hinge on assumptions we must make with imperfect knowledge. If the MR does go up 2% a year (which is not assured–they went down for the past two years), then my 4.2% hurdle becomes 6.2%. Since I have 6% mortgages I could pay down with this money, its a tossup.
One question that has been batted around on this thread is whether paying off the MR translates automatically into a correspondingly higher value to the property. If not, IOW if buyers are not perfectly rational, then someone could lose by paying off the MR and then moving. So I should estimate my odd of moving in the next few years and factor that in to the decision.
In general, I think that buyers are pretty rational, and plug do MR’s into prices automatically. A heavy MR will lower a property’s value; its absense will raise it. For a buyer to swear off MR areas entirely would not be rational, since in newer areas they are practically impossible to avoid. If one has a family with school kids, MR is the price you pay for better schools, on average.
As for the close-together, grotesquely large and expensive new houses they are putting up around Santaluz in 4S and Del Sur, I agree with BG that they are not to my taste. But you are paying for the demographics, the shopping, and the resale value, and that is what is compelling to today’s buyers.[/quote]Yes, EconProof. I do agree with you that your example isn’t as compelling as mine was. I think it’s GREAT that CFD #2 was refinanced to take advantage of this low interest rate environment and I’ve questioned publicly and encouraged the Press to see why ALL CFD’s haven’t refinanced at the lower rates.
Probably in your situation I’d maybe not pay off CFD #2 but I still would pay off CFD #4.
I do think you have to assume that the rate WILL go up from here out forward. We were in a very unusual situation the past few years but I think you would agree that interest rates can’t stay artificially low for too much longer. Plus, they already refinanced so the rate won’t be going down. It will only move up from here on out. To be conservative, I think you should assume that.
Absolutely, I totally agree you have to factor in the odds you will move/sell in the next few years. No doubt about it.
But still, I don’t think that anyone paying it off won’t be able to recoup it. I don’t believe lenders loan for future CFD tax liability but if you increase your price of your house, you could get a loan for home value.
I also believe that we won’t see the lows and the housing depth mess like we saw after the last crash with no-doc loans and anyone with a heartbeat getting a mortgage. So I assume we’ve seen the lows. Not to say there couldn’t be more ups and downs but I don’t honestly see a situation like we saw before. I do believe that anyone that bought at the depths of the lows were truly fortunate and timed it right.
Yes, I agree that not all the communities around here are my cup of tea. For example, several developments in Carmel Valley like Pacific Highlands Ranch totally aren’t worth it with 5 or 6 people looking in on your backyard and NO privacy. I also don’t find anything too special about 4S Ranch.
But there are several beautiful developments around here. We have friends in several of them and they truly love living around here. (Verrazzano, Santa Monica, Del Sur, Fairbanks Summit, Crosby, Collins Ranch, and of course Santaluz).
[quote=ocrenter][quote=EconProf]Since early retirement and I both live in Santaluz and face Mello-Roos fees, we met up today to compare notes. It turns out the decision of whether or not to pay off the MR is not at all clear cut.
I brought my tax bill with me so we could crunch the numbers to see if it is worthwhile. I also called earlier today, the number on the tax bill to learn my cost to pay it off, and got additional information about MR.
My bill contains two MR payments, CFD#2 for $2108 per year, and expiring in 2030, and Poway Unified, CFD#4 for $904 per year. I only called the number for the first, which revealed that my cost would be “about $30,000” to pay off (exact amount would cost me $500 to find out, but would apply as a credit to the payoff). That means if the amount stayed the same for the next 17 years, I would pay a total of about $36,000.
It clearly appears I should NOT pay it off, given that I could invest that $30,000 today and have it double assuming a mere 4.2% annual ROR compounded. Of course the unknowns are 1) Will that $2108 stay the same for 17 years, and 2) Will that expiration date of 2030 stay the same.
The guy I talked to on the phone was reassuring on both counts, but I do not share his confidence. Still, changes in 1 or 2, or both, would have to be pretty major to prompt me to pay it off. And the hurdle of 4.2%, (or 5%, or 6% depending on assumed changes in 1 or 2) should be pretty easy to beat with alternative investments, or paying down my other mortgages, of which I have many.
Early retirement and I also determined that the two MR fees are based on different factors. It seems the first depends on square footage, and the Poway Unified one depends on property value. Interesting.
Anyway, I am not paying off the MR, based on this information, unless someone here can bring other evidence to bear.[/quote]I
I do wonder why PUSD can get CDF2 rate down to 4% but CDF11-3 is still at 7.5%.[/quote]Exactly OCR! I can’t figure out why they can’t get it refinanced but then again NOTHING about PUSD surprises me these days.
Participant[quote=ocrenter]ER, I think the 2% yearly MR increase is automatic. They essentially computed the bond payoff with the 2% yearly increase in mind. Just checked my street and it looks like the 2% MR increase is right on schedule.
This is another reason why the MR payoff made sense to me. When I paid it off last year, the yearly obligation was $5300. But after 10 years, that yearly obligation would be $6400, and after 15 years, that yearly obligation would then be $7000.
Meanwhile, with the AMT, the MR essentially feels like double taxation. I’m using post tax dollar to pay more tax, just doesn’t feel right.[/quote]
Yep. I didn’t know if it was “automatic” per se. I know the last 2 or 3 years wasn’t normal due to extremely low interest rate environment and refinancing. But we won’t be seeing another refinance of those that have been refinanced already.
It would be nice if CFD #4 gets it’s act together and refinances for it’s taxpayers. But I’m not going to hold my breath. But yes, like you in my models I included the assumption they will raise it 2% a year and won’t leave any money on the table.
ocrenter, where do you live? Do you live around our hood? Thanks for posting such great information. Actually it was some of your posts that were really really educational for me on this whole CFD pay off. That’s why these message boards are so valuable. Thanks.
Participant[quote=EconProf]Since early retirement and I both live in Santaluz and face Mello-Roos fees, we met up today to compare notes. It turns out the decision of whether or not to pay off the MR is not at all clear cut.
I brought my tax bill with me so we could crunch the numbers to see if it is worthwhile. I also called earlier today, the number on the tax bill to learn my cost to pay it off, and got additional information about MR.
My bill contains two MR payments, CFD#2 for $2108 per year, and expiring in 2030, and Poway Unified, CFD#4 for $904 per year. I only called the number for the first, which revealed that my cost would be “about $30,000” to pay off (exact amount would cost me $500 to find out, but would apply as a credit to the payoff). That means if the amount stayed the same for the next 17 years, I would pay a total of about $36,000.
It clearly appears I should NOT pay it off, given that I could invest that $30,000 today and have it double assuming a mere 4.2% annual ROR compounded. Of course the unknowns are 1) Will that $2108 stay the same for 17 years, and 2) Will that expiration date of 2030 stay the same.
The guy I talked to on the phone was reassuring on both counts, but I do not share his confidence. Still, changes in 1 or 2, or both, would have to be pretty major to prompt me to pay it off. And the hurdle of 4.2%, (or 5%, or 6% depending on assumed changes in 1 or 2) should be pretty easy to beat with alternative investments, or paying down my other mortgages, of which I have many.
Early retirement and I also determined that the two MR fees are based on different factors. It seems the first depends on square footage, and the Poway Unified one depends on property value. Interesting.
Anyway, I am not paying off the MR, based on this information, unless someone here can bring other evidence to bear.[/quote]EconProf,
It was great as always to catch up with you. We really need to meet up more often.
Yes, EconProf’s example was a good one that it might not always make sense. It was interesting to see that his CFD #2 was about half of what I was paying. I forgot that they base the tax based on size of house rather than value for CFD #2. My house is almost double the size of his so I get hit much harder on the CFD #2. I also was fortunate that I bought pretty much at the absolute bottom and I also negotiated a great price. So my % CFD tax exposure relative to my purchase price was high compared to his.
On the CFD #4 as he mentioned, I don’t think it’s solely based on sq. feet because his was just a bit under what I was paying. I paid just under $1,000 IIRC a year and my house is much bigger than his. So I guess I’ll have to see exactly how CFD #4 is calculated. It’s like we said before…all of this is kind of murky.
I still think that one would be worthwhile to pay off but I agree with him that maybe CFD #2 is not so compelling if your house size is smaller. But still, I tend to stay on the conservative side and although I’m sure I can probably make returns higher than that, my attitude is end the tax obligation forever while it’s on the table.
As well, it’s a GUARANTEED rate of return. I consider myself a pretty darn good investor and done very well. But I always try to be humble in the fact that I can NEVER any year say that I know with 100% certainty that I can make X% ROI. However by me paying it off and knowing I will stay in my house I could say that.
But it was really interesting seeing my CFD #2 was almost double his.
The one thing as I mentioned today EconProf are that (a) I would NOT assume that $2,108 will stay the same the next 17 years. They have taken advantage of some of the lowest interest rates in history and they can’t refinance lower so my attitude is the payments will only go up. I believe by law they can raise it a maximum of 2% a year. So I would expect them to keep raising it 2% per year until it’s paid off.(b) Although I think it’s not likely they would extend out CFD #2 past 2030, my philosophy is who knows?
I’ll have to go back and look at my exact notes but for what it’s worth, EconProf, I did recall that CFD #4 was going up the maximum % each year. So you can probably assume that rate will keep going up 2% a year until 2041 or beyond (if it gets extended). But one thing is for sure, the tax obligation will NOT end until 2041 at the earliest. And I DO think that it will keep going up 2% each year. PUSD won’t leave any money on the table, IMHO.
I certainly would NOT trust the judgement or advice of the third party administrator that handles tax payments for the city. LOL. Because the longer the taxes go on the longer he has a job. 😉
As well, much of the factor to me just depends on if you know that you’ll keep the property for the long-term. In my case we won’t sell the property in the next 15 years and probably even after that. I tend to buy properties and hold on to them for the long term. If I don’t live in them I turn them into a rental property. So that’s a factor to consider as well.
Again, great seeing you again.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl]ER, it’s just that your ardor for SantaLuz is a bit “over the top” at times. As you can surmise, kids actually really and truly “grow up” in ALL areas of the county. They really and truly have a safe clean environment and parents with actual REAL MONEY, even wealthy parents. Their public schools really and truly are FINE. Yes, even if they don’t attend schools within the (now heavily indebted) PUSD.
No, the typical buyer in SD does not have race cars, horses or yachts. But there are many more of these types of buyers shopping in the over $1M range, which is the price range you would seek if you decided to sell your residence. Buyers everywhere are at all “stations in life.” They don’t necessarily have babies, toddlers or school-age children living with them. As you must know, some buyers have never had children and don’t want any. The nuclear family with children is but a fraction of RE buyers (don’t really know the exact percentage but would guess that it declines in each successive higher-priced tier and is also smaller for older areas).
There are many, many properties in the county of SD which are on 1/2 to 1-1/2 AC comparably valued to your residence which serve various types of buyers’ needs better than yours (vehicle pkg, workshop, citrus grove, ocean view, historical, proximity to SD, etc).
There’s nothing wrong with where you live but it is not the be all and end all for EVERYONE. It is the right place for those buyers who seek a tightly controlled environment. And there’s nothing wrong with that, either :)[/quote]
BG,
But when I speak of this “area” I’m not just speaking about Santaluz. There are many fine neighborhoods in the area. I’m not just speaking of where I live particularly. There are some gorgeous, gorgeous communities out here.
Sure, no one said that kids can’t successfully grow up in other areas. They can and do. It just seems like sometimes you have an almost hatred for this area. Or at the very least, stern disdain for the area.
Again, I don’t think the “horses, race cars and yachts” should even be discussed at all as it really has no bearing on anything. I know tons and tons of people in the area. Some very successful people and none of them have horses or yachts. Yes, several do have expensive cars.
Sure, I understand people are at all stations of life. Totally true and I agree with you. I’m not saying everyone is popping out babies and having kids. But the point I was making is increasingly more and more families with younger kids are moving out to my area. At a very fast pace. Even in the short few years I’ve been here I can see it every day with the profile people buying here and moving to the area.
I’m quite involved here where I live as well at the school where my kids go to school so I come into contact with families almost every week so I can get a unique perspective on the people buying here.
Sure, there are other places you can buy 1/2 to 1 acre lots but again the true reality is most buyers don’t want nor need that kind of space.
Sure, I never said where I live is the end all by all. Just not the “far flung lizard land” that you sometimes seem to portray this area as. Which couldn’t be further from the truth or reality.
Participant[quote=all][quote=Essbee]
ER, can you give a little more info? What is the location of this Assisted Living facility? Is it behind the gates of Santaluz, or elsewhere? The reason I ask is because I am wondering if it is the ongoing development on the north side of Carmel Valley Road, between the Black Mountain Community Park with the baseball fields, and the turnoff for Ivy Gate? Someone told me that they had heard that it might be developed as senior living, but it seems like an odd location and it looks like they are building small homesites rather than configuring the land to accommodate a large footprint building.I am very interested in local issues but my free time is almost nil, unfortunately.[/quote]
Black Mountain Ranch (Santaluz + Del Sur) is supposed to have 300-room resort. The plan was to have two golf courses, one in Santaluz and one (public) in Del Sur. The resort was supposed to be adjacent to the north course. The Del Sur golf course was scrapped few years ago (commercial sqft was increased instead), but the resort is still on. That’s one possibility. The other is another high-end subdivision similar to Ivy Gate.[/quote]
I don’t see this ever happening. Santaluz’s Golf course is really nice. I don’t see anything like that ever coming and Del Sur will never see a golf course. Not sure about the resort but I don’t see that happening either.
Yes, BG much of my post involved raising kids because more and more that is the profile of people buying in my area. The developers of my development NEVER imagined that there would be so many families with young kids moving here. But there is a reason for that.
This entire area is wonderful for raising kids. And yes I’ve talked to many people that were originally looking at other areas but ultimately they decided and are deciding to buy in this area for the lifestyle play that they could never get in some of these other areas you are talking about.
Sure, not everyone wants to be so far from downtown SD. But honesty speaking, many people have NO desire or need to be close to downtown SD. After all, there is no real job center downtown. Many of the job centers are out around here vs. downtown. I enjoy going downtown once in a while but I’d have no need or desire to live down there.
Which begs the question…what’s so desirable in living close to downtown? Especially if you have kids.
And VERY FEW people will ever really get an “ocean view” in the area. So I think that’s a relatively moot point to me as well. And I’m not sure who these people you speak of of “race cars and yachts” but that isn’t the profile of the typical buyer in San Diego.
I mention quality of life raising kids because that is what I think is important with families moving to the area. The families I know buying in the area certainly aren’t race cars or yacht owners. They are just hardworking professionals that want to send their kids to excellent schools, live in a safe and beautiful environment amongst their peers and be content with where they live.
And nope, many of the new buyers here never even heard of the development before buying. Many like me initially were going to buy in other areas but some of them found it by accident, some of them from their realtors and some on various blogs.
BG, you post some great information and you’re a wealth of information but IMHO (and please don’t take offense to this) but I think much of what you write is not based on objectivity. And based on what you are writing, it’s clear you don’t personally know people buying in this area or talked to new families that are moving to this area and hearing why they moved to the area.
Again, I hope you don’t take offense to this but you just don’t seem to be objective in many instances. Or you mention things that aren’t relevant like ocean views, yachts or race cars?
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=earlyretirement] . . . I also TOTALLY agree with you about the power of having a listing saying, “NO MELLO ROOS taxes. Owner FOREVER paid them off’.
You’d definitely get attention. Even in a soft sales market vs. a healthier one like now, I believe you would (a) get back every dollar you pre-paid in MR taxes, (b) sell your house much quicker vs. someone that has MR taxes, (c) attract a MUCH larger audience of potential buyers. . . [/quote]
ER, I believe what you say here is possible … but your “shopping” audience would consist of those buyers who are already shopping in a MR area and thus it would be people who were already willing to pay MR or else they wouldn’t be contacting you, IMO.
Buyers who know SD County very, very well (mostly Native and longtime San Diegans) can smell CFD(s) from miles away and do not even shop in them or even view property in them (either online or in person). Especially from a zip code which is nearly all exclusively or all exclusively CFDs, (as yours is). Additionally, if a local agent/broker represents a buyer in a $1M+ range who gives them the edict, “Please do NOT show me any properties with Mello-Roos,” then they will NOT even be considering showing any properties to them which are located in 92127.
You would be surprised at how many SD County buyers in all price ranges there are out there who will NOT accept Mello-Roos unless perhaps it will be retired in <1 year (early nineties construction w/20 yr bonds). Many will not accept it under any circumstances and I am one of those people.
Thus, I feel your potential "buyer pool" will likely be fairly new residents of the county (<10 years) or relocatees, if you choose to sell, who will stumble upon your listing in their search and be pleasantly surprised that you have retired your MR 🙂
I'm not saying your neighborhood is not worth buying into. I'm just saying that well-heeled buyers in your price category have many, many excellent choices for a residence in this county which are NOT located in CFDs (OR HOA's) and this will never change.
I DO believe you can easily recover your ~$61K prepaid-MR cash outlay upon sale ... even now ... from the "right" buyer.[/quote]
Hey BG,
Quite honestly I disagree. I think any family with young kids even if they tell their realtor they don't want MR areas, can easily be directed to a property that might have their CFD forever paid off.
San Diego really is kind of like a village even though it's a bigger city. I can't tell you what a small world it is here. I'd think any realtor worth their salt could pretty easily get the word out on a property that has it's CFD paid off throughout the area and would be exempt from them.
Sure, I understand that many people don't want to buy in a CFD area and might tell their realtor that. But I definitely think that it wouldn't be difficult to get the word out amongst realtors that a property is available with no CFD and it would stand out.
I already know my neighborhood and others are worth buying into. Because I'm still getting unsolicited offers to purchase my house from families (bypassing realtors). For hundreds of thousands of dollars more than I paid for it a few short years ago.
I know you're not a fan of the area out here and call it "Lizardland" but the reality is that the lifestyle out here is probably amongst the best in the world. The weather is incredible and the schools are amazing. The quality of people living in the area I've found is extremely wonderful. People that are peers and professionals that I have things in common with and people that share the same outlook on life, raising kids, treating people, etc. I've only been here a few years and made some true lifelong friends already in this area. Just incredible people.
Plus, some of these individual communities (take Santaluz) for example are so unique to me. That I really think that very few areas around the world can compare to it from a pure lifestyle and raising kids aspect.
I've been to hundreds upon hundreds of cities around the world. And to me this is about as good as it gets with this area for raising kids.
Oh and BG, the last few new buyers that I have met lately are the type you mentioned. They have lived here pretty much all their lives in San Diego or in Southern California. And yes several of them said they didn't plan to buy in a CFD area but were just drawn to the area/community and felt CFD was ultimately worth it to raise their kids here.
This "buyer pool" that has recently bought many of them are from the area and ultimately saw that they had to pony up and pay it to have the lifestyle and raise their kids in this kind of environment.
ParticipantAlso, on that Assisted Living Center issue, I’ve received a few PM’s and emails. I really would only like to focus that towards people that actually live in the immediate area and might be affected (positively or negatively) with the Center being built there.
People that live in Santaluz, Verrazzano, Santa Monica, and maybe Del Sur.
I really think it only makes sense for people in the immediate surrounding communities that might be affected some how.
Participant[quote=ocrenter]I’m in complete agreement with ER in regard to paying off the MR. Unless you are a seasoned investor, how many of us has the ability to generate 7% return on our investment year after year for 30 years? Yet that’s exactly what you are doing when you pay off the MR. Instead, a lot of people I know are committing to a 20 year solar panel lease at a rate of 7%.
How many people actually sold homes with years of high interest obligation to solar leasing companies? Yet all of the solar companies advertise about the increased home value like gospel. What about the MR? Nobody dares to even say you’ll break even on the appraisal value. But seriously, put up a listing with the opening: “owner paid off entire MR, saving you $6-10k a year” and that’s not going get a buyer’s attention???
The MR payoff is an absolute no brainer.[/quote]
I totally agree with you OCR. And even if you are a seasoned investor that consistently makes over 7% ROI each year, most of the times that ROI isn’t guaranteed like it is here in this situation.
I’ve been fortunate enough that I have made well over 7% a year ROI since I started investing many years ago. But typically I’d say I got to where I am today doing prudent things like this. And the ROI could well be over 7% a year ROI if these CFD’s get mysteriously extended past their original end dates.
I also TOTALLY agree with you about the power of having a listing saying, “NO MELLO ROOS taxes. Owner FOREVER paid them off’.
You’d definitely get attention. Even in a soft sales market vs. a healthier one like now, I believe you would (a) get back every dollar you pre-paid in MR taxes, (b) sell your house much quicker vs. someone that has MR taxes, (c) attract a MUCH larger audience of potential buyers.
We’re still getting unsolicited offers to purchase our house. We got one offer a few short months ago that was over $350,000 + more than I paid for the house a few short years ago. They already did their due diligence and could see we paid off our CFD. (At the time only one was showing as paid off). The city used to designate the CFD’s being prepaid by $0.00.
Now I find it interesting that they just totally remove the CFD line off your bill once you pay it off. Before it would say CFD #4 ($0.000) and now both of them are totally gone from the property tax bill that I got last week.
Heck, we probably could have asked for even more money from the family that sent in the letter wanting to buy our house but I bought the house to live in and not as an investment property. I don’t really care what home prices do in the short-term yo-yoing up and down. But I am happy not to have to see/pay that CFD again.
Also, OCR, the one thing we left out is that there are those types that say they don’t need to pre-pay their CFD because they can take that money and leverage it and make far more. LOL. We all have seen those types. And yes, sure you can make more with various investments out there. But those other investments have some risk to them. It’s not guaranteed.
And typically over the past few decades what I see in this type of situation is people will leverage the money and either lose it. Or they will do well and leverage it again and THEN lose it. So there is that too.
September 19, 2013 at 5:59 AM in reply to: My experience getting a dedicated EV TOU 2 electric meter with SDGE #765609Participant[quote=AN][quote=earlyretirement]As well probably for 80% of all Americans, this has more than enough range for daily driving use right now but they will keep improving this technology.[/quote]Although current EV is sufficient for 80% of American in term of range, it’s definitely not sufficient in term of cost/range and longevity. Even the cheaper Tesla is only shooting for 200 miles range under ideal scenario. That definitely would be only sufficient for a 2nd car. No way you can make a road trip w/ it. You probably can’t even make it to LA and back under real life condition without need to charge.[/quote]
No argument here that they need to do a LOT of work. And I’m not saying that this will be overnight. I tend to think a decade or so out.
Also, I’ve found that products just cause us to change our daily routine as well. If you told me 20 years ago that I couldn’t make it a full day without charging my cellphone I would have laughed at you. LOL.
Anyway, I know at least in my case, we’ll switch over to all non-ICE’s as soon as I can.
September 19, 2013 at 12:17 AM in reply to: My experience getting a dedicated EV TOU 2 electric meter with SDGE #765605Participant[quote=AN][quote=earlyretirement]I’m totally convinced THIS is the future! I’ll NEVER own an ICE car again. Never. Absolutely love driving now.[/quote]
I’m glad you love it. Although, unlike you, I’m not sold that this is the future. Just based on my reading, I think Hydrogen Fuel Cell is the future. Imagine instant power like EV, but unlimited range like an ICE (assuming the built out the infrastructure like gas station). You can refuel in 5 minutes and back on your way. Not only that, you won’t have to deal w/ battery losing 50% of the range after 10 years. That, I think is the future. And it’s coming soon. Toyota is promising the first production vehicle in 2015/2016. We’ll see which technology win out. Maybe they’ll have a breakthrough in battery tech and they can fix the longevity, charge time, range and cost problem. They better or 10 years from now, you’ll look back and see that EV is nothing more than a stop gap.[/quote]Hey AN. Oh I just meant the future is alternative fuel vehicles that can perform vs. only ICE.
I don’t know anything about Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology but honestly I’m all for ANY technology that is sustainable and more efficient.
I’m confident that they will dramatically improve battery technology over the next few years. As well probably for 80% of all Americans, this has more than enough range for daily driving use right now but they will keep improving this technology.
Participant[quote=Essbee][quote=earlyretirement]
FYI. Anyone that lives in the area and wants to attend the meeting, let me know. It’s Tuesday, September 24 at 6:30 PM at Santaluz. PM me and I can get you on the list to attend as it’s open to the public. Santaluz is guard gated but I can get you on the list if you want to attend this meeting about the Assisted Living Center.
[/quote]ER, can you give a little more info? What is the location of this Assisted Living facility? Is it behind the gates of Santaluz, or elsewhere? The reason I ask is because I am wondering if it is the ongoing development on the north side of Carmel Valley Road, between the Black Mountain Community Park with the baseball fields, and the turnoff for Ivy Gate? Someone told me that they had heard that it might be developed as senior living, but it seems like an odd location and it looks like they are building small homesites rather than configuring the land to accommodate a large footprint building.
I am very interested in local issues but my free time is almost nil, unfortunately.[/quote]
No, it’s NOT within the gates of Santaluz. They would NEVER allow that plus there is NO zoning for that. It’s on that grassy area next to Willow Grove Elementary School. The land isn’t being utilized now.
You can see some more information here below (which is cut and pasted verbatim from correspondence that was sent to me).
__________________________________________SANTALUZ ASSISTED LIVING AND MEMORY CARE FACILITY PROJECT DESCRIPTION
• Our Goal is to provide a warm, inviting and safe place for our Seniors with disabilities to live a full life, including the wonderful intergenerational program opportunities with the adjacent schools.
• Assisted Living and Memory Care facilities are centrally located to provide care for our love ones, usually within two to five miles from their immediate families’ homes. Our project will provide this important service to the community and believe it will be an asset to all of the surrounding neighborhoods.
• The design is for a one and two-story project providing 32 units of Assisted Living and 32 units of Memory Care with a maximum of 74 Beds. The building layout has been designed to take advantage of the “L” shaped lot, provide good setbacks, and have a minimal impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
• This Senior Housing use itself is a very low impact one, with a quiet user group and minimal traffic that will be generated.
• There are extensive Guidelines for the design of homes in the Santaluz neighborhood. Although they are not expressly applicable to this Assisted Living and Memory Care project, we are very concerned with designing a project that is compatible with the surrounding environment, and becomes an integral part of the community including lush and beautiful landscaping.
• This project is to construct a new 71,630 SF facility providing Assisted Living and Memory Care located in the Santaluz development of San Diego. The building site is a vacant lot that has never been utilized, and is part of the Black Mountain Ranch Subarea Plan.
• There are no existing trees or vegetation on the lot, with the exception of field grass. The surrounding streets have all been improved, and utilities are available in the street.
• The site is currently zoned for Institutional Senior/Recreational Use and we are applying for a Conditional Use Permit and a Community Plan Amendment as part of our entitlements. The site is 3.289 acres and with a maximum FAR (Floor area ratio) of .50 and that translates to a maximum square footage of 71,634. Our design stays within the approved FAR parameters.
• Of the many design options available for homes in the Santaluz neighborhood, we have chosen the “Tuscany Farmhouse” style to emulate for this project. The form and massing of this style emphasizes an informal and additive nature, which we believe is ideal to help minimize the mass and scale of the building.
We completed massingstudies as a part of the design process to help determine how to best achieve a residential scale. The North wing of the building steps down to one story. At the West and South wings, the second floor plate typically steps back to break the line of the exterior façade and then utilizes smaller scale shed roofs that bring the building down to human scale.
We have also been careful to work with the roof design in order to avoid a continuous ridgeline as well as keeping the height below 30 feet in compliance with the Design Guidelines and consistent with the heights of the homes in the surrounding neighborhoods. The design breaks the roof into several separate components while also providing roof wells that screen the mechanical equipment.
• The building is designed with a North Wing, West Wing, and South Wing that all converge at the central commons area where the main entrance is also located. The North Wing is a one-story component which houses 17 Memory Care units. The first floor of the West Wing also houses another 15 Memory Care units. The remainder of the building provides 32 units of Assisted Living and a wide range of common areas including congregate dining rooms. No kitchen facilities will be provided within the resident units. This building will be staffed 24 hours a day.
• Each of the Memory Care neighborhoods has access to a special gated outdoor Courtyard space, designed specifically to securely serve this population. The courtyard spaces will have walking paths and special amenities the residents can enjoy.
• Our site plan provides 44 parking spaces, all located in the rear of the building and behind walls at the Via Fiesta Entry. The City of San Diego parking standards are not specific for the Senior Housing uses we propose for this project; however, it does meet the minimum standard of 43 units as approved by City Transportation on February 27, 2012.
For more information please contact Joe Taylor at [email protected]
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Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to get in a few of your questions. I have a few of my own.
September 18, 2013 at 11:11 PM in reply to: My experience getting a dedicated EV TOU 2 electric meter with SDGE #765600ParticipantVideo Trip Report: San Diego to LA (Hawthorne Super Charger) back to San Diego
They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I figure a video would be priceless. I made my first longer distance trip today in my P85. My wife and I both had meetings in LA today so we left early and hit Tesla’s Hawthorne, CA Supercharger on the way up.
I did a maximum range charge and had about 263 miles to start off. I don’t think I had the level all the way to the end so it was a few miles shorter than usual for max range. I originally planned to hit Hawthorne AFTER our meetings and after lunch on the way back to San Diego but I heard about others that had to wait in line in the afternoon and thought it would be a better idea to go up to Hawthorne on the way up to make a 10 AM meeting.
Also, something important to note is that I am in a Service Loaner vehicle which they limit the speed to 80 MPH so I couldn’t go above that on the highway which was a real bummer being capped to that limit but saved on battery use I’m sure.
My wife had a meeting in Beverly Hills at La Cienaga/Wilshire. I met up with a client at the same time and asked if he could meet me at the SLS Hotel just a few blocks away so I didn’t have to drive far. I ended up parking at the La Cienaga Tennis Center parking lot. It’s GREAT as it includes 2 free hours parking. They had 2 Blink Chargers there. One was taken but I grabbed one of them. Got about 25 miles charge while parked there. I have the Blink membership so it was just $1 per hour.
We finished with our meetings and then met up. We know this area well and the SLS is one of our favorite hotels there. And our FAVORITE sushi place is Matsuhisa which has the best sushi in the world. And I noticed they opened up a Genwa Korean restaurant across the street! (Our favorite Korean restaurant in LA!)We headed back to San Diego right after lunch.
I’m totally convinced THIS is the future! I’ll NEVER own an ICE car again. Never. Absolutely love driving now. (I hated it before). Big kudos to Elon and the Tesla team. I’ll definitely buy the Model X next year when it comes out.
Here are a few photos and video trip report below.
http://youtu.be/DeSYPe2Ikzo (You Tube Video of my Trip)
Participant[quote=CA renter]ER,
Were you planning on attending the meeting before discovering this? Please let us know what transpires. I commend you for being so active in following up on it! :)[/quote]
Hi CAR. Yes, I already had that on my agenda. It was just coincidence that I read about that in the article. I stay pretty active locally and started getting more involved. And probably plan to get even more involved.
FYI. Anyone that lives in the area and wants to attend the meeting, let me know. It’s Tuesday, September 24 at 6:30 PM at Santaluz. PM me and I can get you on the list to attend as it’s open to the public. Santaluz is guard gated but I can get you on the list if you want to attend this meeting about the Assisted Living Center.
This way the guard will let you in. There is a special form you need to give to the security guard but I can get you this.
[quote=UCGal]Thanks for linking that article ER – that’s the story I heard on the news yesterday.
I’ve been telling fri[quote=UCGal]Thanks for linking that article ER – that’s the story I heard on the news yesterday.
I’ve been telling friends about your decision to pay off mello roos. Most look at me like it’s crazy because who could ever afford that… but I hit them with politics and math and have convinced one friend to consider it.[/quote]
[quote=UCGal]Thanks for linking that article ER – that’s the story I heard on the news yesterday.I’ve been telling friends about your decision to pay off mello roos. Most look at me like it’s crazy because who could ever afford that… but I hit them with politics and math and have convinced one friend to consider it.[/quote]
ends about your decision to pay off mello roos. Most look at me like it’s crazy because who could ever afford that… but I hit them with politics and math and have convinced one friend to consider it.[/quote]Hi UCGal,
Yeah, most friends or people that I know in the area when I tell them I paid off my Mello Roos obligation FOREVER they look at me with a puzzled look. Then I explain it and I always get the same reaction. NO ONE knew this was possible. Heck, I’ve met with high level wealth advisors, investment managers, realtors that have been in the business 15+ years, developers and no one knew you could even do this.
But even when I lay out the rationale and logic behind it, I can see that even rational people seem to dismiss it. In many instances I think it’s because they would rather spend the money on their fancy car leases, their fancy vacations, their lifestyle. They are ONLY thinking about today. They do NOT want to think about tomorrow, or next year or next decade.
I know it’s not for everyone to pay it off. But I know several people where I know they will stay in their property for the long haul and don’t plan on selling their properties. For these people this is a NO BRAINER to pay it off and FOREVER end their tax obligation. (Especially in today’s LOW interest rate environment!!).
As well, several CFD’s have been refinanced so the rate won’t go any lower than right now. And you can bet they will keep raising the maximum % by law each year until it’s paid off.
My thinking is they can’t afford NOT to pay it off and FOREVER end their tax obligation. When the government gives you the opportunity to FOREVER end a tax obligation my philosophy is you take it! LOL.
The entities do NOT like the idea of people pre-paying these CFD taxes off and FOREVER ending their obligations. That’s why they don’t advertise it and even try to make it cumbersome and expensive to get quotes to pay it off. I mean $400 to get a quote to pay it off? Come on! They do that to dissuade people from even starting the process, IMHO.
My biggest motivation for paying it off now was that I really don’t trust the powers that be. I don’t trust the people in charge of OUR CFD funds. I don’t trust that they say these CFD obligations will end when they originally were slated to be paid off.
Heck, when I asked the administrator in charge of the CFD if these taxes could be extended in the future and he said “YES, it’s possible in the future these CFD taxes could get extended”. So, UCGal, ask your friends to consider how they will feel if they have been paying CFD #4 (PUSD) until 2041 and then in 2041 they are told they will have to pay for several more years!
There is NO accountability what these funds are being spent on, who is able to spend it, or in what exact circumstances these CFD’s can be extended later on. Also, I don’t trust my fellow homeowners that in many cases seem to be bone heads and will approve any bond approval measure even if they understand it or not or know what the funds will be used for! Not sure in the future if they put something up for a vote and voters agreed to extend their own CFD obligations!
Who knows. Not many locally seem to take an active interest in limiting their tax obligations, knowing what their tax dollars go towards (relating to CFD), or interested in ANY oversight regarding these things.
It’s strange..it’s almost like people have this lackadaisical attitude of, “another gorgeous day in Paradise and who cares about anything else”. Don’t get me wrong…. I LOVE San Diego and never have plans to leave it. But I’ve never in my life lived in a City where people seem to care less about Civics/politics, taxes, etc. Heck, before this big Filner mess, I’d venture to guess than many locals didn’t even know who the Mayor was!
So I’m VERY content in FOREVER ending my Mello Roos obligations. I still say in the future maybe they don’t allow it but those that already paid it off will be forever “off the hook”. 🙂
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