[earlyretirement]

BG,

I will take a look at some of the areas you listed closer to where we were looking so thanks again.

No, my wife isn’t from Argentina but we have lots of friends from Argentina as well as South America and you’re right that many of them have tons of money and it has nothing to do with drugs or illegal money.

One thing I really admire about a large percentage of the people in South America is they don’t spend beyond their means. But often times that is because credit isn’t available like it’s doled out in the USA.

Kids will often times live with their parents until their 30’s or until they are married. People actually save up and when they need to buy a property, they often pool money together or get loans from their parents. It’s just a different mentality vs. the USA where kids want to move out of their house as quick and young as they can.

It’s very common for people to pay cash in many parts of South America. So when you see someone buying a property or driving a nice car…it’s actually because they have an actual net worth…. which is far from the situation in the USA. Where many people from the outside looking in and driving a nice car you’d assume they have money but they really don’t in many cases.

I took sdrealtor’s post to be sarcastic but I haven’t been on this board long enough to know all the various personalities. I’m just trying to take good bits of information from each post. It’s a great forum of what seems to be intelligent people on the subject of real estate in San Diego.

In my friend’s development in La Jolla, he said many are simply legitimate businessmen from Mexico. There are many, many wealthy people in Mexico and also in South America.

I travel throughout South America quite a bit for work and was just in Sao Paulo, Brazil and it’s amazing the amount of growth there. I was looking at property in Sao Paulo for a client and it’s amazing how expensive it’s gotten there. 1 bedroom apartments in nice areas were going for $300,000 US.

In places like Argentina, the banking system is completely broken and can’t be trusted so people have no where to put their money except real estate as people don’t invest in the stock market here so it’s either literally under their mattress or in “bricks” or land.

Definitely I appreciate all the posts on this thread and will take a good look around all of these areas that make sense for the family.

[earlyretirement]

BG,

I will take a look at some of the areas you listed closer to where we were looking so thanks again.

No, my wife isn’t from Argentina but we have lots of friends from Argentina as well as South America and you’re right that many of them have tons of money and it has nothing to do with drugs or illegal money.

One thing I really admire about a large percentage of the people in South America is they don’t spend beyond their means. But often times that is because credit isn’t available like it’s doled out in the USA.

Kids will often times live with their parents until their 30’s or until they are married. People actually save up and when they need to buy a property, they often pool money together or get loans from their parents. It’s just a different mentality vs. the USA where kids want to move out of their house as quick and young as they can.

It’s very common for people to pay cash in many parts of South America. So when you see someone buying a property or driving a nice car…it’s actually because they have an actual net worth…. which is far from the situation in the USA. Where many people from the outside looking in and driving a nice car you’d assume they have money but they really don’t in many cases.

I took sdrealtor’s post to be sarcastic but I haven’t been on this board long enough to know all the various personalities. I’m just trying to take good bits of information from each post. It’s a great forum of what seems to be intelligent people on the subject of real estate in San Diego.

In my friend’s development in La Jolla, he said many are simply legitimate businessmen from Mexico. There are many, many wealthy people in Mexico and also in South America.

I travel throughout South America quite a bit for work and was just in Sao Paulo, Brazil and it’s amazing the amount of growth there. I was looking at property in Sao Paulo for a client and it’s amazing how expensive it’s gotten there. 1 bedroom apartments in nice areas were going for $300,000 US.

In places like Argentina, the banking system is completely broken and can’t be trusted so people have no where to put their money except real estate as people don’t invest in the stock market here so it’s either literally under their mattress or in “bricks” or land.

Definitely I appreciate all the posts on this thread and will take a good look around all of these areas that make sense for the family.

[earlyretirement]

BG,

I will take a look at some of the areas you listed closer to where we were looking so thanks again.

No, my wife isn’t from Argentina but we have lots of friends from Argentina as well as South America and you’re right that many of them have tons of money and it has nothing to do with drugs or illegal money.

One thing I really admire about a large percentage of the people in South America is they don’t spend beyond their means. But often times that is because credit isn’t available like it’s doled out in the USA.

Kids will often times live with their parents until their 30’s or until they are married. People actually save up and when they need to buy a property, they often pool money together or get loans from their parents. It’s just a different mentality vs. the USA where kids want to move out of their house as quick and young as they can.

It’s very common for people to pay cash in many parts of South America. So when you see someone buying a property or driving a nice car…it’s actually because they have an actual net worth…. which is far from the situation in the USA. Where many people from the outside looking in and driving a nice car you’d assume they have money but they really don’t in many cases.

I took sdrealtor’s post to be sarcastic but I haven’t been on this board long enough to know all the various personalities. I’m just trying to take good bits of information from each post. It’s a great forum of what seems to be intelligent people on the subject of real estate in San Diego.

In my friend’s development in La Jolla, he said many are simply legitimate businessmen from Mexico. There are many, many wealthy people in Mexico and also in South America.

I travel throughout South America quite a bit for work and was just in Sao Paulo, Brazil and it’s amazing the amount of growth there. I was looking at property in Sao Paulo for a client and it’s amazing how expensive it’s gotten there. 1 bedroom apartments in nice areas were going for $300,000 US.

In places like Argentina, the banking system is completely broken and can’t be trusted so people have no where to put their money except real estate as people don’t invest in the stock market here so it’s either literally under their mattress or in “bricks” or land.

Definitely I appreciate all the posts on this thread and will take a good look around all of these areas that make sense for the family.

[earlyretirement]

BG,

I will take a look at some of the areas you listed closer to where we were looking so thanks again.

No, my wife isn’t from Argentina but we have lots of friends from Argentina as well as South America and you’re right that many of them have tons of money and it has nothing to do with drugs or illegal money.

One thing I really admire about a large percentage of the people in South America is they don’t spend beyond their means. But often times that is because credit isn’t available like it’s doled out in the USA.

Kids will often times live with their parents until their 30’s or until they are married. People actually save up and when they need to buy a property, they often pool money together or get loans from their parents. It’s just a different mentality vs. the USA where kids want to move out of their house as quick and young as they can.

It’s very common for people to pay cash in many parts of South America. So when you see someone buying a property or driving a nice car…it’s actually because they have an actual net worth…. which is far from the situation in the USA. Where many people from the outside looking in and driving a nice car you’d assume they have money but they really don’t in many cases.

I took sdrealtor’s post to be sarcastic but I haven’t been on this board long enough to know all the various personalities. I’m just trying to take good bits of information from each post. It’s a great forum of what seems to be intelligent people on the subject of real estate in San Diego.

In my friend’s development in La Jolla, he said many are simply legitimate businessmen from Mexico. There are many, many wealthy people in Mexico and also in South America.

I travel throughout South America quite a bit for work and was just in Sao Paulo, Brazil and it’s amazing the amount of growth there. I was looking at property in Sao Paulo for a client and it’s amazing how expensive it’s gotten there. 1 bedroom apartments in nice areas were going for $300,000 US.

In places like Argentina, the banking system is completely broken and can’t be trusted so people have no where to put their money except real estate as people don’t invest in the stock market here so it’s either literally under their mattress or in “bricks” or land.

Definitely I appreciate all the posts on this thread and will take a good look around all of these areas that make sense for the family.

[earlyretirement]

BG,

I will take a look at some of the areas you listed closer to where we were looking so thanks again.

No, my wife isn’t from Argentina but we have lots of friends from Argentina as well as South America and you’re right that many of them have tons of money and it has nothing to do with drugs or illegal money.

One thing I really admire about a large percentage of the people in South America is they don’t spend beyond their means. But often times that is because credit isn’t available like it’s doled out in the USA.

Kids will often times live with their parents until their 30’s or until they are married. People actually save up and when they need to buy a property, they often pool money together or get loans from their parents. It’s just a different mentality vs. the USA where kids want to move out of their house as quick and young as they can.

It’s very common for people to pay cash in many parts of South America. So when you see someone buying a property or driving a nice car…it’s actually because they have an actual net worth…. which is far from the situation in the USA. Where many people from the outside looking in and driving a nice car you’d assume they have money but they really don’t in many cases.

I took sdrealtor’s post to be sarcastic but I haven’t been on this board long enough to know all the various personalities. I’m just trying to take good bits of information from each post. It’s a great forum of what seems to be intelligent people on the subject of real estate in San Diego.

In my friend’s development in La Jolla, he said many are simply legitimate businessmen from Mexico. There are many, many wealthy people in Mexico and also in South America.

I travel throughout South America quite a bit for work and was just in Sao Paulo, Brazil and it’s amazing the amount of growth there. I was looking at property in Sao Paulo for a client and it’s amazing how expensive it’s gotten there. 1 bedroom apartments in nice areas were going for $300,000 US.

In places like Argentina, the banking system is completely broken and can’t be trusted so people have no where to put their money except real estate as people don’t invest in the stock market here so it’s either literally under their mattress or in “bricks” or land.

Definitely I appreciate all the posts on this thread and will take a good look around all of these areas that make sense for the family.

[earlyretirement]

Thanks BG for showing some of these URL links. Some look nice but I have absolutely NO desire to live in Chula Vista or that surrounding area. I have been out there a few times but we don’t have any interest in living in that area. Even if the homes are beautiful.

I also think one man’s treasure is another man’s trash. For instance, you posted a house in Alpine on a huge lot. See, to me, as desirable as some people posted it was, I doubt I’d live all the way out there on that huge lot even if someone offered the house free to me.

I have no interest in a big spread like that and to me it would be more of a headache. So everyone has different likes/dislikes.

You’re definitely correct about the high # of people in San Diego that own homes that are from another country and don’t have SSN numbers. Many of them have ITIN’s but I don’t think they do much for bank/lender purposes.

One of my really good clients lives in La Jolla in a guard gated community and I was surprised because he said a really large percentage of the people that owned in the area were Mexicans that didn’t have a SSN #. He said they bought with cash. That really surprised me.

[earlyretirement]

Thanks BG for showing some of these URL links. Some look nice but I have absolutely NO desire to live in Chula Vista or that surrounding area. I have been out there a few times but we don’t have any interest in living in that area. Even if the homes are beautiful.

I also think one man’s treasure is another man’s trash. For instance, you posted a house in Alpine on a huge lot. See, to me, as desirable as some people posted it was, I doubt I’d live all the way out there on that huge lot even if someone offered the house free to me.

I have no interest in a big spread like that and to me it would be more of a headache. So everyone has different likes/dislikes.

You’re definitely correct about the high # of people in San Diego that own homes that are from another country and don’t have SSN numbers. Many of them have ITIN’s but I don’t think they do much for bank/lender purposes.

One of my really good clients lives in La Jolla in a guard gated community and I was surprised because he said a really large percentage of the people that owned in the area were Mexicans that didn’t have a SSN #. He said they bought with cash. That really surprised me.

[earlyretirement]

Thanks BG for showing some of these URL links. Some look nice but I have absolutely NO desire to live in Chula Vista or that surrounding area. I have been out there a few times but we don’t have any interest in living in that area. Even if the homes are beautiful.

I also think one man’s treasure is another man’s trash. For instance, you posted a house in Alpine on a huge lot. See, to me, as desirable as some people posted it was, I doubt I’d live all the way out there on that huge lot even if someone offered the house free to me.

I have no interest in a big spread like that and to me it would be more of a headache. So everyone has different likes/dislikes.

You’re definitely correct about the high # of people in San Diego that own homes that are from another country and don’t have SSN numbers. Many of them have ITIN’s but I don’t think they do much for bank/lender purposes.

One of my really good clients lives in La Jolla in a guard gated community and I was surprised because he said a really large percentage of the people that owned in the area were Mexicans that didn’t have a SSN #. He said they bought with cash. That really surprised me.

[earlyretirement]

Thanks BG for showing some of these URL links. Some look nice but I have absolutely NO desire to live in Chula Vista or that surrounding area. I have been out there a few times but we don’t have any interest in living in that area. Even if the homes are beautiful.

I also think one man’s treasure is another man’s trash. For instance, you posted a house in Alpine on a huge lot. See, to me, as desirable as some people posted it was, I doubt I’d live all the way out there on that huge lot even if someone offered the house free to me.

I have no interest in a big spread like that and to me it would be more of a headache. So everyone has different likes/dislikes.

You’re definitely correct about the high # of people in San Diego that own homes that are from another country and don’t have SSN numbers. Many of them have ITIN’s but I don’t think they do much for bank/lender purposes.

One of my really good clients lives in La Jolla in a guard gated community and I was surprised because he said a really large percentage of the people that owned in the area were Mexicans that didn’t have a SSN #. He said they bought with cash. That really surprised me.

[earlyretirement]

Thanks BG for showing some of these URL links. Some look nice but I have absolutely NO desire to live in Chula Vista or that surrounding area. I have been out there a few times but we don’t have any interest in living in that area. Even if the homes are beautiful.

I also think one man’s treasure is another man’s trash. For instance, you posted a house in Alpine on a huge lot. See, to me, as desirable as some people posted it was, I doubt I’d live all the way out there on that huge lot even if someone offered the house free to me.

I have no interest in a big spread like that and to me it would be more of a headache. So everyone has different likes/dislikes.

You’re definitely correct about the high # of people in San Diego that own homes that are from another country and don’t have SSN numbers. Many of them have ITIN’s but I don’t think they do much for bank/lender purposes.

One of my really good clients lives in La Jolla in a guard gated community and I was surprised because he said a really large percentage of the people that owned in the area were Mexicans that didn’t have a SSN #. He said they bought with cash. That really surprised me.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=ocrenter]BG, PLAN to annex by a larger entity does not mean it is. China likes to color Taiwan the same color on the maps they produce, that doesn’t mean Taiwan is part of China. Saddam Hussein had PLANS to annex Kuwait, but that doesn’t mean Kuwait was part of Iraq. I actually LIVED in 4S before. IT ISN’T PART OF THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO.

Quite frankly, the city doesn’t have the resources to manage any more new territories.

before you make up your mind about a place, why don’t you at least take the time to go for a visit. When you stop by, ask the question, why is the library a “county” library, why are the parks “county” parks, and yes, why is there a sheriff sub-station instead of the usual SDPD.

I’ve been all around the county on my search for a home. Given similar demographics with the OP, well except for the “mortgage will be paid off” part, I say OP will be extremely happy within the 56/Ted Williams belt way (92064, 92127, 92128, 92129, 92130, 92131). And would be quite disappointed with anywhere else. Yes, I’ll go out on a limb and say he’ll probably be quite disappointed with a 20,000 lot with 360 degree view in Tijuana. =)

I do agree with one thing for the OP. RENT here for at least 6-12 months. It really help you acclimate to the local environment and prices. You’ll be able to pick up nuances such as “Scripps is actually cooler than RB” during the summer despite both being off the I-15. “4S is hotter” because it is more of a valley. so on and so forth.

Another point about renting first is for OP’s target segment, he can afford to wait as he gets more choice as time progress.[/quote]

OC,

Thanks again for all these comments. I can tell your demographic is similar to mine which I think is critical in helping to understand what areas might possibly work and which won’t. I think those zip codes you provided will be spot on target and based on my research the past year I would agree with you that we’d probably be happy in those areas.

You are correct that I’d NOT be happy with a 20,000 sq. foot lot in Tijuana. As mentioned, I really don’t care about having a huge yard and I really think based on my research I want to buy something in the areas you are mentioning due to lifestyle, school district and quality of life related issues for the family.

I think that many times it’s extremely helpful that the person giving advice match with the same demographics of the person buying so that they understand what is important. You sound very similar to my situation besides the cash thingy.

And to be honest, the all cash payment is simply to avoid the hassles of dealing with banks. I have no debt at all and a great credit score. But I sold my primary company I worked at for the past 8 years last Fall. So as crazy as it sounds, the banks and financial lenders consider me ‘unemployed’. I do own other companies but all of them are outside of the USA and I made the vast bulk of my income through the company that I sold. I do consulting via a new LLC that I set up but it’s new since I sold the company so banks don’t really count that.

It’s funny as I have tax transcripts for the past 7 years showing high income but the pendulum has swung almost too far the other way where even people that banks and lenders should be dying to lend to…really don’t want to lend out the money.

To add into the mix, we don’t own any property in the USA and haven’t as I liquidated and sold off all our properties back in 2004. We own several properties but all outside of the USA and lenders don’t add that into the equation as they don’t care about them.

So the lenders have gone from one extreme to giving anyone with a heartbeat a loan to not really wanting to give anyone a high amount loan if there is anything out of the ordinary. (i.e. not having a USA address for the past 6+ years, not being employed by a US company, etc.). Definitely if you’ve been employed for a long time at a job and have a good credit score it’s easy but add any complication or wrinkle into the mix, and surprisingly it’s more difficult. I’m sure I can get qualified for a Jumbo mortgage even with the situation but my attitude is why bother now with it and just pay the cash since it’s just sitting in a low interest account now.

So to bypass all of that hassle and also due to the fact that banks are paying almost nothing on savings/CD’s and we’re already invested in other investments…. it makes sense to just buy with cash. I’d rather do that then continue to hold it in the stock market which I think is overvalued right now.

Yes, I agree renting in the area makes the most sense. We are renting in Carmel Valley for 5 months which hopefully will be enough time. The thing however, I’m trying to avoid is moving from place to place with the kids. That’s why I’m wanting to buy now vs. waiting longer on the sidelines.

It will already be tough as we are moving to San Diego from overseas so it will be a big move. But we got rid of all our furniture now and will just buy everything new. We rented a furnished place for the 5 months but once we buy the house we will have to totally furnish it, buy 2 new cars, etc. So it will be a busy busy time. I’d prefer to find something and buy this year vs. potentially having to move to other furnished places since we don’t have our furniture.

I want this to be the least disruptive as possible for the family.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=ocrenter]BG, PLAN to annex by a larger entity does not mean it is. China likes to color Taiwan the same color on the maps they produce, that doesn’t mean Taiwan is part of China. Saddam Hussein had PLANS to annex Kuwait, but that doesn’t mean Kuwait was part of Iraq. I actually LIVED in 4S before. IT ISN’T PART OF THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO.

Quite frankly, the city doesn’t have the resources to manage any more new territories.

before you make up your mind about a place, why don’t you at least take the time to go for a visit. When you stop by, ask the question, why is the library a “county” library, why are the parks “county” parks, and yes, why is there a sheriff sub-station instead of the usual SDPD.

I’ve been all around the county on my search for a home. Given similar demographics with the OP, well except for the “mortgage will be paid off” part, I say OP will be extremely happy within the 56/Ted Williams belt way (92064, 92127, 92128, 92129, 92130, 92131). And would be quite disappointed with anywhere else. Yes, I’ll go out on a limb and say he’ll probably be quite disappointed with a 20,000 lot with 360 degree view in Tijuana. =)

I do agree with one thing for the OP. RENT here for at least 6-12 months. It really help you acclimate to the local environment and prices. You’ll be able to pick up nuances such as “Scripps is actually cooler than RB” during the summer despite both being off the I-15. “4S is hotter” because it is more of a valley. so on and so forth.

Another point about renting first is for OP’s target segment, he can afford to wait as he gets more choice as time progress.[/quote]

OC,

Thanks again for all these comments. I can tell your demographic is similar to mine which I think is critical in helping to understand what areas might possibly work and which won’t. I think those zip codes you provided will be spot on target and based on my research the past year I would agree with you that we’d probably be happy in those areas.

You are correct that I’d NOT be happy with a 20,000 sq. foot lot in Tijuana. As mentioned, I really don’t care about having a huge yard and I really think based on my research I want to buy something in the areas you are mentioning due to lifestyle, school district and quality of life related issues for the family.

I think that many times it’s extremely helpful that the person giving advice match with the same demographics of the person buying so that they understand what is important. You sound very similar to my situation besides the cash thingy.

And to be honest, the all cash payment is simply to avoid the hassles of dealing with banks. I have no debt at all and a great credit score. But I sold my primary company I worked at for the past 8 years last Fall. So as crazy as it sounds, the banks and financial lenders consider me ‘unemployed’. I do own other companies but all of them are outside of the USA and I made the vast bulk of my income through the company that I sold. I do consulting via a new LLC that I set up but it’s new since I sold the company so banks don’t really count that.

It’s funny as I have tax transcripts for the past 7 years showing high income but the pendulum has swung almost too far the other way where even people that banks and lenders should be dying to lend to…really don’t want to lend out the money.

To add into the mix, we don’t own any property in the USA and haven’t as I liquidated and sold off all our properties back in 2004. We own several properties but all outside of the USA and lenders don’t add that into the equation as they don’t care about them.

So the lenders have gone from one extreme to giving anyone with a heartbeat a loan to not really wanting to give anyone a high amount loan if there is anything out of the ordinary. (i.e. not having a USA address for the past 6+ years, not being employed by a US company, etc.). Definitely if you’ve been employed for a long time at a job and have a good credit score it’s easy but add any complication or wrinkle into the mix, and surprisingly it’s more difficult. I’m sure I can get qualified for a Jumbo mortgage even with the situation but my attitude is why bother now with it and just pay the cash since it’s just sitting in a low interest account now.

So to bypass all of that hassle and also due to the fact that banks are paying almost nothing on savings/CD’s and we’re already invested in other investments…. it makes sense to just buy with cash. I’d rather do that then continue to hold it in the stock market which I think is overvalued right now.

Yes, I agree renting in the area makes the most sense. We are renting in Carmel Valley for 5 months which hopefully will be enough time. The thing however, I’m trying to avoid is moving from place to place with the kids. That’s why I’m wanting to buy now vs. waiting longer on the sidelines.

It will already be tough as we are moving to San Diego from overseas so it will be a big move. But we got rid of all our furniture now and will just buy everything new. We rented a furnished place for the 5 months but once we buy the house we will have to totally furnish it, buy 2 new cars, etc. So it will be a busy busy time. I’d prefer to find something and buy this year vs. potentially having to move to other furnished places since we don’t have our furniture.

I want this to be the least disruptive as possible for the family.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=ocrenter]BG, PLAN to annex by a larger entity does not mean it is. China likes to color Taiwan the same color on the maps they produce, that doesn’t mean Taiwan is part of China. Saddam Hussein had PLANS to annex Kuwait, but that doesn’t mean Kuwait was part of Iraq. I actually LIVED in 4S before. IT ISN’T PART OF THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO.

Quite frankly, the city doesn’t have the resources to manage any more new territories.

before you make up your mind about a place, why don’t you at least take the time to go for a visit. When you stop by, ask the question, why is the library a “county” library, why are the parks “county” parks, and yes, why is there a sheriff sub-station instead of the usual SDPD.

I’ve been all around the county on my search for a home. Given similar demographics with the OP, well except for the “mortgage will be paid off” part, I say OP will be extremely happy within the 56/Ted Williams belt way (92064, 92127, 92128, 92129, 92130, 92131). And would be quite disappointed with anywhere else. Yes, I’ll go out on a limb and say he’ll probably be quite disappointed with a 20,000 lot with 360 degree view in Tijuana. =)

I do agree with one thing for the OP. RENT here for at least 6-12 months. It really help you acclimate to the local environment and prices. You’ll be able to pick up nuances such as “Scripps is actually cooler than RB” during the summer despite both being off the I-15. “4S is hotter” because it is more of a valley. so on and so forth.

Another point about renting first is for OP’s target segment, he can afford to wait as he gets more choice as time progress.[/quote]

OC,

Thanks again for all these comments. I can tell your demographic is similar to mine which I think is critical in helping to understand what areas might possibly work and which won’t. I think those zip codes you provided will be spot on target and based on my research the past year I would agree with you that we’d probably be happy in those areas.

You are correct that I’d NOT be happy with a 20,000 sq. foot lot in Tijuana. As mentioned, I really don’t care about having a huge yard and I really think based on my research I want to buy something in the areas you are mentioning due to lifestyle, school district and quality of life related issues for the family.

I think that many times it’s extremely helpful that the person giving advice match with the same demographics of the person buying so that they understand what is important. You sound very similar to my situation besides the cash thingy.

And to be honest, the all cash payment is simply to avoid the hassles of dealing with banks. I have no debt at all and a great credit score. But I sold my primary company I worked at for the past 8 years last Fall. So as crazy as it sounds, the banks and financial lenders consider me ‘unemployed’. I do own other companies but all of them are outside of the USA and I made the vast bulk of my income through the company that I sold. I do consulting via a new LLC that I set up but it’s new since I sold the company so banks don’t really count that.

It’s funny as I have tax transcripts for the past 7 years showing high income but the pendulum has swung almost too far the other way where even people that banks and lenders should be dying to lend to…really don’t want to lend out the money.

To add into the mix, we don’t own any property in the USA and haven’t as I liquidated and sold off all our properties back in 2004. We own several properties but all outside of the USA and lenders don’t add that into the equation as they don’t care about them.

So the lenders have gone from one extreme to giving anyone with a heartbeat a loan to not really wanting to give anyone a high amount loan if there is anything out of the ordinary. (i.e. not having a USA address for the past 6+ years, not being employed by a US company, etc.). Definitely if you’ve been employed for a long time at a job and have a good credit score it’s easy but add any complication or wrinkle into the mix, and surprisingly it’s more difficult. I’m sure I can get qualified for a Jumbo mortgage even with the situation but my attitude is why bother now with it and just pay the cash since it’s just sitting in a low interest account now.

So to bypass all of that hassle and also due to the fact that banks are paying almost nothing on savings/CD’s and we’re already invested in other investments…. it makes sense to just buy with cash. I’d rather do that then continue to hold it in the stock market which I think is overvalued right now.

Yes, I agree renting in the area makes the most sense. We are renting in Carmel Valley for 5 months which hopefully will be enough time. The thing however, I’m trying to avoid is moving from place to place with the kids. That’s why I’m wanting to buy now vs. waiting longer on the sidelines.

It will already be tough as we are moving to San Diego from overseas so it will be a big move. But we got rid of all our furniture now and will just buy everything new. We rented a furnished place for the 5 months but once we buy the house we will have to totally furnish it, buy 2 new cars, etc. So it will be a busy busy time. I’d prefer to find something and buy this year vs. potentially having to move to other furnished places since we don’t have our furniture.

I want this to be the least disruptive as possible for the family.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=ocrenter]BG, PLAN to annex by a larger entity does not mean it is. China likes to color Taiwan the same color on the maps they produce, that doesn’t mean Taiwan is part of China. Saddam Hussein had PLANS to annex Kuwait, but that doesn’t mean Kuwait was part of Iraq. I actually LIVED in 4S before. IT ISN’T PART OF THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO.

Quite frankly, the city doesn’t have the resources to manage any more new territories.

before you make up your mind about a place, why don’t you at least take the time to go for a visit. When you stop by, ask the question, why is the library a “county” library, why are the parks “county” parks, and yes, why is there a sheriff sub-station instead of the usual SDPD.

I’ve been all around the county on my search for a home. Given similar demographics with the OP, well except for the “mortgage will be paid off” part, I say OP will be extremely happy within the 56/Ted Williams belt way (92064, 92127, 92128, 92129, 92130, 92131). And would be quite disappointed with anywhere else. Yes, I’ll go out on a limb and say he’ll probably be quite disappointed with a 20,000 lot with 360 degree view in Tijuana. =)

I do agree with one thing for the OP. RENT here for at least 6-12 months. It really help you acclimate to the local environment and prices. You’ll be able to pick up nuances such as “Scripps is actually cooler than RB” during the summer despite both being off the I-15. “4S is hotter” because it is more of a valley. so on and so forth.

Another point about renting first is for OP’s target segment, he can afford to wait as he gets more choice as time progress.[/quote]

OC,

Thanks again for all these comments. I can tell your demographic is similar to mine which I think is critical in helping to understand what areas might possibly work and which won’t. I think those zip codes you provided will be spot on target and based on my research the past year I would agree with you that we’d probably be happy in those areas.

You are correct that I’d NOT be happy with a 20,000 sq. foot lot in Tijuana. As mentioned, I really don’t care about having a huge yard and I really think based on my research I want to buy something in the areas you are mentioning due to lifestyle, school district and quality of life related issues for the family.

I think that many times it’s extremely helpful that the person giving advice match with the same demographics of the person buying so that they understand what is important. You sound very similar to my situation besides the cash thingy.

And to be honest, the all cash payment is simply to avoid the hassles of dealing with banks. I have no debt at all and a great credit score. But I sold my primary company I worked at for the past 8 years last Fall. So as crazy as it sounds, the banks and financial lenders consider me ‘unemployed’. I do own other companies but all of them are outside of the USA and I made the vast bulk of my income through the company that I sold. I do consulting via a new LLC that I set up but it’s new since I sold the company so banks don’t really count that.

It’s funny as I have tax transcripts for the past 7 years showing high income but the pendulum has swung almost too far the other way where even people that banks and lenders should be dying to lend to…really don’t want to lend out the money.

To add into the mix, we don’t own any property in the USA and haven’t as I liquidated and sold off all our properties back in 2004. We own several properties but all outside of the USA and lenders don’t add that into the equation as they don’t care about them.

So the lenders have gone from one extreme to giving anyone with a heartbeat a loan to not really wanting to give anyone a high amount loan if there is anything out of the ordinary. (i.e. not having a USA address for the past 6+ years, not being employed by a US company, etc.). Definitely if you’ve been employed for a long time at a job and have a good credit score it’s easy but add any complication or wrinkle into the mix, and surprisingly it’s more difficult. I’m sure I can get qualified for a Jumbo mortgage even with the situation but my attitude is why bother now with it and just pay the cash since it’s just sitting in a low interest account now.

So to bypass all of that hassle and also due to the fact that banks are paying almost nothing on savings/CD’s and we’re already invested in other investments…. it makes sense to just buy with cash. I’d rather do that then continue to hold it in the stock market which I think is overvalued right now.

Yes, I agree renting in the area makes the most sense. We are renting in Carmel Valley for 5 months which hopefully will be enough time. The thing however, I’m trying to avoid is moving from place to place with the kids. That’s why I’m wanting to buy now vs. waiting longer on the sidelines.

It will already be tough as we are moving to San Diego from overseas so it will be a big move. But we got rid of all our furniture now and will just buy everything new. We rented a furnished place for the 5 months but once we buy the house we will have to totally furnish it, buy 2 new cars, etc. So it will be a busy busy time. I’d prefer to find something and buy this year vs. potentially having to move to other furnished places since we don’t have our furniture.

I want this to be the least disruptive as possible for the family.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=ocrenter]BG, PLAN to annex by a larger entity does not mean it is. China likes to color Taiwan the same color on the maps they produce, that doesn’t mean Taiwan is part of China. Saddam Hussein had PLANS to annex Kuwait, but that doesn’t mean Kuwait was part of Iraq. I actually LIVED in 4S before. IT ISN’T PART OF THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO.

Quite frankly, the city doesn’t have the resources to manage any more new territories.

before you make up your mind about a place, why don’t you at least take the time to go for a visit. When you stop by, ask the question, why is the library a “county” library, why are the parks “county” parks, and yes, why is there a sheriff sub-station instead of the usual SDPD.

I’ve been all around the county on my search for a home. Given similar demographics with the OP, well except for the “mortgage will be paid off” part, I say OP will be extremely happy within the 56/Ted Williams belt way (92064, 92127, 92128, 92129, 92130, 92131). And would be quite disappointed with anywhere else. Yes, I’ll go out on a limb and say he’ll probably be quite disappointed with a 20,000 lot with 360 degree view in Tijuana. =)

I do agree with one thing for the OP. RENT here for at least 6-12 months. It really help you acclimate to the local environment and prices. You’ll be able to pick up nuances such as “Scripps is actually cooler than RB” during the summer despite both being off the I-15. “4S is hotter” because it is more of a valley. so on and so forth.

Another point about renting first is for OP’s target segment, he can afford to wait as he gets more choice as time progress.[/quote]

OC,

Thanks again for all these comments. I can tell your demographic is similar to mine which I think is critical in helping to understand what areas might possibly work and which won’t. I think those zip codes you provided will be spot on target and based on my research the past year I would agree with you that we’d probably be happy in those areas.

You are correct that I’d NOT be happy with a 20,000 sq. foot lot in Tijuana. As mentioned, I really don’t care about having a huge yard and I really think based on my research I want to buy something in the areas you are mentioning due to lifestyle, school district and quality of life related issues for the family.

I think that many times it’s extremely helpful that the person giving advice match with the same demographics of the person buying so that they understand what is important. You sound very similar to my situation besides the cash thingy.

And to be honest, the all cash payment is simply to avoid the hassles of dealing with banks. I have no debt at all and a great credit score. But I sold my primary company I worked at for the past 8 years last Fall. So as crazy as it sounds, the banks and financial lenders consider me ‘unemployed’. I do own other companies but all of them are outside of the USA and I made the vast bulk of my income through the company that I sold. I do consulting via a new LLC that I set up but it’s new since I sold the company so banks don’t really count that.

It’s funny as I have tax transcripts for the past 7 years showing high income but the pendulum has swung almost too far the other way where even people that banks and lenders should be dying to lend to…really don’t want to lend out the money.

To add into the mix, we don’t own any property in the USA and haven’t as I liquidated and sold off all our properties back in 2004. We own several properties but all outside of the USA and lenders don’t add that into the equation as they don’t care about them.

So the lenders have gone from one extreme to giving anyone with a heartbeat a loan to not really wanting to give anyone a high amount loan if there is anything out of the ordinary. (i.e. not having a USA address for the past 6+ years, not being employed by a US company, etc.). Definitely if you’ve been employed for a long time at a job and have a good credit score it’s easy but add any complication or wrinkle into the mix, and surprisingly it’s more difficult. I’m sure I can get qualified for a Jumbo mortgage even with the situation but my attitude is why bother now with it and just pay the cash since it’s just sitting in a low interest account now.

So to bypass all of that hassle and also due to the fact that banks are paying almost nothing on savings/CD’s and we’re already invested in other investments…. it makes sense to just buy with cash. I’d rather do that then continue to hold it in the stock market which I think is overvalued right now.

Yes, I agree renting in the area makes the most sense. We are renting in Carmel Valley for 5 months which hopefully will be enough time. The thing however, I’m trying to avoid is moving from place to place with the kids. That’s why I’m wanting to buy now vs. waiting longer on the sidelines.

It will already be tough as we are moving to San Diego from overseas so it will be a big move. But we got rid of all our furniture now and will just buy everything new. We rented a furnished place for the 5 months but once we buy the house we will have to totally furnish it, buy 2 new cars, etc. So it will be a busy busy time. I’d prefer to find something and buy this year vs. potentially having to move to other furnished places since we don’t have our furniture.

I want this to be the least disruptive as possible for the family.

[Author]

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