[New_Renter]

Jeez Raptorduck, are you guys the authors of “Cheaper by the Dozen” by any chance? 😉

[New_Renter]

Westview is great, but if you live in Santaluz you go to Mt. Carmel until the new Del Norte High School (in Del Sur) opens up (2009 I think is the 1st freshman class?).

Go ahead and try it yourself. Type in a Santaluz address (such as 7571 Montien) into the form on this link and see what you get:

http://powayusd.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/admin/bss/planning/addresslookup.asp

If you live in Fairbanks Highlands you get to go to Westview, which btw, might be another development to check out. I love the feel in FH, and you get a massive fully-usable flat lot.

[New_Renter]

She prefers to be closer to coastal shopping, beaches, quicker freeway access, and Carmel Valley Schools.

Sounds like your real estate agent doesn’t know much about Santaluz! The Golf Course, Hacienda Club, Gym, Pool, & Spa are a huge part of the Santaluz appeal. You can’t get golf course views from Northern Lights either.

[New_Renter]

As an original (and former) owner in Santaluz I spent alot of time thinking about where I would want to build a spec home (I owned a Casitas). I never did pull the trigger on that, but I can tell you I didn’t like Northern Lights for three reasons:

1. The power lines separating Santaluz & FBR are ugly
2. Too far from the clubhouse, pool, spa.
3. It’s in the lowest elevations of the development and the views are only to the immediately surrounding valley (except along San Diguito rd.).

You mentioned in previous posts you liked dramatic views. There are unbelievable views to be had on the elevated east side (east of Camino Del Sur) on Run of the Knolls (and off-shoots) and Villas (my favorite street). You can see all the way to the ocean in many cases. Of course, these lots/homes are more expensive, but most still in your stated price range. These also have the best views of the Santaluz development itself and you can walk to the spa/clubhouse! I absolutely love Santaluz, but my wife is not a fan, so that nixed the idea of living there….

[New_Renter]

yes, I noticed this new feature as well. Does anyone know whether Removed could also mean it went Pending? The problem with Removed is that it doesn’t tell you the reason, i.e. Expired, Pending, etc.

[New_Renter]

Raptorduck,
I would avoid Cielo altogether. This community has faired the worst out of the newer RSF area developments (Bridges, Cielo, Crosby, Santaluz). I love Santaluz, but the disadvantage is no access to Carmel Valley Schools (Torrey Pines High, Canyon Crest Academy, CV Middle, etc.). Santaluz goes to Black Mountain Middle & Mt. Carmel High in Rancho Penasquitos (Poway district).

I would advise RSF Farms, Fairbanks, Del Mar Country Club, Rancho Pacifica, or Del Mar Mesa. As SD Realtor said, Fairbanks is well-established plus has great facilities (lake, horse stables, hiking, Tennis, etc.). RSF Farms if quite convenient to get into Carmel Valley via RSF Farms Rd. and has great security (if that is important to you). Rancho Pacifica average lot size (1/2 acre) might be too small for you, but the homes are nice and it’s close to Carmel Valley.

For my tastes, the inconvenience of living in the Convenant outweighs it’s supposed prestige. Covenent, Bridges, Cielo, Crosby would all be a royal pain in the @ss for commuting anywhere. Traffic has only worsened in recent years around those developments.

BTW, to see Del Mar Mesa, make the 1st left you come to when exiting south at Carmel Country Rd. from I-56. Meadows Del Mar is the 2nd Left.

[New_Renter]

46% Fixed Income (Treasuries, GNMA, Muni’s, Intl. Bonds, Preferred Stock)
15% Large Cap Domestic Stocks
8% Small Cap Domestic Stocks
13% International Stocks
8% Precious Metals (incl. Mining Stocks)
7% REITS (Commercial, International)
3% Cash

[New_Renter]

I’ve had an Everbank WorldCurrency CD account for years and highly recommned it. Specifically been invested in the Australian Dollar 3-month CD with automatic rollover feature which is up about 36% in a little less than 2 years. With the declining US Dollar have been able to take advantage of a double whammy of appreciating Aussie Dollar plus a sweet 4.97% rate on the CD itself. I highly recommend the WorldCurrency CD for diversification and a hedge against the declining USD.

[New_Renter]

I’ve had an Everbank WorldCurrency CD account for years and highly recommned it. Specifically been invested in the Australian Dollar 3-month CD with automatic rollover feature which is up about 36% in a little less than 2 years. With the declining US Dollar have been able to take advantage of a double whammy of appreciating Aussie Dollar plus a sweet 4.97% rate on the CD itself. I highly recommend the WorldCurrency CD for diversification and a hedge against the declining USD.

[New_Renter]

I’ve had an Everbank WorldCurrency CD account for years and highly recommned it. Specifically been invested in the Australian Dollar 3-month CD with automatic rollover feature which is up about 36% in a little less than 2 years. With the declining US Dollar have been able to take advantage of a double whammy of appreciating Aussie Dollar plus a sweet 4.97% rate on the CD itself. I highly recommend the WorldCurrency CD for diversification and a hedge against the declining USD.

[New_Renter]

Just as a point of clarification, this house (as well as a number of other short sales/bank-owned) is in Pardee’s Mirasol development. Mirasol (and Santa Monica next door) are actually not part of Santaluz and don’t have Santaluz club membership. They were developed as seperate gated communities. People get fooled because they are located right next door. You even see some unsavory agents “implying” that they are part of Santaluz. Their fees are quite a bit lower than Santaluz. I believe both Santa Monica and Mirasol have a small club house/pool, and that’s about it. Mirasol’s HOA is $240, which is quite a bit less than Santaluz $400+. They still do have a hefty Mello-Roos, like Santaluz, but no Club membership fees. Other Short Sales there are 7419 and 7371 Rancho Catalina, plus Santa Monica has a Short Sale at 14629 Arroyo Hondo. I’m sure there are others. Some of these short sales should go for less than $300/sq. ft.! Perhaps we will see some going into the low-mid $200/sq. ft. before all is said and done!

I would love to hear from anyone that bought at these two developments as to what they like/dislike about living there (besides experiencing Santaluz envy!).

[New_Renter]

Just as a point of clarification, this house (as well as a number of other short sales/bank-owned) is in Pardee’s Mirasol development. Mirasol (and Santa Monica next door) are actually not part of Santaluz and don’t have Santaluz club membership. They were developed as seperate gated communities. People get fooled because they are located right next door. You even see some unsavory agents “implying” that they are part of Santaluz. Their fees are quite a bit lower than Santaluz. I believe both Santa Monica and Mirasol have a small club house/pool, and that’s about it. Mirasol’s HOA is $240, which is quite a bit less than Santaluz $400+. They still do have a hefty Mello-Roos, like Santaluz, but no Club membership fees. Other Short Sales there are 7419 and 7371 Rancho Catalina, plus Santa Monica has a Short Sale at 14629 Arroyo Hondo. I’m sure there are others. Some of these short sales should go for less than $300/sq. ft.! Perhaps we will see some going into the low-mid $200/sq. ft. before all is said and done!

I would love to hear from anyone that bought at these two developments as to what they like/dislike about living there (besides experiencing Santaluz envy!).

[New_Renter]

Neighborhoods Considering: Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Del Mar Mesa, Del Mar Heights
Condo/House: House
Price Range: $1.2M-$1.6M
Size Range: 3900-5100 Sq. Ft.
Currently (Rent/Own): Rent
Shopping the Market?: Watching closely, but not ready to make any offers (even lowball). Forcing ourselves to wait until at least Winter 2007, but prepared to wait it out until fall/winter 2008 or longer. Would like to see pricing reach 2003 levels, but will move quickly if data starts to convince me a turn is imminent (I don’t expect this will happen for 3-4 years). Quite comfortable in our rental at the moment.

[New_Renter]

Neighborhoods Considering: Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Del Mar Mesa, Del Mar Heights
Condo/House: House
Price Range: $1.2M-$1.6M
Size Range: 3900-5100 Sq. Ft.
Currently (Rent/Own): Rent
Shopping the Market?: Watching closely, but not ready to make any offers (even lowball). Forcing ourselves to wait until at least Winter 2007, but prepared to wait it out until fall/winter 2008 or longer. Would like to see pricing reach 2003 levels, but will move quickly if data starts to convince me a turn is imminent (I don’t expect this will happen for 3-4 years). Quite comfortable in our rental at the moment.

[New_Renter]

Myito,
It’s ok that you are buying now, and as SD Realtor said there are always people willing to buy at any time in the market cycle. As for the statement that those “on the sidelines will remain on the sidelines in the future”, I can tell you (at least in my case) you could not be more wrong. Since you revealed some insight into your assets, I will as well. We are now renting, but could easily buy a higher-end home in CV for cash. Yet, I am absolutely convinced this is the wrong time to buy (at least for us). All the indicators I’m following are practically screaming this. I know what it is like to buy at the WRONG time first hand. We bought our first home in Carlsbad literally on the day the market supposedly peaked back in 1989! And then turned around and sold in 1993 for what at the time for us was a horrible gut-wrenching loss. While we made up that loss in spades on our 2nd home, the pain of that earlier experience is still, how should I put it…, very poignant. In my opinion, based on everything I am looking at: i.e foreclosure sales, NOD’s, exsiting homes sales, permits, mortgage rates, Case-Shiller Index, etc. this time around looks to be worse than the previous housing crash. I am hoping to avoid making the same mistake twice. When the indicators solidly swing their momentum back to the positive, we WILL buy. But why expose oneself to such risk at this time? It’s not like the market is going to run away from you to the upside. It’s clearly not going back into the double-digit appreciation mode any time soon, so it doesn’t really hurt to wait and see how it develops when the odds favor continued decline. I do understand that urge to own, but am hoping that this time around, by focusing on the data we can take the emotion out of the decision. Good luck to you on your purchase.

[Author]

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