[ocrenter]

Agree, silver crest is an abomination. Those homes by buie along alva were quite awful as well.

That’s another thing about the north side, there are large chunk of just atrocious homes built just prior to the bubble bust that frankly would be better off leveled and rebuilt.

[ocrenter]

[quote=earlyretirement]Anyone else notice they had to change the name of this development from Miraval to Maricel because someone else had the name trademarked?

You would have thought they would have checked before naming the development. Oh well…[/quote]

Oops…

Is there a trade mark search engine? Just wondering… And does miraval mean anything? In Spanish? Italian?

[ocrenter]

[quote=OntheSideLine]Why do you like the south side better? The
S side has bigger average lots and lower MR however
there are fewer parks….also the trail from the North side
to Lake Hodges is very nice. Given that there are large lots
and lower Mello Roos of 1.5% than other homes on the
N side…we will buy…now just deciding on the 2 available lots vs
waiting for the next phase. We do like this home more than any
other development in 4S other than Ivy Gate (nicer homes but
I didn’t want to be in a gated community and it would have cost
more than Mission Ranch). We have seen all the floorplans in 4S
in person over the last few years, looked at Mirasol/Santa Monica/Santa
Fe Valley and plan on staying long term. Thanks everyone for your advice.[/quote]

IMHO, the south side is better planned. the larger lots and lower MR are two huge factors as well.

a portion of the north side was suppose to be a planned golf course for neighboring Santa Fe Valley communities. during the bubble, they vastly expanded the number of homes planned for the north side, and squeezed in as much homes as possible. therefore the north side appears a lot more crowded. and from afar it really provides the prototypical suburban picture of rows of homes after homes after homes. there are parks, but I don’t think there’s more compared to the south side. especially if you count by household, since the north side is denser.

I did forget about Alva, it should provide a decent alternative to 4S and Ralph Ranch.

given there’s only 25 homes planned for Mission Ranch, if you guys like it you should go for it. 4S does have a lot of appeal and the prices offered is grounded on current market conditions.

[ocrenter]

[quote=Essbee][quote=Essbee]Have you checked out this neighborhood in South 4S?

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9663-Deer-Trail-Pl-San-Diego-CA-92127/54908458_zpid/

9663 Deer Trail Pl
San Diego, CA 92127
or similar “Talavera” models? (4053 sq feet, built by Davidson)

The one listed is cul de sac/canyon rim, not brand new but therefore fully landscaped with upgrades already done, walking distance to elementary, middle, and high school. I think this neighborhood is great![/quote]

I just checked and this property is now listed as sold on 8/31/12 for $960K. I feel like the market really is turning a corner!

I hope you enjoy Mission Ranch Estates. I’d like to see the model(s) at some point. Again, I don’t know that specific area, but I have very much enjoyed living here in 4S.[/quote]

the market has turned, and this is why CalWest can ask for the prices they are asking for. Certainly with only 25 homes they need to build, they’ll be able to sell out within a few months.

as for north vs south, hands down south side of 4S is significantly better. one concern with Mission Ranch is it will be 1.5 miles deep away from the nearest major street (Camino Del Norte), with 4S and Ralph Ranch roads, you simply cant go very fast because of the large number of stop signs and homes they run thru.

[ocrenter]

[quote=briansd1]The UT has been a Republican megaphone for decades.

[/quote]

well, there was at least an attempt to be superficially non-biased. now it is just blatantly toeing the right wing line.

I suppose the general lack of concern about how Manchester is reshaping UT and NCT is the real story here: daily printed newspaper is truly on its way out.

[ocrenter]

[quote=OntheSideLine]OC renter…we toured that property. The standard options in Mission Ranch are
nicer than upgrades in that home. The only advantage would be the landscaping.
We would need to replace flooring and paint either home. Mirasol is surrounded by power lines. Paying for small gated communities with no parks and higher HOAs is not appealing to me. I grew up in a gated community and felt isolated as a child. 4S is surrounded by parks, trails, markets, schools, and has regular neighborhood activities like the annual Easter Egg hunts. We have friends who in Mirasol and they drive to 4S for grocery shopping, the library, and parks. Mission Ranch is about 100k more than I want to spend but has lower HOA and no power lines. Still deciding but inching closer to buying…[/quote]

In regard to shopping, 4S Commons is suppose to be the hub for the entire 92127, including the whole black mountain ranch development. Certainly if the goal is to be as close to shopping as possible, then a development within 4S would be best.

If you and the wife are happy with what Mission Ranch has to offer, sounds like you should just go for it. I agree with you, I think it is about $100k too much. But I think there is enough demand to support the price. After all, CalWest sold quite a number of 3000 sqft tract homes on tiny 6000 sqft lots for $800k.

[ocrenter]

[quote=earlyretirement]I agree ocrenter.

We didn’t look at homes in Mirasol but we did in Santa Monica last year. There were some beautiful homes on large 1/2 acre lots. The only thing I didn’t like were all the power lines around Santa Monica. I’m not sure if that is the case with Mirasol as well.

Onthesideline — Just out of curiosity, why are you against gated communities? Some of them are really great and it’s not like your kids would be spoiled or anything for the mere fact you live in a gated community.

I don’t think it’s the same thing as sending them to private schools. I was just curious on that one.

We looked at homes in 4S Ranch and we really didn’t see the attraction there. Much of the houses there looked to be of inferior quality to other areas.

Carmel Valley we felt was definitely not worth it, especially in areas like Pacific Highland Ranch which had mostly million dollar homes on postage size lots where all your neighbors could see into.

Even Collins Ranch with bigger homes on bigger lots didn’t seem too special to me either.[/quote]

I think both Santa Monica and Marisol have homes adjacent to power lines.

Agree with you about the gated community status. typically it is seen as a premium. although it does increase the cost of the HOA.

[ocrenter]

vast majority of the pool builders in SD specialize in gunite pools.

that being said, we ended up finding a vinyl pool builder and have really found it to be a cheaper yet equal alternative.

you’ll be looking at about $10k reduction in cost. the vinyl typically need to be replaced after 10 years, but the cost would be less than say replastering of the gunite, which runs about every 12-15 years.

we ended up taking the $10k in savings and get ourselves a pool cover and salt system. mantenance is very minimal if you got that set up. cleaning of filter is reduced to once a year because the pool is so much cleaner. no fishing of dead small rodents out of the pool on regular basis, and most importantly, dramatic reduction in evaporation of water.

[ocrenter]

http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-120006839-7380_Rancho_Catalina_San_Diego_CA_92127

with occasional deals like above still squeezing through, how do you justify a million for brand new construction with base carpet/laminate on 1/3-1/2 acre of dirt?

[ocrenter]

This is classic post tsunami price. 50% off peak pricing and that peak price doesn’t even include the $50k pool. And this is not even factoring in the inflation rate and the low interest rate.

But then it is San Jacinto…

[ocrenter]

[quote=OntheSideLine]I think we could get by with less them 250k

Better than Mirasol…not as large as Ivy Gates.
Similar to Santa Fe Valley homes or Lakes.
We actually like that these are large homes within
4S Ranch…we don’t want our kids to be
raised in gated communities or private schools.

A little over-priced but I guess if we are staying
long term…it might be worth it…inching closer
to pulling the trigger. Thanks[/quote]

It is certainly possible to go lower, $150k in and out is very possible, and still have everything come out looking like $250k of improvement. Just there would be a lot more headache.

I was going to say if you have the patience you should be able to find an appropriate resale within the $1 million to $1.2 million range with Santa Fe Valley/Santaluz/Ivy Gate/the Lakes. Problem is they are all gated so tht would not fit with your criteria.

Might also want to consider KHov resales in south 4S for much cheaper. For example:

http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-120038281-15180_Palomino_Valley_Pl_San_Diego_CA_92127

[ocrenter]

[quote=OntheSideLine]HOA $85, Tax rate including MR is 1.5% (length probably the same as
rest of 4S Ranch). Why add $250K to purchase price – upgrades and
landscaping? 20K incentive towards upgrades. Thanks for your thoughts.[/quote]

yup, $250k is the average for upgrades in and out for houses of that caliber and lot size.

$20k incentive toward upgrades = $10k in street value of the same upgrades aftermarket.

$1 million is pretty hefty for 4S IMHO. Are these truly Ivy Gate/Santa Monica/Marisol/The Lakes caliber homes? If so I suppose it may be worth it. Or are these simply larger versions of CalWest’s smaller tract homes in 4S? That’s a very important question you need to answer.

[ocrenter]

What’s the HOA, MR, and MR payoff?

Add $250k to the purchase price and ask yourself can you buy a comparable resale home in 92127?

[ocrenter]

[quote=flu][quote=bearishgurl][quote=flu][quote=no_such_reality]~US autoworker rant …[/quote]PM’ed you… In short, STFU… :)[/quote]

Thank you for beating me to the punch, flu 🙂
[/quote]

I think you misrepresented my intentions here.

I’m not agreeing with anyone here, and not definitely not disagreeing with nsr…..

Some of us are just tired of worthless, endless bickering on the most inane non-RE, non-financial, non-investment (or for that matter, anything off-topic, yet perhaps insightful thing)…that don’t contribute to anyone’s bottom line or helpful advice or “gee, I learned something new today”…

We’re just reminding each other to hold the original purpose of this blog and to immediately disengage from such abyssal/useless ratholes, and a gentle reminder to said folks that there’s probably better use of one’s time than to participate is such things…

(I know, I know, NSR…..STFU… I’m doing so myself..)

Have fun, I’ve got better things to do.[/quote]

FLU, problem is how many times can we say, “it is a great time to buy a primary or rental because prices are amazing and the interest rate crazy low, too bad you can’t find any inventory.”

[ocrenter]

So we are heading back to Obama the commie path once again? Oh boy…

[Author]

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