[raptorduck]

Thanks Rustico.

Wow, my own castle, and in my price range to boot!

Tad on the high end of it though. My goal is to find what I want on the low end of my range. I will only pay the top end if I must and I dunt think I must in this market.

It is about 1,500 sf too small, has 10 times as much land as my max, and is not in the area I desire. Other than that, I would feel like Shrek or the Hobbit or Sean Conery living in that place. My dad would like the log cabin though, he lives in one now.

p.s. Larry Elisson has a house on 40 acres in Woodside here in the Bay Area, worth $200 million+! (perhaps a bit less than that in this market?).

[raptorduck]

Thanks Rustico.

Wow, my own castle, and in my price range to boot!

Tad on the high end of it though. My goal is to find what I want on the low end of my range. I will only pay the top end if I must and I dunt think I must in this market.

It is about 1,500 sf too small, has 10 times as much land as my max, and is not in the area I desire. Other than that, I would feel like Shrek or the Hobbit or Sean Conery living in that place. My dad would like the log cabin though, he lives in one now.

p.s. Larry Elisson has a house on 40 acres in Woodside here in the Bay Area, worth $200 million+! (perhaps a bit less than that in this market?).

[raptorduck]

When I lived in Carmel Valley, it was the ultimate family kingdom and I worked in La Jolla at the time, near UTC and had a 5-10 minute commute max. It seems every house in CV has kids in it. Great family community and homes not that expensive (relatively speaking). The schools are the best in San Diego county from what I could tell and still are I believe.

I don’t know what $550k will get you there. Probably an under 1,800sf 2 or 3 br town house or nice condo. I think a detached house would probably run more like $700k, but I don’t know in this market. Perhaps you can now find something for $550k under 2,000 sf and 2 or 3BR. That would surprise me, but this market is dropping by the day. I would think SD Realtor, Rustico, or SDR would be able to tell you with certainty.

Poway also has good schools from what I can tell and lower prices than CV.

[raptorduck]

When I lived in Carmel Valley, it was the ultimate family kingdom and I worked in La Jolla at the time, near UTC and had a 5-10 minute commute max. It seems every house in CV has kids in it. Great family community and homes not that expensive (relatively speaking). The schools are the best in San Diego county from what I could tell and still are I believe.

I don’t know what $550k will get you there. Probably an under 1,800sf 2 or 3 br town house or nice condo. I think a detached house would probably run more like $700k, but I don’t know in this market. Perhaps you can now find something for $550k under 2,000 sf and 2 or 3BR. That would surprise me, but this market is dropping by the day. I would think SD Realtor, Rustico, or SDR would be able to tell you with certainty.

Poway also has good schools from what I can tell and lower prices than CV.

[raptorduck]

When I lived in Carmel Valley, it was the ultimate family kingdom and I worked in La Jolla at the time, near UTC and had a 5-10 minute commute max. It seems every house in CV has kids in it. Great family community and homes not that expensive (relatively speaking). The schools are the best in San Diego county from what I could tell and still are I believe.

I don’t know what $550k will get you there. Probably an under 1,800sf 2 or 3 br town house or nice condo. I think a detached house would probably run more like $700k, but I don’t know in this market. Perhaps you can now find something for $550k under 2,000 sf and 2 or 3BR. That would surprise me, but this market is dropping by the day. I would think SD Realtor, Rustico, or SDR would be able to tell you with certainty.

Poway also has good schools from what I can tell and lower prices than CV.

[raptorduck]

Consider the common thread among financial planners that 95% of income earning Americans have a negative net worth. That’s right, 95% of Americans are more than a million dollars short of being . . . millionairs.

And I think that does include home equity, but I am not sure about that one.

Remember, there are people who make $1 million per year and still have a negative net worth.

[raptorduck]

Consider the common thread among financial planners that 95% of income earning Americans have a negative net worth. That’s right, 95% of Americans are more than a million dollars short of being . . . millionairs.

And I think that does include home equity, but I am not sure about that one.

Remember, there are people who make $1 million per year and still have a negative net worth.

[raptorduck]

Consider the common thread among financial planners that 95% of income earning Americans have a negative net worth. That’s right, 95% of Americans are more than a million dollars short of being . . . millionairs.

And I think that does include home equity, but I am not sure about that one.

Remember, there are people who make $1 million per year and still have a negative net worth.

[raptorduck]

Best I can tell, Santa Fe Hills are also between RSF and Santaluz or, more accurately, between the The Crosby and Santaluz. I think that is still Rancho Bernardo, but the lots seem very large from what I was able to find yesterday.

I have looked at a few homes in Del Mar Mesa and Del Mar Meadows. Too dense for my taste and the homes more McMansionish than I want, though a few were large enough. Overpriced too. I saw one that has been on the market for 250 days or so that is listing for probably $500k more than it should compared to comps in RSF. And every house on the street looked virtually identical. That is what I have now and I am trying to get away from what I have now.

I am not against McMansions per se, Cielo is McMansions and even Santaluz, but I want at least the illusion of variety. Those areas you mention left nothing to the imagination, your neighbor had a virtually identical house. In Cielo for example, you may find the same model in many places, but not usually on your street. You may not even see it on the way to your street. But there are clearly many of the same models scattered throughout the area, others not so much. Some even look semi custom.

I view $1 million+ homes as tract, McMansion, high end McMansion, semi custom, and custom. I am on the left of that hierarchy now in, as my father would say “an overpriced cookie cutter home.” He was a building contractor. I prefer the far right custom homes (Fairbanks Ranch, the Covenant, RSF Farms, Rancho Valencia, Del Mar Country Club), but am not above a high end McMansion that is one of 20 models in a subdivision/area (Cielo, Santaluz), rather than 3-4 (my current neighborhood).

Essentially I am looking for the opposite of what I have now, which is why I am not looking in Carmel Valley. I have a 2,600sf 4BR, Mediteranian tract home that I paid way to much for 8 yrs ago in a semi-gated community, on a wopping 4k sf lot that is one of 4 floor plans and 4 exterior models to choose from in the neighborhood and where you can pick from 6 exterior colors and trims. In other words, too dense, and you may have trouble identifying your own house without an address cuz it don’t stand out. It is “expensive” (a relative term) only becasue it is in a “nice” part of San Jose (don’t confuse with what you in SD consider nice, even in the city of SD, you have to lower your standards in the Bay Area) near key highways and employers, and at 17 yrs old, is very new for the Bay Area where there is not much new construction in popular areas and 30-60 yr old ranch homes are a dime a dozen.

To me, the nicest parts of the Bay Area are Los Altos Hills, Woodside, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, and Los Altos. They are also the most expensive, along with uberpricy Atherton. But none of those towns are as nice as RSF, Del Mar, or La Jolla IMHO. They are nicer than Santaluz, but Santaluz still wins b/c it is in SD and you get twice the house per $$ in Santaluz than those Bay Area towns (though Santaluz is still overpriced for SD).

To boot, you get a much bigger house in SD. In those nice parts of the Bay Area above, a 6,000 sf house on 1+ acre will set you back $7 million or more, although you can find either very old or low quality newer ones for $5 million or so. In RSF you can find that for $3 million or so, less than 1/2 as much.

There is a 5,800 SF 5BR custom Mediteranian 1/4 mile from my current house for sale (not in my tract neighborhood, just beyond it) on 4/10ths of an acre selling for $3.5 million. Overpriced, yes, but it would cost double that in one of the above towns (as would my own 1/2 the size on 1/4 the lot cookie cutter abode). Homes that large are very rare up here and common down there. Believe it or not, in this general neighborhood of San Jose, the average home is 1,800-2,000 sf. My house is considered big, over 3,000 sf is considered huge. The one above is by far the largest I have seen in this immediate area.

Apologies to 4SBuyer for hijacking his/her thread. And no disrespect intended for residents of Del Mar Medows, Mesa, or CV. After all, I live in a tract home. I actually like my current house and neighborhood quite a bit and used to live in CV and loved it. I just want something different now, for many reasons.

[raptorduck]

Best I can tell, Santa Fe Hills are also between RSF and Santaluz or, more accurately, between the The Crosby and Santaluz. I think that is still Rancho Bernardo, but the lots seem very large from what I was able to find yesterday.

I have looked at a few homes in Del Mar Mesa and Del Mar Meadows. Too dense for my taste and the homes more McMansionish than I want, though a few were large enough. Overpriced too. I saw one that has been on the market for 250 days or so that is listing for probably $500k more than it should compared to comps in RSF. And every house on the street looked virtually identical. That is what I have now and I am trying to get away from what I have now.

I am not against McMansions per se, Cielo is McMansions and even Santaluz, but I want at least the illusion of variety. Those areas you mention left nothing to the imagination, your neighbor had a virtually identical house. In Cielo for example, you may find the same model in many places, but not usually on your street. You may not even see it on the way to your street. But there are clearly many of the same models scattered throughout the area, others not so much. Some even look semi custom.

I view $1 million+ homes as tract, McMansion, high end McMansion, semi custom, and custom. I am on the left of that hierarchy now in, as my father would say “an overpriced cookie cutter home.” He was a building contractor. I prefer the far right custom homes (Fairbanks Ranch, the Covenant, RSF Farms, Rancho Valencia, Del Mar Country Club), but am not above a high end McMansion that is one of 20 models in a subdivision/area (Cielo, Santaluz), rather than 3-4 (my current neighborhood).

Essentially I am looking for the opposite of what I have now, which is why I am not looking in Carmel Valley. I have a 2,600sf 4BR, Mediteranian tract home that I paid way to much for 8 yrs ago in a semi-gated community, on a wopping 4k sf lot that is one of 4 floor plans and 4 exterior models to choose from in the neighborhood and where you can pick from 6 exterior colors and trims. In other words, too dense, and you may have trouble identifying your own house without an address cuz it don’t stand out. It is “expensive” (a relative term) only becasue it is in a “nice” part of San Jose (don’t confuse with what you in SD consider nice, even in the city of SD, you have to lower your standards in the Bay Area) near key highways and employers, and at 17 yrs old, is very new for the Bay Area where there is not much new construction in popular areas and 30-60 yr old ranch homes are a dime a dozen.

To me, the nicest parts of the Bay Area are Los Altos Hills, Woodside, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, and Los Altos. They are also the most expensive, along with uberpricy Atherton. But none of those towns are as nice as RSF, Del Mar, or La Jolla IMHO. They are nicer than Santaluz, but Santaluz still wins b/c it is in SD and you get twice the house per $$ in Santaluz than those Bay Area towns (though Santaluz is still overpriced for SD).

To boot, you get a much bigger house in SD. In those nice parts of the Bay Area above, a 6,000 sf house on 1+ acre will set you back $7 million or more, although you can find either very old or low quality newer ones for $5 million or so. In RSF you can find that for $3 million or so, less than 1/2 as much.

There is a 5,800 SF 5BR custom Mediteranian 1/4 mile from my current house for sale (not in my tract neighborhood, just beyond it) on 4/10ths of an acre selling for $3.5 million. Overpriced, yes, but it would cost double that in one of the above towns (as would my own 1/2 the size on 1/4 the lot cookie cutter abode). Homes that large are very rare up here and common down there. Believe it or not, in this general neighborhood of San Jose, the average home is 1,800-2,000 sf. My house is considered big, over 3,000 sf is considered huge. The one above is by far the largest I have seen in this immediate area.

Apologies to 4SBuyer for hijacking his/her thread. And no disrespect intended for residents of Del Mar Medows, Mesa, or CV. After all, I live in a tract home. I actually like my current house and neighborhood quite a bit and used to live in CV and loved it. I just want something different now, for many reasons.

[raptorduck]

Best I can tell, Santa Fe Hills are also between RSF and Santaluz or, more accurately, between the The Crosby and Santaluz. I think that is still Rancho Bernardo, but the lots seem very large from what I was able to find yesterday.

I have looked at a few homes in Del Mar Mesa and Del Mar Meadows. Too dense for my taste and the homes more McMansionish than I want, though a few were large enough. Overpriced too. I saw one that has been on the market for 250 days or so that is listing for probably $500k more than it should compared to comps in RSF. And every house on the street looked virtually identical. That is what I have now and I am trying to get away from what I have now.

I am not against McMansions per se, Cielo is McMansions and even Santaluz, but I want at least the illusion of variety. Those areas you mention left nothing to the imagination, your neighbor had a virtually identical house. In Cielo for example, you may find the same model in many places, but not usually on your street. You may not even see it on the way to your street. But there are clearly many of the same models scattered throughout the area, others not so much. Some even look semi custom.

I view $1 million+ homes as tract, McMansion, high end McMansion, semi custom, and custom. I am on the left of that hierarchy now in, as my father would say “an overpriced cookie cutter home.” He was a building contractor. I prefer the far right custom homes (Fairbanks Ranch, the Covenant, RSF Farms, Rancho Valencia, Del Mar Country Club), but am not above a high end McMansion that is one of 20 models in a subdivision/area (Cielo, Santaluz), rather than 3-4 (my current neighborhood).

Essentially I am looking for the opposite of what I have now, which is why I am not looking in Carmel Valley. I have a 2,600sf 4BR, Mediteranian tract home that I paid way to much for 8 yrs ago in a semi-gated community, on a wopping 4k sf lot that is one of 4 floor plans and 4 exterior models to choose from in the neighborhood and where you can pick from 6 exterior colors and trims. In other words, too dense, and you may have trouble identifying your own house without an address cuz it don’t stand out. It is “expensive” (a relative term) only becasue it is in a “nice” part of San Jose (don’t confuse with what you in SD consider nice, even in the city of SD, you have to lower your standards in the Bay Area) near key highways and employers, and at 17 yrs old, is very new for the Bay Area where there is not much new construction in popular areas and 30-60 yr old ranch homes are a dime a dozen.

To me, the nicest parts of the Bay Area are Los Altos Hills, Woodside, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, and Los Altos. They are also the most expensive, along with uberpricy Atherton. But none of those towns are as nice as RSF, Del Mar, or La Jolla IMHO. They are nicer than Santaluz, but Santaluz still wins b/c it is in SD and you get twice the house per $$ in Santaluz than those Bay Area towns (though Santaluz is still overpriced for SD).

To boot, you get a much bigger house in SD. In those nice parts of the Bay Area above, a 6,000 sf house on 1+ acre will set you back $7 million or more, although you can find either very old or low quality newer ones for $5 million or so. In RSF you can find that for $3 million or so, less than 1/2 as much.

There is a 5,800 SF 5BR custom Mediteranian 1/4 mile from my current house for sale (not in my tract neighborhood, just beyond it) on 4/10ths of an acre selling for $3.5 million. Overpriced, yes, but it would cost double that in one of the above towns (as would my own 1/2 the size on 1/4 the lot cookie cutter abode). Homes that large are very rare up here and common down there. Believe it or not, in this general neighborhood of San Jose, the average home is 1,800-2,000 sf. My house is considered big, over 3,000 sf is considered huge. The one above is by far the largest I have seen in this immediate area.

Apologies to 4SBuyer for hijacking his/her thread. And no disrespect intended for residents of Del Mar Medows, Mesa, or CV. After all, I live in a tract home. I actually like my current house and neighborhood quite a bit and used to live in CV and loved it. I just want something different now, for many reasons.

[raptorduck]

SDR. Thanks. I apologize for posting before I did my search on what 4S Ranch is. I found their website. Indeed, it looks like a community of tract homes, not unlike my current neighborhood in San Jose. And not a one in my price range, square foot goal, or lot size goal.

The article 4SBuyer posted says it is part of RSF and info I found on the Shelter-in-place concept says it is part of the RSF Fire District. That threw me off. But it is not RSF schools or any of the RSF zip codes. Certainly looks like it is part of Rancho Bernado/San Diego proper. It is near the 15 it appears, so not nearly as appealing to me as Carmel Valley would be if I were looking for tract homes since I would work in CV. I can’t tell if 4S Ranch has the same quality of homes as CV (which are very simlar to my current neighborhood) or whether the schools are as good as CV. It appears the homes there are less expensive than CV.

Based on its web site, I don’t think 4S Ranch has what I am looking for. I am looking for a 20 yr house that I can continue to grow my family into and grow old in. It has to be on at least 1 acre, not less than 5BR, and not less than 6,000 sf, and preferably has a guest house/casita. Fairbanks Ranch is still my first choice, though I continue to look at other parts of RSF and still have at least one eye on Santaluz and Cielo.

So to prevent any futher ignoramus confusion on my part, what is Santa Fe Hills? What town is it part of? It is also in the RSF fire district and appears to be part of RSF, but perhaps not either, because it is the same zip as Santaluz, I think. Perhaps it is part of Rancho Bernado. Are there homes like the ones I am looking for there?

[raptorduck]

SDR. Thanks. I apologize for posting before I did my search on what 4S Ranch is. I found their website. Indeed, it looks like a community of tract homes, not unlike my current neighborhood in San Jose. And not a one in my price range, square foot goal, or lot size goal.

The article 4SBuyer posted says it is part of RSF and info I found on the Shelter-in-place concept says it is part of the RSF Fire District. That threw me off. But it is not RSF schools or any of the RSF zip codes. Certainly looks like it is part of Rancho Bernado/San Diego proper. It is near the 15 it appears, so not nearly as appealing to me as Carmel Valley would be if I were looking for tract homes since I would work in CV. I can’t tell if 4S Ranch has the same quality of homes as CV (which are very simlar to my current neighborhood) or whether the schools are as good as CV. It appears the homes there are less expensive than CV.

Based on its web site, I don’t think 4S Ranch has what I am looking for. I am looking for a 20 yr house that I can continue to grow my family into and grow old in. It has to be on at least 1 acre, not less than 5BR, and not less than 6,000 sf, and preferably has a guest house/casita. Fairbanks Ranch is still my first choice, though I continue to look at other parts of RSF and still have at least one eye on Santaluz and Cielo.

So to prevent any futher ignoramus confusion on my part, what is Santa Fe Hills? What town is it part of? It is also in the RSF fire district and appears to be part of RSF, but perhaps not either, because it is the same zip as Santaluz, I think. Perhaps it is part of Rancho Bernado. Are there homes like the ones I am looking for there?

[raptorduck]

SDR. Thanks. I apologize for posting before I did my search on what 4S Ranch is. I found their website. Indeed, it looks like a community of tract homes, not unlike my current neighborhood in San Jose. And not a one in my price range, square foot goal, or lot size goal.

The article 4SBuyer posted says it is part of RSF and info I found on the Shelter-in-place concept says it is part of the RSF Fire District. That threw me off. But it is not RSF schools or any of the RSF zip codes. Certainly looks like it is part of Rancho Bernado/San Diego proper. It is near the 15 it appears, so not nearly as appealing to me as Carmel Valley would be if I were looking for tract homes since I would work in CV. I can’t tell if 4S Ranch has the same quality of homes as CV (which are very simlar to my current neighborhood) or whether the schools are as good as CV. It appears the homes there are less expensive than CV.

Based on its web site, I don’t think 4S Ranch has what I am looking for. I am looking for a 20 yr house that I can continue to grow my family into and grow old in. It has to be on at least 1 acre, not less than 5BR, and not less than 6,000 sf, and preferably has a guest house/casita. Fairbanks Ranch is still my first choice, though I continue to look at other parts of RSF and still have at least one eye on Santaluz and Cielo.

So to prevent any futher ignoramus confusion on my part, what is Santa Fe Hills? What town is it part of? It is also in the RSF fire district and appears to be part of RSF, but perhaps not either, because it is the same zip as Santaluz, I think. Perhaps it is part of Rancho Bernado. Are there homes like the ones I am looking for there?

[raptorduck]

All this time that I have been looking for a house in Rancho Santa Fe, I thought I had figured out what are all the neighborhoods/subdivisions.

I thought 4S Ranch was a seperate town and did not know it was part of RSF. Should I be looking there as well? Why do people call it 4closure ranch if it is part of RSF and why all the animosity towards that part of RSF? I know high end homes also foreclose, but the suggestion I see is that there are lots of foreclosures in 4S Ranch. Why is that?

I assume these are the same types of houses I have seen in the rest of RSF and in my price range, and of course far beyond it, but I have not seen the kind of homes RSF has ($2-$30 million!) foreclose up here like subprime loan homes have, which here are under $1 million. My own current neighborhood of barely $1 million tract homes has one that is about to foreclose I suspect. It is currently a short sale. But I have seen no foreclosures in the $2-$4 million market here (not that I have been looking for foreclosures either).

I suppose I should go ahead and finally educate myself on 4S Ranch and contact my agent about the area.

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