Areas of Santa Clarita (Valencia, Canyon Country, Stevenson Ranch, Saugus, Newhall) (Anaheim: homes, buy)

[ConsideringLA]

There are a few great short sale deals; the builders are priced on the mid-high side, but are buying down rates and offer tons of choice. Waiting is always a good option in this market; my sense is the spring will bring some more price capitulation and drive prices even further down, despite incredibly low rates and a 'permanently' raised conforming limit.

Short sales give you extra space for the essentially the same dough. But you have to invest some sweat equity in improving the home... my time has value, especially with a young family. Dust is not an option (like it used to be).

[NickelDime]

Lennar seems to be a bit on the high side for sure. There are a number of short sales and a handful of foreclosures in Tesoro that give West Hills a run for its money.

But the buy down on the rate and luxury of "NEW" take some of the glow off the short sales.

[NickelDime]

Thanks all for your help.

We looked at some short sales in Creekside and Tesoro, some foreclosures in Stevenson Ranch, and checked out a few short sales in Westridge.

Our preference is toward a new home, largely because resale homes have more established families in the community. We are a young family and there is something special about a new community with families - a shared experience of sorts. I could go on, but we have a theory that the age of the homes roughly tracks with the age of the kids in the neighborhood.

We signed a contract for a nice 4/3 in West Hills. Lennar is buying down rates to 4.875 and only needs 3.5% down. Lennar is also paying a handsome percentage to buying agents, so if you have a connection there, you might find value as well. They are paying all non-recurring closing costs and landscaping the front yard. There is some standing inventory in West Creek, but not much, that is fully landscaped and has window treatments. West Hills is further along (it is one year older), offers a gate and views, and the elementary school is a bit closer (West Creek Elementary opens in September 2009).

We figured the rate buy-down is worth about 2.5%. Add the cost of repairs on a foreclosure or short sale and factor the buying agent commission, these are a pretty dang good deal.

We know we're not buying at the bottom -- heck, there is at least a few more years of decelerating prices / stagnation in the market, but we're tired of moving and our youngest is set to start school.

Home sets to close in March!

[elousv]

Hey congrats! It sounds like you got a great place and a great interest rate. Welcome soon to be neighbor!

[VLWH]

Depending on your commute time, this might be your best bet. When I lived in Newhall, I took the commuter to Sherman Oaks. If you work at a large company, they usually will subsidize a good part of the monthly pass.

Originally Posted by NickelDime

Also, there is a Commuter Express bus that runs to Warner Center; looks like an hour flat, which is a small premium to the drive but I'm sure pays dividends on the frustration factor.
Route 796: http://tinyurl.com/7ksskp

Wiki/SCV Transit: City of Santa Clarita Transit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[vkazovsky]

I'm so happy I found this thread. We are also planning to move to Valencia area in September and the info is very helpful. Thanks. would like to get some more details though - we are considering private elementry for our son (to start kindergarden) - are there any non religious (christian) private schools in the are? The only one I could find is Pinecrest? Any reviews how it is and what are the pros/cons comparing to Stevenson Ranch / Westridge schools? And regarding the preschool for my younger one - we would love to have him attend Montessori, but the only one we could find is SCV montessori and it seems to bein Canyon County - a little far from SR / Valencia isn't it?
Thank you

[marimari123]

NickelDime--Congratulations on your home purchase! Sounds like you're getting a great deal, which is something any homebuyer would love

vkazovsky--As far as I know, Pinecrest is the only non-religious private elementary school in the area. Legacy used to be "God Honoring" and now it's Legacy Christian Academy. Pinecrest is considered good, though it doesn't seem to be the first choice for private school in this area. Most of the kids I know who attend private school go to Legacy whether they are Christian or not.

We live in Westridge and my son will start kindergarten at Oak Hills soon. The test scores are high and my neighbors seem happy with it. I think it competes pretty well compared to private schools (kids in kindergarten get quite a bit of homework similar to private schools). Stevenson Ranch Elementary has the highest API scores in the area but I think they have an enrollment freeze due to overcrowding (even if you move in next door to the school, they might send your child to a different school). The other elementary in Stevenson Ranch is Pico Canyon with scores similar to Oak Hills in Westridge. So basically, Westridge and Stevenson Ranch have very high test scores, push academics, and they're comparable to private schools.

Sunshine is a popular choice for preschool in the Westridge/Stevenson Ranch area. My older child goes there, this is his second year. Recently the quality has dropped after the original owners sold it to a big company. But in 2 years when my younger child starts preschool, I'll send him to Sunshine. I think A New World Montessori preschool might be similar to a home based daycare (operates out of someone's house). I'm not sure if that matters to you or not. I really don't know much about it but if you live in Westridge or Stevenson Ranch, it is a little bit of a drive (maybe 15-20 minutes).

Hope that helps.

mari

[GracieJJ]

SCV Montesorri is FAR from being a day care!!. If it was, it would run from early hours of the morning until late afternoons. I wish people get their facts first before commenting.
Even places like kindercare and tutortime concede that their programme is far less academic than Montesorri pre school, in particular New World.

Their programme starts 9am till 12pm, hardly a daycare setting, would'nt you think?. I can safely vouch for the school as my eldest did his preschool years there who went on to be an honor student at pinecrest (valencia - kinder grade) and his now attaining a much higher level of competency and education at Legacy christian academy (currently 1st grade) has so far achieved excellent grades and honors.

Our 2nd child has been at this school for almost a year since he was 2 yrs old, we will most probably go from here and unto Legacy straight away, when his time comes. Our youngest will be 2 this year, any guesses where we will start her off? Sunshine is litterally across the road from us and would cost us only $25 extra a week for a full day programme whilst SCV is 3 hrs duruation of academic enjoyment.

Not to knock Sunshine off or anything, in fact i rate them pretty high, but as someone pointed out. The original owners dont run it anymore and standards have somewhat gone down, now it is owned and run like a corporate business somewhat. New world is owned and run by the owners who like the previous owners of Sunshine are very dedicated in what they do. Something they have in common.

I hope this clarrifies some of the myth surrounding New world. Im not saying its for everyone, but if your after quality and dedication to your child, this would be 1st stop and then compare. They have a long waiting list, and it is due to this that they are opening an afternoon programme that goes from 12-3pm. Goodluck in your quest.

[marimari123]

I stand corrected! New World is not a daycare in someone's house.

But if you live in Stevenson Ranch or Westridge, it's not the closest preschool (distance wise). It's up to the parents how far they'd like to drive for preschool.

Oh there's another option too. Oak Hills Elementary has a preschool on site. I think it's full-day though. You'd have to call and find out but I think that even if you only send your child 1/2 day, you still have to pay the full-day price.

Mari

[GracieJJ]

Mari, you are quiet right in that, it's hosted in the owners house, bottom floor, but the setup is fairly unique.

The drive takes me 15-20mins from just across sunshine.
In a lot of cases when it comes to kinder grade, they only do academics as long as up 3-4hrs simply because children generally cannot learn beyond that timeframe.

Take for example at pinecrest, the schedule for kinders is from 9-3pm but from 1.30 onwards they encourage children to either nap or just play.

But like i said, New World may not be for everybody due to the fact that its 3 hrs only, this suits me just fine because i can do it, whilst some people may need that day care provider whilst they are at work.

The other thing to consider is that New world works on the strict ratio of 10:1 at any given time. So the lucky few that make it in, is really getting their money's worth. Also they have an extra helper at hand on a mostly daily basis. That Involves the teacher and helper for those 10 children. Also another important thing to know is that they are fully accredited Montesorri center, unlike some that are Not!