Moving to Carmel Valley from N.Y. questions (San Diego, San Francisco: best neighborhood, real estate market)

[andybuildz]

Currently I'm finishing up a house my wife and I bought five years ago.
I've been doing renovation and restoration work the past 32 years full time.
the last dozen or so years its been pretty much exclusivly on my own home which when finished we sell for a profit. Very worst house in the very best neighborhood is what we look to buy.
This current house is a circa: 1680 colonial that was falling off the face of the earth untill I got my hands on it and now five years later its drop dead gorgous and almost ready to list. We're 50 minutes east of Manhatten on Long Islands North Shore in a town called Cold Spring Harbor a highly sought after neighborhood with one of the best school districts in the country.
After living in NY my whole life and my older daughter married, pregnant and living in San Francisco we're looking to move west for a change. I'm still looking to do what I've always done...its my passion. We're real interested in Carmel Valley. If i could find a major fixer upper with some great views for "well under" $900,000... that would be ideal. While I know homes typically sell for over a mil I suspect things do pop up in my price range.
CV seems like a good place being whatever I do to the home there are plenty of people there that could afford to buy from me.
Thing is...I wonder how hard it is to break into doing renovations for local people as I've done here in NY. I need to pay the bills as I do my own projects. I'm not interested in doing any new construction for customers. I specialize in renovation work which can include additons but not new homes.
Also...my wife has been a real estate broker for about 20+ years and an avid tennis player(another reason I'm thinking about CV...as I see lots of tennis there for her)
You can see some of my work in my website in my profile.
any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much
andy[/color][/color]

[Mvn2nc]

I dont see you will have a problem breaking into your line of work. New construction does not happen around there for the most part and people are always renovating. Your wifes work can go anywhere. $900k fixure upper i am sure you'll find somewhere in Carmel Valley.
I love "The Valley" and in a perfect world having liived on the Penninsula my whole life up untill a year ago, thats one placed i would have lived in a heart beat if only my pocket book would have allowed!!!
I did live in the Valley during my teenage years any only wished i had appreciated it more back then. It is so unique and the weather is just perfect as it gets all the sun and not much of the dreaded Monterey fog.

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by Mvn2nc

I dont see you will have a problem breaking into your line of work. New construction does not happen around there for the most part and people are always renovating. Your wifes work can go anywhere. $900k fixure upper i am sure you'll find somewhere in Carmel Valley.
I love "The Valley" and in a perfect world having liived on the Penninsula my whole life up untill a year ago, thats one placed i would have lived in a heart beat if only my pocket book would have allowed!!!
I did live in the Valley during my teenage years any only wished i had appreciated it more back then. It is so unique and the weather is just perfect as it gets all the sun and not much of the dreaded Monterey fog.

Mvn...thanks for the encouraging words. Sure hope if I make this major move I can in fact break into the renovation work in the area. Guess I'll just have to use all the tools in my business marketing tool box to make that happen.
In the old days when I was in my twenties this'd be nothing but now in my mid fifties I become more concerned (even though I still feel as good as I did in my 20's). I guess "most" depends on how much we get for this house. Timing is everything. Watching the Real Estate site (MLS) every day to see what pops up in the Valley in the 7-8-900+- range. Seems there "are" some things but not much. Hey...all I need is just "one"! And the fact that I want a piece O' junk might help...mostly I think people want a "turn key" deal and when the time comes I'll have all cash so that too should help. One thing I really don't want to have to do is rent and move twice...furnature is no biggie but 30+ years worth of tools and equiptment to move is a nightmare.
anyway...hoping to hear some more responses from other locals.
Thanks again and enjoy the summer
andy

[NYSD1995]

I grew up in the Northport area, very familiar with Cold Spring Harbor. I have lived in San Diego for 10+ years now. Are you talking about Carmel CA or Carmel Valley, San Diego?

Couple things to be aware of....

CSH is an elite market ... NYC money all over the place. Best schools in the NYC area. Carmel Valley is really just a mid-80's tract home development that has appreciated along with all of SoCal. CSH is really more like Del Mar or La Jolla.

Those houses you are seeing in CV are going to be right on top of each other. It's not like LI where you have a quarter acre. You are going to be looking at 2500sf houses on 5000sf lots.

Most houses in CV are newer so it will be harder to find a fixer. Places like Encinitas, Leucadia, Solana Beach will have more old houses and buyers who are interested in them. Similarly... the CV buyer is not necessarily the "tasteful" buyer who can appreciate detail and unique craftsman features.... they are really just tract homes with various levels of updating... think travertine and granite. This is common all over North County SD where an "old" house is undesirable. There are very few San Diego buyers who will appreciate a 100-year old house.

Real estate market is really tough in San Diego but North County Coastal is still appreciating overall. You can break with your background but do your homework because the San Diego market is really nothing like the LI market.

[Mvn2nc]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

I grew up in the Northport area, very familiar with Cold Spring Harbor. I have lived in San Diego for 10+ years now. Are you talking about Carmel CA or Carmel Valley, San Diego?

Couple things to be aware of....

CSH is an elite market ... NYC money all over the place. Best schools in the NYC area. Carmel Valley is really just a mid-80's tract home development that has appreciated along with all of SoCal. CSH is really more like Del Mar or La Jolla.

Those houses you are seeing in CV are going to be right on top of each other. It's not like LI where you have a quarter acre. You are going to be looking at 2500sf houses on 5000sf lots.

Most houses in CV are newer so it will be harder to find a fixer. Places like Encinitas, Leucadia, Solana Beach will have more old houses and buyers who are interested in them. Similarly... the CV buyer is not necessarily the "tasteful" buyer who can appreciate detail and unique craftsman features.... they are really just tract homes with various levels of updating... think travertine and granite. This is common all over North County SD where an "old" house is undesirable. There are very few San Diego buyers who will appreciate a 100-year old house.

Real estate market is really tough in San Diego but North County Coastal is still appreciating overall. You can break with your background but do your homework because the San Diego market is really nothing like the LI market.

So there is a Carmel Valley in the San Diego area ?? I assumed he meant the Monterey area as his daughter is in S.F.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by Mvn2nc

So there is a Carmel Valley in the San Diego area ?? I assumed he meant the Monterey area as his daughter is in S.F.

Yes... just east of Del Mar.

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by Mvn2nc

So there is a Carmel Valley in the San Diego area ?? I assumed he meant the Monterey area as his daughter is in S.F.

You assumed right...I DID mean CV in the MONTEREY area. I never even knew there was another. Thank god...I started getting nervous and confused when I read Sass' reply...whewwwwwwww. One thing I DON'T want is to live in an area he was speaking about.

[Starrynight227]

Andy,
One thing you want to be careful about is that you don't buy too far out into the Valley, i.e not too far past the Valley Village. Once you get past the village you're looking at a pretty long commute back to civilization.
You also want to make sure that you are not buying a house that is near the CV River, at least not off a hill. It tends to flood during heavy rain years.

Overall, CV is great! It is beautiful, hot during the summers, and you can get some amazing views. As far as the business you want to do, just be aware that moving anywhere in the Monterey area, means that doing add-ons and anything that requires permits is a job within itself. This is a very anti-growth community (which of course is why it stays so beautiful).

Goodluck!

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by Starrynight227

Andy,
One thing you want to be careful about is that you don't buy too far out into the Valley, i.e not too far past the Valley Village. Once you get past the village you're looking at a pretty long commute back to civilization.
You also want to make sure that you are not buying a house that is near the CV River, at least not off a hill. It tends to flood during heavy rain years.

Overall, CV is great! It is beautiful, hot during the summers, and you can get some amazing views. As far as the business you want to do, just be aware that moving anywhere in the Monterey area, means that doing add-ons and anything that requires permits is a job within itself. This is a very anti-growth community (which of course is why it stays so beautiful).

Goodluck!

Starry...Yeh...I figured that about going too far past the Village. Been checking all the maps that are attached to the listings to see their locations.
Seems I don't want to go too much past the Robles(sp?) area? Its not hard to figure that neither does anyone else being the prices drop sharply once you go any further. I also don't want to be right in town which also seems to be where the "cheaper" houses are. Why bother going there if you don't get the views and it would also defeat my purpose of minting out a house and flipping it over a year or two...or so. Over the past 32 years doing renovations full time I think I've gotten pretty good .... I should hope so in all that time...lol.
Here's the current project I'm finishing up and the one before this one which are in my web-site Clifford Renovations & Restorations; Cold Spring, NY

I've also written to Arnold...lol.. and got the info I need to get my California Contractor's liscense. I'm thinking to study for it before I get there because it seems there's quite a wait in getting one. I figure I'd also do one of the schools right before I take the test because from what I hear the test isn't all that easy like it is here in NY.
My basic speciality is working on existing homes but I'll do pretty much anything...building is what I love doing most so...
Thanks for all the info...goes appreciated!!
andy