Observations of Rancho Santa Margarita (Long Beach, Santa Ana: real estate, apartments, condos)

[firsttimehousehunter]

Hi Everyone -
If you haven't noticed by now, my wife and I are pretty big fans of Rancho Santa Margarita. I'm curious, though, as to why I don't hear much about it as one of their considerations for a home, especially those with children; maybe I'm missing something. I thought I'd list out some pros and cons I've noticed from a few visits out there...

Pros:
- Low HOAs with lots of ammeneties included.
- RSM Lake is beautiful, lots of activities there including the beach club, kickboats, fishing. A nice walk or jog around it, it's only about a mile.
- Lots of community events in central park.
- Close to O'Neil Regional Park; good for hiking, biking.
- Mountain views.
- Viewed as one of OC's safest cities.
- Featured in the book, Best Places to Raise Your Family: The Top 100 Affordable Communities in the US
- Newer construction.
- Friendly residents.
- Lots of families.
- Good schools.
- Toll road (for the convenience).

Cons:
- Some of the homes are a bit too cookie cutter, but there are neighborhoods where they are different enough.
- Nobody uses their garage for parking, lots of cars out on the street; more of a pet peeve for me.
- A bit out of the way for friends and family that live in other parts of OC. There isn't really a direct road to RSM from the 5 freeway, if you aren't using the toll road.
- Toll road (for the cost).
- Property taxes are a little bit higher than some older communities, though less of an issue if we can get a great deal on a house.
- Mello Roos, although this should end at some point before our mortgage does.
- Fire risk. I'm not too worried if we buy a home at least 4-5 blocks away from any brush.

Please feel free to add to this list, either a pro or a con you may have. I don't want to overlook something critical that we will regret later.

Thanks!

[firsttimehousehunter]

Here's an email trail between me and a friend of mine who had lived in RSM, bought a house in Ladera, but wishes she had stayed...

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Me

Hi -
Do you still live in Rancho Santa Margarita? How do you like it? My wife and I are looking to buy our first home and RSM is right at the top of the list. I love the lake and the overall vibe of the town.
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Friend:


I’m in Ladera and would move back there in a hot minute.

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Me:


Oh yeah, you prefer RSM over Ladera? I usually hear the other way around. Both are nice, I just haven’t been blown away the way on our visits to Ladera the way I was on a visit to RSM lake.
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Friend:


No retail in Ladera, no Lake in Ladera. You get high property taxes here in Ladera as well as high association dues and a butt load of traffic. I lived in the condos on the lake and miss it VERY much. I’d go back to RSM for sure!!!

[ocexpo]

Where else are you considering and what type of housing are you looking at?

RSM is not totally "family" oriented compared to surrounding cities...the condos and apartments far outnumber the Single Family homes there.

I just think that if you are going to be that far from the beach in that kind of inland heat, you would at least want some nature and spread out real estate to make up for it. RSM was developed so compact that when I drive through it and do not see many positives to living there. Theres no nature, its not "spread out" as other inland OC cities are, its totally far from the beach, its extremely hot.

[missionhome]

I like most things about Rancho Santa Margarita, its a good place to live. The negatives to RSM I find are:

1.) In my opinion, really far from the freeway. In rush hour Alicia Parkway and Oso Parkway are really the only big streets leading to it from the freeway and can be heavy with traffic. 20-25 minutes to the freeway everyday is too much time in my opinion. The toll road is always fast, but expensive at $4-6 roundtrip.

2.) Almost too new. Other communities in South OC are "sterile" to most as well. However RSM in my opinion has the least diverse housing stock. There is not one custom home community and everything was built in the 90's in tan stucco. There are no older established neighborhoods mixed with new neighborhoods, which I sort of like. Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Coto, San Juan Capistrano, etc.. are more mixed with older and new neighborhoods.

3.) Small single family homes on small lots and lots of condos. This is fine with some people, but besides Rancho Cielo, Dove Canyon, and Robinson Ranch almost every RSM neighborhood has very small lots, which by OC standards are really really tiny.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend RSM to people that like it though. The schools in RSM are really amazingly good, the parks are nice, there is lots of the basic everyday stores you need, there is less traffic due to not being a freeway adjacent city, etc...

[Charles]

It is interesting how both Ladera Ranch and RSM are each divided up between multiple high schools. Ladera Ranch goes to both Tesoro and San Juan Hills and RSM goes to Tesoro and Mission Viejo and Trabuco Hills. (Even more interesting is the two disjointed school zones for Mission Viejo High School.)

[OC Investor2]

RSM always struck as a nice family community. Always struck ne as a bit more afforable then Irvine or Mission Vijo as well, but not sure if that is still true.

It is a bit more sterile then the rest of South OC. But the dealbreraker to me is the distance and the commute. There are few jobs close and even if someone moves into the area to take one of those few nearby jobs they would be stuck w/ a really long commute if they had to take another job. Same issues apply to Many other South County communities that don't touch the I-5.

That's why I rarely reccomend it when posting about OC.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by OC Investor2

But the dealbreraker to me is the distance and the commute.
There are few jobs close and even if someone moves into the area to take one of those few nearby jobs they would be stuck w/ a really long commute if they had to take another job. Same issues apply to Many other South County communities that don't touch the I-5.

These are very true points. I wonder if there is a polarity between commuting husbands and neighborhood bound (with kids) homemaking wives on the pros and cons of south OC. For example, I could see my wife loving south OC - but she wouldn't have to commute to Huntington Beach, Long Beach....or worse.

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by Charles

These are very true points. I wonder if there is a polarity between commuting husbands and neighborhood bound (with kids) homemaking wives on the pros and cons of south OC. For example, I could see my wife loving south OC - but she wouldn't have to commute to Huntington Beach, Long Beach....or worse.

Don't know if it's that simple. Obviously I'm biased given where I live but I know many people who think inland south oc is the worst place to live in socal even if you have kids. Far from most work places, very sterile (even the supposed non-sterile parts), not walkable at all, hot and far from the beach, and incredible pressure to act like you have money even though everyone is basically middle class. Not exactly a great environment for kids.

That said, others claim safety and good schools. The truth is the safety is over-rated. You're not any safer in Mission Viejo than you are in a nice part of Fullerton. Actually both are relatively safe. And there plenty of places with good schools. Schools are less important than parents anyway in terms of education. It is new though so the infrastructure will look good for 15 years or so.

The above is why I always say if you can't live by the ocean, live in arizona. You're overypaying otherwise.

[00molavi]

When we were looking in south OC, RSM offered good prices. We noticed lots of condos. The distance from fwy was a big problem. Even though it was close to my job and my wife wasn't working at the time. She was planning to start work and that location was really prohibitive. I ended changing jobs too which goes to show it was the right decision.

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by NaplesRes

not walkable at all, hot and far from the beach, and incredible pressure to act like you have money even though everyone is basically middle class. Not exactly a great environment for kids.

Just a few things I would say.

Not walkable at all: Not going to argue with that, though I wouldn't say coastal Orange County is really that much different. Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, San Clemente are all car dependent cities as well. Sure you may walk for .5 miles down the city's main street or on the boardwalk, but I gurantee you almost everyone owns a car and drives everywhere. The vast majority of these coastal cities are driving cities. How many residents do you think actually walk to Huntington Beach's pier compared to drive there, park, and then walk around?? The city probably with the biggest walking culture in Orange County is Santa Ana followed by Orange, both inland.

Hot: The vast majority of the year inland Orange County is very pleasant, sometimes even more pleasant than the beach I would say. San Clemente and Dana Point will be overcast, cold, and have a marine layer all day in the winter and fall when Mission Viejo, San Juan, Laguna Hills, Irvine, etc... are enjoying sunshine and 75 degree weather. The winter temperatures tend to be 60-70 degrees, the spring and fall tend to be 75 degrees, and most of July, August, and September it is in the 80's with some heat waves that send temps into the 90's. The vast majority of the year it is pleasant and a heat wave in the summer just sends people to community pools, the lakes, backyard pools, or for a day trip to the beach.
You can even compare the monthly averages for Mission Viejo to San Clemente. They really aren't THAT different.
Average Weather for Mission Viejo, CA - Temperature and Precipitation
Average Weather for San Clemente, CA - Temperature and Precipitation

Far from the beach: Depends on where in "inland" Orange County. Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano are only a five to ten minute drive from the beach. Some parts of these cities are closer to beaches than some neighborhoods in coastal cities. Talega of San Clemente is 4 miles to the beach. Downtown San Juan Capistrano is 2.8 miles to Doheny Beach. The center of Laguna Niguel is 4 miles from the beach. Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, and Aliso Viejo are within 15-25 minutes of the beach. Lake Forest, RSM, Ladera, and Coto are going to be the farthest at around 35 minutes. Still, it is not like its the "end of the earth" and it is very easy for a resident to enjoy a day at the beach. I am at the beach all the time to watch my sons surf, especially on weekends. As teenagers, they go to the beach all the time. Its not like we are driving a hundred miles or something, its just a few miles.

Money Pressure: Depends on which community you pick here. I think the attitudes are different in some cities here and for the teenagers, it dramatically depends on the culture of the high school. Mission Viejo is not a pretentious city at all. Mission Viejo is proud to be a vastly middle class city and is well aware of it. I don't think anyone in Mission Viejo is trying to act like they live in Bel Air or Beverly Hills or something, its just Mission Viejo. I do get a feeling some areas are more into money. I think Aliso Viejo, Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, and some neighborhoods in Laguna Niguel have this culture. Talega in San Clemente is like this as well. You drive into a condo complex there and see people driving a Porshe or BMW that costs about as much as their rent.
Also, inland South Orange County isn't devoid of some affluent neighborhoods, especially large estate and equestrian communities. Coto de Caza, Nellie Gail Ranch (Laguna Hills), Bear Brand Ranch (Laguna Niguel), Ocean Ranch (Laguan Niguel), South Peak (Laguna Niguel), El Niguel (Laguna Niguel), Hunt Club (SJC), Hunter's Creek (SJC), Peppertree Bend (SJC), Marbella (SJC), One Ford Rd. (SJC), Tres Vistas (MV), San Marino Estates (MV), and Covenant Hills (Ladera) are some inland communities in South OC that have homes selling for millions. However the majority of Southern Orange County (and even most coastal cities like Huntington Beach, San Clemente, Dana Point) is middle class and I think the area is aware of that, especially in this economy that has hit those that thought they were living like a millionaire on $80k a year right in the head.