Is Temecula going DOwnhill? (San Diego, Riverside: bank owned, sales, apartment)

[ks1978]

I have been doing a lot of research on Temecula for the last few months and yesterday we finally took a trip there to have a look around. I am impressed with the walking trails and parks that seem to be rather abundant. I am not to fond of the new areas that still only have mini trees. We currently live in the East San Gabriel Valley and rent an apartment. We have three kids and would like to buy a house sometime in the next year. Since everything is so expensive where we are at, I figure that moving out of our immediate area is our only shot at it.
Schools are VERY IMPORTANT to me! I see that test scores are high, but I also want to make sure we find a school with a lot of parental involvement and that the school makes sure the kids are well rounded, not just focused on test scores.
My kids love soccer, swim team, and softball/baseball and I want them to be able to continue those activities.
One of my concerns about moving to Temecula is the large number of foreclosures. We are definetly in the bottom bracket of homebuying (think under $200,000) and the homes we were looking at had a lot of other houses that were empty around them. With this whole "housing crisis" I am worried that blocks/neighborhoods will stay half empty and just be prey to graffiti/troublesome people hanging around.
My husband works 6am-6am and only two of those days are weekdays, so the commute wouldn't be killer for him.
If anyone who has lived in that area has any predictions or wisdom about what will happen to the area, I would appreciate it! I am scared to death to move away from our friends and family, but our kids need a home! I don't want to make the move and then realize that the city is headed in another direction.
Thank you anyone who Has already posted on here, this forum has been very helpful!

[twinmum]

I don't think Temecula is going downhill. Yes we have a TON of foreclosures, but so do other places all over our state (and country for that matter). I think a lot of people bought houses here during the housing rush that traditionally couldn't afford to buy & got sucked into crazy loans - or used their equity as a ATM and after spending a ton and having fun have decided to walk away. I think Temecula was just a place that people retreated to because it is nice & they could afford houses since our proximity to San Diego & Orange County (even LA for that matter) make it do-able for some to commute.That said, you need to remember that Temecula had a very, very, very small population until the 90's.... so most of the growth is recent. So, you are not going to find neighborhoods with huge trees that have been growing for 50 years. I am not familiar with the East San Gabriel Valley so I cannot compare on that.... but give Temecula time and it will look (and be) more established and will not be full of parks with mini trees.

As far as quality of life, the schools are good here (some are better than others). We have an abundance of stay-at-home moms who are interested in their children, so finding a school with parental involvement is not going to be hard. We also have a great parks & rec system and you will not have a problem finding the activities/sports you would like your kids to participate in. I am not sure what neighborhood you were referring to as far as the empty houses, but in general Temecula is a pretty safe & clean place. At least in my neighborhood those deserted houses have been left untouched.

We have been here a total of 6 years now and just in the past 6 years this place has really grown up. There are still a whole lot of people here that can afford to keep on living in their houses, that still have jobs and still go out to eat/shop/play... so imo Temecula will stay the nice little suburban town it is and will continue to grow up not spiral down into the dumps.

[SoCalDaveL]

I'd have to agree with Twinmum here.

If you're judging the town based on foreclosures, then you're likely going about it wrong. Temecula certainly has its share of housing problems, but that's likely because of the huge growth it went through a few years back. As the housing prices were shooting up in 2003-2005, people were rushing into this growing, developing town. There were lots of homes & communities being built and long waiting lists for homes. With strong demand comes high cost. As the cost got too high, demand dropped... the market coming down lately has hurt alot of people who now can't afford those overpriced homes. All in all the housing issues are just a blip on the radar and in the long run the prices will (even if it is slowly) rise back up again. Probably better to either get in now while they're low or wait a little longer to see if they go even lower.

By the way, the further South and East you go in town the smaller the trees will appear. That's because those are the newer areas where trees were just planted as the house was put up. The exception are those people who decided to go out and spent money to bring in fully grown trees.

The short of it is now that price of a lot of these homes are lower than their inflated value of a few years back and is probably a great time to buy value in a very good town. Schools in Temecula are rated very high in the state, but I don't believe it to be test score focussed. There are lots of sports and other activities throughout the town. Sports are actually quite competitive here as the baseball & softball teams typically compete at higher levels.

I know the AYSO has a strong presence in Temecula/Murrieta as well for soccer and the league is thriving with lots of participation (I have 2 younger sons playing in that league and I'm coaching both their teams).

Do you stop shopping at stores when they're having sales or do you look at that as a better opportunity for value?

[ks1978]

Thank you both for the words of wisdom. I didn't see any homes or areas that looked rundown, but we also didn't drive down every street! I was pleased with what I saw!There are just so many things to consider and I don't want to move back and forth, which is why we want to wait to move, to make sure it is what we want. And hopefully the prices will drop some more...

[SoCal Bottom Rider]

'Do you stop shopping at stores when they're having sales or do you look at that as a better opportunity for value? '

Comparing a persons biggest financial transaction to shopping at a dept store is pretty sill and a bad analogy.

Dont get me wrong I am for home ownership ( i own 2) but to not worry about the current market conditions and just buy because its a good deal today is just being financially careless

[Salcan]

Yes i like san beranrdino yucaipa area better>>>more snow>>>>ilove the ie

[Weaselboy]

There was an article in the newspaper recently about City of Temecula code enforcement working hard to mitigate the "bank owned" vacant home issue... so it is not being ignored by the city.

Like others mentioned, I would view this as a buying opportunity. There may be a couple vacant houses around you until this runs its course, but I do not see any of these neighborhoods turning into ghost towns.

[SoCalDaveL]

Originally Posted by SoCal Bottom Rider

'Do you stop shopping at stores when they're having sales or do you look at that as a better opportunity for value? '

Comparing a persons biggest financial transaction to shopping at a dept store is pretty sill and a bad analogy.

Dont get me wrong I am for home ownership ( i own 2) but to not worry about the current market conditions and just buy because its a good deal today is just being financially careless

It is if you're taking it literally.

My point really was that just because home prices are down now, doesn't take away from the fact that the town or home you may be interested in now isn't good. Yes I agree that buying a home is usually the "single biggest financial transaction" a person typically will make, but that doesn't mean they can't look for the best price available for the property they want. Prices may still drop some more before this is all done, but they will return and IMHO there are a lot of good bargains to be had if you're in the position to take advantage of them.

[dweej]

Hi KS! I am fairly new to Temecula (just over a year), and as anyone who has read my posts will be able to see, I am a huge fan. Yes, the newer neighborhoods will have a lot of foreclosures and small trees. If you peak around the older neighborhoods, you'll find fewer for-sale signs and much bigger trees. Either way, housing is starting to enter the "affordable" range, and I think of the many cities in the area that have suffered from this whole housing fiasco, Temecula will be one of the first to recover. The schools are excellent, it's a family-friendly town, the topography is beautiful, the weather is great, the city has a fantastic parks and recreation department....you can see where I'm going with all this A friend of mine and I even write a blog about all the neat stuff in this city- I can't put the address here, but if you're interested in taking a peak, it's in my profile info. Not a commercial site- just two moms having fun raising our families in Temecula. Good luck in making such a big decision. Hope to see you soon!!

[eclipxe]

One great thing about Temecula is the city government runs a VERY tight ship. Because it is the economic hub of Southwest Riverside county (jobs, retail, entertainment for Murrita, Menifee, Wildomar, Sun City, Hemet, Lake Elsinore, etc is centered in Temecula) the city council has managed to stock away close to $12million in reserves during the boom. This allows the city to really prevent a lot of the blight in other areas facing foreclosures. This includes home rehabilitation, graffiti removal/preventation, increased police resources, etc.

While not everyone in town agrees with the way the city government has been run, they have done a great job of protecting the city's interest and saving for the current "rainy day".