Lake Elsinore??? (Riverside: new house, buying, taxes)

[cwcivicgrl]

Yes graffiti is held quite well here. I have reported it a few times cause I work at a business in Lake Elsinore and there good about it.

Originally Posted by chinocal

My husband, daughter and I just moved into the area of Lake Street & Mountain. Many new families moving into foreclosed homes. We got a great deal on a 4-bedroom. My daugher just started Terracotta Middle School. So far, so good. It's a very pretty school and is well-maintained. The friends she made at the Boys & Girls Club seem to come from nice families. Our neighbors are nice and we like feeling like we live a bit off the beaten trail. The lake is nice and is well-patroled by police officers. I would stay clear of Lakeland Village (which I don't think is actually part of Elsinore city limits, but I may be wrong). I've been impressed by the city's response to grafitti and we haven't had any problems at all.

[kota45]

My wife and I just looked around Lake Elsinore yesterday and liked what we saw. I've visited the area for some 30 years (while living in South O.C.) and I've seen it grow. I go out there about 2-3 times a year to visit friends or dirt bike ride and yes, there are some unsightly areas. Some areas have improved though and there are some very nice looking neighborhoods. I was amazed by all the big name shops where the 74 and the 15 intersect.
We are excited about the FACT that a 2,500 sq. ft. 4 bedroom home out there costs (on average) tens of thousands of dollars less than the current value of our 1,100 sq. ft., 2 bedroom condo in Irvine. Heck, if we want to move into a house in South Orange County we'd have to pay $430K or more for a TINY place that is barely bigger than our condo.
Anyway, to get to my point:
We're looking at the north part of the lake (want to stay close to the Ortega for my commute to Ladera Ranch) and I'm just trying to nail down what neighborhoods to check out and which to avoid. When people speak of "North Side" do they mean homes north of Grand and off Lake or does "North Side" mean the entire area north of Riverside Drive? More precisely put: are there areas north of Riverside Drive to avoid? For example, someone was saying that the entire area around Machado park is to be avoided.
Thanks for whatever recommendations you have.

[cwcivicgrl]

Entire Machado area is to be avoided. 15FWY ext Diamond Drive/Railroad Cyn make a left and make right or left on Grape St. and those are good homes or continue after making the lft go all the way up the hill past the church and fire station and make a right on canyon Hills Rd. those are good homes too and there are brand new condos there as well or make a right on Diamond Drive make a left on Mission Trail go down the rode about a mile and their are new homes on the right. Everywhere else in lake Elsinore you have to pay attention to the neighborhood closely, Machado Street has a nice neighboorhood on one side of the street and horrible on the other side.

[Mr. Tyler Durden]

First things first. Lake Elsinore is not horrible. Only if you live outside of a housing track. ha ha. See I grew up there and I have fond memories and not so great memories. The northside of Elsinore is the worst. As you work your way down Grand Ave. it doesn't get any better until you reach wildomar. wildomar is a little better because of the new homes being built but no one can aford to buy them. Most people are below the poverty level and yes there is alot of drug traffic.

When I was 12 I started noticing my neighbors kids were begining to sell weed and a few years later they moved on to harder stuff and finaly they ended up in jail.

The sad thing is, that elsinore used to be a nice place about 30 or so years ago. Or so I've heard. It had a low population of mostly horse loving folk. Kids used to ride dirtbikes around the lake because no one was on the roads. There was only one streetlight at Four Corners. And yes it was blazing hot in the summer, but the lake was deeper and cleaner thanks to the absence of the damn. and movie stars and rich people came to elsinore for a cheap weekend get away because there was no one here to bug them while they went boating.

For some reason now Elsinore is filled with teenage moms, meth heads, teen gangs, truck loads of illeagal aliens that keep broken down cars on the front lawn. and this cycle will continue. poor lazy people now inhabit most of Elsinore and if they are allowed to keep breeding its only going to get worse. someone should make a law that unless you make $50,000 a year, you cant have kids. that being the bare minimum. but no. i cant count on my hands how many girls i went to HS with that now have kids and are living in poverty.

oh and another thing. theres a new track house thing starting up at the lake called Summerly! hahahah. they started building about 2 years ago and still havn't finished, and the way the economy is going. it will never be finished.

[WunderPit]

Has anyone noticed the amount of foreclosures in Rosetta Canyon? And the prices? Does anyone on this forum live in Rosetta?

Yes, there are a lot of foreclosures everywhere, but the amount in Rosetta seem extensive. Centex is STILL trying to sell these homes at WAY to high prices. As far as I can see & know, these homes had no upgrade options (granite, etc) and have a high HOA and ZERO community pool, center, etc.

These may be the reasons that so many want out, but I'm wondering if there is something else besides the obvious (like local rednecks shooting guns at night, etc)...feel free to chime in!

[WunderPit]

Anyone??

[that1guy]

It's not crime based, every new home community in California is going through this increased foreclosure. It's the whole impending Great Depression that is currently happening.

[tacolover]

How's the area around 11th Street (near Temescal High)?

[EricJess123]

Honestly Lake Elsinore is a "Wanna Be OC", It is where people that cant pay for housing in OC end up. Its not a bad place at all, there are drugs in freaking La Mirada and Irvine which are ranked one of the 50 best place's to live in America, Lake Elsinore got a bad rap because its such a small town area people get away with alot, Screw Temecula Thats just the same there just Wanna Be San Diego County If you can afford Orange County or San Diego Then go with Lake Elsnore or Temecula But out of the two I who Am a native of California would choose Lake Elsinore & Lake Elsinore is a 35 minute Commute to Capistranio Beach and San Clemente

[majestic123]

This is the first time that I have written a post in any kind of forum. I have been searching in lake Elsinore for a new home for months. I was ready to bid on a home on the side of the lake near the orteaga road. It was not a new house but something I could afford. I also heard that there were meth houses there. Is that true? That same day my sister came down and took her boat out on the lake. They called me and advised me not to buy the house. They told be that it smelled like a sewer. There were large dead fish in the water. They saw waste coming down from the wash and after an hour on the boat they all felt sick. I know they are doing alot to try to clean up the lake. But is it really possible? Are these fumes harmful to the people living there? I would appreciate any feedback.

Originally Posted by cwcivicgrl

Ok my own post without quoting. My history with Lake Elsinore is as follows. Moved into a brand new community with my mom in Canyon Hills in 11.2002. This year, 2008, I moved to Downtown Lake Elsinore, where I work as well. My house is new built in 2006 and I rent it. There are homeless people but there war veterans who rarely talk to anyone and they live in halfway houses and walk the streets alot. The meth users, I can tell who they are by their apperance but I dont ever see them doing it and they never do anything crazy or try to talk to me. I have never spotted drug users. Machado St. has a bad side and then the other side is the good side, the bad side it the worst neighboorhood in Lake Elsinore. The lake has improved and will continue to improve. It does not smell anymore and my co-workers say it use to, it also used to have dead fish but not anymore. They dump fish into the lake now every week and during the summer which is now its packed with people. Lake Elsinore is very into baseball, my son plays. But he plays in Canyon Lake which has a nice field all supported by the parents. I have no problems at my place of business, all very nice people. Do a research on the area before moving here, talk to people, visit business', check out schools.