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I am thinking of making an offer on a house at the end of a cul de sac just off Imperial Ave in the Grant Hill / Logan Heights area. I do not drive and the fact it is close to the trolley stop and Costco as well as downtown in theory makes it attractive. I am currently not in the US and so cannot make a personal inspection but shall commission the usual building and pest inspections. Using Google I can see that the street is very neat and tidy but I am concerned that I may be unaware of some disadvantages of choosing to retire to that area. Is anyone able to give me advice. I do not want to live in a condo and this house on a small block with a garden seems ideal.
Definitely my advice would be to take the time and expense to go see the house personally. I've purchased many properties in different countries but I don't think I could ever buy a property without seeing it. And that's even considering that I didn't buy the properties to live in but just investment properties.
My advice (and I've purchased tons of real estate) is to go see the property yourself before you make an offer.
I am thinking of making an offer on a house at the end of a cul de sac just off Imperial Ave in the Grant Hill / Logan Heights area. I do not drive and the fact it is close to the trolley stop and Costco as well as downtown in theory makes it attractive. I am currently not in the US and so cannot make a personal inspection but shall commission the usual building and pest inspections. Using Google I can see that the street is very neat and tidy but I am concerned that I may be unaware of some disadvantages of choosing to retire to that area. Is anyone able to give me advice. I do not want to live in a condo and this house on a small block with a garden seems ideal.
I would advise against it. While there are certainly things in place on paper which may make it appealing, this is an area that has had trouble revitalizing. The homes in this area can be mixed in quality but mostly run down. Slightly north of Imperial there are blocks which should be total teardowns. The other thing you might not be seeing on a map is the topography. It can be hilly and being at the bottom of a hill is not good when rain comes. Look into flooding issues.
Generally, you might want to look at Sherman Heights which is just west of Grant Hill. They have more momentum right now in regards to revitalizing. Try to stay west of 25th street if at all possible.
One last thing to keep in mind is that this area is need of major revitalization. All of which may be coming to a massive slow down due to the Governors proposal to slash redev agencies.
Last edited by shmoov_groovzsd; 02-14-2011 at 07:50 AM..
royjordan... you've received some good advice so far. I'd like to add a concept you may not be familiar with called 'short sales.' Many of the homes you're looking at are probably 'short sales.' If you are not familiar with this terminology make sure you ask your realtor. Buying a house these days can be a lot more complex and time-consuming than it used to be.
Thanks for all the advice on buying in Grant Hill. I really appreciate it. The house is on a short sale and the realtor has explained the process to me. It is in Gillette St (which looks fine to me) and next to a water course drain and a freeway (although I can't see it as it is elevated but I'm sure I would hear it!). Would this location be subject to flooding? I read that there are plans to change the planning laws to enable revitalisation (especially along trolley routes and around trolley stops) and that a project was planned to revitalise the Grant Hill Park historic area. Any progress on this? Also is it in a flight path for the airport?
You might want to get the facts straight with your "eyes" on the ground regarding your out of town investment. I am skeptical if this person you are working is assuming that it is Grant Hill in the first place.
The only reason I say is because, yes Grant Hill is an area that is lined up for fixing, but since you are not in Grant Hill, that idea can be thrown out. Memorial might have a totally different agenda as does Stockton and maybe its something like more Section 8 housing, meth clinics etc.
I actually just passed this street yesterday on a bike ride from where I live in Lemon Grove on my way to downtown. This area is need of a major rehab from what I saw off of Imperial....did not look good. Maybe the streets behind are better in certain clusters though.
It is not in the flight path that I have seen. Mt Hope and along Market St are more along the flight path. However I have seen the planes taxiing different routes lately, not sure why. Might want to know more about Freeway noise though. The 15 is right there overhead.
Not sure about flooding there, but your agent should be doing that homework for you. The last time I was looking at property downtown, 17th street was a flood zone. Definitely take a deep look.
Your street has two sides and east and west of 33rd. There is a big apartment complex there I rode by which is pretty beat up. Might want to double check to see if you have that complex in your backyard.
I would be suspect of any short sale valuations in this area.
This crime map can also help you in regards to any property thefts or the like that area. pop in the address and see what has happened.
With the current uncertainty on whether Redevelopment Agencies will cease to exist as we now know them, I doubt there will be any redevelopment monies infused into these neighborhoods. We are not even part of a Redevelopment Area. The City Council just approved the contract for the consultants who will be leading the Imperial Avenue/Commercial Street Corridor Study. This will take 1-2 years to complete and then the recommendations of the study may be incorporated into the Community Plan Update which will take place in about 4 years. Revitalization of these neighborhoods will happen because of the proximity to downtown San Diego; it's inevitable, but it will require private investment.
I strongly recommend that you think twice about purchasing a retirement home in this area without visiting these neighborhoods first. You're relying on your Realtor to help you make a huge life decision and he or she is obviously not familiar with this area either. I can only image the shock you might experience upon arriving at your retirement home on Gillette Street, via Imperial Avenue. Schmoov_groovzsd has pointed you to several good resources.
Thanks again for the comments esp from HBD advocate and Schmoov_groovzsd. Yes, the Gillette St house is in Memorial and not Grant Hill as I thought but I notice that sales in these areas tend not to have have the suburb listed. The just say 'San Diego'. My realtor did not correct me when I referred to the house being in Grant Hill but then he is based in Chula Vista. I saw another house nearby (in Webster Ave) listed but again no suburb indicated.
On a slightly different angle, if people like me don't buy into these suburbs and do up houses, plant trees etc then how will these areas progress? If you don't drive and don't want to live in far flung suburbs then areas close to the city are ideal. I know because I live in one now. You take your chances with the neighbors but with more people willing to make the move to inner suburbs, invest in the real estate, walk the streets to visit the shops and take public transport, the better for everyone, and hopefully there will be less need for communities to rely on cars and ugly freeways (I notice SD seems to be criss crossed with those!). With two possible properties catching my interest I'll come over and visit them if the sellers like my offers but it would make life a lot easier for out of town buyers if (a) realtors placed more photos on their internet advertisements and (b) sellers commissioned building and pest reports BEFORE they put their homes on the market so they can hand them out to prospective buyers. This is mandatory in some jurisdictions including my own. The buyer refunds the cost of the inspection reports to the seller at closer (settlement).
Thanks again for the comments esp from HBD advocate and Schmoov_groovzsd. Yes, the Gillette St house is in Memorial and not Grant Hill as I thought but I notice that sales in these areas tend not to have have the suburb listed. The just say 'San Diego'. My realtor did not correct me when I referred to the house being in Grant Hill but then he is based in Chula Vista. I saw another house nearby (in Webster Ave) listed but again no suburb indicated.
On a slightly different angle, if people like me don't buy into these suburbs and do up houses, plant trees etc then how will these areas progress? If you don't drive and don't want to live in far flung suburbs then areas close to the city are ideal. I know because I live in one now. You take your chances with the neighbors but with more people willing to make the move to inner suburbs, invest in the real estate, walk the streets to visit the shops and take public transport, the better for everyone, and hopefully there will be less need for communities to rely on cars and ugly freeways (I notice SD seems to be criss crossed with those!). With two possible properties catching my interest I'll come over and visit them if the sellers like my offers but it would make life a lot easier for out of town buyers if (a) realtors placed more photos on their internet advertisements and (b) sellers commissioned building and pest reports BEFORE they put their homes on the market so they can hand them out to prospective buyers. This is mandatory in some jurisdictions including my own. The buyer refunds the cost of the inspection reports to the seller at closer (settlement).
I agree with what you say on all fronts.
It surprises me that with the push for getting "greener", some older neighborhoods near the downtown havent revitalized as quickly along trolley lines than others not on trolley lines.
As far as the photos or lack thereof. You wont get many for a short sale....at least none that I have seen. Most of the short sale photos are taken from the outside of the house and maybe the backyard. I am uncertain if this is a legal issue. Many times more than not, there are renters in the house and they cannot post photos if this is the case.
On a side note, you mentioned "...if the sellers like my offers" for a short sale. For a short sale, the true "sellers" are the banks. Anyone telling you differently is a liar. The current residents and agent have nothing to do with the decision making process in the least bit except that they have a deadline to submit all offers.
There is also no such thing as a short sale expert. Well I guess if you call submitting a stack of offers to the bank, being an expert, then I am wrong.
The bank will ultimately decide based on their own data and statistics what the sale of the property should be. So dont expect any massive discounts or bargains. For every 10 sales I have seen that were short, 1 was a decent deal, the others were fair market value.
If your agent represents a bulk of buyers/sellers in Chula Vista, what on earth does this person have that an expert from your desired area might not?
For the record, I have zero ties to the real estate industry.
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