Crosby Estates / SantaLuz / Lakes Lifestyle?

[janineg]

Did you notice the small condo community near Santa Monica called "Bella Rosa"? That's where I used to live. Anyway, I agree with your comparisons. Santaluz is very very nice, in large part due to their unique landscaping. It is mostly native and arid plants and lots of boulders. They go for an old California look. I never liked Santa Monica. I would sometimes walk through it (pedestrians used to be able to walk right through) to use their park. The power lines buzzed horribly and I couldn't understand the people who would pay soooo much to live under them. And the whole feel is expensive, but generic. Santaluz is definitely more classy. Good luck!
Janine

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by janineg

Did you notice the small condo community near Santa Monica called "Bella Rosa"? That's where I used to live. Anyway, I agree with your comparisons. Santaluz is very very nice, in large part due to their unique landscaping. It is mostly native and arid plants and lots of boulders. They go for an old California look. I never liked Santa Monica. I would sometimes walk through it (pedestrians used to be able to walk right through) to use their park. The power lines buzzed horribly and I couldn't understand the people who would pay soooo much to live under them. And the whole feel is expensive, but generic. Santaluz is definitely more classy. Good luck!
Janine

Hi Janine,

No, I didn't specifically notice Bella Rosa. Was it near Verrazzano? We drove around Verrazzano quite a bit and it is very nice and gorgeous with lots of parks. I think you previously posted about that area. We really loved it and saw one house there but there aren't many in the size we need. We're really aiming for 3,800 to 4,000+ sq. feet and in that size it's tough to find. But prices are lower in that area vs. Santaluz and they only have $100 a month HOA fees but no gated security/security guards, etc. But anyone looking for a smaller home might do well to consider Verrazzano. The parks are really beautiful there and the houses look nice plus you're in the Poway School District like Santaluz.

Yeah, I really liked the look and feel of Santaluz driving through it. It's unique with the rolling hills, landscaping, and all the boulders. Some of the views are really great.

In Santa Monica, I liked the entrance and that main street as you are driving in. I agree about the power lines towards the back but honestly if I was living on a street closer to the front, I wouldn't worry about them at all and the only time I'd really deal with them is going to the pool, park, tennis courts. But no doubt, owners there have to contend with those when selling which won't be fun.

Also, in my previous post I put some of the owners were original owners since 2004 but I meant to type 2003. Not surprisingly the ones that we liked the most were the original owner homes that have been in their homes from 2003. The places were spotless and probably are in as good/better shape today than they were in 2003 when they first bought them due to them taking immaculate care of them and the many upgrades. Doing the numbers after figuring in the upgrades, it looks like even some of them that bought in 2003 are going to lose money on the sale as the property prices after you figure in the upgrades is less than what they paid.

[WearyOne]

Carmel Valley never has anything on sale this is architecturally interesting unless you go about the 2.0 million range IMO. Most of the homes are just cookie cutter 2700-3200sqf on small lots. Torry Pines is a great school though, I went there myself and its worth the price of admission and dictates a lot of the pricing in the area.

My wife and I opened up a little bit on the search, we were really interested in the Crosby's but having started looked at a few private sale homes in the SantaLuz and some non gated comunities towards black mountain road exit off the 56.

Much smaller, 2-2.5K sqf range on more open lots. Most come with the golf club membership which I could care less about but it looks like it is difficult to get it removed as it follows the property not the owner. It another 1K a month that I could live without paying. I will say that the casita (sp) in the SantaLuz is not appealing to us due to the lack of land and closeness of the homes.

[WearyOne]

Also apparently I cannot edit my above post but somehow I missed the second page of posts so sorry if that last one seemed a little out of context

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by WearyOne

Carmel Valley never has anything on sale this is architecturally interesting unless you go about the 2.0 million range IMO. Most of the homes are just cookie cutter 2700-3200sqf on small lots. Torry Pines is a great school though, I went there myself and its worth the price of admission and dictates a lot of the pricing in the area.

My wife and I opened up a little bit on the search, we were really interested in the Crosby's but having started looked at a few private sale homes in the SantaLuz and some non gated comunities towards black mountain road exit off the 56.

Much smaller, 2-2.5K sqf range on more open lots. Most come with the golf club membership which I could care less about but it looks like it is difficult to get it removed as it follows the property not the owner. It another 1K a month that I could live without paying. I will say that the casita (sp) in the SantaLuz is not appealing to us due to the lack of land and closeness of the homes.

Hey WearyOne,

You're totally SPOT ON TARGET about there not being too much on the market in Carmel Valley that is "architecturally interesting". They do have from time to time but it's VERY few and far between based on almost 2 years of looking online. We also looked at houses last year. The ones that have any really nice architecture and renovated with nice kitchens and bathrooms move fairly quickly there.

I don't mind having a small yard. The casitas appealed to us. We looked at several and I was pleasantly surprised at some of them. The ones where the owners spent a lot of money upgrading them are really nice. Some have a better set up with more privacy in the backyard or interior courtyard. But yeah, if you wanted a larger lot these aren't as interesting but for us these yards are big enough.

Back on the hunt starting tomorrow. Today I was in a car dealership a few hours..... I'd definitely recommend Hoehn Audi.... man those guys are a class act. I was in and out in less than 2 hours with a new Q7.

[Crowcaws54321]

They are very restrictive about the garden- they actually have a list if plants you can choose from. The front yard must use only plants from this list. The back yard has to be 80 or 90% from the list. So, you can do veggies in your back yard.

[BitViper]

We've just bought a home in southern Escondido.. but during my searching I took some guilty pleasures in looking at postings of homes in and around the area your looking at... bottom line 950K isn't gonna cut it.

If your looking for say 1/2 an acre.. 3 car or larger garage (assuming you'll buy a lift to hold your other cars) the market in that part of the San Dieguito valley is well over 1 mill starting.

If you look further east read away from Santa Fe and the beach communities your 950 will go much further and you can get the house and space your looking for ...
Southern Escondido is a beautiful place.. uncrowded and still only 35min from downtown

For pricing and comparison.. these homes are in the 770+ range
2990 Rancho Del Sol, Escondido, CA 92025 | MLS# 120031409
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Escondido/1...9/home/4033351

Also our agent is well informed about that area as he lives in Rancho Santa Fe and sells there.. I can shoot you his number if you so inclined...