Relocating from Hong Kong (San Diego, Chula Vista: real estate, to rent, HOA)

[dylanhk]

In june 2008, I will be relocating to Sand Diego from Hong Kong with my wife and two small children. We have visited the city many times and really enjoy the many beautiful aspects of San Diego. I know that all cities have their good and bad aspects. Can anyone suggest a few nice areas to live with a reasonable commute to downtown San Diego. We are hoping to find a moderate home within $500-600 price range. Schools are not a factor right now, but will be in 2 years. I appreciate any feedback.

[cnkad]

What do you define as reasonable for a commute? And some advise...you should consider renting. You can rent a much nicer home than you could afford to buy, and then you could have time to really find out which area of SD is right for you and not be stuck with a house. But thats just my opinion. Good luck

[esmith143]

Second that advice. 500 grand is no pocket money and I wouldn't spend that on a house in an unfamiliar area.

Areas in close vicinity of downtown are generally either expensive or not kid-friendly. If you expand your search to 20-30 minutes' drive, there is a number of decent areas and it really depends on your priorites (do you want a moderate house in a nice area? or a nice house in a moderate area? would you rather live in an older house closer to the coast or in a newer house 10 miles inland? etc.)

If you're Chinese, Carmel Valley and Sorrento Valley are both nice areas with above-average concentrations of Asians, relatively expensive but 600K is enough to get you into a low-end house there. (And low-end houses in Carmel Valley are way nicer than high-end houses in many other parts of the city IMHO)

[happykid]

Yes, rent for a few months before buying--especially coming from so far away, it is best to get to know the area and the cost of things. Housing in Hong Kong is much more expensive--I can envision realtors trying to pawn an over priced house off on you if you are not that familiar with local real estate. Also, as you probably already know, it is a buyers market here in the U.S. right now, including San Diego. So you can look at a leisurely pace.
Clairemont is an area fairly close to central San Diego and Downtown. It is about 20 minutes away and I think there are modest homes with yards that sell in your price range. It also is close to some good Chinese restaurants (I am making an assumption since you are from Hong Kong, you like Chinese food.). I am not sure about schools there. Clairemont is also a 10 minute drive to the beaches.
University City is also quite close in and very family oriented. Schools are better there, I believe, but housing more expensive than Clairmont. You might be able to get a small 3bdrm, 2 bath that needs some work in that price range.
Tierrasanta is further east, thus hotter and drier, but also a family oriented community with single family homes in that price range.
All 3 communities that I mentioned have a nice mix of ethnic diversity, assuming you are looking for that.

[ubringliten]

Scripps Ranch is a nice, inland and upscale community with excellent schools, family-oriented and with a growing Asian population

[dylanhk]

I appreciate the insight. We are an American family that will be returning from a foreign assignment. I agree that renting may be the way to go at the start. My wife is a teacher, but will be staying at home with the 2 children until the last starts school in 3 years. I know that I will be assigned in San Diego area a minimum of 5 years. I think we are leaning towards a moderate home in a nice neighborhood. It would be nice for the family if we were closer in to the beach, but I don't feel like buying something that needs to be renovated or requires heavy repair.

We are already sensitized to high cost of living after being in Hong Kong for 4 years - so that aspect won't be a shock. A 20-30 minute commute would be perfect. I have read a great deal on carmel valley, poway, scripps ranch, and 4s ranch, but still don't understand the mellaros sp.. tax and how it is calculate or why it varies so much. Thanks again for the responses

[cnkad]

poway has good schools and is very family friendly. But the commute in and out (if your commuting to SD) can be brutal. I have been hearing a lot of really nice things about 4s ranch. Housing tax in san diego county is roughly 1 and a half percent of the purchase price of your home. (depending on the actual city) And that never changes even if your home value goes up...or down. But one thing you have to be careful about are the bonds attached to your property tax, they also vary by area. Once you find where you want to live you can do more specific research. Also many neighborhoods in the areas you mentioned have HOA fee's. Usually not too high, but something to be aware of when doing your budget.

[sdhomehunter]

Even as a Realtor I would advise you to rent for awhile and see what you like. We are still in a declining market, so don't be too quick to jump into something. Avoid the crazy mello roos if you can. Take a look at San Carlos, Tierrasanta, Scripps, and Poway. If you plan on staing awhile your school district is very important.Good Luck!!!

[dylanhk]

Thanks for the reply. Is the mello roos on all property, certain areas, or new construction? I see from some of the postings it can be quite high. Is this in addition to property tax. The office is near Viewridge Avenue, San Diego (92123), so I am basing a 30-45 min max commute from it, if that is possible. As far a a house is concerned, I would like to find something fairly new vs. old. It seems from my own research that a large number of homes were built in the 70's. Are most of the new homes located further out from the downtown area? Thanks again.

[kettlepot]

Property taxes are closer to 1.1% to 1.2% of property purchase price.

Mello-Roos was enacted by the state in 1982 to circumvent Proposition 13's 1% limit on property taxes and as a way to pay for public facilities in newly developed master planned communities. The idea was put the costs of new development on the people who were creating it so that existing taxpayers elsewhere in the city wouldn't have to foot the bill. Mello-Roos are payments to repay the bonds that were issued to pay for roads, schools, fire stations, libraries, in these new areas. Therefore, any house built before 1983, or a house built in an area that was mostly built out before then won't have Mello-Roos. Mello-Roos definitely is NOT on all property, it IS in certain areas, and it may or may not be on new construction. It depends when the surrounding infrastructure was built. However, Mello-Roos payments don't last forever, just for the life of the bonds, probably 30 years.

Viewridge is located at the intersection of I-15 and Balboa Avenue. Not really "downtown" per se, but it is within the city of San Diego. You do NOT want to live someplace where you would have to commute via I-15. Those someplaces would be Poway, Escondido, San Marco, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, etc. However, Tierrasanta is right across the I-15 from the location of your office, and you could travel to work without driving on the that freeway. The traffic on the primary collector road, Tierrasanta Boulevard/Balboa Avenue would be heavy, but the distance would be short. However, I'm not sure of the Mello-Roos situation there. You could also consider Allied Gardens which is southeast of Tierrasanta. I am sure it was built before Mello-Roos (probably 1950s). Conversely, you could also look into the eastern side of Clairemont which is another Mello-Roos free zone.

The great build out of San Diego in the 1980s through today occurred in two places: the I-15 corridor, hence the hellacious commute, and eastern Chula Vista. Frankly, you have a choice to make. You either choose a new house with a longer commute and likely Mello-Roos payments or you buy closer in, in an older neighborhood built in the 1950s through 1970s. There is no "having it all" in San Diego - you have to make trade offs - unless you have the money for the 1-2 million dollar homes. Then you CAN have it all.