The Lakes at Rancho Santa Fe

[rsproule]

$450 (12 months X $300)/8 tee times) for the privilige of one round of golf does'nt strike me as much of a freebie either.

Re:

"Also there's a catch: the $25,000 is not a fee. It's a fully refundable deposit. If you resign your membership, you'll get your money back as soon as they sell your spot to someone else. (Unless I misunderstand their web site.)"

This could be a silver lining in the offer if you get to keep the $25k that the developer put up for the membership, but I would check to make sure the deposit comes back to you rather than the developer. Also, the developer may have negotiated a deal on the initiation fee so I would also verify the refund amount.


One of the problems I have with The Crosby, The Lakes, Ceilo, etc is that a significant part of the HIGH HOA fee goes to manning the gates with guards. I think the guards are more of a prestige thing than a legitimate requirement. It's not like these communities are in dangerous areas or are havens for celebrities seeking privacy.

[tande1n5]

Originally Posted by rsproule

$450 (12 months X $300)/8 tee times) for the privilige of one round of golf does'nt strike me as much of a freebie either.

To be fair, country club membership is just as much about intangible benefits as it is about golf. Meeting new people, tennis, use of facilities, etc, so simply putting the price to golf isn't quite the whole picture.

Plus, real golfers wouldn't be getting that membership. they'd mostly be going for a full membership, or at least inquiring into upgrading and paying the difference. Whereas the social memberships are mostly paying for the intangible benefits, the golf membership can easily pay off - if a guy golfs once a week and then likes to go to the range a few times a week, and his wife and kids like to golf even half as much, it pays off easily.

That said, I personally think there are better country clubs in San Diego than the Crosby.

[goldenred]

The models for The Lakes are all sold. There are still plenty of empty lots - does anyone know when or if they will resume building at The Lakes?

[SDinsider]

According to one girl in the sales office, the builders aren't sure yet. With all the positive signs in the local housing market, it won't be too long. Notice how smoothly the sales of the current homes went. But most of the market activity is in the "deals" sector. So take it with a grain of salt. The activity is welcomed by REALTORS of course. But this has caused the average home prices in San Diego to climb for a solid year now. From 270k to 320k. Thats way to big to call it a blip. And not just during the government incentives as you can see by the chart. But homes valued over the golden FHA jumbo loans are still, and will remain, slow to sell. We aren't out of the woods yet. But there are positive signs. Brace yourself for the next wave of foreclosures. If they cause no more than a 10% dip, I think you'll see places like The Lakes roll the dice and build.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs142.ash2/40432_145570772139424_133561386673696_301311_52747 75_n.jpg (broken link)

[Jaded]

I know this is an old thread, but since this community is still building, I thought I'd post here instead of starting a new one.

So, a few years ago there were questions about the sustainability of this community (The Lakes). I remember seeing these homes about a year, year and a half ago. Now, Lennar is in their third release I believe and the homes are increasing with each release. My husband and I looked at the second phase Lennar built in 2011/12. They were selling in the mid to high $700Ks. At that time, the sales office told us their final build out (Estrella and Seville) would start much higher...well, they did.

We looked at the models and I have to say, the homes are gorgeous. The whole "nextgen" thing is very popular now I guess. It's really nice for multiple generation living or if you have live-in nannies/au pairs. The overall community is nice as well. No, it's not Rancho Santa Fe, and I'm not sure how the mail set-up became the way that it is, but I do believe the values will hold over time now that there is some pick up in the housing market.

We also recently went to see the Van Daele collection last month (same community). We were told that there are still lots that are owned by a developer which will be built in the next few years. Apparently these lots are really large. Also, another lake is supposedly being planned in the near future (less than five years).

Has anyone else visited or looked into these newer developments in The Lakes at Rancho Santa Fe since it's initial build-out?