Family Visit to San Diego (Encinitas, National City: short sale, foreclosed, rentals)

[Chieftains]

I have a job opportunity with a company in the Sorrento Valley. I visited their corporate HQ about a month ago for formal interviews. Apparantly things went well... although there has been no official job offer (yet), the company has since invited me and my family to come out and visit for a few days to get the lay of the land and to look for potential housing. We will be heading out for this visit in a couple weeks. I've been reading this forum often since the interview process started so I think I have a "sense" of where I should look for housing, but I would really like to hear your opinions as well.

We would rent for at least the first year and would be looking for a home with a minimum of 2500+ SF. I'd say the top three priorities are:

1) very good schools for the kids
2) family oriented neighborhood with activities for at-home moms and kids
3) no more than 30 minute commute to work... the office is located just south of the 5/805 merge. I'll actually be visiting on a Mon/Tue so I plan on testing the commutes from a couple different areas.

It would also be "nice" to be in a non-tract neighborhood and have a bit of a yard but we would sacrifice this if the top 3 priorities are met. We could probably budget about $3,500 per month for rent. I have searched realtor.com so I do have a "sense" of what we might be able to get for the money.

A little about me... I currently live in the NY area, am married and have three kids, age 5 (twins) and 7. The kids enjoy all types of activities and my 7 year old loves sports, especially baseball. I'm quite anxious about the impact the move will have on my wife and kids so their needs are a priority for me.

The following areas are on my short list of places to visit (in no particular order):

1. Carmel Valley
2. Del Mar
3. La Costa (maybe pushing commute time?)
4. Rancho Bernardo
5. Scripps Ranch (particulalry south of Pomerado Rd... are there any rentals in here?)

Will these areas provide what I'm looking for? Are there others that I'm missing? Are stated rents generally negotiable these days?

Any help or advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[cruitr]

Welcome to the 'hood! Stick with Carmel Valley your first year or so. Great schools with an easy commute to Sorrento Valley.

Here's a nice rental example: STEAL! Carmel Valley House/View/Privte Pool/3 Car Garge/Indoor Laundry

Here's your short 10 minute commute to work:
from: 12663 Crest Knolls Ct, 92130 to: Sorrento Valley Rd, San Diego, CA 92121 - Google Maps

[Pug Life]

Originally Posted by Chieftains

I have a job opportunity with a company in the Sorrento Valley. I visited their corporate HQ about a month ago for formal interviews. Apparantly things went well... although there has been no official job offer (yet), the company has since invited me and my family to come out and visit for a few days to get the lay of the land and to look for potential housing. We will be heading out for this visit in a couple weeks. I've been reading this forum often since the interview process started so I think I have a "sense" of where I should look for housing, but I would really like to hear your opinions as well.

We would rent for at least the first year and would be looking for a home with a minimum of 2500+ SF. I'd say the top three priorities are:

1) very good schools for the kids
2) family oriented neighborhood with activities for at-home moms and kids
3) no more than 30 minute commute to work... the office is located just south of the 5/805 merge. I'll actually be visiting on a Mon/Tue so I plan on testing the commutes from a couple different areas.

It would also be "nice" to be in a non-tract neighborhood and have a bit of a yard but we would sacrifice this if the top 3 priorities are met. We could probably budget about $3,500 per month for rent. I have searched realtor.com so I do have a "sense" of what we might be able to get for the money.

A little about me... I currently live in the NY area, am married and have three kids, age 5 (twins) and 7. The kids enjoy all types of activities and my 7 year old loves sports, especially baseball. I'm quite anxious about the impact the move will have on my wife and kids so their needs are a priority for me.

The following areas are on my short list of places to visit (in no particular order):

1. Carmel Valley
2. Del Mar
3. La Costa (maybe pushing commute time?)
4. Rancho Bernardo
5. Scripps Ranch (particulalry south of Pomerado Rd... are there any rentals in here?)

Will these areas provide what I'm looking for? Are there others that I'm missing? Are stated rents generally negotiable these days?

Any help or advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

It's got a bit of a bad rap, but Clairemont Mesa and Mira Mesa are both areas where you could get some good bang for your buck, and the schools are still pretty good. To be honest, as long as you stay away from downtown, National City, Spring Valley and that part of the city, you will have no trouble finding a good place to live with a decent school for your kids.

Up north you will find better sports for your kid, especially in the 4S Ranch/Rancho Bernardo area. I coach little league Downtown (far more Urban than where you should look) and we're amazed at the facilities and resources the kids up North have.

My suggestion to you is 4S Ranch or Rancho Bernardo, for your kids' sake. For you, however, I would suggest Del Mar, but it'll be much harder to find kid-friendly accomodations.

[Chieftains]

Thanks for the response. Wow... that is a nice looking place in Carmel Valley. Will have to check it out if it's still available in a couple weeks. The kids would definitely love that pool.

[Chieftains]

Thank you for the advice. I'm going to take a look at 4S. Do you know anything about Santa Luz?

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by Chieftains

Thank you for the advice. I'm going to take a look at 4S. Do you know anything about Santa Luz?

Santa Luz is very upscale. 4S is a slightly less upscale tract community.

I would agree with a Carmel Valley condo for 1yr lease while you get the lay of the land. The commute will be easy and it is going to be central to many things while you are getting settled in. 4S et al is going to be more of a bedroom community situation.

[Chieftains]

Won't rule anything out at this point but sounds like we should focus our search in Carmel Valley initially. Thanks for the help.

[Chieftains]

So we just returned from our trip to SD. We ended up looking at homes in Carmel Valley, 4S, Scripps Ranch (south of Pomerado), Encinitas and a community in Rancho Bernardo (I think) called Verrazzano. Out of everything we saw we liked Scripps and Verrazzano the best, although we would probably rule out Scripps since it is not in the Poway school district. Does anyone have any insight or thoughts on Verrazzano? Thanks.

[cruitr]

Verrazzano is very nice. Almost bought a home in there myself several years ago. It's part of (or very close to) Santaluz.

The negatives I see:
1. Most owners are 'underwater' with their mortgages. If you buy, it'll probably be a 'short sale.' If you rent, you could wind up living in a soon-to-be-foreclosed home.
2. Relatively high mello-roos and hoa fees (not applicable if renting).
3. Most homes are on tiny lots. Hope you like your neighbors.
4. Some houses back up to Camino Del Sur (lots of traffic).
5. Not much nearby shopping (except for the Albertson center).

[Sassberto]

I would not rule out Scripps Ranch just because it's in San Diego Unified, the schools in that area are still very good (parents are very involved). Personally I think that area is prime because it is hemmed in to the south with no potential for overdevelopment. 4S still has lots of room for scraping. The big downside to Scripps Ranch IMO is not the schools but the noise from Miramar, in particular when they do artillery drills.