House Hunting in SD and Getting Emotional!

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by Danalysd

Please elaborate on why you say temecula should be on a different planet

It's just not San Diego. IE vs. San Diego or LA or OC is a completely different discussion.

[Danalysd]

Originally Posted by 10,000Lakes

Very true. I complain about traffic in San Diego but it's nothing compared to out in Tememcula area esp the 15...yuck!!!!

Well I don't really leave Temecula that much since I have the luxury of working from home, so I guess I don't notice the traffic. The times I have had to go to our office in Vista it hasn't been that bad. Now if you were living in Temecula and commuting all the way down to the city that would suck. As long as you avoid rush hour its really not that bad.

I am happy with the area and with not having to come up with 500k for a home. To each his own.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Danalysd

Well I don't really leave Temecula that much since I have the luxury of working from home, so I guess I don't notice the traffic. The times I have had to go to our office in Vista it hasn't been that bad. Now if you were living in Temecula and commuting all the way down to the city that would suck. As long as you avoid rush hour its really not that bad.

I am happy with the area and with not having to come up with 500k for a home. To each his own.

A co-worker heads in to work by 5 just to miss it. If he leaves at 5 to come in he's screwed. Same going home.

[Boose]

In October 2008, we sold a home that we had owned for 9 years in the Boston suburbs, and moved to SD. When we had bought the house, I thought I was finally sticking it to "The Man" (i.e., landlords everywhere) because we would own the house in 15 years. But I forgot about the time and money we would eventually spend on home repairs (not to mention taxes) and the bizarre neighbors who also owned their homes and were not planning on moving. Owning was not as clear-cut an advantage as we had thought. In light of this experience, we decided not to buy in SD. Our apartment is as spacious and quiet as any Mid-City house would be, the rent is much lower than a 30-year mortgage and taxes, and if the neighbors freak us out, it's easy for us to move. Planning to own a house in the long term, even in a city we love, no longer makes sense for us. Just my $0.02.

[Sanis]

Originally Posted by Boose

In October 2008, we sold a home that we had owned for 9 years in the Boston suburbs, and moved to SD. When we had bought the house, I thought I was finally sticking it to "The Man" (i.e., landlords everywhere) because we would own the house in 15 years. But I forgot about the time and money we would eventually spend on home repairs (not to mention taxes) and the bizarre neighbors who also owned their homes and were not planning on moving. Owning was not as clear-cut an advantage as we had thought. In light of this experience, we decided not to buy in SD. Our apartment is as spacious and quiet as any Mid-City house would be, the rent is much lower than a 30-year mortgage and taxes, and if the neighbors freak us out, it's easy for us to move. Planning to own a house in the long term, even in a city we love, no longer makes sense for us. Just my $0.02.

Your .02 makes great sense to me. I am planning to move to SD/LA area in the next year or so and housing is a top concern for me. You bring out great points about just renting rather then buying!

[skeke]

I've been a homeowner almost all of my adult life - bought my first house at the age of 23. The two advantages my renting friends mention most is the ability to call the landlord for repairs and not having to take care of a yard (this presumes either no yard or a rental which includes gardening services). I hear what they are saying but I like a yard for the dogs and eventually this house will be paid off so I won't have the mortgage anymore. Repairs, yep, that will always land on my shoulders. That's certainly an advantage to renting. The idea of the horrible neighbors rings true. During the years we lived and owned a home in San Marcos, the neighbors from hell moved in next door. I pleaded with my husband to move, but he felt it was not practical financially. If we had been renters, it would not have been as difficult to choose to relocate our household to get away from the hideous neighbors. Eventually they were out of there but we dealt with them for about 3 or 4 years.

[susanyang123]

Sarah:
I am a realtor and I can certainly understand your frustration. Don't worry, I am not here to solicit your business. This is not even my real name.
Anyway, my FHA buyers are still house hunting after many, many months of looking. What can we do besides keep on looking? Have you try maybe looking into condos or townhomes?
Don't give up!

[JohnG72]

Doesn't anyone looking to use an FHA and searching for a year + use that time to save up the traditional 20%? Or at least enough to repair a cosmetic fixer?

[norcalscold]

Someone mentioned the shadow inventory of homes from banks to possibly pressure the market/housing prices in 2010. I'd add to that the shadow inventory of speculator/flipper homes bought near the bottom and their interest in selling into this price bounce. Also the government tax credit for first-time buyers and now, even non-1st timers expires in April. Time may be on your side as a potential pull-back in prices this year could be more beneficial to you than the government tax credit.

Take a deep breath, try to keep your emotions at bay (I know it's tough, been there --when we bought our first house in the great bull housing run in SD in the 80s -- another time when multiple bids above the ask were getting the homes in mere days after being listed) and keep working on it. In my own humble opinion, I think prices have topped for the time being and we maybe even see a 10% correction in prices this year. A bit of a slow down/pull back will be healthier for this market in the long run. Best of luck to you.