Anyone moving to Hemet Ca? (San Diego, Riverside: short sale, real estate, foreclosures)

[Beth G.]

Originally Posted by tennesseedreamin

I live in Hemet and I'm here to offer anyone coming to Hemet some insiders information so ask anything and I'll do my best to answer.

Okay, here's a question....What are the property taxes there? I live in Maine and I pay 1 1/3% in my town. We're doing our homework on relocating.

Thanks in advance!

[Niners fan]

Originally Posted by c.mego

We made a mistake of moving to Michigan and am now thinking of moving back to California. We are looking into Hemet, (because of the affordable homes), and we have some relatives in the Irvine area. We are quickly getting discouraged while doing research. I have not heard anything positive. Our other option is to move back up north in the bay area, but it's going to cost us. Can anyone shed some light and let us know how it really is. Need to know if it's a good family town. We have kids ages, 7,9,14, and 17. They are all in public schools.

I think Hemet is a good family town. There are plenty of sports leagues if you are into that type of thing. Some parts of town are better than others. The schools, by California standards, are pretty decent. I don't know what the schools are like in Michigan but I doubt the high schools they can be worse than in California. If So Cal were my choice then I wouldn't have a problem raising a family in Hemet. (I have 4 kids.)

Originally Posted by Beth G.

Okay, here's a question....What are the property taxes there? I live in Maine and I pay 1 1/3% in my town. We're doing our homework on relocating

The property taxes in California vary greatly. In general, newer homes are going to have higher taxes. There might be some houses in Hemet where you would pay less than 1.2% in property taxes but those are probably also the houses that are in less desirable areas. I would plan on 1.5 -1.8%. Be sure to get all the tax info up front. By the way, the property taxes might be lower than what you will actually pay so get the info on the any mello roos and/or assessments.

[LinuxWiz83]

Originally Posted by da jammer

you might want to go to one of those online insurance companies like progressive dot com and plug your info in. Hemet zip codes are 92543 92544 92545.

TY and i done my research since i did that post and farmers is the cheapest and state farm is already and Allstate is terrible. Yea Hemet is desert but it is worth the commute to a better job because Hemet has low crime compared to the other areas such as LA, San Bernardino and others. I am going to be moving to Hemet between March - May i already put my transfer in with my job so that take a few months or so and waiting for my tax return. Oh i am also from California originally i left when i was 16/17 yrs.

[Niners fan]

Originally Posted by LinuxWiz83

TY and i done my research since i did that post and farmers is the cheapest and state farm is already and Allstate is terrible. Yea Hemet is desert but it is worth the commute to a better job because Hemet has low crime compared to the other areas such as LA, San Bernardino and others. I am going to be moving to Hemet between March - May i already put my transfer in with my job so that take a few months or so and waiting for my tax return. Oh i am also from California originally i left when i was 16/17 yrs.

Good luck. Where will you be commuting to?

[glennj72]

My family and I are planning on moving the area (Hemet, Perris, etc) but would like to know what areas are a good place to raise a family in the area. We have looked at several houses online that look really nice but we don't know anything about the areas. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[dodgefan77]

We just moved out of Hemet. We lived there for 12 years. Our daughter went to Valle Vista Elementary. It's the top elementary school out there. We LOVED it. The teachers are great.

I would say stay on the east side. There you have Valle Vista or Bautista elementary , Dartmouth middle and Hemet high.

[PinkString]

glennj, having lived in both Perris and Hemet before, I'd probably pick Hemet over living in Perris any day.

[glennj72]

Originally Posted by PinkString

glennj, having lived in both Perris and Hemet before, I'd probably pick Hemet over living in Perris any day.

Thanks for the tip, we have found several houses that are too noce but when I looked at the school areas they did not get great reviews or anything but on the Hemet side they got better reviews than in Parris.

Thanks!

[gysgtbigdaddy]

We moved to San Jacinto in July and have kids 6,7, and 12. We live in a nice neighborhood but with the drop in housing prices I've seen some pretty "diverse" families moving in. On our block we have elderly, young families, and some people that keep junk cars in their driveway and don't mow their grass. It just seems to be a melting pot for all types of people and lifestyles. There is some petty crime going on from slashing tires to stealing flags off of porches. Looks like kids to me. Getting the police to do anything about it is just about impossible. I've had them at my house a few times for things that were either stolen or vandilized. It's aggrevating to say the least. My kids play in our back yard as we don't allow them to walk the streets. Not too many kids out during the day playing either. But then again, that's just what's happening on my street. And I don't think thats because it's unsafe or anything like that. I think it's a good sign that parents are watching their kids. Anyway, overall we're pleased with the area and house. For the price we were able to get a better/bigger home. The schools are a little slower academic-wise compared to the schools my kids attended in San Diego. There is a very large Hispanic presense in this neck of the woods also. That isn't a problem at all as I guess the only real problem we have besides the petty crime is the nosy elderly people that live in the neighborhood! They have nothing to do so they seem to be in everyone's business.

[jeffrito]

Hi -

I've been looking for property in So Cal for several years - I'm a 2nd gen San Diegan (living with the family in La Mesa) who thought would never be able to afford to live here. Before the recent price drop I looked in Tuscon, Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico...Just got back from a trip to Boise. Nice. Many homes under 200k. BTW, I teach online and make under 50k so anything over 200k isn't an option. I don't have to commute. Like to be near at least a community college. Prefer university. I moved back here from New Orleans in 2002.

I have been looking seriously with a realtor at Temecula and Murrieta and Menifee and Hemet and San Jacinto. All REO homes (no short sales) under 200k. The market is hot and I have been out bid several times. The homes in Temecula and Murrieta are smaller, smaller lots as well, pricier than the ones I see 30 minutes away in Hemet and SJ. They also go fast! Again - I'm looking at bank owned only.

I recently bid on a 3 or 4 year old 2200 sq ft house on 1/3 acre in San Jacinto listed at 170k! Missed it. It had a view of the mountains. No power lines. Clean new, neighborhood, little park around the corner - but the neighborhood was really undeveloped with no trees or landscaping. Around the corner is a 2000 sq ft on .25 acre across from a new school for 190k.

So I have a bunch of Hemet listings to look at, all nice big homes under 200k, some near Diamond Reservoir (I like to fish and kayak) and close to main roads leading to 215.

But the family lives in San Diego. Hemet is pretty far (but still within an hour! I'm getting picky) and I would like to live in Oceanside near the ocean (gangs, poor schools) or even Vista or Escondido - I would prefer La Mesa but houses are overpriced. And Spring Valley and El Cajon and Santee houses under 200k are terrible. And Campo and Lake Morena are a little far out. The best houses for the money are in your area IMHO.

To get back to your post - my concern with Hemet is my 2 yr old and 5 yr old being a little isolated from the beach and zoo and sea world and 'cultural' stuff. Although I tend to value proximity to the mountains and desert and lake and general quality of life (schools, newer cleaner neighborhoods, nice yard and house) as much. And I like to garden and the houses in Hemet have bigger yards. But I wonder if I will end up feeling isolated.

Seemed like the newer neighborhoods had nice, new schools. There are older sections of town that didn't seem as bad as Spring Valley which has gangs and rusted fences and generally dilapidated neighborhoods and lots of bank robberies and muggings. I saw newer malls and shopping driving around Hemet/SJ. If I bought a newer house there for under 200k I could imagine that it would increase in value in 3 or 4 years to 300k. And I could rent it for the mortgage while we live here in La Mesa for a while.

But there are people in this forum who call Hemet the armpit of IE. I thought that was odd - am I missing something? I've lived here (So CaL) 55 years and driven through Hemet since the 70s when it was a dusty retirement community, but it was always kind of mellow. And I don't know why living with a large Marine populace would be unpleasant. Might even be safer.

Is a good house for under 200k in Hemet a good investment? Is the population growing? Will they be willing to commute? Seems pretty far from everything. But how could you lose money on property so cheap?

I heard light rail is coming to link SD and Riverside Hemet LA but when I Google it I get nothing. We need what the Europeans have - good long distance public transport.

My other option is to move to Boulder County Co. (rather than the more isolated Boise) The inventory of houses under 200k there looks great. Close to universities. I don't mind the climate. But I would rather stick around SD while the parents are alive. I could buy in Hemet now, sell later and use the equity for a house in CO (:

At any rate - interested in hearing about your experiences and views (:

Jeff Prentice