Del Sur Home Quality and Neighborhood (San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe: houses, neighborhoods, buying)

[derek1800]

My wife and I (in our mid 30s) and our 3 kids (5, 3, 8 months) are moving from the midwest to San Diego. We are strongly considering the Del Sur neighborhood after originally being set on Carmel Valley. I was hoping to get help on the following questions from individuals who live there or know the community well:

1. From our visits to North County neighborhoods this seems to be one of the best that has great schools along with having many families with younger kids (elementary school and younger). There seems to be a strong sense of community with many residents outside talking/playing. Do I have this right from my couple of visits to the area?
2. What are the biggest drawbacks outside of Mello Roos for this community from those who live there?
3. Are they planning on building any new developments in the future? If so, where at?
4. Is anyone aware of any new bonds or impact on HOAs / Mello Roos in the future? I read something on City Data about upcoming school bounds in 202X from 2017 but cannot find anything about it now and the last message talked about how they were trying to get rid of the upcoming bond.
5. How busy does the 56 get during non Covid times? I am very familiar with the 5 and 15 but just haven't travelled the 56 but during Covid season.
6. How does the build quality of Del Sur homes compare to CV neighborhoods like Derby Hill, Landsdale Estates, Crosby?


The other areas we were considering in Carmel Valley were Derby Hill, Lansdale Estates, and Shannon Ridge/Greenwillow. Ideally we would like to be closer to the water, have the San Dieguito school districts, but I just see very few young kids and families in these areas. The build quality looks to be much better though than Del Sur (but maybe I am off).

Look forward to getting some expert help and guidance!

[cruitr]

Del Sur is sort of a loose marketing name. Are you talking about the area around Camino Del Sur and hwy 56? I wanted to live in that area 20 years ago. But my wife didn't like the cookie-cutter feel. All the houses looked the same. We rented a house in that area for awhile and my wife would tell her friends "we live in the fifth stucco box on the left."

There used to be a guy on here named Early Retirement. He bought a house in Santaluz. He and his wife loved that area. The Chargers QB Philip Rivers used to live in Santaluz. Rivers had like 7 kids.

Build quality? I find the build quality all over San Diego to be pathetic. But with minimal weather problems who needs a well-built house I guess.

I live near Mission Bay. My home was built in 1972. I bought my home from the original owner. This house is well built. The original owner was from Oklahoma. He didn't like the build quality back then either. So he jumped in and helped build this house.

[jeffrow1]

I live nearby..... Neighborhood is solid for young families. Outstanding schools etc. Property taxes plus Mello-Roos is brutal but depending on the development they will expire sooner rather than later. The 56 is a pain at rush hours due to having controlled intersections on the 15 and northbound on the 5. Traffic here is not really that bad other than the 5 and the 805 at certain hours. Nothing like LA or Chicago for example.

[Trekker99]

The 56 going west in the morning and going east in the afternoons has heavy traffic for commutes.

Opposite directions are not bad at those times.

[hken]

Originally Posted by derek1800

My wife and I (in our mid 30s) and our 3 kids (5, 3, 8 months) are moving from the midwest to San Diego. We are strongly considering the Del Sur neighborhood after originally being set on Carmel Valley. I was hoping to get help on the following questions from individuals who live there or know the community well:

Look forward to getting some expert help and guidance!

So we moved to San Diego from the east coast and I was OK with that Del Sur area but the Mello roos drove me nuts and my wife couldn't stand the cookie-cutter feel so we skipped it. The one thing you need to be VERY careful about in looking at schools in that area is exactly what school you will be assigned. There is a school shortage because they are building so fast and you may be surprised what exact school your house will be assigned.

The 56 stinks during rush hour but I wouldn't call it any worse than normal southern california gridlock during rush hour. There are some older homes in Carmel Valley that have no Mello Roos if you can find them. We ended up buying in Rancho Santa Fe instead.

[Axxlrod]

Originally Posted by hken

So we moved to San Diego from the east coast and I was OK with that Del Sur area but the Mello roos drove me nuts and my wife couldn't stand the cookie-cutter feel so we skipped it. The one thing you need to be VERY careful about in looking at schools in that area is exactly what school you will be assigned. There is a school shortage because they are building so fast and you may be surprised what exact school your house will be assigned.

The 56 stinks during rush hour but I wouldn't call it any worse than normal southern california gridlock during rush hour. There are some older homes in Carmel Valley that have no Mello Roos if you can find them. We ended up buying in Rancho Santa Fe instead.

Good point.

I know people that moved to 4S Ranch area, and literally lived across the street from a school. But the school was full so they had to send their kid to another school in the district. Really pissed them off considering the mello-roos they were paying. Plus their kid had trouble making friends in the neighborhood since he didn't go to school with the kids on his street.

[sid369]

Originally Posted by Axxlrod

Good point.

I know people that moved to 4S Ranch area, and literally lived across the street from a school. But the school was full so they had to send their kid to another school in the district. Really pissed them off considering the mello-roos they were paying. Plus their kid had trouble making friends in the neighborhood since he didn't go to school with the kids on his street.

That would **** me off. How can a potential buyer avoid this scenario that you described should they contact the school first to see if there is availability?

[Axxlrod]

Originally Posted by sid369

That would **** me off. How can a potential buyer avoid this scenario that you described should they contact the school first to see if there is availability?

Yes. Call the school and ask if it is open or closed (impacted) to new students.

Of course that was PC (pre-covid). Now, who knows.