Any comments on Casablanca in Mira Mesa,SD (near SD Ice Arena) (San Diego: short sales)

[sdnewbie1980]

Hello everyone,

We are a young couple (in our upper 20's) looking to buy a home in the Mira Mesa/Rancho Bernardo/Scripps Ranch area. I work in Sorrento Valley while my wife works near Fashion Valley. Considering commute times and the fact that we are not that much worried about school district (expect when we are trying to find a home buyer in case we decide to move 5-8 years down the line), we are quite comfortable living in or near Mira Mesa itself. The HOA and the increased commute time from RB, Scripps Ranch really turned us off. Has anyone lived or is currently living in the Casablanca community in mira Mesa (its a couple of blocks off the I-15 and Mira Mesa intersection) and right next to the San Diego Ice Arena. The community looks good (gated, reasonably well-maintained etc.) and within our budget as well. HOA fees are also low. I would appreciate any comments from past or current residents as well as other members on this forum.

[Oerdin]

I've driven by it but never lived there.

[callpaul]

Hi SDNewbie1980,

Welcome to San Diego! I think you're going to love it.

I haven't lived there myself, but I have a client that used to live there and they were very happy with it. About the only thing I don't like about it is if you're sandwiched between the Ice Arena and the elementary school (on the North end).

I just checked and there are only two houses currently available in there and both of them are short sales.

That would turn me off. If you aren't familiar with just how difficult short sales are, they typically take anywhere from 3-6 months to close and I've heard statistics that say that only 9% of all short sales actually close escrow. I ran my own numbers and I came up with 21%, so either way, it's a pretty small percentage.

I've done several of them (they all closed), and regardless of how much I warned my clients of the difficulties, they were all pretty frazzled by the end.

[cfhk]

Don't know if it's too late to reply but i just moved in approximately two months ago and we are pretty satisfied with it so far. The best thing is that it's a gated community so you don't really need to worry about treapassing or burglary.
But this community is pretty family-oriented and there're kids running around and screaming in late afternoon/early evening, but it's ok to me.
Another problem i really don't like is the design of the driveway...the slope is so steep which is really bad for the bumper of your car

[f_m]

My feeling about that section is nice newer housing, but right next to the 15, so you will hear it. I was at the park over there and you can easily hear it even though it's about 1/4 mile away. If that doesn't bother you, then that area is nicely close to the stores.

I would also look at NW Mira Mesa, then SW. NW is the newest and SW is fairly quiet and a little older.