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sehmamma
Posts:72
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| 03/15/2009 10:28 PM |
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Just wondering if those of you that frequent SD Lookup and this forum section are active buyers in SEH (or surrounding areas), current owners, renters, thinking of buying, other? How long have you been looking? Are you interested in any other areas? What are your predictions about housing prices in the nicer areas of San Marcos? Have you made offers? Are you interested in foreclosures, equity owned properties, short sales, all of the above? What is your timeline for purchasing? What made you choose this area above other areas in SD?
As for me, I am both a current owner and I am looking to purchase a larger home in SEH. I have been actively in the market since May of last year. I am not interested in any area other than SEH. I predict that home prices will continue to fall this year, level out by 2010 and after that, I have no idea. I have made multiple offers but nothing has panned out yet. I have made offers on foreclosures, one equity-owned property and a ton of short sales. I hope to purchase as soon as I can find a house I love at a price I can afford. I have lived in SEH since 2001 and love it here - I love the sense of community, the overall plan for the town center and the vicinity to my family and work.
Would love to hear from you, too!
SEH Mamma |
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chaozz
Posts:414
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| 03/15/2009 11:08 PM |
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I have been looking there since Dec put a few offers in but was outbid , I still have offers on short sales but I don't have much hope in those, I have only looked at oness that the Mella roos is around $250 some streets are 500+ those are the ones that the price is about 50k less for a similar house in different area.
I have not really looked much at the other parts of San Marco's below SEH there not much cheaper mella roos is about the same
but it will be alot hotter in the summer.prices have dropped since I started looking..sucks they keep taking the bose speakers out of the house..cost a small fortune to put it back in.the company that installed those systems want 3 grand for just the TV set up..
and if the rooms also had speakers they want 800 a room..I'm sure if you shopped could get it done much cheaper |
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Mike92069
Posts:35
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| 03/15/2009 11:26 PM |
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Former Santa Fe Hills (North San Marcos) resident. We had an offer on a short sale in Discovery Hills, but after 4 months found out someone bid more. We're in escrow on a place in La Costa Greens, and are scheduled to close this week.
We looked at a few SEH properties (Genoa, Schoolhouse, Misty Sea), but couldn't find the right house (cul-de-sac, 3 car separated garage, decent 8,000+ SF lot). Genoa had a great view, but a weird layout, Schoolhouse was way over priced, and Misty Sea was nice but had multiple offers, and we were still contingent at that point.
I can't say much about SEH MelloRoos since La Costa Greens is similar.
I think both the stock and home market has another 15% drop, but we'll be in this house for the next 15 years, and we have a 6 yo who is starting first grade it the fall, and we wanted to be in a house before then. The low interest rates right now made the decision to purchase a little easier too. |
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wilson
Posts:1695
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| 03/15/2009 11:44 PM |
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Mike,
Don't let the bears tear you apart. What could you be thinking!!!! Don't you know there's a depression going on and values will drop to zero? |
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chaozz
Posts:414
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| 03/16/2009 1:31 AM |
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I too will buy if we find the right house. alot of the homes in SEH have very odd floor plans not sure what they where smoking
when they approved them. |
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chaozz
Posts:414
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| 03/16/2009 1:32 AM |
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| oh Mike92069 congrats on getting a home.. |
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laafterhours
Posts:119
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| 03/16/2009 6:04 AM |
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Questhaven: Genoa homes have split level designs. Horrible type of home IMO. Love the streets though bc of the views. The ones up near Tara Way are nice though and different style but most lack views. Clifftop/ Brightwood are nice homes and so far I havent found a model that I dont like. Reflection/ Citrine have some odd layouts. Some of the homes in there only have 2 bedrooms?
Questhaven High MR: Antilla/ Orion are huge and dropping fast. The mello roos are killer, upwards of 500 a month but you have views from a lot of lots. Luminara are smaller but with the same MR and im not sure those have views. Leeward homes I like but crazy high MR.
Power Towers: the ones I would not look at - Down the hill near the towncenter Glen allen are too small/ overpriced and have proxomity to the power lines. Old Glen subdivision - some lots backup to the power towers.
Bottom of the hill but other side of community. The gated ones on top of the hill are in the 800s, lower gated pushing 500s. I bet lower gated breaks 500 mark this year easily. Some nice homes with nice views but oldest in SEH i think (Not that it matters). Archer has some nice layouts and lots - All of these have some of the lowest MR.
I live in 4s (Renter). Sold my home Spring 2006 in DC. I will buy in SEH this year and know what streets I want to live on. I wont move for a long time with toddler aged kids. I hope to be in by July 4th for the subdivision softball tournament and I also hope the SEH HOA keeps a watchful eye on college kids not moving in as renters.
Speaking of HOA, does anyone know how restrictive they are with landscape design on the front of the homes? Can you change your garage doors? Some of the fronts of these homes are very vanilla. Cheers - LA |
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chaozz
Posts:414
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| 03/16/2009 8:55 AM |
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HOA requires plans for all landscape front and back.When i looked at a home that had no landscape I was told it would be 300
to submit those plans.
I would guess you could do little stuff with no plans,.
I also worry about collage kids I have that problem now and the police put party's at a very low priority takes on avg
2 hours for them to show up..They do have that new law though in SD you can get a house labeled as a party house
I think you need 5 neighbors to also sign stating it is..then when the cops come out the renters and owners each
get up to a $1000 fine. |
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laafterhours
Posts:119
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| 03/16/2009 9:03 AM |
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[quote]Posted By chaozz on 03/16/2009 8:55 AM
HOA requires plans for all landscape front and back.When i looked at a home that had no landscape I was told it would be 300
to submit those plans.
I would guess you could do little stuff with no plans,.
I also worry about collage kids I have that problem now and the police put party's at a very low priority takes on avg
2 hours for them to show up..They do have that new law though in SD you can get a house labeled as a party house
I think you need 5 neighbors to also sign stating it is..then when the cops come out the renters and owners each
get up to a $1000 fine.[/quote]
What street/ Subdivision if you dont mind telling me? |
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BGinRB
Posts:115
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| 03/16/2009 9:38 AM |
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I spent some time looking in that area. I track it as an indicator of market trends, but I am not going to compete with either one of you.
It is close to my office, which is nice. I like the remoteness, but my wife does not, so those two cancel each other. MR is silly, a $600K house is actually a $700K house. San Marcos High is big negative for us. We have three kids and a private high school is not cheap. My wife was rattled by a playground incident we witnessed on one occasion. Neither of us liked a huge dog locked in a tiny cadge spotted in an open garage. We learned that we do not like the transient nature of 2002-2005 developments. Very few people there can really afford to live there.
I do laps 5x/week and we play tennis 2-3x/week, not that easy if you live in SEH.
In short, a house there reduces my commute by 10 minutes and we can afford it (where my 'afford' is more conservative than Eugene's). Consequently, we decided to give up on the area and focus on 56 Hwy and La Costa area. |
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laafterhours
Posts:119
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| 03/16/2009 10:15 AM |
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[quote]Posted By BGinRB on 03/16/2009 9:38 AM
I spent some time looking in that area. I track it as an indicator of market trends, but I am not going to compete with either one of you.
It is close to my office, which is nice. I like the remoteness, but my wife does not, so those two cancel each other. MR is silly, a $600K house is actually a $700K house. San Marcos High is big negative for us. We have three kids and a private high school is not cheap. My wife was rattled by a playground incident we witnessed on one occasion. Neither of us liked a huge dog locked in a tiny cadge spotted in an open garage. We learned that we do not like the transient nature of 2002-2005 developments. Very few people there can really afford to live there.
I do laps 5x/week and we play tennis 2-3x/week, not that easy if you live in SEH.
In short, a house there reduces my commute by 10 minutes and we can afford it (where my 'afford' is more conservative than Eugene's). Consequently, we decided to give up on the area and focus on 56 Hwy and La Costa area. [/quote]
SEH elementary and middle schools got good API marks. The high school is not so good but one of the best catholic schools in the country (top 50 in 2008) is located just over 78. Its under 6k per year which is very cheap for a private school.
I would love to hear what happened on the playground. Regarding the people that cant afford to live there and transients, I tend to agree with this stereotype but seeing as SEH has taken such a dramatic hit in depreciation, I think there will be less turnover than areas that havent yet experienced such a steep decline (4s Ranch, CV) and thats part of the reason Im open to buying in SEH now. As long as I dont buy on one of the newer streets, I feel comfortable my neighbors wont change too much. Just my guess though. |
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sehmamma
Posts:72
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| 03/16/2009 11:22 AM |
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Here's a little more info on HOA and supplemental taxes.
There are 4 phases in SEH of development:
Phase 1:
Sagewood (oldest community built in 2001-2002 - Crescent, Sagewood, Rivercrest)
Acacia (Beechtree, Black Walnut, Boxwood)
Promontory Ridge (Glencrest, Sandbar, Sand Dune, Stargaze, Windemere)
Cedar Crossing (Archer, Golden Sunset, Sundance)
Carmel (Dolphin, Archer, Crystal)
Calistoga (across from Albertsons, Glen Ellen)
Westcliffe (Misty Sea, Kingsport, Schoolhouse)
Phase 2:
All the condos - Village Square and Springfield
Phase 3: Questhaven areas
Crestview (Brightwood and Clifftop)
Waterford (Citrine, Reflection, Prism)
Saverne (Tara, Baylor, Trenton)
Azure (Genoa, Milan, Venice)
Cambria (Old Glen, Avalon, Thorley)
Woodleys Glen (Blue Water, Summer Moon)
Phase 4:
Meridian (Orion, Antilla, Horizon and Eclipse)
Mariners Landing (Leeward, Hollowbrook)
Atherton (Holmgrove)
Luminara
Palisades (Wild Iris)
The supplemental taxes are double from phase 1 to phase 4. Old Creek Ranch and Venzano are around the same as Phase 3. So, the older homes in Promontory, Sagewood, Westcliffe are more desirable. Plus, the trees are grown and the majority of owners (I know cause I've studied tax records) are original owners.
You can't beat the 360 degree views from Atherton or Azure but it's windy on top of the big Double Peak Ridge (Atherton). If views are important, Azure built by Shea Homes is the way to go. They sold in 2004-2005 so there is plenty of pain in there are more foreclosures to come.
I have been here since 2001 and the turnover has not been an issue of concern for me at all. There are still lots of original owners and it's fun to see everyone's kids grow up and attend the same schools. There have always been plans for a high school when the age of the children here warrants one. San Marcos High isn't all that fabulous but you should have see my high school. My kid is in-utero so I'm not too concerned with high schools just yet.
HOA
Everyone in SEH pays $83 a month. This pays for landscaping, maintenance of common areas and they throw some nice community organized shin-digs about 4 times a year. Some of the gated areas have an extra $20-$30 to pay to maintain the gate (I guess) and the condos pay way too much for HOA on top of SEH. It's ridiculous (I know because I own two condos here).
They were strict about landscaping guidelines to begin with but it has gotten a lot more lax over time. I have seen new garage doors go up and paint color changes to outdoor shutters. Overall, some areas look better than others. The more money people refinanced out of their homes during the bubble, the fancier the yards. The HOA here is no stricter than anywhere else.
Powerlines
There has always been talk to bring the power underground at some point. This was a big selling point for those of us who moved here first. There was a windy little two lane street, a dump and a power lines. The windy street is long gone. The dump is always for sale to a glamorous movie studio, and the power lines remain.... for now.
College Kids
They are already here. People have to rent to someone and there is a new stream of renters just over the hill. There were some homes up in Merdian (Orion, Antilla) that were being rented as Mini-dorms. The streets at night were full of cars. The few high school kids that live here hang out at the fountain on the weekends and they think its really funny to put dish soap in the fountain.
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BGinRB
Posts:115
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| 03/16/2009 1:21 PM |
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LA,
I said nothing about elementary/middle school. $6k/year is not too expensive for a private high school. However, once I added MR and private high school cost the area lost its 'low cost' appeal. And once that attribute was removed I could find very few things going for it.
I like the fact that you find SEH acceptable since it reduces competition for both of us.
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laafterhours
Posts:119
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| 03/16/2009 1:42 PM |
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[quote]Posted By BGinRB on 03/16/2009 1:21 PM
LA,
I said nothing about elementary/middle school. $6k/year is not too expensive for a private high school. However, once I added MR and private high school cost the area lost its 'low cost' appeal. And once that attribute was removed I could find very few things going for it.
I like the fact that you find SEH acceptable since it reduces competition for both of us.
[/quote]
True you didnt mention them, I was merely stating that they are good schools. I like your last statement as well. If 4s ranch takes a hit in 2009 like SEH has experienced, you may have my competition. :) |
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Eugene
Posts:747
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| 03/16/2009 1:58 PM |
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The high school is not so good but one of the best catholic schools in the country (top 50 in 2008) is located just over 78. Its under 6k per year which is very cheap for a private school.
Is that Sierra Madre / Saint Joseph Academy?
Personally, I would rather send my kids to San Marcos High than to Sierra Madre. And not just because I have a thing against catholic brainwashing, daily prayer, and mandatory monthly confessions. With private schools (as with many other things in our world), you get what you pay for. 6k/year/kid is insufficient to hire good teachers and to equip classrooms. I looked through their web site, I found many references to God and Catholic faith (also, many misspellings) but I could not find anything about class sizes or average SATs. Good private schools aren't shy disclosing their average SATs. |
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jpinpb
Posts:4494
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| 03/16/2009 1:58 PM |
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| sehmamma - I'm not looking in SEH, but I want to commend you on knowing your area very well. |
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laafterhours
Posts:119
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| 03/16/2009 2:10 PM |
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[quote]Posted By Eugene on 03/16/2009 1:58 PM
[i]The high school is not so good but one of the best catholic schools in the country (top 50 in 2008) is located just over 78. Its under 6k per year which is very cheap for a private school.[/i]
Is that Sierra Madre / Saint Joseph Academy?
Personally, I would rather send my kids to San Marcos High than to Sierra Madre. And not just because I have a thing against catholic brainwashing, daily prayer, and mandatory monthly confessions. With private schools (as with many other things in our world), you get what you pay for. 6k/year/kid is insufficient to hire good teachers and to equip classrooms. I looked through their web site, I found many references to God and Catholic faith (also, many misspellings) but I could not find anything about class sizes or average SATs. Good private schools aren't shy disclosing their average SATs.[/quote]
Yes St Josephs and I didnt get that rating from their site, but from another. I will try to find it.
I attended public school through 8th grade and was then sent to a private catholic high school on the main line in PA. It was the best move, as the public school system wasnt the best. I totally agree with your assessment on you get what you pay for. Mine was 3K in the early 90s. It wasnt the best but they kept everyone in line whereas the public school i would have gone to had virtually no rules. Is St Josephs very old/ Big? It seems like they are just starting out and my kids are toddlers so there is a lot of time for improvement as well as time for the $$ to go up.
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chaozz
Posts:414
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| 03/16/2009 6:48 PM |
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Notice when they list these home with the huge MR they will put 55 a month and at the bottom say buyer is responsible to verify.
not all do this but alot make it less or leave it out. |
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waiting for bottom
Posts:39
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| 03/16/2009 8:25 PM |
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I rent in SEH and made some offers on the Brookside listing back in Jan. Final offer was $535K and no deal. A week later seller came back at $525K. We decided to wait. It went pending a couple of weeks ago.Any idea why this nice house got no offers when everthing else was selling so fast? I must have been missing something.
I like the lising on Reflecion with the big yard, but not quite perfect. |
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sehmamma
Posts:72
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| 03/16/2009 8:33 PM |
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| At the time the Brookside listing was active, there was a lot of inventory. It backed up to a slope and some power lines. I'm pretty sure it was bank owned, no? The property on Reflection is a short sale so unless the agent knows what they are doing (and very few do), it will sit for at least a few months and by then, the offers they have will all be gone. It's sad. |
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