This was emailed in yesterday:
Hi Jim,
I have been looking for my first house with the help from a traditional real estate broker and a Redfin agent for a few months. However, I haven’t found my dream house yet. Am I too picky or maybe I look at the wrong neighborhood? I know that you have seen many houses in San Diego. You are a very professional realtor. Could you please review my wish list and give me some recommendations? Thanks.
Here is my wish list:
1. 20 minutes or less in driving between home and Morehouse Drive in rush hour
2. Yard facing south, east south, or west south.
3. View or privacy.
4. No power line
5. 4 bed roomsHouse price should be less than $900K. Down payment is $400K.
Thanks. Have a nice weekend!
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This is a common occurance, so let’s explore the options:
1. Keep doing the same thing, hoping that something falls in your lap.
2. Wait until we run out of buyers.
3. Compromise.
Those first two only work if you get real lucky…lotto-winner lucky.
So let’s concentrate on #3, Compromise.
Twenty minutes from Sorrento Valley does not cover much ground, so your options are already limited just by geography. La Jolla is ridiculous, University City is, um, how should we say it…’mature’, nobody wants to live in Mira Mesa, and Scripps Ranch and Rancho Penasquitos are further than 20 minutes in traffic.
Bay Park/Clairemont are close, and so is Solana Beach….and if you push it to 30-40 minutes you can get to Encinitas.
Sorrento Valley has a few homes, but the inventory is always thin.
So you’ll be stuck with Carmel Valley, 92130 – the toughest market in San Diego!
To test your picky-ness, let’s look at a new CV listing:
http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-110018684-4667_Vereda_Luz_Del_Sol_San_Diego_CA_92130
This house meets all of your criteria, except you can see the power lines in the distance. I think they are buried behind the house too, but hopefully underground power lines are acceptable – virtually every street has electricity now.
Now let’s test your reactions.
A. Have you seen this on-line?
It listed two days ago, so you’ve probably seen it on the internet. If not, you aren’t looking enough – most buyers are checking multiple times per day.
B. Have you seen it in person yet?
Motivated buyers react quickly – you know there are people over there within the first couple of hours of every new listing.
C. When you saw it, was your first instinct to find something wrong with it?
If so, you are going to have a lot of trouble buying a house. If you are looking for things you might be able to live with, then you have a chance. There are no perfect houses, and sadly, almost all of them need plenty of work. Find ways to fix the imperfections, rather than discarding the listing.
D. How is your realtor reacting? Did they know about it when you called them? Did they have opinions on the comps, neighborhood, seller motivations, and/or listing agent?
The listing agent is one of the best around when it comes to price. He has had 64 listings in Carmel Valley over the last two years, and those averaged 25 days on market. When I saw it come up, I knew the price had to be sharp, and if I wanted to sell it, then I better hurry.
E. Are you willing to add a little mustard to the price you’re willing to pay?
Almost every buyer will say, “I’d buy that, if I could get 10% off, or more.” But in hot markets like Carmel Valley-under-$1M, you’re not seeing big discounts. Of the 90 detached closings this year in 92130, the average sales price is 96% of the list price. Fifty-four of those are under $1,000,000, and they have sold for an average of 97% of list price.
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I think addressing the home-buying struggles in NSDCC can be summarized in one sentence:
Are you devoting a lot of time to the hunt, are you looking for ways to compromise, and are you employing quality help?
All are vitally important – because your competition is doing all three!
To answer your question, yes, I’m guessing that you are very picky, but all buyers are. Those who end up buying are the ones that can blend their picky-ness with reasonable compromises to find the right house, at the right price.
The emailer said:
House price should be less than $900K. Down payment is $400K.
To which JtR replied:
This is a common occurance, so let’s explore the options..
Ah, geez. If this is common, then it truly looks like I have in fact been priced out of the market for good!
Yes, Buyers are too picky. I’ve heard it said that it’s the HGTV factor. I’d also say there is disconnect between media stories and reality.
If people were willing to do a little painting, do some landscaping they might have more luck. And to me, improving a home and making it the way you like it, is one of the most satisfying things in life.
Sounds like Carmel Valley, as bland as it is, really is a smart investment.
20 minutes from there will severely limit any search. The biggest issue is that it’s the epicenter of traffic for the area, so its the getting in and out of the area that’s difficult. An extra 10 minutes each way would broaden the search considerably, because traffic typically gets better the further away you get.
20 minutes to go south isn’t going to happen from there at rush hour. Getting on any of the freeways to go south can often take longer than the commute. I lived in Clairemont and the commute would often be 40 minutes at 5:00pm.
Let me see if I have this right. This person has a R.E. Broker and is turning to another R.E. Broker he opted not to use in the first place for advice?
@4:There are RE brokers, and then there is JtR.
“nobody wants to live in Mira Mesa”
I’m going to let that slide for now, but that really gets under my skin. (I live in Mira Mesa.)
Anyway… I don’t think you should rule out MM. Sure, it’s not Carmel Valley, but there *are* some nice areas. Here are a few budget listings in my neighborhood that I think that shopper should at least consider:
http://goo.gl/cbhjG
I hope this fella gets some advice from someone that is unbiased concerning allocation of the $400K (i.e. other than real estate “agents”) — I think that if the “buyer” decided to be patient and say RENT until say, errrr Q3 2013, the options will be GREATLY in his favor.
There are PLENTY of options to protect that $400K until then, if you’re smart 😉
Remember, a fool and his money are soon parted…
Bullionaire – Would you mind providing some evidence to back up the suggestion to wait to buy until Q3 2013?
“There are PLENTY of options to protect that $400K until then, if you’re smart ;-)”
I guess your hinting gold and silver and I agree but I already have invested a nice sum but still want an investment property in Carlsbad/Encinitas area.
“@4: There are RE brokers, and then there is JtR.”-chrisanthemama
Exactly! And this JtR post proves it. Look at his thoughtful reply to this wanna-be buyer who isn’t even his client.
Of course, I already know what kind of guy Jim is. He’s absolutely the best!
Jim has given me so much advice over the last couple years. I chose him as my agent on a solar (REO) home in 2009 on the CA Central Coast, but it had multiple offers so that didn’t work out.
But then I took his advice to heart and pondered moving. I chose Boise. And then Jim really surprised me. He featured a video of my new home here on bubbleinfo on 1/17 (“Potato Land”).
Ever hear of a San Diego broker featuring a home in Spudville on HIS blog? (Didn’t think so). I still shake my head with Jim’s extraordinary generosity…
I live in Carmel Mountain Ranch right off of the 56/Ted Williams. I had a class at UCSD Extension on Lusk for 9 months.
Usually took me 30-35 minutes in the morning depending on how early I left. If I left by 7, it sometimes took less than 30 minutes. (56W, waiting at the light at Sorrento Valley).
But to get to where you’re going, probably Mira Mesa Blvd would be better. Traffic wasn’t too bad once you got past Black Mountain Rd. All the lights were synchronized and traffic got lighter the further west you went.
So if you compromise on time, you get more value for your money in CMR or Scripps. There’s also less Mello Roos in CMR.
I can tell you from experience, La Jolla Shores to Morehouse drive is only 20 minutes during rush hour on the days you are lucky.
The emailer did not say Mira Mesa was out of the question, if commute time is paramount, s/he should consider it. Could save a bunch of money and find something with a 10 minute commute, if willing to compromise on power lines in the distance. For example:
http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-100070117-7235_Fargate_Terrace_San_Diego_CA_92126
http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-110019029-10555_Dabney_Dr_San_Diego_CA_92126
I’d say that house would probably be quickly rejected by this househunter, and there’s good reason for the “affordable” price:
He requested no power lines. That home not only has power lines within view, but three towers and the whole substation within a 1000-foot radius. Buzzzzzz.
He also requests privacy or a view – not sure if he meant one or the other. It does have a bit of a view, but that row of houses have some of the worst privacy around. Just behind the open fence across the tiny backyard is a often-used path leading to a trail dropping into the canyon.
Yeah, it’s tough to limit yourself to 20 minute commute from Sorrento valley. There’s no shortage of people making well over 100K+ working in that neck of the woods, between QCOM, Illumina, UCSD, all the financial firms in the Golden triangle, and the doctors/surgeons working at the half dozen hospitals all right around UCSD, you’ve got a lot of competition with money for a 20 minute commute.
Right off Calle Cristobal in north Mira Mesa has some Sorrento Valley type inventory (big homes fairly up to date, but 1990’s instead of 2000’s). Might be just old enough to feel dated.
University city is basically a retirement community at this point, but if you had some vision and were willing to remodel it might not be a bad option especially for long term valuation. It’s a good location just dated and limited when it comes to places to go out.
After that you’re stuck with CV, and you have to compete with every stock option mid manager and above ILMN and QCOM employee.
I’m sure Tierrasanta and Scripps Ranch are doing nicely with the success of Bridgepoint Education.
I think the Bay Park and Bay Ho areas deserve more consideration. The 20 minute commute is doable, and all the other wants are met too. This house meets the description perfectly:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3075-Peters-Way-San-Diego-CA-92117/17199562_zpid/
I don’t know if the original poster is still looking at this but I hope they have at least thought of switching realtors to Jim.
Have you thought about manzanita trail. They are selling the plan 3/4 models in the 900s or Hampton lane which will be in the 700s. New, 20min commute, no power line issue, 4bd. Otherwise PHR resales.
20 min commute in Socal – good luck! Besides, it wont always be 20 min anyway… maybe a new job at a different location or population growth = more cars/traffic.
20 minute commute…better buy ON Morehouse Drive.
@Bullionaire – “There are PLENTY of options to protect that $400K until then, if you’re smart ”
… Dont follow the herd ….Invest in Gold and Silver but reasonably. After a certain reasonable point Gold has been bubbling up just like the Real Estate did in the past.
I live in Carmel Valley, so hate to dis my own hood (so to speak), but what is wrong with buying in Sorrento Valley? I see a few homes on sdlookup in 92121 with views of the canyon for mid $700’s. In Carmel Valley in that price range you will often have to chose between power lines, freeway noise, or sometimes get both.
Ummm, that would be in the Mira Mesa school district…great location as long as you don’t mind that. And the drive into the Mira Mesa Blvd. mess to get to grocery shopping, etc.
Buyer only mentioned desire for short commute…no mention of school district preference. Buyers pay a hefty premium for Carmel Valley so it better be because of school district preference. Can get much more for their money in Solana Beach with only slight difference in school quality for elementary schools, and same district for middle and high schools as CV.
If they buy in my neighborhood, they get a good elementary and can go to Scripps Ranch high school. The middle school is kinda iffy, but that is only a couple short years. Also, 1995-built homes with no M-R or HOA… See my previous comment for link to listings. 🙂
East end of UC, south of Governor is a nice area…around Via Papel. Alot of families there. Or if you go far west end, that is a nice area too. For the most part, the rest of UC are 1950s standard build.
For the longest time, we were looking in those two areas, waiting for a home to drop into the $500-600s.
Very thought-provoking advice, Jim.
Speaking as a picky buyer/fence-sitter, you cut right to the heart of the matter for me when dissecting this one. I’m going to keep this post in mind when my search begins in earnest.