Relocating to S. Cali!

Hey fellow VXers... I was noticing today that there are a lot of us VXers in the Southern California area and was hoping some of you could help me out with some advice. I'm nearing the end of 4 year Army contract and am looking to relocate to S. Cali. I'm not from the area, but I've been to San Diego and just really love the weather and the lifestyle and have always dreamed of moving somewhere in that vicinity. To make this happen, I need to find a good job in the area, and to buy a house. Any advise you folks could give me to assist in my searches would be greatly appreciated! Here is generally what I'm looking for:

The Job: My experience prior to the military was as an IT Specialist (4 years at IBM, and 4 years contracting). I've done all sorts of things, including databases, security, biometrics, programming, and tech support. My BS is in Computer Science and I'm working on a Master's in Information Technology. If possible, I would really like to telecommute and work from an office in my home. I don't mind traveling if necessary, and international travel is a plus.

The House: This will be my first house, so I'm not looking for anything super fancy, but I've got a wife and one child, with another on the way soon, so I need at least three bedrooms and a place to build my office (like a basement or den). My dream house will definitely have one of those cool Spanish style roofs! I've got good credit, no debt, and am eligible for a VA loan up to about $350k (if the income from my new job supports the payments). I'm considering the Escondido area, but am open to suggestions. Low crime, good schools and parks with lots of kids around is a major plus.

Any advise? Suggestions? Widsom to throw my way?

The last year that I was in (the Army) I did some minor consulting work with Cubic Defense Systems. They are based in San Diego, and they flew me down from Wainwright a couple of times. I was helping to design the MILES 2000 system (make it arctic friendly and GPS capable) with their engineers.

Seemed like a pretty top-notch outfit, good budget and a long history of working with/for the DoD.
Plus, they named Mike Steele (my former CG in the 82d) their CEO a few years ago.

Do a Google and see if they are hiring (I know they have some of those contractor positions open for targeting system trainers and whatnot).

WECOME! I live in the UTC area (La Jolla) in San Diego. Let me know when you get here. Anyhow, if your looking to buy a house, expect big prices. we have the highest housing cost in the US. Example: 2bd-2bath 1700 sq ft - apt converted into a condo in the UTC area.....Around 400 K. Average home in SD is 795,000. If you go Inland, prices a little better...but not much. Do what mbeach suggest.....google it!

Remember, you pay for the weather and coastal access in SD.

Mbeach -

I'm willing to consider contracting, especially if the money is good, though I would really prefer to land a permanant salary based position. I've heard of another company called Titan that does a lot of contract work with Dod (some of the civilians I work with now have worked for them). I'll look up Cubic and see what they're hiring for.

Kahuna -

Yeah, I'd love to live right in San Diego, but I know I can't afford the house that I want there. Escondido has some houses in the $300-400k range that would probably suit my needs, but all I know about the area is what I've read on the Internet, and heard from a few friends that it was a nice area. I figure since it's located between SD and LA that it shouldn't be too hard to find work within a reasonable distance, although like I said, ideally I want to telecommute most of the time. It certainly wouldn't be bad to drive an hour or two to work if I only had to come in once or twice a week. Heck, as much as I like the beach, I'd go even a little further inland if the prices are a bit more reasonable and I don't have to worry about a daily commute.

Take down my number (858)587-9147 and let me know if you might come in to look. I'm fairly new to SD (only 3 years). But I know the area pretty well.

Yeah, your friends are right about Escondido. I little north for me but you would be closer to Orange County, where the is more work.

But you can't beat SD!!!

I live in Los Angeles and have friends in the SD area. The thing I like about LA is that we have an enormous amount of mountains, deserts and dirt roads which can be used for off-roading and camping. San Diego has the Anza Borrego desert area and there is a national forest as well. The median price of a home in and near San Diego is higher than LA, and LA is around ~ $450k. I bought my house just two years ago and could not afford the price it would be now. I am not sure how far $350k will get you down there but you can check for yourself on either realtor.com or yahoo real estate, but when I went on the only homes in the 300's were around 800-900 sqft, and appeared to be fixers. Job wise I don't thing you are going to have a problem. Either way, you will like SoCa and I welcome you and wish you all the best. :wave:

Kahuna -

I'll probably be coming down for a few weekends in the September to November time frame to look at houses, so I'll definitely give you a call. So you think Escondido looks good... Any other suggestions for neighborhoods? Like I said, I'd love to live right in SD, at least SD county, but I just don't think I'll be able to afford it for my first home. It's the downpayment that will really stop me - a VA loan can be $0 down, so I'm limited to the $350k. I figure once I buy in the area, I can always upgrae 5 years down the road.

Casabel -

Thanks for the welcome... Yeah, I've got some friends in the LA area too, so it's something to consider also. And from what I understand, there are also a lot of neighborhoods with relatively less expensive housing than in the SD area. I guess the problem is I worry that those won't be the neighborhoods I want to live in! I definitely don't want to spend $300k+ for a crackerbox house in the ghetto. ;Db; I don't mind fixing up a house a bit as long as there isn't anything too majorly wrong, and it's livable when I buy it - in fact, I like doing home fixup type projects, if I've got the time.

kpaske

You know, the best idea would be for you to live in SD or LA for a period of time before buying. That way you really get to know what you like and don't like. I lived in LA for....all my life except for the three years I've been here.

I love the area I'm in. Stones throw away from the beach, 12 minute to downtown, coastal weather, if you go inland....2 miles it can get much hotter than the coast. I'm between the 5,52,56 and 805 fwys. So great access to everywhere.

Escondido is nice, but if your moving to SD then why settle for anything that is not right by the beach or at least quick access. They found that if you live more than 10minutes away...people just don't go on a regular basis. Now that okay if the beach or coast is not what you came here for. But if it is...even in a small way. Just......look. When you get out here I'll show you what I mean.

As for LA. You have alot of choices. First and foremost, San Gabriel or San Fernando Valley. It makes a big difference. Two different worlds. I personnaly like the San Gabriel Valley the best. Cities like Sierra Madre, Arcadia, Parts of Pasadena, La Canada. You may want to ask ANITA. I believes she lives in the Fernando Valley.

I live in Orange County. Like Kahuna said, Escondido-Carlsbad-Oceanside and commute to Orange County. You do have a metroline train option, Oceanside to OC and LA. It's a way better commute than what I did a few years back, Inland Empire to OC, 120 miles a day. But there a alot of new housing out there. I ended up finding a fixer upper closer to work and I now have a only a 7 mile commute each way.

Gene

KPASKE,
I live in Escondido, 3yrs now, 10 yrs in Valley Center, and 25 in SD County. Escaped from NYC in 82' so I'm an Old Fart. But, I'd be happy to share opinion's about the area. I'm an ex Army MP so we probably have some things in common, BTW SD is a huge Navy town and lots of bis supporting them.

Take a look at the North County Times and the San Diego Union web sites to see if you can find what your looking for. The other posts are right and I think the way to go would be to rent first to settle in then decide what to do.

Any questions contact me at dbloughlin@aol.com

I too live in this area ( Fallbrook) and am a Big fan of SO CAL living. Despite the Astronomical housing prices in the area, there are options. Check out KBhomes.com and see what they have to offer in the Campo, Menifee lakes, or Hemet Areas ( also Bonsall, not a KB area). Also, there are Many Condo options which fall into your price range if you widen your scope a bit. They are family friendly areas, and may suit you perfectly- who knows? I own 2 KB homes and they are a wonderful option for what you are looking for. I just bought 9 acres out here in Fallbrook,as a custom home site and I could die here for all I care - I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. My wife and I just helped some friends do a search of the area, and found some nice options. I would be MORE than happy to help you along-

Darrell

Hey Dbloughlin- Gimme a call- I am right up the road- I take delivery of my VX on May 5th. 760- 728-5785.

You guys are absolutely right - it would be ideal to move down to the area and get established before picking a house and neighborhood. However, in my case, I know that I plan to stay in the area for a good long time, and financially, I really need to get out of renting and into buying. If I buy something decent to stay in for five years or so, I can always upgrade later. The key is finding something that my family and I can live in for that timeframe. I've got about 8 months to make a good decision, and with a few weekend jaunts down there, I think it's possible. That's why I'm asking for your good advice! ;Db;

That KBhomes site looks great! How can they offer custom built, new homes for so much less than the going rate for preowned houses in the area? Do houses in new neighborhoods typically go for much less than established neighborhoods? What about options and such? I couldn't find anywhere on the site where they spelled out specifically what that base price includes and what is considered an option. Does it include all the appliances and everything you need to make the house livable?

I'll also check out the North County Times and San Diego Union sites to see what they have to offer.

Thanks everyone for all your helpful advice!!

FWIW, the editors at the Economist think we are on the verge of a housing bubble-burst. They base their analysis primarily on the ratio of rental pricing versus home purchase costs. They liken rents to share dividends and purchases to buying the shares and say that the "P/E" ratio is sky-high because rents are so low compared to prices, just waiting for an external event to trigger a collapse and that some markets in other countries have already begun collapsing.

So... instead buying, you might consider renting for a couple of years to see where things are going. Which should have the side effect of making the higher-priced areas more affordable for now.

Wyrrej -

Yeah, I've heard predictions like that for a while now. It seems to me that property values will inevitably stop rising so quickly. Will they begin to drop? I tend to think that they won't, but maybe that's just my optomistic side talking. Who knows, I'm no ecomistic. Did you mean other "counties"? If so, I'm curious what counties have falling prices?

Unfortunately I've never been very good at timing my investments, and I certainly don't want to commit myself to a high mortgage if prices are about to drop (but can anyone *really* predict that? Like I said, I've been hearing that about Southern California for years and prices have only continued to rise). But sometimes waiting isn't the best answer either... I've been dumping good money after bad into rent for way too long. As long as I get into something that doesn't fall in value, I'll be much better off than I am right now.

From the research I've been doing, I will most likely buy something in the suburbs. If I have to commute a little bit further to get a house at a reasonable price, so be it. And if there *is* a housing bubble burst, I think it's the greatly overpriced coastal properties close to the cities that will feel it the most. From what I'm seeing, there are some reasonable deals about 90 minutes out. If only I can find a job that telecommutes I'll be all set!!

Nope - countries, like Australia where average selling prices in Sydney have dropped ~17% over the last year. According to their calculations, the market in the US is about 30% overvalued compared to long-term norms.

They have one of the articles about it online in the free portion of their website (not sure how long it will remain there) -
http://economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3722894

Yeah, that article definitely makes some good points, although it doesn't really get specific about what markets are so overvalued. I suspect, from the examples, that they are talking about the coastal and big city properties, which are way out of my price range anyway (the example house was $800K!). It just doesn't make sense to me to purchase a 2 BR 1.5 Bath house with no yard in the city for $450k when I can go 45 minutes or an hour out into the suburbs and get a 4 or 5 bedroom house on a 1/4 acre lot for less money. Although I'd like to live 10 minutes from my workplace (like I do now), I grew up near Washington, DC, so I'm accustomed to a 45 minute commute.

Considering the economic factor, that makes it all the more important that I get into something I'm really going to like because I might have to live there longer than 5 years to build up some decent equity and capital gains.

Los Angeles will first experience a plateau in real estate prices, then take the proverbial dip as there will be foreclosures due to a large amount of interest-only variable loans which many will find they can not afford anymore as interest rises and principals will be added, hence flooding the market with sales or even foreclosures. The real estate cycle is usually 8-9 years. If you buy today, you are buying at the top but get a 6% fixed rate and five years from now your loan will appear a bargain. If you purchase for 350k now, it may dip to ~$300k in the next 5 years. Ten to fifteen years from now this will double again...I have no doubt since population growth is still by far outpacing new construction. The damand for housing/ rental or sales will be high as a metropolis such as the LA basin will continue to grow. Trying to time the market, be it real estate or stocks; is always tricky. Investors say that when you are ready to buy....you buy! Since your plan is long term, you will not loose but only gain owning a home in SoCa. Say you did want to leave the area, with a ~6% loan on your home you could break even just renting it. My advice, get a fixed rate, don't be fooled by low two year or five year fixed rates. A 2% increase in your loan will add significantly to your mortgage payment. A friend of mine wanted to wait for prices to come down, that was five years ago and prices have more than doubled in some areas. Her idea of waiting means now that she will never afford a house. If you are going to live there and raise a family....BUY!!!!

Quote:

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Investors say that when you are ready to buy....you buy!

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I think this is fairly sound advice in any market... Whether the market is up or down, I think the key is being sure that you are getting a fair value at that particular time.

I think I've thoroughly convinced myself that I need to buy instead of rent, so I just need to find a job that will support my expensive taste in housing location...

Has anyone ever actually got a job through sites like monster.com, or is good old fashioned networking still the best way to find a job? I saw a bunch of decent sounding positions on monster.com, but I wonder if it's a waste of time to send out resumes without a foot in the door. I've never known anyone to find a job this way...