Inland Empire

[Rebeccah]

I've been renting for the last 2 years in a nice part Santa Ana, but it is abundantly clear that I can't afford anything here to buy, and really, I'm not comfortable with the price to rent anything as nice as where we are living, either.  I work off the Ortega, and DH really wants to own property again, so I'm strongly considering looking at the east end of route 74. 

We don't want a homeowner's association (fees and control issues).  We don't want to live on a dirt road nestled in the mountains, either, nor do we want to live somewhere that we have to worry about gangs, graffiti, drugs, violence, or crime in general.  I've got mixed feelings about well and septic, absence of natural gas, water shortages, desert temperature extremes, lousy to no cell phone reception or Internet service (I don't care about TV service), and manufactured homes on permanent foundations (trailer parks are out of the question).  All of our friends and most of my husband's family are in Orange County, and I don't want any longer a commute to work than is necessary.

I'm thinking our ideal would be a 1/4- to 1/2-acre lot with 2000 sf, and either a 3-car garage, a shed/outbuilding, or a basement -  with 220V electrical, wood floors and fruit trees  :-).  Under $200,000 price range. We could manage (and actually add to rather than contining to deplete my savings) if we spend closer to $100,000, even if it meant a much smaller lot and a somewhat smaller house.

Am I dreaming?  I see a fair amount of listings that seem to come close.

What parts of Lake Elsinore and Windomar should I not even consider, and why?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Rebeccah

[soopercommuter]

$100k you are probably dreaming unless you want to live in a wreck in a ghetto area. For $200k in that area you have hundreds of choices. The no HOA requirement will narrow things down considerably though. I would encourage you to move your target area a few miles south into Murietta. It's a better area with better schools.  HOA's can be a pain but some of the older ones are quite inexpensive and not all that restrictive so don't automatically cross those off you list. Most of the HOA areas are much nicer than the non HOA areas.  I would highly suggest you rent a motel room for a week and make the drive through Ortega to see if you can handle that drive. It's not a fun commute through that canyon and if anyone wrecks it's an absolute fiasco.

Your totally dreaming about the temps though. Once you get on this side of the mountains it's desert and there's nothing you can do about it. It's 90-100 most days from July to Oct.

[Justsaying]

To use Lizard's words of wisdom:

"Spend more money and buy in a better area" (e.g. Temecula/Murrieta) or better still, don't buy just yet!

[MarlaD]

I just sold a house that I owned and lived in for close to 20 years in Horsetheif Canyon.  There is a HOA ($85 a month) that you get a lot of amenities for (they manage their money impressively and keep the neighborhood looking great) and virtually no hassles.  If you can revise your thinking to live in a house on a smaller lot (there are many in the 10,000sf range) there are some sweet deals out there in the under $200k range right now. 

I agree with the other commenters that you should wait until you can spend more (if you find what you want in your price range you're not going to want to live there) and definitely understand that it is HOT in the summer.  You will also need to adjust the OC mentality (I moved from OC myself), but when you do you wouldn't want to move back unless you bought beachfront property which of course none of us can afford.  It's civilized along the 15...there is cell phone service, public utilities, Costco, etc.  You can even go to a nice restaurant these days.

If you save some more money and are willing to take on an ambitious but doable commute, consider looking in Fallbrook.  It will give you what you're looking for, cooler temperatures, and a nice little town...but you will need a little bit bigger budget.

Good luck!

[Rebeccah]

Thank you all for the information.

I wasn't sure about the temperatures.  That's an important thing to know about, though I really don't know how I feel about it.  The commute I know about - I've driven it several times.  The drive from the OC side is not bad - in fact, it's quite pleasant, and the occasional accident or washout with one- or two-way road closure doesn't bother me - but it's only 10-15 minutes.  The drive from the Riverside County side is much longer, and again, I'm not sure whether or not I'd be willing to do it in order to be able to save some  money.

There's no "wait until you can spend more" to apply here.  The longer I wait, the *less* money I will have, which is why I'm looking for some place *significantly* less expensive than where we are renting.

We can get by with a smaller lot, for sure.  Even small lots in Elsinore and Wildomar are for the most part larger than lots here in OC.

I'll have to look at Fallbrook - just how much further is that?

We're also going to look at Oceanside and Vista (San Diego County), on the suggestion of coworkers.

The idea of staying in a motel for a week and driving the commute every day sounds like a good idea.

Rebeccah

[Dag44]

Fallbrook is about 15 miles south of Temecula, just across the San Diego County line. Prices in San Diego County jump significantly over the IE - just because it's "San Diego." Fallbrook seems nice, although I've never been there - just see what I see from the freeway. Vista doesn't have the best reputation. Oceanside has some nice areas - I have friends that live there - but there are some areas to avoid as well.

[Nanomug]

I grew up in Fallbrook and Oceanside.  Then lived in Vista for many years.  The biggest issue for Temecula/Elsinore/Wildomar is the commute.  Most of the OC commuters I know in Fallbrook/Oceanside/Vista  take I-5 north.   Highway 76 is called slauter alley by many of the locals.  When we lived in Vista hubby commuted to Lake Forrest and the commute was about 45 minutes. 

The commuting costs killed us the last time gas went up.  More miles equals more gas and more maintenance.  Living in the mountains meant more tires and brakes.  At that time I commuted to Oceanside two to three times a week and was tired of the maintenance on the commuting vehicle. It seemed like I was always getting gas or getting an oil change.  

[Rebeccah]

Dag, what kind of reputation does Vista have?

Rebeccah

[Rebeccah]

Nanomug,

76 "slaughter alley"?  As in, lots of accidents?

My current commute from Santa Ana is about 40-45 minutes, with 2/3 of that on I-5 and 1/3 on the Ortega.  I actually find it a pleasant commute.  My husband has now vetoed Lake Elsinore because of the distance on the Ortega - both for reasons of driving safety and raw distance to family in OC. 

Oceanside/Vista would be a similar commute to what I have now, except that I5 will be going past Camp Pendleton rather than past an assortment of towns with exits and opportunities to run errands en route, and no alternate route (such as 55 to 405) when there is an accident or construction.

Rebeccah

[Nanomug]

We moved to Oceanside near the main gate when I was in third grade from Fallbrook.  Oceanside doesn't have the best or the worst schools and there are dicey areas.  But then again so does Carlsbad and other areas.  I've owned  homes in Vista and loved living there.  The tenants in my mom's house love the location and schools.

Highway 76 has a mixture of freeway attributes and traffic lights and got the reputation for traffic accidents.  Whether it has more or less than any other road these days I don't know.  The section between I-15 and Vista Way is one of the worst sections and I avoided it by going down one exit to Gopher Canyon to Vista Way to H-76.  

Along the 76 corridor has several newer home developments including one with horse trails.   There are many areas with existing older homes that are not tract homes and are on larger lots.  Some have barns.  It's a whole different world in that area. Most of the homes on the south side of 76 are in the Vista School District.  

When the border check is open on I-5 northbound traffic can back up.  Same on I-15.  The tenish years my husband commuted to OC there were few times that traffic was a problem going through Pendleton.  The freeway merge area near Lake Forest was the area that gave him problems.  Once through that it was easy.  He likes books on tapes and enjoyed the commute unlike when he commuted from the IE to OC via the 91.  There were several times over the years that due to the weather/road conditions that he stayed with a friend overnight rather than commute.