New Downtown San Diego Condo buildings?

[move2sd?]

Does anyone have any ideas of the best of the more affordable new downtown condo develepments that will be actively selling brand new units in 2009 and will have at least some 1 bedrooms, lofts or studios selling under $250K?




I'm considering moving from a 2 bedroom suburban home in the Sacramento area to a 500+ sq ft loft/1 bedroom condo in San Diego sometime before 2009.
I own the home, but even though prices are still falling, I don't want to rush to sell it until I'm 100% sure I will move to San Diego.
If I end up not being able to find a permanent job I like there that pays well enough, I don't want to have lost the house I have. I understand pay rates are similar to Sacramento, but cost of living is more like San Francisco, which makes affording something decent a challenge.

My plan is to get a temp contracting assignment in downtown San Diego and rent a bedroom in a condo/apt near the job so I won't need a car there. I could use public transportation to check out neighborhoods where I would purchase a condo down the road. I would fly back home twice a month to get mail, keep check on the house and collect the rent payment for the boarder renting the spare bedroom.

After completing the temp assignment, I'll decide if I still want to complete the permanent move. If so, I'll look for a permanent position and, once I find one with adequate pay, I'll give the tenant notice to move, sell 90% of my belongings, have the home professionally staged and wait for it to sell.

With all the people who have tried and failed to flip their downtown condos in the last few years, I bet many HOAs in existing condo complexes are in bad financial shape due to non payment of association dues. That's part of the reason I would rather buy brand new. I don't think there will be many people trying to make a quick buck flipping new condos for a while, so my neighbors will be more stable in a brand new building.

Either that or I can wait for all the units with homeowners who can't afford to pay to get absorbed by new buyers who will pay HOA dues.

If I have to sell my house so low that I have little left over for a downpayment on the new condo, I can just keep renting the room in San Diego until I save up a new downpayment. Living in a bedroom rental and no car payment, I could save at least $50K in 2 years and put 20% down on a 250K condo.

If I see prices starting to rise before then, I can always jump in early with less than 20% downpayment and then cancel the mortgage insurance once I gain equity.

I do see some newer condos downtown that look OK in the online photos and have asking prices under $300K, but I have to walk around the neighborhoods. HOA dues seem to be around $400+, but I have seen a few under $300 per month. With high HOA dues, I will probably need to stay under $250K. I assume even with the added expense of $400 a month HOA dues, total monthly cost will still be much less than any decent place I could buy without HOA does that would also be within commuting distance.

Here is an example of something that looks "OK" to me now. I hope I will be able to get something better for less than that in 2009.

http://www.92101urbanliving.com/Down...-112_4884.html

I want to avoid the noisiest neighborhoods since I assume the lower priced condo units in a tower building are close to street level where you will hear the most street noise. Other important features would be in unit washer/dryer connection and assigned garage parking space.

[bmfarley]

Originally Posted by move2sd?

Does anyone have any ideas of the best of the more affordable new downtown condo develepments that will be actively selling brand new units in 2009 and will have at least some 1 bedrooms, lofts or studios selling under $250K?

I'm considering moving from a 2 bedroom suburban home in the Sacramento area to a 500+ sq ft loft/1 bedroom condo in San Diego sometime before 2009.
I own the home, but even though prices are still falling, I don't want to rush to sell it until I'm 100% sure I will move to San Diego.
If I end up not being able to find a permanent job I like there that pays well enough, I don't want to have lost the house I have. I understand pay rates are similar to Sacramento, but cost of living is more like San Francisco, which makes affording something decent a challenge.

My plan is to get a temp contracting assignment in downtown San Diego and rent a bedroom in a condo/apt near the job so I won't need a car there. I could use public transportation to check out neighborhoods where I would purchase a condo down the road. I would fly back home twice a month to get mail, keep check on the house and collect the rent payment for the boarder renting the spare bedroom.

After completing the temp assignment, I'll decide if I still want to complete the permanent move. If so, I'll look for a permanent position and, once I find one with adequate pay, I'll give the tenant notice to move, sell 90% of my belongings, have the home professionally staged and wait for it to sell.

With all the people who have tried and failed to flip their downtown condos in the last few years, I bet many HOAs in existing condo complexes are in bad financial shape due to non payment of association dues. That's part of the reason I would rather buy brand new. I don't think there will be many people trying to make a quick buck flipping new condos for a while, so my neighbors will be more stable in a brand new building.

Either that or I can wait for all the units with homeowners who can't afford to pay to get absorbed by new buyers who will pay HOA dues.

If I have to sell my house so low that I have little left over for a downpayment on the new condo, I can just keep renting the room in San Diego until I save up a new downpayment. Living in a bedroom rental and no car payment, I could save at least $50K in 2 years and put 20% down on a 250K condo.

If I see prices starting to rise before then, I can always jump in early with less than 20% downpayment and then cancel the mortgage insurance once I gain equity.

I do see some newer condos downtown that look OK in the online photos and have asking prices under $300K, but I have to walk around the neighborhoods. HOA dues seem to be around $400+, but I have seen a few under $300 per month. With high HOA dues, I will probably need to stay under $250K. I assume even with the added expense of $400 a month HOA dues, total monthly cost will still be much less than any decent place I could buy without HOA does that would also be within commuting distance.

Here is an example of something that looks "OK" to me now. I hope I will be able to get something better for less than that in 2009.

http://www.92101urbanliving.com/Down...-112_4884.html

I want to avoid the noisiest neighborhoods since I assume the lower priced condo units in a tower building are close to street level where you will hear the most street noise. Other important features would be in unit washer/dryer connection and assigned garage parking space.

I'd re-consider the timing of selling your home in Sacramento. Just think, if prices fall a modest 10% between now and 12 months from now, a $300k home would fall to around $270k. That's a lost value of $30k. More expensive homes will fall further while more modest homes, less.

$30k spread across 12 months is a little over $2500 per month... the equivalent that one could possible put toward rent if you sold right now. I know it's an over simplification, however, just know that sitting on a home could cost you more in the end relative to selling now and renting in the interim.

As for Downtown San Diego... check out Lew Breeze's site at the following:
http://www.sdcondo.com/

Lew is an agent specializing in downtown. Consider registering/paying for more infomation on available short-sale or foreclosed units... and some of the trend info he provides summaries upon.

There are also other comprehensive bloggers posting about San Diego....
Rich Toscano at Piggington is one.

By the way, a local realestate broker quoted in a VoiceofSanDiego article predicted prices could fall 20% over the next year. The Oct to November one month change was minus 2.6% !!!! That's over 1 month! At that same rate over 12 months would be over 25% !!!! Ouch.

So, in my opinion it'll be wise to wait a bit further for prices to stabilize. Probably unwise to sit on property.

For a summary of what's going on downtown, development wise, check out the San Diego thread under compilations, or visit the Centre City Development Corporation's website; and their interactive map.

As for buildings, I'm interested in the following:

Breeza which should be completed in the next 12 months.


Also Cortez Blu, Discovery, Doma, La Vita and Treo. Each were completed over the previous 2-5 years and are probably considered medium risers as none are over 20 floors, I believe. Of course, there are other nice building, these are just the ones that catch my attention.

I didn't id any in the East Village, but that area could be pretty nice if development continues. I have a wait-and-see perspective there as the status of some projects are in doubt (Library, The Library Tower, and some other developments around the Ballpark).

Watch out for stuff around the heavy rail tracks adjacent to Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway... as train horn noise blasts are horrendous!!!! A quiet zone is in the works, but requires some roadway improvements and crossing gate changes. In fact, I often wonder if it would be wise to buy there right now.... as values could increase after the quiet zone goes into affect???