This Week's Featured Community --- Calavera Hills in Carlsbad, California

If you are looking for a great neighborhood to raise a family then Calavera Hills is the place for you!  Many families still living in the area bought when the homes were first developed which lends to the success of this master planned community.  Calavera Hills has beautiful homes with Spanish style exteriors, well - maintained neighborhood parks, great schools, an attractive community center with year round sports and activities. There is also Calavera Nature Preserve with hiking trails and a lake, all conveniently located within a couple of minutes of the beach, downtown Carlsbad , shopping and the I-78 freeway.

You may not be aware that our beautiful little corner of Calrsbad is the culmination of over 30 years of planning and development.  The original master plan was first approved in 1974 by the Carlsbad Planning Commission and has slowly taken shape as more and more villages have been built.  The map below will provide you a guide to the different areas of the Calavera Hills Master Plan.

The original master plan has several important goals outlined that helped to create what we have today.   They are:

• Preserve the significant environmental resources and existing topographic character of the area.
• Create and maintain an open space network (ie. pedestiran and bicycle trails) which links neighborhoods within the Master Plan and to the surrounding areas.
• Create a variety of single family and multi-family neighborhoods interspersed with natural open space corridors.
• Ensure that public facilities and services that serve the Master Plan Community meet or exceed applicable city standards and requirements.
• Create an attractive, buffered circulation system that provides for the safety needs of automobiles, bicyclists and pedestrians.
• Provide a fair share of affordable housing and community facilities.
• Provide a biological habitat link from east to west in order to adequately mitigate for impacts to the California Gnatcatcher and other species, consistent with current habitat conservation efforts.

Construction began in the early 1980's and with the extension of Tamarack Avenue east of El Camino Real, providing access to Viallges A, B, C, and D.  By the end of the 1980's approximately 1100 homes, Calavera Hills Community Park and Hope Elementary School had been built.  By this stage, the theme of the development had been established and which holds true today: urban villages set amongst large areas of open space while preserving the natural topography and habitat.

There were several important requirements written into the original Master Plan having to do with affordable housing, open space, community facilities, schools, community parks and RV storage.

Affordable housing - Overall, 15% of the homes built within the Master Plan community were to be affordable to lower-income families.  This is a city-wide requirement.

Open Space - Preservation and enhancement of open space was an important part of the Master Plan.  Overall, including the preserve Village Z, approximately 470 acres (46% of the 1019 acres in the Calavera Hills Master Plan) was left as open space.  This includes habitat preserves, environmental mitigation areas, recreation areas, riparian habitats, natural slopes, trails and landscaped parkways.  The open space on the northwest corner of Carlsbad Village Drive and College will remain in permanent biological open space (Village K).

Community Facilities - The Calavera Hills Master Plan required 3.04 acres to be developed into community facilities (2 acres plus a minimum of 1% of the total net developable acreage).  There are at least two sites designated for community facilities; a 1.0 acre site in Village Y, planned to be a daycare facility and a 2.04 acre site at the corner of Carlsbad Village Drive and Victoria (Village H).  The function of this one was to be determined.

Schools - The two areas designated for schools were for Hope Elementary in Viallge M and N along with the site housing Calavera Hills Elementary and Middle Schools in Village S.  A new Carlsbad high school is currently under construction at the corner of College Rd and Cannon, the southeast corner.

Community Parks - The southeast corner of Carlsbad Village Drive and Tamarak Avenue comprises the Calavera Hills Community Park -- 18 acres of community park land for the residents of Calavera Hills and surrounding areas.  A community center, a gymnasium, several softball fields, basketball courts, children's play areas, picnic areas and flat turfed play areas currently exist in this space.

RV Storage - Carlsbad zoning requires that 20 square feet of RV storage per development unit.  At build-out, Calavera Hills will contain approximately 2,093 units.  this results in a requirement to have .98 acres devoted to RV storage.  A 2.5 acre RV storage lot is currently located in village I, in the southwestern portion of the community, with striped parking spaces for the required .98 acres.

 Phase II of the Calavera Hills Master Plan development is completed with the additions of Montara, Mystic Point, Summerhouse and Ravinia.  The Mariposa apartments were also completed.  Calavera's community, however, will continue to develop in many other wonderful ways - culturally, educationally and as a community of Carlsbad citizens with the shared value of maintaining the beauty and character of Calavera Hills.

If this sounds like a neighborhood for you and would like more information about homes available for sale, then contact me, Lisa Pahl CA DRE# 01416424 at lisapahl2@yahoo.com or by cell phone @ 760-519-7657.

Information compiled and produced by Sue and Steve Landis, realtors.  Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

How To Determine the Value of your Home.

According to the latest announcements by the Feds, interests rates are at their lowest point.  Many homeowners who are looking to take advantage of these historically low rates are facing difficulty due to the decline in property values.   How do you determine if refinancing is for you? 

 It's all in the valuation.  A homeowner needs to find out the current value of the home and compare it to the amount currently owed on your loan or if you have a second loan, the total amount of both loans.  If the value is at least 15 to 20 percent higher than what is owed, a refinance is possible without having to bring in a down payment.

There are several ways to obtain a good valuation.  Some homeowners hire an appraiser at a minimum cost of $400 or higher depending on the size of the property.  While this will help you to know the value, it is a costly way to go because most lenders will require their own appraisal conducted by someone off of their approved list and you will be required to pay this cost again.  

A less costly approach a homeowner can choose to do before contacting a lender is, to check the sales comps in the neighborhood and see what similar homes have sold for in the past 3 to 6 mos.  This can be done by going to the San Diego County Assessors office and looking up specific homes in your neighborhood that have sold recently or the quickest and easiest way is to contact a local realtor who can access that information  via the local Multiple Listing Service.

Remember, whether you  look up the sold comps yourself or  use a realtor, be sure to consider homes that are similar in condition and amenities, are close in square footage and lot size and are built within 5 years of the home in question. 

To help add value to your home, be sure it is presented in the best condition looking well maintained both inside and out.   Be able to point out any upgrades such as a new roof, windows or water heater and not just the cosmetic upgrades.  This will all help you to towards the goal of getting the highest value possible to qualify for refinancing.

So, with these few tips, I hope you as a homeowner will be one of the lucky ones to take advantage of these historic low rates.

30-year mortgage rates fall below 4% for first time

30-year mortgage rates fall below 4% for first time