Sharyn & Victoria Crown

Does this look like it is worth $599,000? Would you believe it was orginally priced at $850,000? Only in Coronado would properties like this beg a second look. This little home is located at 1012 9th Avenue, just off Orange Avenue. Looking at these photos would make you think how neat this home is, but what you don't see are photos of the location.

What you don't see is that this home is sitting right next to an alley, across from a liqour store, and 1/2 block away from the Vons and directly across from the Vons parking lot. It is always fascinating to me to see what certain markets can bear price wise. Now this property is still overpriced because today it has been on the Sandicor Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for 353 days. I am not sure when the price reduction occurred, but even a year ago the market for Coronado was not in an $850,000 price range.

If you lived in this home you could walk to the harbor and to the Hotel Del Coronado. Although people love Coronado, I am not sure if they are willing to spend over 1/2 million dollars for a house that isn't on it's own lot yet. This property is still lot attached to 3 other properties and apparently the owner is waiting for their final subdivision map.

I may be crazy, but I have my doubts whether this 1912 built home on the alley will fetch $599,000. I hope they do because I always want the best possible market price for a seller, but I also would like something that makes sense to a buyer.

If you would like to view this property (assuming we can one day soon), or would like the list of affordable Coronado Luxury Properties, just give us a call at 619-977-3174 or email us at sharyncrown@gmail.com.

This is a series of articles by Sharyn and Victoria Crown about Coronado Affordable Luxury.

Coronado and affordable rarely are found in the same sentence. However, we have discovered, for Coronado, there are affordable properties. After researching Coronado real estate, we realized there is an underserved market. Every Coronado real estate agent wants to sell the $2,000,000 properties. But it occurred to us to ask the question "What if you want to live in Coronado, but are not a $2,000,000 buyer?" Who serves your interests? We do and we decided to tell you what we find as "bargains" in Coronado and why they are bargains.

Here is our "affordable" Coronado property for today. This is the least expensive Coronado condo located in the Village. This is a one bedroom/one bath condo located at 422 G Avenue and priced at $399,000. This project was actually built in 1943 and they were rental units. As you could guess, this housing was used for residents during World War II. Later these units were "condoized" (a new word I have invented) and sold to individual owners. The unit is approximatel 534 square feet and if you think that is small, you are correct.

That being said, this is still the "foot in the door" to Coronado. People purchase in Coronado for the lifestyle, not necessarily the size. The unit also includes a fireplace, which is unusual for units so small. There are some interesting things about this listing. The property has been placed into Sandicor's Multiple Listing Service (MLS) but you can't see the unit yet. Sometimes I wonder why agents enter properties into the MLS and then tell us we can't show the properties and you as a consumer can't see the units. It's odd behavior to my way of thinking. It's like going to Walmart and telling the consumer we have a great sale on televisions, but you can't see the TV for a week or two, or maybe not at all until you purchase it.

Pricing is definitely affected by location in Coronado. This unit would actually be more valuable if it were located a few blocks away. The reason I say that is because this project is located between 4th and 5th Ave. 4th Avenue is a very, very busy street. It is the exit from North Island Naval Air Station and as you can see from the photos, it is busy even on a Saturday when I took the photos.

Even the fact that the traffic is close by will not deter someone who wants to live in Coronado. You purchase here because you want the close-knit feeling provided by the city. You want to be able to walk to the stores, the parks, the schools, the Pacific Ocean. You want the lifestyle.

If you would like to view this condo (assuming we can one day soon), or would like the list of affordable Coronado Luxury Properties, just give us a call at 619-977-3174 or email us at sharyncrown@gmail.com.

This is a series of articles by Sharyn and Victoria Crown about Coronado Affordable Luxury.

As a parent, we have a lot in common. We want to raise our children to be the best they can be. We want to get them through college if that is what they want. We want to help them buy their first home or condo if we can. This is where Parent Purchasing Power comes in. Check out our article for Parent Purchase Power.

Whether living in San Diego where we are located, or Kansas City, parent purchasing power is the same. We want to get our kids started on the path to home ownership.

If you are thinking about purchasing a condo in Downtown San Diego make sure you ask yourself these nine questions. The questions may appear simplistic, but the answers will chart the direction for your lifestyle.

1. Why Downtown? Define your purpose for wanting to buy downtown. Is it work, lifestyle, downsizing, or relocation? Downtown San Diego equates to more people in a smaller area. Does urban living appeal to you?

2. What Type of Lifestyle do you want? Do you "Club"? Love eating out in a variety of restaurants? Are you a person who has to go to the gym everyday? What do you do about sports?

3. What Neighborhood lifestyle appeals to you? Downtown San Diego has 9 unique neighborhoods, from the East Village up to Little Italy. Each neighborhood attracts different businesses, different stores and restaurants, different residents and different traffic patterns. Take a little time to wander all the neighborhoods. Where do you feel "at home"?

4. What price can you afford? This may be the most important question of all because it takes money to purchase and you need to know how much will you need. This is where you work with your realtor and a good lender to get you preapproved for a loan.

5. What amenities are a must for you? Is casual security ok or do you want a "tight" building with a concierge and valet parking? Check out the security setup. Although downtown San Diego is a relatively safe place, it is still important to keep your eyes and ears open. There is a lot of visitor traffic through the downtown area. If you go to the gym, do you want the gym to be in your building or do you want to go to another gym in the downtown area?

6. What parking do you need? Parking in downtown San Diego ranges from no parking place in your condo to a space for each bedroom in your unit. Unless you plan to take a taxi or public transportation when you move around, you will need parking. Check each building out with this in mind.

7. Have you thought about the style of your building, i.e., high-rise, mid-rise, low-rise? The low-rise buildings in downtown San Diego tend to have the fewest amenities, such as pool and gym, but then again, have lower homeowner association fees.

8. Are you purchasing for personal or investment reasons? Personal purchases will allow you a wider selection of financing with lower downpayments. Investment purchasing will require a 20% - 30% downpayment.

9. Are pets important to you? Most buildings allow pets, but may have a number or weight restriction. Make sure you know homeowner association policies before you commit yourself to a purchase that leaves out your animals. Downtown San Diego is pet friendly, but do your homework

San Diego is no different than any other city when it comes to falling real estate prices and value. It can make almost anyone leery about buying even while making others very anxious to sell. For those in the market to buy, though, the timing could be absolutely perfect, especially if you know what to look for.

When it comes to purchasing a single family home in San Diego or its surrounding communities, it's important to know what's happening in the area. According to Zillow.com, a web site that follows the national housing market, home values have fallen 17.9 percent in San Diego County over the course of the last year. Zillow, based in Seattle, also found that more than a third of homes sold over that same period had gone through foreclosure and were sold at below-market prices as compared with non-foreclosure properties.

In an article about home prices that appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune on November 12, 2008, the value index was down 28.3 percent. Additionally 52.5 percent of San Diego homes sold for less than the original purchase price. More expensive homes dropped in value by 10 percent while mid-level homes dropped 18 percent and low-end homes were down 27 percent. In total, single-family homes in San Diego currently have a median price of nearly $423,000 (off almost 18 percent) while condos are selling at a price of about $287,000 (also down about 18 percent).

Of course, not all San Diego neighborhoods are created equal. The beautiful La Jolla is only down about 12 percent.

All of this bodes well if you're looking to buy a single family in San Diego, Coronado, La Jolla, Solana Beach, Scripps Ranch and more.

What about condos? Prices are down on condominiums as well, so if you can afford to buy, now is definitely the time. And there are many on the market. During the height of the real estate boom, people were snapping up condos and flipping them. Flipping is the process of buying as low as possible, waiting only a short period of time as the market rises, and then re-selling the property for a profit. Now that San Diego real estate isn't moving as quickly as it was even just a year ago, in 2007, the only flipping that's going on might be pancakes on a Sunday morning. Or flipping out because you're stuck with an unwanted condo. Prices in downtown San Diego, East Village, Gaslamp Quarter, Horton Plaza and the Marina are all down, which means the possibilities for buyers is way up.

Why buy a condo? They make great rental properties; they're perfect if you're looking to downsize your home; and they also perfect if the economy is forcing you to sell a bigger home.

Condos, like single-family homes are available all over the city and county of San Diego. If you're thinking about buying a condo, there are several things to consider that might not be relevant with single-family homes.

1. Home Owner Association Fees or HOA. In addition to your mortgage, every month you'll pay for landscaping, trash removal and more in the form of a monthly fee. These fees can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars every month. Every month. Find out what the fees include and ask questions like when was the roof last replaced and how often the building is painted.

2. CC&Rs. These are the rules of the property and will include items such as whether renting out your condo is allowed, if there are age restrictions on tenants and when you can use the pool and tennis courts.

3. Appearance. How do the building, sidewalks, common driveways and other common areas look? This will tell you a lot about how the property is cared for (and how your HOA fees are used).

4. Financial statement. As an owner, you will be responsible for electing a board so it's up to you to find out how the association manages its money.

5. Talk! Visit the property on a Saturday or Sunday, when there are likely to be residents out and about, and stop for a quick chat, if they're willing of course. Explain that you're thinking about buying. Listen to what they way and watch how they react. It will tell you a lot about the property.

Regardless of whether you decide to buy a single-family home in northern San Diego County or Coronado or a condominium in downtown San Diego, always negotiate. As a buyer, you're in a stronger position than ever!

And always make sure you have a good real estate agent to help!