We decided early this year after 17 years in the Bay and 4 years prior in New England to return to South OC. We used Martin for the sale of our San Jose house and the purchase of our Laguna Niguel house. We did a mini-reno prior to sale - LVP throughout, new interior/exterior paint and some new lighting, which we got done in ~1 month. To be a non-contingent buyer I used the 60 day rollover rule to fund a large down payment from our IRA. We then replenished it in 57 days (a little close but helped by Martin getting the buyers to move up closing). Martin made both transactions relatively painless and since the buyer's agent was his mom she donated most of her commission. Our area is rife with Indian buyers as our old zip was known as "poor man's Saratoga" due to the highly competitve public schools, but unfortuantely we learned they shun south facing front doors, which ours was. One buyer even asked if they could relocate the front door which the HOA took a dim view of. That south facing issue cost us a likely bidding war but we ended up with a buyer (non-Indian) and still did very well and are back behind the orange curtain, and south of the 5, in what I feel is the most aesthetically pleasing city in all CA. The weather here is amazing and we rarely even need to leave the city limits. The fish taco selection is superb (Seasurf, Sancho's, Baja Fish Tacos so far), Jizake provides authentic Japanese food and sushi, Luciana's provides top tier Italian, Bourbon Steak is as good as it gets for meat, and as a bonus Salt Creek Grille just re-opened last Friday.
I advise any young professional to hit the Bay area for a certain part of their career as it is the highest paying job market in the US but living there is nowhere near as fun as living in South OC, and after over 2 decades we are back home.
Thanks Martin!
I advise any young professional to hit the Bay area for a certain part of their career as it is the highest paying job market in the US but living there is nowhere near as fun as living in South OC, and after over 2 decades we are back home.
Thanks Martin!