All right, so this video is all about making a move here to the city of Temecula, California from another state. So if you and your family are thinking about relocating here from another part of the US, I think this is gonna be a really helpful video for you guys. I'm gonna go over some of the best parts of Temecula, why so many people decide to make a move out here, and then what I think is some little-known information a lot of people aren't too aware of that I think is really important if you are relocating out this way. So let's go ahead and get into it.

Hey, guys. Hey, again, my name is Justin Short. I am a realtor and team leader with the Short Real Estate team here at Keller Williams in Temecula, and this video is all about making a move here to the city of Temecula from another state. So I think this is gonna be really helpful if you are thinking about relocating here. I've helped dozens and dozens of clients over the last handful of years, you know, making moves just like this, you know, making moves from all other parts of the US, from the Pacific Northwest, from, you know, from down south, from the East Coast, you know, from all types of different areas, making a move here to the Temecula area.

And I've also lived here for a really long time. You know, I've lived here for over 25 years, so I think I can give you some really good perspective on what it's like, one, to actually live here, and then two, kinda, you know, the best things to pay attention to when you are relocating, and, you know, some things that a lot of people are not super familiar with, and then really what makes Temecula so great and why it is on the map for so many people, and why so many people continue to come. But before I get to all the information, you know, if you are liking real estate videos like this, please do me a favor. Please hit like. Please hit subscribe the channel. Obviously, it helps me, and it helps my channel as we try to continue to grow it.

And then we have new videos that we put out each and every week, so you can feel free, you know, to stay on top of all the information that way. Or if I can ever do anything to help, you know, you and your family with your search, of course, would love to be a resource for you. So you're gonna see my information either at the end of the video or down below, so you can feel free. You can call, you can text, you can email me. Happy to answer any questions you may have, help point you in the right direction or, you know, see if there's anything that we can do to help with your search.

So cool. All right, let's go ahead and we'll get into all the info here. All right, so the first thing we're gonna talk about is why so many people decide to make a move to the city of Temecula, and really what makes the city of Temecula so great. And then I'm gonna talk about something that I don't think a lot of people are too familiar with, and this is actually a big pro for living in Temecula, and it's actually a big pro for living in the state of California. So if you don't currently live in California, you're probably not too familiar with this because this is not the case in most all other states in the US.

And then the last thing we're gonna talk about is some hidden costs and some things that you really need to pay attention to if you are thinking about moving to Temecula to make sure it's gonna be affordable for you and your family. And not just talking about the purchase price of homes, but there's some other things that you really wanna make sure you factor into as well. All right. So again, we'll kind of start with talking about why people decide to make a move to Temecula, and I guess I can give you some kind of background on me. You know, I mentioned it a little bit before, but I've lived here in the area for a really long time, so over 25 years, and I've lived here in Temecula and the surrounding cities, so from Temecula, Murrieta, and Winchester. So I think I can give you a really good perspective of what it's like to actually live here.

You know, I went to high school out here, so we've been out here for a long time. And then now I live here in Temecula with my wife and my two kids, who are, my daughter's now 11, and my son is 8, and we plan to be here for the foreseeable future. You know, they're in the school system. We're really happy with the public school that we're a part of, and we plan to keep them here at least until they graduate and probably, you know, it's hard to imagine ever moving. So probably we'll be here the rest of our lives, but I guess you'll never know.

But definitely for sure, for as long as the kids are in school, I think it's a great area. I think it's a great place to live. But, you know, most people are not like me and my wife, where we've lived here for a long time. Most people in the area have kind of relocated out here from other areas, whether it's from other parts of Southern California or even other states. And there's a lot of reasons for that, and I'll kind of go into the main five pros for living in Temecula and why so many people decide to make a move out here.

Number one, it's the affordability, right? At least as far as being affordable for Southern California. So right now in Temecula, you know, the average home sells for about $850,000, okay? And then if you compare that, if you want to live in Southern California and live in a nice area, there's not a lot of options. Temecula is a very nice area, and we'll kind of talk about some of the things that make it so nice. But, you know, you have some other options, right? You can live in San Diego, you can live in LA, you can live in Orange County, or you can live here in the South Riverside County area.

The big difference though, it's so much more expensive to live out that way. Let's take any of those three areas, so San Diego, LA, or Orange County. The average homes are all over a million dollars, and really what you get for the money is just so much less. So say in San Diego you buy the average home that's gonna cost a million dollars. It's probably an older home. It's probably built somewhere around 1960 or so. So now it's a 60-year-old home. It's probably on the smaller side, probably 1,200 or 1,300 square feet. It's also a home that was built 60 years ago, so there's concerns as far as maintenance and new roofs and new electricity and plumbing systems and all these different types of things that are real cost concerns.

And they're just kind of small. And even then, for that million-dollar home that's 1,200 square feet, that's kind of a lower-end price point for San Diego. It's probably not the nicest area in the world. It might be a decent area, it might not. It might have a decent school district, it might not. As opposed to buying something out here in the Temecula area, where the average price point is about $850,000. You can buy homes starting about $700,000 or so on the low end, up to north of a million, $1.1 million, $1.2 million. Some are gonna be a little bit higher, but that's kind of the general rough range.

But an $850,000 home in Temecula is gonna get you so much more for your money. You can find something that's probably about 3,000 square feet. It's probably built in 2002 or 2004, so it's a little over 20 years old now. Because of the year built, you don't have to worry about older roofs, older electricity, or older plumbing. It might be a little cosmetically dated, might need some new cabinets or paint or new countertops or things like that. But you can just get so much more for your money here as opposed to San Diego, LA, or Orange County. And that's the big draw for people.

So once you are looking at owning a home and you live in Southern California, so many people relocate here from those other areas because it is such a better value. And honestly, I think it's a better quality of life, but again, I'm probably biased because I live here and sell real estate here locally. But that's definitely number one. It's just the price point. The second reason that so many people decide to make a move here is because it's just a nice area. It's a very clean and well-kept suburb. The area is maintained really well. There is a large police presence. There's actually a large military presence because so many people that live here are in the military or are former military.

There are a handful of military bases that they commute out to, and it's just a very well-kept area. It's newer. Most of the city was built anywhere from 1995 to 2015, so it's a newer area, a squeaky-clean suburb, and it's just a very, very nice area to live in. Number three is the school district. So the Temecula Valley Unified School District is very highly rated. Across the board, almost all the schools are eight out of ten, nine out of ten, or ten out of ten. And that's from elementary school, middle school, and high school. Even one of the high schools here is so highly rated that it's like a top 1,200 school in the nation right now.

I've had dozens of clients make a move here to live in the school district that's zoned for that high school just for the four years their kids attend school, and then they move back to where they came from. Because the schools are rated so highly, it is such a big draw and such a big plus. Really, the whole district is a big plus because it is a really, really good school district. The next thing would be safety. So number four is just a generally safe area. The city of Temecula is consistently rated as one of the safest cities in the US.

They've been anywhere from the top 10 to top 20. I think right now they're somewhere in the top 100 safest cities in the US, and those are just such big pluses. There is a very big police presence. Any area that's growing is gonna have some warts here and there. But in general, there are very few issues to deal with, and it is such a safe area. Those safety ratings really show that as well. So that, of course, is a big plus for people.

And then number five on the list is just your general Southern California location. We are part of Southern California, so because of that, we're pretty central to all the other cool stuff that Southern California has to offer. When you live in Temecula, you're about 45 minutes to an hour from the beach. You're about 45 minutes to an hour from downtown San Diego. You're about 45 minutes to an hour from Disneyland and most parts of Orange County.

You're about an hour to the desert if you wanted to go that way. You're a little further from LA, about an hour and a half depending on traffic. And you're about an hour and a half to two hours from the local mountain range. Because our location is so central, you are really close to all the other cool things Southern California has to offer. You can easily take day trips, and that's a big plus for people. So those are the main reasons that people decide to make a move to Temecula. It's the affordability, it's a clean and well-kept suburb, it's a great school district, it's how safe the area is, and it's that Southern California location.

And of course, the weather. Very little rain, a lot of sunshine, and it's actually kind of hot here compared to other parts of California. But those are all big pluses and why so many people decide to make a move here. But the next thing I wanted to mention, if you are gonna be relocating here, is something that I think most people are not super familiar with. This applies to the entire state of California and is called Prop 13. Basically, when you buy a home in California, the property is reassessed at the time you purchase it, and it does not get reassessed each year.

So let's say you buy a home in Temecula for $850,000. Over the next 10 years, let's say home values double and the home is now worth $1.6 million. In most states, as that home value increases, the property taxes get reassessed and the amount of taxes you pay goes up. In California, because of Prop 13, your home does not get reassessed each year. It does go up slightly each year, but it's a very minimal increase. Because of that, your property tax is largely locked in based on the value you paid when you purchased the home. So if that $850,000 home goes up to $1.6 million, you're still only paying taxes based on roughly that original purchase value.

Most other states do not operate that way. As home values go up, taxes get reassessed and increase accordingly. So that is a big deal and becomes a bigger advantage the longer you own the property. Everybody in Southern California knows people like this. Their family bought a house in Huntington Beach back in 1962 for $20,000, and they're still paying very low property taxes while the home is now worth north of $2 million. It's almost to the point where they could never justify selling because the property taxes would be so different on a replacement home. So that's a huge advantage in California, and what I've realized is that most people relocating here do not know that because other states don't operate that way.

You don't need to take it from me. You can look up Prop 13 online and learn more about it. But it is a big plus compared to many other states. Now, there are a lot of costs associated with California, but that is one major benefit. A couple other things I want to mention are costs and things to pay attention to if you are moving here from another state. First, make sure you're paying attention to income taxes. California does have a state income tax. Not all states have this.

If you're coming from a no-income-tax state, you need to know this is going to affect your take-home pay and how much money you're bringing home each year. I think it's now 13.3%, but talk to your tax professional because they can help you figure that out. It's significant and it's often called the sunshine tax. Of course, I live here and think it's worth it. But if you're trying to make sure everything is affordable for your family, make sure you're factoring that into your numbers. State income tax is real, you're going to pay it, and it's something you need to plan for.

The second thing I want to mention is homeowners insurance. Over the last four or five years, homeowners insurance rates and premiums have gone up quite a bit. They have become a much larger variable in the home purchase process. You might find a home with a homeowners insurance premium around $1,800 to $2,200 per year. You might also find a home in a higher fire-risk area with insurance premiums approaching $6,000 per year. That is something you really want to pay attention to when looking for homes and calculating affordability.

In Southern California, this is something we really need to pay attention to. If you're coming from another state, it may not be something you've had to think about before. You've probably seen some of the headlines and news articles related to homeowners insurance. I will tell you that I have never seen a property here locally that could not get homeowners insurance. That's not really the issue. The issue is what the rate is going to be and making sure it's affordable for your family.

There may be situations I haven't seen yet, but everything I have seen has been insurable. It's really just about affordability. I've definitely had clients need to sell their homes because homeowners insurance rates increased so much. I was thinking of one family in particular who owned a more rural property. Costs became extremely high, and it affected their monthly budget and their ability to comfortably afford the home. So they ended up selling it.

That is something you want to avoid if possible, so make sure you are paying attention to homeowners insurance rates when buying a home. So anyways, hope that's good information for you guys. If you have any other questions about the area or if I can help you with your search, if I can help point you in the right direction, feel free to reach out. You can call, you can text, you can email me, and hopefully talk to you soon. Thanks.