Alright, so this video is all about the top five most frequently asked questions that I get from people that are making a move here to Temecula. Let's go ahead and get into it.


Hey guys. Hey again. My name is Justin Short. I'm a realtor and team leader with the short real estate team here in Temecula, California at Keller Williams. And this video is all about the top five most frequently asked questions that I get. From my clients that are making a move here to the city of Temecula.


So most of you guys, when you reach out from watching these videos, you know off of YouTube, usually you guys are relocating. Uh, sometimes it's people here locally, but usually it's people moving from other parts of Southern California, from Northern California, or most of you guys are coming from other states.


So these are big moves, big relocations. A lot of times you just don't know a ton about the area. I'm sure you've done a lot of research. Googled and Zillow and all, all those types of things. Um, but you know, when you're uprooting your family and making this big move, obviously it's a big process. And these are the questions I get from clients.


So I thought this would be a real helpful video to make, um, hopefully help cover some good information for you guys to help you out with your, with your research and, and with your search. Um, but before we get to all the information, you know, if you are liking real estate videos like this, uh, please do me a favor.


Please hit like please sit, subscribe. Obviously it helps me, it helps my channel as we try to continue to grow it. And then if you guys have any real estate questions, you can feel free to reach out anytime. So you're gonna see my information either down below the video or at the end. You can feel free, you can call, you can text, you can email me.


That is my personal cell phone. Of course, you know, love to help answer any questions you may have help. Point you in the right direction. Give you recommendations about, you know, different areas or neighborhoods or even some of those, you know, some of the surrounding cities. Um, or of course, if I can help you out with your search, you know, I would love to do that.


So, you know, at how, at how you earn a living. So love to earn your business and be a resource for you here and be the one to help you out with your, with your search. But, um, cool. So you can see my information, you can feel free to reach out, but let's get through, uh, get to my questions. We'll go over the top five and, you know, usually like when.


When you guys are reaching out to me, we're gonna do some type of a consultation. Sometimes it's in person, a lot of times it's over the phone or through Zoom or we're talking kind of talking about, you know, the different area and kind of what your goals are, what you're hoping to accomplish, and timeline and what, what you're looking for in a house.


And a lot of times you have questions about the area. Uh. But one of the, the whole question, number one for me, and probably the most common question that I get from people is, you know, what are the neighborhoods that we should avoid? So, you know, when you're researching and you're put all pulling all this stuff up, right?


It's telling you how great the city is and all the pros and the, you know, the good, the good neighborhoods, you know, the best neighborhoods, the good schools, etcetera. And really, when you're making a move from outta the area, and you're not super familiar with Temecula, you, you know, a lot of these people, a lot of you guys want to know.


You know, what areas to avoid. And the truth is, so is the City of Temecula, it's a suburban city, right? We are in Southern California. We're just north of San Diego County, right? Most people that live here do commute out for work. So either you're lucky enough to work from home, or most people are commuting to San Diego, la Orange County for work, right?


Um, but the benefit here is it's, it's just, it's more affordable. It is a very safe city. It has a really good school district and you can get a lot more for your money, right? Um, but with, with, with all of that, you know, there's all these squeaky clean neighborhoods that, you know, lot of 'em have HOAs and, um, that get advertised that are, you know, these top tier neighborhoods that people are really familiar with.


But really the truth is across the board, the city is super, super safe. It's really a squeaky clean suburb throughout, you know, the neighbor, the city started being built in like the mid nineties. There are some homes that are a little bit older, but most of the homes are built from like 1995 to about 2005.


Um, so, you know, we're definitely that suburb. We, we are the suburbs. Um, you, you had these big mass home, you know, tracked builders that came in, bought up a big plot of land, you know, bought up, you know, a hundred acres. You know, they, they subdivided. Built, you know, a couple thousand homes, right? And cut, cut 'em all up.


And a lot of cookie cutter tract homes. But be because of that, you know, across the board almost all the neighborhoods are, they're very, very similar. Yes. Some are nicer than others. There definitely are some that tend to be a little bit more high end or some a little bit nicer finishes or a little bigger lots or views or, you know, some fancier things.


But, you know, like the floor as far as like, even like a, the floor, like, like how. A bad neighborhood in Temecula is really not, not a bad neighborhood. Most of 'em are, are very, very nice. Um, there's really not like a bad area that has a lot of like, you know, crime or like any gang activity or homeless population or anything like that.


Those things just don't really exist. Um, there are two places that I tell people to, to avoid typically. Um, if you have the budget to do so, one, you know. Is like, there's a couple of apartment complexes that are a little bit more lower income that just are not gonna be, you know, as nice of areas. So, you know, if you are looking at apartments, you know, those are gonna be things to avoid.


So the ones that are a little bit less expensive than others, I think you do get, you do what you pay for there. Obviously I sell real estate, so I'm not really involved in those types of. Those types of dealings. But that is something that I mentioned to people and the other would be, there are a couple neighborhoods that are closer to the casino, such as Pachanga Casino that have no HOA’s.


So there's a lot of very nice communities that are right there around the casino. But there's a couple particular that have no HOA’s and because of that, the areas just aren't as nice as some, most of the surrounding cities. So they tend to be a ton of rentals in there. There tend to be a ton of cars, there tend to be a ton of, you know, just.


Uh, limited parking because of all the cars and all, you know, a lot of rent by the room situation, things like that. And so just in my opinion, that would be a neighborhood to try and try to avoid if you have the budget and if at all possible. But you know, across the board, I would say 98% of the city is gonna be really, really nice and it's gonna be a nice place for you and your family to live.


All right, so frequently asked question number two that I, that I get asked from people when they're making these relocation moves here is how long does a process usually take to find a home and to buy a home? Okay. And really what people are asking is, Hey, I'm trying to make this move from the other side of the country.


You know, how do I time this out to make sure things go smoothly and I can be settled by the date that I need to, whether it's for my job relocation, my new. My June job that I'm accepting or so I can time the sale on my home on in the other state or my lease ending, et cetera. You know, just kinda line line all my life, my life up.


Right. So, um, so typically what I talk to people about is that we wanna just kinda reverse engineer, you know, what your goal is gonna be. Okay. So let's say today is January 1st. Kind of an ease of, ease of talking about this. Um, and let's say your goal is you need to be situated and or you wanna be, have the keys.


By May 1st. Okay. So we have, we have a good amount of time there to kind of plan everything out, to make sure things go nice and smooth, right? So if your goal is to get the keys by May 1st, then you have to know that once you find a home that you like, once you write an offer, once your offer is accepted, you're gonna have an escrow period.


So the escrow period is like, you know, is kind of the sale process, right? We're dealing with the loan and appraisals and home inspections, all that type of stuff. Uh, that process that is negotiable, the timeline. But typically it's gonna be 30 days. Okay? It can be as little as 14 days, or if you're paying cash, it can be quicker, it can be seven to 10 days even.


But, uh, most common that's gonna be about a 30 day process. Okay? So if the goal is to get the keys by May 1st, that means we need to have an offer accepted by April 1st. Okay? So allots your 30 days, uh, for that escrow period. But the odds are you're probably not gonna go out today and find a house.


Right. And get, and get your offer accepted. All that's gonna happen right away. So typically, I tell most people to plan for about a 30 to 45 day period to find a house. Um, can that go quicker? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I've had plenty of clients where I meet with them and we go out, we look at. The first day we ever get together, you know, we look at three homes and they like the second one, write an offer and then offer's accepted, and then boom, we're right into that 30 day clock, right?


So if things need to move quickly and you have an idea of what you're looking for, they can definitely move really, really fast. Um, but I tell most people to be cautious, you know, plan for about 30 to to 45 days to give plenty of time to help narrow down. As the search goes on, you're gonna narrow down, you know, what neighborhoods you wanna focus on.


You know, what price point or do you need to adjust your price point up or down, right? And really kind of nail down that search to make sure you're getting the right home for yourself. So let's say we have that 30 day escrow period, that's April 1st. Let's back out another 30, 45 days. So now really you need to start that search by like the middle of February now to be, to have your offer accepted by.


April 1st and to beat at your keys by May 1st. So, um, that is a little bit cautious, you know, on my end to try and, um, you know, prepare you for kind of what, what I see. You know, maybe your first offer won't necessarily get accepted. Maybe, you know, the seller needs some type of a rent back situation, so the escrow period's gonna be a little bit longer.


But when you're upli uplifting your family and you're uprooting, you're making this big cross country move, you would rather allot yourself more than enough time, rather than get to the end of the road and you're, and you're panicked, right? So. And even with that, so now we're looking at like the middle, the middle of February, right?


To really start the search. Uh, and really even probably up to a couple weeks before that, if you're gonna get a loan, we really want to take care of that pre-approval process for you, so that way everything's gonna go nice and smooth. So, in an ideal world that gives us about a three month period, uh, to really focus on your home search and get all the boxes checked.


So it, and ideally, if you want to get the keys by May 1st, you know, by February 1st, we are getting you in touch with a lender. I have a great local lender I can set you up with. He can, you know, either do a phone call with you or do a Zoom meeting or an in person meeting. Uh, but most people are gonna do a, you know, are gonna do a phone call.


You, you have a really nice. Um, online portal, you can upload all your documents, fill out your application, et cetera. Um, that's gonna be at the beginning of February. That's pretty quick. You can knock that out in like a day typically for your pre-approval. Um, that'll really help dictate your price point.


Make sure you, you're, it's gonna be affordable for you and make sure the loan can be approved by the bank. Um, and then by the time the middle of February comes, okay, we really want to dial in the search criteria. Make sure, you know, we're on the same page where it should be in pretty regular conversation about what you're seeing and what, what I'm seeing.


And hopefully I'm making, making some good suggestions to you about, you know, some different homes that are out there and you're giving me some feedback and hopefully we're starting to start to nail things down. And then by. April 1st, we want to have an offer accepted, and by May 1st we wanna be able to get to the keys.


So, uh, usually about a three month process is gonna be typical. Can it go quicker? Yeah, absolutely. But I would definitely recommend to try and plan for three months, so make sure things go nice and smooth for you. All right, so question number three is about HOAs. And this is a question I get a lot from people, but basically the question is, Hey Justin, what are your opinions about HOA’s?


And can I buy a home with no HOA right? And usually the client's saying, and because I hate 'em myself and I don't wanna be a part of 'em. Right? Um, so out here in Temecula, you definitely can buy a home without an HOA definitely is possible. Um, I, I looked for an exact sat, couldn't quite find it, but I would estimate that probably about 40% of homes out here, single family homes have no HOA.


So it's definitely possible. They do definitely exist. Right? Um, a lot of the neighborhoods that you'll hear me mention, and a lot of my videos are regarding neighborhoods that do have an HOA. And that's just because they tend to be, they tend to be named HOA, has a name. Right. It's easy to refer to them and they.


They tend to be memorable for people because, you know, that's the name of the park or that's the name of the clubhouse or, or whatever it is, right? Uh, but there are definitely many homes out there with no HOA. So if you are totally opposed to that, um, you can definitely find a home without one. And I have a lot of clients that prefer no HOA, right.


Uh, personally my personal preference, I do like an HOA I do. I like a low cost HOA. I've lived in no, HOA, I've lived in a low cost HOA and I've lived in a high cost HOA, that's actually, that's, that's where I'm at now. Um, but so my, my. My experience and the reason I like the low cost HOA is because you do have some rules that are in place, which I think can be, can be both good and bad.


The good part of that is if you live in a home that has an HOA, you, your neighbor across the street, they can't paint their house pink, right? They can't do something really weird. That's like an eyesore that you don't wanna look at all the time. They can't, you know, park their cars in the driveway.


If they have to maintain the house decently and really the property decently. So, um, if they don't mow their grass or if they let all their grass die, the HOA is gonna send 'em a letter and they're gonna start finding them. Right. And that's gonna cause them to, to fix it, right? Um, if the sun has. Beat on their garage door for the last 15 years and it's faded and it's all white and you know, not great to look at.


I don't like looking at it. Right. The HOA is gonna send 'em a letter and say, Hey, your house is not up to snuff, you gotta go ahead and fix it. Right? So stuff like that, I, stuff like that I think is a good thing and I think helps keep the neighborhood, you know, well kept, it helps make it pleasant for everyone to live in.


And that's just, that's kind of what my personal preference is, right? Other people have different opinions there. Um. The downside to that is people can feel like the HOA’s are gonna have their thumb on them and really make a big deal out of everything. Um, you know, you can rule of thumb the higher the HOA, the higher the cost.


The higher HOA fees that you pay, the more strict the HOA is gonna be. So, um, the lower cost HOAs tend to be a little more lenient. Like they're, you know, they're not like super, super picky about every single little detail, right? But overall, you know, if your property really starts to slack, they're gonna let you know.


They're gonna give you notice and say, Hey, you need to fix it. And if you don't, they're gonna find you. On the other side, the real high expensive HOAs, which is. It's like I said, where it's where I live now. Um, and it's a couple hundred over a couple hundred bucks a month that we pay, you know, per month for the HOA, um, that.


The pluses are, you get, you definitely get a lot more amenities, right? So we have a super, really nice clubhouse, really nice pools and parks and spas and walking trails and all this really cool stuff. The downside to that is when they're more expensive, the HOA is super, super picky and they can really start to be a thorn in your side.


So, um, they're very particular on, you know, the improvements that you make to the front yard, improvements you make to the backyard. Um, some of the details about. Hey, what type of plants you can put where or what are approved plants, what are not? Um, you know, it's theoretical, like my neighborhood actually has a rule about how many cars you're supposed to park in your garage.


It's not something that's really followed very closely or really regulated at all, but it's, it's still a rule, right? Um, and it, and so when you start getting all those things it, that can definitely feel like someone has your thumb on you and starts to become a pain. So, um. I personally have enjoyed most living in that low cost HOA 'cause It kept the neighborhood nice, kept things nice and clean, but I didn't feel like they were really, you know, had, were a thorn in my side and really a pain all the time.


So, um, no, HOA obviously has the least expensive low cost. HOA really what that is. That's usually gonna be about somewhere between about 40 to a hundred bucks a month. I would say it's like low cost. So that $40 HOA probably doesn't really have any amenities. Maybe there's a community park, that type of thing.


Um, but more or less just kind of some rules in place to make sure that, um, you know, to make sure the neighborhood's well, well kept up to about a hundred bucks. Once you get closer to that hundred dollar range, uh, that's gonna give you like more amenities. So like community pools, community spas, more community parks.


More walking trails, things like that. And then once you get up to the high end stuff, then you start getting nicer amenities. They're probably newer, they're squeaky, you know, they're, they're pretty, they're updated and they're, they're more thorough in all the maintenance and all that type of stuff. And there's just, and there are more amenities, you know, multiple pools, things like that.


Um, but you're gonna have the rules as, as the trade off. So. Like I said, that goes up to over a couple hundred bucks a month, and then you start getting some, maybe some guard gated, some gates and guard gated things like that. So, um, that's, those are my opinions. You know, you're, you're the one buying the home, not me, but you know, that those are my opinions on HOA’s and all three of those do exist in the area.


It just really depends on what you're looking for Alright, so question number four. So I live outta the area, you know, how can I buy a home in Temecula? So, um, and this is something that I help a lot of people with. I, I would say, I think more than most any other agent in the Valley, I help people that are relocating here.


A lot of you guys reach out, you know, from here, you know, through the videos and, and through other sources as well. But I've helped a ton of people relocate. And I, I think it's, I think I have more experience with this than, than probably most anybody. But, um, you definitely can buy a home if you are not here in the area.


Um, what I recommend, I think the best thing to do in that process is to. Get on a plane or drive, you know, however it is you're getting here. But I would come to Temecula and make sure this is really what you wanna be. So I would call that like your exploratory trip, right? So come out here, drive around a little bit, drive through the neighborhoods.


We can definitely get together. We can meet up for coffee or maybe go look at some houses or, you know, have a conversation. Um, and I can point out some. Things I recommend for you to check out. I have a couple PDFs that I can send you about some neighborhoods that I recommend to drive through some restaurants that I recommend to check out, stuff like that.


Um, but I would definitely recommend you make that exploratory trip to come and check off that box and make sure Temecula is the area for you. Have I had clients buy homes in Temecula without ever coming here? Yes. Yes, I have, um, honestly, it makes me a little bit nervous. You know, I would prefer you guys to come here and check this box and make sure it's really what you like.


'cause you've never been here, you've never felt the area, you've never driven around town. Um, and yeah, there's a lot of really good stats, but, you know, when you're spending 500, 600, 700, 800, a million dollars, I think you want to, you know, get a feel for it first. So that would definitely be my recommendation.


Make that exploratory trip. Um, from there, you know, if you, we can do, if it's. Timing works out, or we can do some showings in person while you're here. Great. If you're able to make more and more trips here, um, you know, for showings in the future, that's awesome. Or if not, we can definitely do virtual showings.


That's something I do a lot with people where I stop by. We either do a live stream or I do a video recording. I can upload it to you. That way you guys can browse through the recordings at home. And kind of go through, go through that. Um, and so those are the, the, that's really the best way. Um, make the exploratory chip from there.


Either showings in person or we can do them, uh, virtually, you know, whatever is gonna be best for you guys. All right, so the last question that I get most frequently is, okay. Hey, once. Found a home that we like and we've done the showing process. You've kind of nailed one down. We've wrote an offer, we got our offer accepted.


Do I need to be here in person to buy a home in Temecula? And so the answer is no. But I do recommend at some point during the escrow process that you're able to make a trip back here. Um, and, and there's, there's a, there's a few reasons why. So. Uh, once your offer is accepted, right, we're gonna, we have an agreement with the seller.


We're gonna, we're gonna open escrow, right? Um, from there you're gonna have a deposit that you get into escrow. That's just some money that's gonna go and it's gonna sit there, um, as your earnest money deposit, you know, towards closing. And then we have that escrow period. So typically that's 30 days. It might be shorter, it might be a little bit longer, but let's say it's a 30 day process.


Um, and then typically. Outta those 30 days, you're gonna have your, your first initial contingency period, um, where it is, you're right as a buyer to do all your due diligence to make sure the property's really what you want. So this is when you're gonna have, you know, your appraisals done, you're gonna, we're gonna have termite inspections, home inspections, all these different types of things to make sure the house is really what you want.


If there's an HOA, you'll get a copy of all the rules and all that type of stuff. Um, but this is really your opportunity as a buyer to solidify this is what you want. And for the most part, if during that process, if. You decide you don't like this home, or the home does not work for what you're looking for, or let's say the home inspection is terrible and says, Hey, this house is no good, you're gonna be able to cancel and get your deposit back for, for, for a lot of different reasons.


So you would have to talk more about some of the specifics on that. But, um, for more or less, you know, you. If there's issues, you're able, you would be able to cancel, get your deposit back. Right? So, um, that's a very, very important timeline because once we're through that period and you remove your contingencies, then if you don't close the escrow, then you're probably gonna lose your deposit.


And that's, that's a big deal. Right? And these deposits are usually 5, 10, 15, $20,000. So that's a big deal. It's a big timeline. So what I recommend for most people is that. Once we have an offer accepted when we do the home inspection, that is a great time and really the most ideal time for you to make another trip back to California.


So if you're here for a showing, great. Um, if. If you're able to make a second trip, you know, during the, uh, during the home inspection, that would be the most ideal. Um, or if, even if we did all the virtual showings, I would, it would really be great if you are able to make a trip back here and be in Temecula for the home inspection, because that's a nice long process where you can be in the house.


You're gonna find out a ton of information about the house. So the home inspector's gonna be there. We're gonna be there probably two to three hours. This is your opportunity as a buyer, or you can sit down. Sit in the property for a while to really take in the neighborhood. You know, when we did that initial showing, a lot of times we're in the house for like 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, not a long period of time, but home inspections were there for a long time, two, three hours.


Uh, you can only take everything in. The home inspector is gonna tell you all this information that they found out about the house. A lot of good things and a ton of bad things. You want to know all, all the bad stuff you want, they're gonna tell you everything that's wrong with it. Everything they could find at least.


And, um, they're gonna tell you a lot of good information. So, um, and it's also, it's a lot easier when you're getting this bad information when he says, Hey, there's a roof, there's a leak in the roof. And he can walk you over and show you like, Hey, see that water spot? Like, that's where the leak is, right? So it's a lot easier to see that in person and understand it, rather than through pictures or videos.


Um, so that would. Definitely something that I recommend is to be here in person for the home inspection and have that be your other time to plan to be at the house. Um, do you need to be? No. Um, if you are unable to come or unwilling or just not, it's not in the cards, then you can do all this virtually.


Uh, well you'll, you will get a copy of the home inspection report. Um, we can definitely do a phone call with the inspector to review everything with you, and I can do some videos for you in person as well. And the, the other kind of aspect to this question that people ask is, Hey, at closing, you know, once, when's it time to close and getting ready time for us to, you know, close the escrow and about time to get the keys.


Do I need to be here in person for that? And the answer is no. So in California, all that you need to do is meet with a notary. Um, you can do that from anywhere in the US and really almost anywhere in the world where they can set up a notary for you. Um, where you can, you're gonna meet with the notary, you're gonna sign your documents or all your loan docs.


That all gets shipped back here to California and gets. Gets recorded, your loan funds and your title change is recorded and everything's official. But, uh, some other states, a lot of other states have an official, you know, closing table where everyone sits down at the end and we all powwow and shake hands and exchange keys and, and checks and stuff like that.


California does not work that way. Um, you. As a buyer, we'll meet with a notary a couple days before closing. Um, and you'll notarize everything, everything else gets taken care of from wires and bank transfers and, uh, re recordings and, and things like that without you being present. So, um, no, you don't necessarily have to be here in person, but I would really recommend to be here for the home inspection to check that box.


Make sure you get a, get a good understanding of what it is you're buying and make sure you're happy with the home that you're buying. So anyways, hope that's good information. Hopefully I didn't ramble. Too much there, but uh, feel free to reach out if you guys have any questions, you can call, you can text, you can email, and hopefully talk to you soon.


Thanks.