Five Reasons to Love Bonsall

Post Title: Five Reasons to Love Bonsall

Post Date: July 16, 2014

Bonsall is a small community of about 30,000 residents within the unincorporated northeast end of San Diego County. The beaches of Oceanside are conveniently only a half hour away, downtown San Diego is 45 minutes away, and wine country of Temecula is just 15 minutes away. Here are five great reasons to love Bonsall:

Small Town Feel - Bonsall is rural, isolated from the major “big box” retailers that come standard with most communities. Instead of seeing infrastructure and development as you gaze the horizon, you see mountains and trees.

Exploring - Pick your pleasure: camping, rock climbing, fishing, hiking, off-roading, horseback riding, and other outdoor activities are in your backyard. Both Pala Resort & Casino and Palomar Mountain are also a short drive away.

Excellent School District - One of the best-kept secrets in San Diego County is Bonsall Unified School District. Bonsall ranks 8’s and 9’s (out of 10) across the board for test scores according to Greatschools.org. That’s as good as the “Award Winning” Poway Unified School District, with all the additional benefits of education in a small town.

Convenient Location - Many people don’t realize how quickly Highway 76 can get you to the Interstate 5 from Interstate 15.

Housing Prices - Home prices in Bonsall are 23 percent less than prices in the nearby Rancho Bernardo area — and the housing stock is newer. Basically, Bonsall offers a new house at a lower price (low- to mid-$400,000s for a home built within the last five years). Also, Bonsall boasts a higher home ownership rate at 68 percent. Nothing says community pride better than the home ownership rate.

Post Title: How to Get Permits for Your Home Improvement Project

Post Date: July 22, 2014

Initial consultation

A lot of people start by talking to an architect or a designer without understanding their options. These professionals will charge you for information that the city or county can tell you for free.

Go to your governing municipality’s planning office, tell them what you’re thinking about doing, and ask what your options are. Bring an aerial photograph of your property (Google Maps) and sketches of your existing house and what you’d like to do. Take measurements of all of your rooms, the perimeter of your house and your structures, and measure from your structures to your property lines (typically your fence line).

If your project is feasible, ask about the process. Every municipality is different, so make sure to ask about the submittal requirements, review and processing times, and costs.

Many municipalities charge a flat fee for a combination plumbing, electrical, and mechanical permit. To save on permit costs, it’s usually best to have one building permit for all of your improvements. Most permits don’t expire for six months and are renewed automatically with each inspection, so you’ll have time to get to everything.

Before you get a permit

Before getting a permit, be sure to obtain all of your existing permit records for the property. As part of the permit process for your new project, you may be required to obtain permits for any existing unpermitted improvements on your property. Permitting after construction is often much more costly and complicated.

To obtain records, contact your municipality’s planning or building department and ask for copies of all planning and building permits. Additionally, visit the county assessor’s office for the construction records on the property.

Choosing your designer

If you’re required to do plans, you’ll need an architect or designer. A municipality may require an architect for your plan submittal.

While obtaining a permit may be a challenging process, the permit certifies the work is done correctly and helps the resale of your home.

Blog: 1000s2u Real Estate and Planning Services | Author: David De Vries | From: Rancho Peñasquitos | Blogging since: July 2012

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