Is Mission Valley a good place to buy near MCAS Miramar?

Mission Valley is the floor of the San Diego River between the mesas, and it was built as commercial San Diego — malls, hotels, the stadium — with housing added in waves from the 1970s on, nearly all of it attached. For a VA buyer it is the county's purest condo market: no yards, no single-family stock to speak of, and a price band that starts below anything detached nearby. Its whole appeal is location, and its whole complication is project approval.

Who lives here and why

Single service members and couples without kids, from Miramar and from the bay bases, who want to be central and do not want a yard; officers on short tours who value the resale liquidity of a condo; and second-commuter households where one job is downtown or in Kearny Mesa. The draw is the fifteen-minute radius — Miramar, the bay bases, downtown, the coast — and the trolley. The trade is that condos here carry HOA dues that run through the payment, the valley floor floods in a wet year, and a large share of the projects are not VA-approved.

The commute

Twelve to eighteen minutes to Miramar's main gate on SR-163 or I-15 north to Miramar Road; fifteen to twenty to the 32nd Street base on I-15 south and the 94; ten to Naval Base Point Loma on I-8 west. The Green Line trolley runs the length of the valley to downtown. Freeway access is the reason Mission Valley works for two commuters going opposite directions.

Housing stock and what the appraiser sees

The appraisal is the smaller issue here; the project is the larger one. Before writing on any unit, confirm the condominium project is on VA's approved list. Many of the larger 1980s–2000s complexes are; a number of the newer mid-rise projects and some older ones are not, and an unapproved project either gets submitted — weeks, with the association's documents — or the deal does not close as a VA loan. The condo answer covers the process. The lender will also review the HOA's budget, reserves and any litigation.

On the unit itself, the appraisal page items are ordinary: functioning systems, no safety hazards, and for the 1970s projects, lead-based paint conditions. The valley floor sits in the San Diego River floodplain in places; if the building is in a special flood hazard area, flood insurance is required and escrowed. Some of the newest projects near the former stadium carry a Community Facilities District assessment; the older complexes do not, and the tax bill is the Proposition 13 base plus dues.

The loan angle

Mission Valley is where a first-use buyer with full entitlement buys a condo on a VA loan with no down payment and no loan limit, and where HOA dues decide whether the payment fits — the BAH-to-payment calculator takes dues as a line item. On remaining entitlement, the second-tier calculation usually works without a down payment because the entry-level band is the lowest in central San Diego; the entitlement calculator shows it. The Miramar base guide compares the valley against Serra Mesa and Kearny Mesa for the same commute; the California page covers the state benefits.

Next

• See BAH for MCAS Miramar →
• Compare nearby neighborhoods →

Around MCAS Miramar

• Buying Near MCAS Miramar: The Central San Diego VA Loan Guide
• California Veteran Home Buying Benefits: CalVet and the VA Loan
• Rancho Peñasquitos
• Scripps Ranch
• Serra Mesa
• Tierrasanta
• The PCS Home Buying Guide