Is Tierrasanta a good place to buy near MCAS Miramar?

Tierrasanta was built in the 1970s as a planned community on former Navy land on the mesa between Miramar and Mission Valley, and it still reads that way: curving residential streets, greenbelts and canyon parks, a single commercial center, and housing that was all built within about fifteen years. It is a quieter, more settled place than the neighborhoods to the west, and for a Miramar family it is the shortest commute after Mira Mesa with a noticeably calmer setting.

Who lives here and why

Mid-grade and senior families who want a single-family house at a central price without the density of Mira Mesa, dual-military households splitting Miramar with a bay base, and buyers who value the parks and the canyon trails. The draw is the combination of a short commute, a planned neighborhood's quiet, and a mid price band. The trade is a limited housing range — almost everything is 1970s–1980s tract, so there is little new construction and little of the very affordable inventory Mira Mesa has — and a single road in and out on the west side, which is a real consideration in fire season and at rush hour.

The commute

Five to ten minutes to Miramar's main gate on Highway 52, and Highway 52 also reaches I-15 and the 805 in minutes. To Naval Base San Diego, twenty to thirty minutes on I-15 south outside peak; to Mission Valley and downtown, ten to fifteen. The neighborhood's one drawback on the map is that Tierrasanta Boulevard and Santo Road are the only ways out, and they back up at the peaks.

Housing stock and what the appraiser sees

The earliest tracts predate 1978 and bring the lead-based paint condition on peeling paint; the later 1980s sections do not. Original roofs are often at end of life, and the planned layout means a lot of canyon-edge lots where slope, drainage and retaining walls draw notes. Converted garages and unpermitted patio enclosures are the common unpermitted-work findings. A termite clearance is standard practice. The townhome and condo sections are where junior buyers land, and the project must be VA-approved — the condo answer covers the check. The appraisal page covers how conditions are negotiated. No Mello-Roos anywhere in Tierrasanta; the tax bill is the standard Proposition 13 base.

The loan angle

A full-entitlement buyer has no down payment and no loan limit at Tierrasanta prices, which put a single-family house within reach at senior-NCO and officer BAH. A buyer on remaining entitlement runs the second-tier calculation; at the mid band it often works, sometimes with a modest down payment, and the entitlement calculator shows the number. The BAH-to-payment calculator, with the standard tax base and no CFD, gives an honest read on whether the allowance reaches here at your grade. The Miramar base guide compares the neighborhoods, and California's programs are on the California benefits page.

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
• Poway
• Rancho Peñasquitos
• Scripps Ranch
• Serra Mesa
• The PCS Home Buying Guide