Is Allied Gardens a good place to buy near Naval Base San Diego?

Allied Gardens was built in a few years in the mid-1950s on the mesa between Mission Valley and the hills to the east, and it looks like it: block after block of single-story ranches with the same rooflines, on lots big enough for a yard and not much more. It has a recreation center, a community pool and a library, and the kind of settled, walkable feel that the master-planned communities try to manufacture. It is also, for a detached house, one of the better values within twenty minutes of the base.

Who lives here and why

Mid-grade and senior sailors who want a house instead of a condo and are willing to trade newer construction for a neighborhood, dual-commuter households splitting the bay and Miramar, and a long-tenure population that has kept the streets stable. The draw is a real neighborhood at a moderate price. The trade is that the houses are original 1950s construction — small, and often with the systems to match — and the lots are modest.

The commute

Twenty to twenty-five minutes to the 32nd Street gates: Waring Road or Zion Avenue to I-8, then I-15 south. Miramar is twenty minutes north on the 15. Downtown is fifteen minutes on the 8, and Mission Valley's shopping and the trolley are at the bottom of the hill.

Housing stock and what the appraiser sees

Everything here predates 1978, so peeling paint is a lead-based paint condition. Original electrical panels, galvanized supply lines and end-of-life roofs are routine findings on the houses that have not been updated, and the neighborhood has a long history of room additions and enclosed patios that the appraiser will ask to see permits for. Canyon-rim lots on the Mission Valley side bring slope and brush notes. A termite clearance is standard practice on California VA purchases, and the appraisal page covers how conditions are cleared. Leased solar shows up on the tract houses; the solar answer covers transfers and PACE liens.

The condo complexes near Waring Road and Zion Avenue serve the entry band, and each project needs VA approval, per the condo answer. The tax bill is the Proposition 13 base — no Community Facilities District.

The loan angle

Allied Gardens is where mid-grade BAH with dependents reaches a detached house on a VA loan with no down payment and no loan limit; the BAH-to-payment calculator shows it at the plain county rate. A buyer keeping a VA-financed house at the last station runs the second-tier calculation, which at this band frequently works without a down payment. The Naval Base San Diego guide sets it against the South Bay options; the California page covers the state benefits.

Next

• See BAH for Naval Base San Diego →
• Compare nearby neighborhoods →

Around Naval Base San Diego

• Buying Near Naval Base San Diego and Coronado: The San Diego VA Loan Guide
• California Veteran Home Buying Benefits: CalVet and the VA Loan
• Imperial Beach
• Jamul
• La Mesa
• La Presa
• Lakeside and Alpine
• Lemon Grove and Spring Valley
• National City
• Point Loma and Ocean Beach
• San Carlos
• Santee and El Cajon
• The PCS Home Buying Guide