Thank you for your response. After seeing Amgen decline and the collapse of Countrywide, it felt like Conejo Valley was not the best place to go especially since these are the largest employers. We ended up staying in the Bay Area with a better and more secure job market.

Sun May 18 2008, 14:45

Hi Sigorwoz,
Dos Vientos is great area, I used to live there until last July. Its only easy 3 miles to 101 Fwy, prices declined too, ocean breez, fresh air, great cummunity center with lots of activities. I work in that area too.
I'll be glad to help.

Sun May 18 2008, 00:22

Hi Sigorwoz, You may want to adjust your question in Trulia so you receive more responses. You posted it as an answer and not a question. I just want to be sure that you are able to gather valuable opinions from a variety of professionals. To answer you question in my opinion~ There are beauitiful homes and communities in all of the areas that you mentioned. All of these cities have homes that are small condos to million dollar estates. All of these cities are along the 101 and 23 Freeway corridors. Of course being right near the freeway is usually a disadvantage for resale but having convenient access to the freeway (far enough away from the sound or visual of the freeway) is often advantageous, as many buyers commute. You'll find neighborhoods that retain resale value better than others. All of these areas have schools that are good schools. As a parent, I would say that schools that have the best test scores arent always the best schools but as a Realtor, I would say that most people who select neighborhoods based on school scores, those scores making neighborhoods more desireable and of course retaining resale value well. Does that make sense? I think you are considering a very large area and if you are not from the area (other Realtors dont shoot me) you may want to come here and rent for a while. Buying a home is a big investment and it is a lot of work to move twice but even more work if you purchased the wrong home for your family which must be resold before you can purchase where you would like to live. Otherwise, you may want to commit time for a few trips to the area and drive around by yourself a bit to the places that you think you are most interested in. Meet with a Realtor after that to get their opinion. Your instincts about where you think you would like to be (based on spending time in the area) should have equal consideration to a Realtors recommendations. I would also recommend stopping at local parks near the area when you visit, especially if you have children. Striking up a conversation with other parents while you are there will give you a chance to get opinions about how much they like the area or other areas they would consider living in and why. Lastly, you mention investment. If your going to live in your home, purchase it for what you want first and as an investment 2nd. You'll still do great in the longrun (California real estate is historically a good bet) and you'll live someplace that you want to be.

Thu Jan 3 2008, 15:57

Is Westlake Village, T.O. or Agoura a better investment over Dos Vientos? It seems like it might be far from the freeway, but nice houses...? Are the schools better in the other areas?

Thu Jan 3 2008, 12:32

Hi Sigorwoz,

Dos Vientos is a beautiful part of Newbury Park to purchase a home. Newbury Park is probably the coolest climate of all of the Conejo. In fact, my parents live there and my brother lives in Newbury Park too with his family. Dos Vientos has mostly newer construction homes. The area is well kept with HOA rules in place to require it. The homes will always be a little more expensive in Dos Vientos than in some other areas of Newbury Park. However all prices are declining in the area as the result of the overall default/foreclosure issues facing the country and the area has been impacted by layoffs at major employers like Amgen and Countrywide. If you would be ok with homes that are a little older but more affordable, there are some other communities very near Dos Vientos that may offer a little more sq ft for your money and they are also very nice communities. For example, I put two families in Dos Vientos ajacent homes last year and they are both very happy and comfortable there. Overall, you will probably be happy with the schools in the area if you have children. The area has a sense of comfort and safety. You will see a lot of people walking pets and enjoying the outdoors. The Conejo Parks and Rec as well as their library system are among the best I have seen anywhere and you will find good access to cultural events, culinary experiences and shopping in all of the Conejo. If you would like a complete list of homes available in the Dos Vientos community or surrounding areas, I would be happy to send them to you. There are a couple of preforeclosure homes in the Dos Vientos community. Prices for the Dos Vientos community start at just over 700,000 and go up to almost 4M. If you would like to give me a little more information about your criteria I can send you homes that meet your requirements. My MLS tools are better than any of the online search websites (Realtor.com, zip, etc) and will update you automatically when new homes or new prices become available. I have listed my web site so you may contact me directly if you would like. (PS, I cant believe no one responded to your question sooner. I was on vacation....... and apparently everyone else is too?)

Mon Dec 31 2007, 10:05