A couple contacted us who had sold their home about a year earlier and had been living and traveling around the country in their RV. While they enjoyed life on the road, they were ready to settle down and be closer to their son, who lived in Southern California.
It is one of the more adventurous versions of a move we help with often: selling a family home, simplifying, and landing somewhere smaller and easier to live in. If you are weighing something similar, our complete guide to downsizing in San Diego covers the timing, the property tax rules, and the practical decisions. This is how it went for these two.
Dreaming of Ocean Hills Country Club
This couple had their eye on Ocean Hills Country Club, a 55+ community in Oceanside with the highest amount of amenities in Southern California. They had very specific criteria for the home they wanted. They were looking for a particular floor plan, ideally located on a cul-de-sac with a pie-shaped lot. They also preferred a home in its original 1980s condition, as they enjoy renovating properties and wanted to keep the purchase cost low. It sounded like a tall order, right?
Living on the Road While They Searched
Worth pausing on their situation, because it shaped everything that followed.
They had already sold. Their belongings were stored, their address was wherever the RV happened to be, and the search ran roughly a year. For most people that would be a nightmare. For Tom and his wife it was the point. They genuinely love travelling by RV, and the house hunt happened alongside that life rather than against it.
That difference matters. An RV works beautifully when the traveling is something you want to do anyway, and much less well as a reluctant stopgap while you wait for escrow to close. We cover the alternatives here — rent-backs, extended escrows, furnished rentals, and what to do with your belongings in the meantime.
The Search Begins
We began by sending them listings of homes for sale that matched their criteria, along with photos of the floor plan they desired. We included examples of how others had renovated similar homes to give them ideas. We looked at several properties together when they were in the area, and also explored homes through FaceTime when they were traveling.
The Perfect Home Appears
As luck would have it, the perfect home that checked all of their boxes became available while they were windsurfing in Texas, where internet coverage was weak and spotty. Despite the connectivity challenges, we managed to do a FaceTime showing, and it worked well enough to confirm their interest in the home.
A Competitive Market: Back Up Offer Position
As it turned out, other buyers were also interested in the property and had submitted offers above the listing price. Our clients, not wanting to engage in a bidding war that could drive up the cost, decided to pass on this home and continue their search. However, we completed the paperwork to officially put our buyers in the first backup position in case the original buyers changed their minds.
Here is the part worth noticing. Having no housing deadline is itself a negotiating position. Buyers who must be somewhere by a certain date end up paying for that certainty. Our clients had nowhere they urgently needed to be, so walking away from an overheated bidding war cost them nothing but time — and time was the one thing they had plenty of.
A Stroke of Luck
Not long afterward, the listing agent contacted us to share that the original buyers had backed out for various reasons. Because our clients were in the first backup position and still interested, they were able to secure the property without it going back on the MLS and triggering another bidding war.
Backup offers are one of the more underused tools in a competitive market. They cost nothing, they commit you to very little, and occasionally they hand you the home you wanted at the price you were willing to pay.
A Home Renovation Journey Begins
Since our clients planned to take the home down to the studs for renovation, the few items noted during the home inspection that required attention were not of great concern. However, we negotiated with the seller to complete a few plumbing repairs before the close of escrow.
It is worth saying that this is not the right path for everyone. Tom and his wife brought extensive experience renovating properties — they knew exactly what they were taking on, could read a house accurately, and had done it before. That is what made an original-condition home the smart buy for them rather than a risk. Buying a fixer keeps the purchase price down, but it means living through a project, managing trades, and absorbing overruns. For most of the downsizing clients we work with, particularly where health or mobility is part of the reason for moving, a home that is ready to live in is worth paying more for. Know which kind of buyer you are before you fall in love with a fixer.
A Dream Realized
They took possession and got straight to work. Their vision came to life, and they turned an original-condition 1980s home into exactly what they had pictured — which, given how specific their criteria were at the start, is no small thing. Several years on, they are settled in at Ocean Hills and the house is theirs in every sense.
In Their Own Words
“We researched many local realtors and determined that the team of Ken and Jean Tritle were the best fit for us in representing our interests. When we first talked to Ken, we suggested some neighborhoods of interest. From the very beginning, we found Ken to be very easy to talk to, very knowledgeable about the communities, pricing and home availability. We knew right of way that Ken would be of great assistance in finding our next home.
With Ken’s help we selected the Ocean Hills Country Club Community and found the floor plan, price range, lot privacy and location within the community that would meet our needs. When a home that met our criteria came on the market, Ken helped us immensely in securing the home in a competitive market. Although there were some anxious moments, Ken helped us stay positive and calm that we would be able to secure the home at the right price with minimal issues.
We are very appreciative of all the efforts Ken put into helping us take on this next new adventure in our lives. If you are looking for a genuinely good, honest, caring and knowledgeable person who will represent your interests in a professional manner and get results; then Ken is the realtor that you want to represent you.”
Tom R., Buyer, Ocean Hills Country Club, Oceanside, April 2023
Verified reviews. Tom posted this review on three independent platforms, where it can be read and verified directly:
- Google review for Ken Tritle, DreamWell Homes Realty
- Realtor.com review, posted April 7, 2023
- RateMyAgent verified review
- More reviews on our Zillow profile
- More client reviews on our site
Read our client’s full review here.
Common Questions About Buying While You Are on the Move
What is a backup offer, and is it worth making one?
A backup offer is a formal, written offer that takes effect automatically if the accepted offer falls through. First backup position means you are next in line. It costs nothing beyond the paperwork, and it typically allows you to withdraw if you find something else in the meantime. In a competitive market it is one of the more underused tools available: transactions collapse for all sorts of reasons, and a buyer sitting in backup position can acquire the home without it returning to the MLS and starting a new round of bidding. That is exactly what happened here.
Should I get into a bidding war on a home I love?
Only if the price still works for you at the top of your range. Tom and his wife chose not to compete, took first backup position instead, and ended up with the home anyway. They could afford that patience because they had no housing deadline. If you are under time pressure — a lease ending, a sale already closed, a rent-back expiring — you have less room to walk away, which is one of several reasons to think carefully about sequencing before you start.
Can I buy a home in San Diego while living out of the area?
Yes, and we do it regularly. These clients were traveling full-time in an RV and viewed their eventual home over FaceTime from Texas with barely any signal. What it requires is an agent set up to work remotely: sending listings and floor plans proactively, walking homes on video, giving an honest assessment of condition rather than a flattering one, and handling documents electronically. Many buyers also arrange to be in the area for a concentrated stretch of touring to narrow the choice, then handle the final selection remotely.
Should I buy a fixer-upper when downsizing?
It depends entirely on whether you want the project. Buying an original-condition home keeps the purchase price down and lets you shape the result, which suited these clients well — they enjoy renovating. But it means living through construction, managing contractors, and absorbing overruns. For most downsizing buyers, particularly where health or mobility is part of the reason for moving, a home that is ready to live in is worth paying more for. Be honest with yourself about which you are before you tour a fixer.
Where do my belongings go if I sell before I buy?
Into storage, usually — but sort before you store rather than after. Storing the entire contents of a family home and deciding later means paying monthly for items you will never keep, then paying again to move them to the new house. Measure the new home first where you can. Portable container services often work better than a traditional unit, since belongings are loaded once and delivered to the new address rather than handled repeatedly. Senior Move Managers can take the whole process off your hands.
Thinking About a Move Like This?
Selling a family home and landing somewhere smaller and simpler is the most common move we handle in North County San Diego. Here is what we have written about it:
- Downsizing in San Diego: the complete guide — when to start, Proposition 19 property taxes, buy-first versus sell-first, Senior Move Managers, and which communities suit downsizers
- Where to live between homes — RVs, rent-backs, extended escrows, and what to do with your belongings
- All our downsizing articles
- Single-story homes for sale in San Diego County
- Top 10 gated 55+ communities in San Diego County
Warm Invitation to Your Own Success Story
At DreamWell Homes Realty, we love helping our clients find the perfect homes that meet their unique needs. Whether you’re dreaming of a fixer-upper to make your own or a move-in ready home in a vibrant community, we’re here to guide you every step of the way. Let us help you create your own success story.
We look forward to helping you find your perfect place to call home!
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