What to Do When the Crime Rate in Chula Vista Has You Ready to Sell Your House

I was road tripping through Southern California recently and caught Chula Vista during their annual Lemon Festival.  I was starving from six hours of driving so I stopped to pig out on lemon sherbert and lemon meringue pie. Afterwards, I decided to take a stroll around this beach city, where I always had a view of the water.  

But when I got to Palomar and 3rd Street, I suddenly felt like I was in a different town altogether. There was almost no one on the streets and many of the properties were completely vacant. It was almost spooky. I ducked into the first coffee shop I saw for an espresso and struck up a conversation with a man at the counter named Mark.

Mark was a local, so he explained the situation to me. The Palomar and 3rd Street neighborhood is currently one of the most dangerous parts of Chula Vista, which explains why it has a 14.3% vacancy rate – higher than 72.2% of American neighborhoods. He told me a story of a young woman who was shot and killed just a year ago at the same spot I had just walked by.

He owned a house not too far from the coffee shop and admitted that he was ready to move. As a family man with three kids, he just couldn’t take the risk of violence anymore, which was on the rise more than ever. He was hoping to move into a smaller house in a safer neighborhood in San Diego.

Luckily, we were able to help Mark make the move. After crunching some numbers, we were able to give him a fair cash deal just 24 hours after he and I met in the coffee shop. This gave him enough money to find a new place near his favorite place in San Diego, Mission Bay Park.  

Chula Vista’s Crime Rate Is on the Rise

I had heard talk about the recent rise in crime in Chula Vista, but I hadn’t realized how severe it had become until I spoke with Mark. FBI data shows that the crime rate in Chula Vista is considerably higher than the national average. You have a 1 in 50 chance of being the victim of a violent crime and the crime rate is higher than that of 47% of the rest of California cities. The San Diego Union Tribune reported back in September 2015 that violent crime had dipped countywide, but actually rose in Chula Vista at the same time.

A lot of the violent crime can be accredited to the drug cartels that are moving into the area because of the town’s close proximity to the Mexican border. Chula Vista Police Lt. Lon Turner went on record to say, “If you live in the city of Chula Vista, you will see drug traffickers driving down the street.” And with the arrest of an additional 60 suspected Sinaloa-based cartel members just last year after a Chula Vista drug investigation, it’s easy to see what he’s talking about.

What This Means for Your Property

Not many people are currently looking to move to Chula Vista and plenty of them are looking to move out. With so many more affordable and secure options around them, even in the city of San Diego itself, why would tenants stay in a hot zone like Chula Vista rather than look for greener pastures just miles away?

Let’s take a look at San Diego, which is just a 15-minute drive away. The unemployment rate is just 4%, which is 2% lower than the national average. It’s a bustling city full of opportunity and fun activities, like the annual Comic-Con and summer cookouts. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is approximately $1750 – which is just $300 dollars more than you’re likely to find in Chula Vista.  

The only things holding them back from moving towards a better quality of life are a freeway and the real estate market. With news like this circulating, the likelihood that your house could sit on the market for some time is high. And even if you can find a buyer, you may not get the price you were hoping for and the real estate agent will take a sizeable chunk of that in commission. So what are you supposed to do?

Let Sell Your House Direct Help

Sell Your House Direct will buy your house if you can’t find a buyer or if you need to move quickly, just like we did for Mark. In fact, I followed up with Mark not too long ago. He told me that when he met me, he’d been in a panic. He knew he couldn’t keep the house and he also knew it would be impossible to sell. That’s why we gave him a fair price for it right away—because it allowed him to move his family up to San Diego within a week, rather than months after putting the house on the market.

Safety is important and if you’re not feeling safe, you need to act fast. Sell Your House Direct is the reliable and trusted way to get cash for your home in no time at all. In as little as 24 hours after our first conversation, we’ll make you a cash offer on your Chula Vista house and once you accept, we can close the deal in a matter of days. You don’t have to make any repairs or talk to any agents. We simply buy your house hassle-free so you can move along. It really is that easy. Don’t waste valuable time living in an area that could be a danger to you and your family. Call us today.