Advice on current Irvine/Tustin Resale market (<$800k) First time buyer

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JohnT said:
I have to agree. Tustin Legacy is a lot more desirable than 92780. Take that from someone looking for a house. We can afford the prices there, but not the prices PLUS mello roos.

We are on the Levity list just in case we really like those, but a condo is a backup for us at this point. We have almost decided entirely to avoid any significant mello roos.
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I know Tustin legacy is more desirable, that?s why the area you looking at is priced lower and probably always will be. I was trying to convey your concern about future appreciation being impacted by the lower ranked schools. If in the next five years Irvine goes up 20%, Tustin legacy may go up 16-18%, the area your looking at may for up 13-15%. The three markets will generally move in lockstep.
 
JohnT said:
What would be your guys? opinion on a house like this.https://www.redfin.com/CA/Tustin/12547-Wedgwood-Cir-92780/home/4757205

We saw this open house maybe two weeks ago, one of the first we looked at. It needed some updating, but had potential. Only thing we weren?t sure about is the area in terms of appreciation and we had no idea if the price was reasonable or not. Since it was basically the first SFR we looked at we didn?t do a ton of digging on it. Biggest gripe would be laundry in garage.
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It's okay. The inside doesn't need much updating but that area is hit and miss. It's close to quite a few food places we like (Roma D Italia!) but not sure how that neighborhood and general area is for a young family.

And at $768k, I'd rather buy the Tustin Ranch (Stephenson) or Irvine (Picasso) ones I linked to. Since I'm hardcore Irvine, I would prefer the Picasso one but if you don't mind Tustin Ranch, gated and newer, Stephenson might be more your style (although there is an HOA). I also think Halifax is good but then you are going above  $800k.

It's really sad that there isn't much inventory in 3br SFRs in Irvine under $800k. Our previous 4/3 SFR that we sold a few years ago is probably worth close to $1m  now... that's insane.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
JohnT said:
What would be your guys? opinion on a house like this.https://www.redfin.com/CA/Tustin/12547-Wedgwood-Cir-92780/home/4757205

We saw this open house maybe two weeks ago, one of the first we looked at. It needed some updating, but had potential. Only thing we weren?t sure about is the area in terms of appreciation and we had no idea if the price was reasonable or not. Since it was basically the first SFR we looked at we didn?t do a ton of digging on it. Biggest gripe would be laundry in garage.
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It's okay. The inside doesn't need much updating but that area is hit and miss. It's close to quite a few food places we like (Roma D Italia!) but not sure how that neighborhood and general area is for a young family.

And at $768k, I'd rather buy the Tustin Ranch (Stephenson) or Irvine (Picasso) ones I linked to. Since I'm hardcore Irvine, I would prefer the Picasso one but if you don't mind Tustin Ranch, gated and newer, Stephenson might be more your style (although there is an HOA). I also think Halifax is good but then you are going above  $800k.

It's really sad that there isn't much inventory in 3br SFRs in Irvine under $800k. Our previous 4/3 SFR that we sold a few years ago is probably worth close to $1m  now... that's insane.
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To be honest we?d never pay 768k for that home, it?s definitely overpriced considering you can get one in Irvine that needs updating for 775k. If it gets down to around 730 or something maybe we?d consider it.

The issue with that Stephenson one is its technically a condo so the mortgage rate we?d get is worse than a SFR at the same price. We?d have to put 25% down on a condo in order to get the same rate as a 10% down SFR at the same price. Our broker thinks that maybe they can convince the lender that although zoned as condo it?s valued as a SFR. That place would be great if it was SFR and we could bargain the price down a bit. It?s very close to my parents.

We?d really love to get a place in Irvine, but at 750-800 the homes are really lackluster and need quite a bit of work. We?d need to get some of these 800k homes in Irvine with original stuff down to 740-750 for it to make sense to us since we?d have to put in  a lot of time and money to turn it into a place we want to live in for years.
 
@JohnT:

Check with your broker but detached condos usually have a similar rate to SFRs.

I made this mistake when trying to get FHA financing for a detached condo years ago. The broker originally said you couldn't do that for condos but after looking further, detached condos was an exception.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
@JohnT:

Check with your broker but detached condos usually have a similar rate to SFRs.

I made this mistake when trying to get FHA financing for a detached condo years ago. The broker originally said you couldn't do that for condos but after looking further, detached condos was an exception.
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Yeah, we were quoted about 0.2-0.25% higher for a detached condo vs SFR and since those command a bit less on sale price it sort of evens out. For an attached condo it was a larger gap in rate. Only issue is a lot of the detached condos have high HOAs, relative to SFR,  which negate the savings. When we look at places we look at total cost per month. This includes stuff like if there a lot of trees/vegetation or it has a pool that would add a bit monthly in maintenance. 

So a place may look great until we add in the extra $250/month HOA and we instantly are less interested. We rarely use community pools. Only thing we may use is if they had a small gym on site.
 
Welp, too late (unless that was you who made the offer yesterday)...

BTW, you can always check the Mello Roos online.  Looks like this one has about $2,100 annually:
http://oct.estreamone.com/Show.aspx?parcel=935-456-14&year=2018

Look for the words "Bond" or "CFD" in the line items to find the Mello.
 
Wasn?t us.

I think we have come to the decision to focus on Tustin Ranch and get a newer build (1990s) where the mello roos is very low, but still get the good schools. Bonus is the convenience of being 5 minutes away from my parents and if we get lucky walking distance to elementary school. We?ve seen a few houses we like sell for around 775-800k in Tustin Ranch so if one comes up again in that price range we may jump on it. We may have to wait a but longer since we?re narrowing it down, but we have the luxury of staying with my parents when our lease ends until we find the right place and don?t have to feel desperate to get in a house.

If something comes up that?s a good price in Irvine we?d still be open to it, but we?re not that concerned about the schools. Beckman and Pioneer are still great schools.
 
JohnT said:
Wasn?t us.

I think we have come to the decision to focus on Tustin Ranch and get a newer build (1990s) where the mello roos is very low, but still get the good schools. Bonus is the convenience of being 5 minutes away from my parents and if we get lucky walking distance to elementary school. We?ve seen a few houses we like sell for around 775-800k in Tustin Ranch so if one comes up again in that price range we may jump on it. We may have to wait a but longer since we?re narrowing it down, but we have the luxury of staying with my parents when our lease ends until we find the right place and don?t have to feel desperate to get in a house.

If something comes up that?s a good price in Irvine we?d still be open to it, but we?re not that concerned about the schools. Beckman and Pioneer are still great schools.
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Tustin Ranch vs Irvine

3 million in Tustin Ranchhttps://www.movoto.com/tustin-ca/2510-jones-ln-tustin-ca-92782-203_p428638/for-sale/

3 million in Irvine 0.5 miles awayhttps://www.movoto.com/irvine-ca/107-treasure-irvine-ca-92602-206_oc17153011/for-sale/
 
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