Baker Ranch Sinkhole? Need your feedback.

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aquabliss

aquabliss

Well-known member
I'm considering the purchase of a Baker Ranch home on a lot that has some good and bad to it.  It has no one behind it which I like very much, but it backs up to a storage facility (which actually stores RV's at the far end), which isn't great but I went and spoke to the management there, they showed me around - the place is very clean and seems pretty quiet (no access after 10p). 

Anyhow, when I was looking at an aerial view of the property on my iPad, I noticed that the satellite views on Google Maps had the land grated, but when I zoomed in, the higher res satellite views showed the area before the land was grated and then I saw *it*...

This big black abyss in the image attached seems to be either a small pond (which makes sense as there's trees surrounding it), or a huge sinkhole that goes to the center of the earth. 

I called and asked the sales manager about this but of course she has no idea what I'm talking about and all the land has been leveled and grated properly. 

Can you guys take a look at this picture and let me know what you think this might be?  Am I making too big of a deal out of nothing?  Or is this something that may be seriously concerning later if I buy a lot on/near this thing and run into major structural issues in 5 years that the builder has "no idea" about.

If anyone wants to check this out on their own, for some reason you can't see it on the maps.google.com website on a desktop, it only shows on maps.google.com on my iPad and only when I go to this area and zoom in far enough.  A couple zooms out and you can see the grated pads...

 
 

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Ah good find... Perhaps it was just some kind of shadow or some anomaly when the photo was taken (like right after a storm).

Hoping its nothing but not sure if ill ever know exactly.
 
It is not a sinkhole. When a large area is being graded the soil is loose and has very little adhesion to the original ungraded surface. A safety measured resulted from a hydrology study dictated the detention basin is put in to direct all run off water to the basin from the torrential rain you recently had in California. This safety precaution avoids disastrous mud run off recently experienced in Glendora and Azusa.

Knowledge like this is what keeps TI interesting but local Orwellian developers persecute the intellectuals in Irvine's cultural revolution.
 
Looks like it may have been a shallow pool of water that dried up based on the photos and the trees that were surrounding it.  IMHO, I would not be too worried about it.
 
Thanks all for the replies... In the end, I decided against Baker Ranch and will be buying in PP.  The location and lot size in PP made the decision a bit easier.  My wife and I just really like the neighborhood feel there.

Bones those are all good questions that I don't know the answers to :) but they are things I was thinking about as well and it leaves a big question mark 5/10 years down the road. 

Guess I'll be stressing about the mello Roos in PP instead haha
 
Buying in PP is actually a better choice than many villages. Homes actually are being built on a larger property size compared to neighboring villages. Many buyers are fooled by the builders gimmick of focusing on the size of the home and not the land.
 
bones said:
aquabliss said:
Thanks all for the replies... In the end, I decided against Baker Ranch and will be buying in PP.  The location and lot size in PP made the decision a bit easier.  My wife and I just really like the neighborhood feel there.

Bones those are all good questions that I don't know the answers to :) but they are things I was thinking about as well and it leaves a big question mark 5/10 years down the road. 

Guess I'll be stressing about the mello Roos in PP instead haha
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Congrats!  I think you made the right choice (but of course I do  ;D).  Welcome to the neighborhood!
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Thanks, I'm very happy with the decision, and it was just in the nick of time I think.  My builder released their Phase 4 lots today and when I went in to drop off my paperwork they said they already signed 2 contracts today for the new phase and another for the standing inventory home I was really close to buying instead. 

I'm pretty sure if I didn't go under contract yesterday, the house would have sold this weekend because they dramatically raised prices on all plans in Phase 4 and it made the one I bought look like an amazing deal.

Now I need to read up on the landscaping thread because at the size of my 5,700 sq ft lot, I'm going to be broke in no time.  :)
 
Bones - Yep it was a straggler from Phase 1 that wasn't as popular because it didn't have the Bonus Room.  We would have loved to get it but would have cost about $110k more + upgrades in the current phase (they no longer build that plan without the bonus room).  Plus as you mention, has pretty good upgrades like full panel slider (also included in new phases), great appliance upgrades, lighting packages, quartz counters, etc.

Logik - It's in Whistler tract / William Lyon
 
bones said:
irvinehomeowner said:
Just think of it as a lake.

Baker Ranch is now waterfront property. :)
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Just like the Keys!  Now the $1m pricetag makes sense!!

Aquabliss - looks pretty harmless to me. How long is the storage facility lease?  What other commercial uses can be on that site if the storage facility were to go away. Is the land owned by the Baker family?
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$1m isnt bad for what you get at Highlands.  Curved stair case, floorplan.  6 bed 5 bath for $1m.  I know schools aren't as good as IUSD.  But Irvine is getting too packed and too many fobs.  I'd be more concerned with proximity to the industrial buildings rather than the jail.  That doesnt bother me and seeing how fast the Highlands and Heights are selling, it doesn't bother other people either. Once everything is done building in BR, it might be better.

Did they ever decide if there will be a BR elementary?
 
One of the sales rep said to me No.
Due to every year around 1% dropouts and school district is confident to fit all BR residents in various elementary schools. But for now FR is guaranteed?
Based on enrollment and seat availability FR may not accept after few years?.
 
I read on the news that in Jan. 2014 the State board awarded Orange County a $80 million construction grant to expand the James A. Musick jail which is less than 1 mile from these Baker Ranch homes. 

And that the Board of Supervisors is expected to accept the grant in July, and construction is targeted for summer 2017.  Not sure if that's a done deal but looking ahead I would definitely worry.  More inmates and who knows...maybe even a greater expansion of the jail in the years ahead. 
 
speed said:
I read on the news that in Jan. 2014 the State board awarded Orange County a $80 million construction grant to expand the James A. Musick jail which is less than 1 mile from these Baker Ranch homes. 

And that the Board of Supervisors is expected to accept the grant in July, and construction is targeted for summer 2017.  Not sure if that's a done deal but looking ahead I would definitely worry.  More inmates and who knows...maybe even a greater expansion of the jail in the years ahead.
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There's another thread that talks about the jail.http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,11550.0.html

 
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