Buying in Baker Ranch for investment property?

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jumpinjacks said:
seachange said:
eclipxe said:
The California Court Company said:
hahaha. that made my day. Foothill Ranch as best kept secret? in this day and age, there is no best kept secret. Foothill Ranch is trading at lower real estate value, simply because it sucks and the demand is lower.
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Foothill Ranch is trading at an all time high for Foothill Ranch, and that is a good thing. It is trading at a lower value than Irvine, yes but that is to be expected. EVERYTHING trades lower than Irvine except for coastal. Irvine sets the bar. Foothill Ranch is more expensive than other South OC cities - MV, RSM, older LF, etc.

And I agree with SoCal - there is something special/unique about FHR - the elevation, neighborhoods, "enclave-feel" gives it a unique character. It also helps that it borders Irvine so you have access to all the amenities/restaurants/entertainment you would in irvine.

If I didn't live in Baker Ranch, I'd either live in FHR-proper or AV.
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Thanks to the Lake Forest folks for the info about the area.

Yes, I'm thinking that if Irvine real estate values go up, the surrounding cities, including FHR will go up as well, as people look to neighborhoods with prices that are less frothy. For me, living in Irvine would cut down my commute to work by a few minutes, ditto the commute to Trader Joe's or something, but is that enough for me to plunk down additional $ in mello roos and more for the price of the house? I'm beginning to think not.

Went hiking in Whiting Ranch today -- stopped by at the nearby Starbucks in FHR afterwards -- the overall vibe of the neighborhood is really very similar to Irvine. Clean, lots of palm trees, feels quite safe.
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Hi! New here. I've lived in OC for about 12+ years, from So Cal though and bounced around Costa Mesa and Irvine and we ended up buying recently in Lake Forest. We both work in the Lake Forest/South Irvine area so commute is pretty good except crossing Lake Forest is a pain sometimes.

I was initially not into Lake Forest and wanted Costa Mesa due to things to do/dining (Target+Sprouts in 1 lot AND Ikea down the st). But even though central, a few streets over, tons of crowded apartments, and I was a little too close to freeway for comfort. Rented from Irvine Company, nice enough in Portola Springs area but after house hunting - 2 bed/2 bath, 2 story, 2 car tandem, no yard, $550k with mello roos and HOA monthly payment at time would be equiv to $700k home normal tax rate, we just couldn't stomach Irvine premium. Now in a 1500 sq ft single story 3 bed/2bath with 8k+ sq lot. They just don't make new builds with these kind of lot sizes anymore. We also did some remodeling prior to moving in.

Different needs/wants depending on your situation, but Lake Forest worked for us. We do drive further to visit family and friends on the weekend. And I do miss having a true asian grocery nearby, but works for us. Noticing though Lake Forest/Mission Viejo had a pretty good discount in price vs Central OC, but seeing that gap narrow in the last year or so to me.
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Thanks for sharing. We also were initially interested in Costa Mesa, but it is pretty expensive out there, sometimes more so than Irvine...I figure if we don't frequent some of those stores, like Ikea or certain favorite restaurants, more than once a month, then it's not really worth it to live so close by.

Any words of wisdom about the school district? Our toddler won't be going to school for a few years yet but would be good to know now.
 
the only outstanding elem school is Victoria in CM proper.  but iirc CM eastside is zoned to newport-mesa elem schools that are better as they share student population with newport heights/east bay.
 
Let me ask my friend who lived in Lake Forest then Mission Viejo recently. I'm zoned to Lake Forest Elementary, which has a GATE program. Generally I think the schools a tad closer to Muirlands and the 5 between Bake and El Toro are not as great as schools more inland, above Jeronimo. Saddleback (district) rated 13th on the best for buck in this nerdwallet articlehttps://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/cities/best-school-districts-southern-california-2015/

Generally when I look at Redfin, Irvine listings have 8-10 ratings with Lake Forest starting at 6 (in the freeway areas above) to 7-9 more inland with Lake Forest/Mission Viejo high. Then Costa Mesa is in 4/5 for elementary and high schools. Combined there it is Newport/Mesa and the Newport side for the longest time wants to break away from the Mesa portion of the district.

I'll ask my friend some time about her personal experiences.
 
seachange said:
I'm interested in what folks have to say about Lake Forest's school districts as well.
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Lake Forest is served by a single school district... Saddleback Valley Unified.
 
I am interested to understand why Foothill Ranch seams to be tolerant of homeless people living in their cars hanging out in their new public library parking lot under the solar shades. They are literally 100 feet from the elementary school. I am considering to purchase Summit at Baker Ranch for almost $1.7Million and went to scout the area to feel the vibe of their Foothill Ranch Elementary school. I happened to drive through the the public library parking lot on a Friday afternoon around 1:00pm. I saw literally about five cars with displaced people inside on of them while the library was closed on Fridays. As baker ranch is a non gated community with great new parks and pathways, don't residents feel uncomfortable that they could face unwanted attention. Believe me, I have nothing against homeless people, I feel bad they are put in an unfortunate situation, however, I don't know if I would want to spend 1.7 million in a non gated community. The most expensive homes in Lake Forest around the lake area are gated.
 
AlexG said:
I am interested to understand why Foothill Ranch seams to be tolerant of homeless people living in their cars hanging out in their new public library parking lot under the solar shades. They are literally 100 feet from the elementary school. I am considering to purchase Summit at Baker Ranch for almost $1.7Million and went to scout the area to feel the vibe of their Foothill Ranch Elementary school. I happened to drive through the the public library parking lot on a Friday afternoon around 1:00pm. I saw literally about five cars with displaced people inside on of them while the library was closed on Fridays. As baker ranch is a non gated community with great new parks and pathways, don't residents feel uncomfortable that they could face unwanted attention. Believe me, I have nothing against homeless people, I feel bad they are put in an unfortunate situation, however, I don't know if I would want to spend 1.7 million in a non gated community. The most expensive homes in Lake Forest around the lake area are gated.
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Not just the library.  This past month, I saw a homeless woman in front of the Foothill Ranch Target camped out with her sleeping bag on top of a pile of cardboard.  My first thought was, wow, Cal Court was right!  But since SoCal moved back to Irvine, I guess he can't bag on Foothill Ranch anymore.  Eclipxe, what say you?
 
I work near FR so I see this almost daily.  I've noticed:
- Gypsy's near Red Robin
- 2 Homeless living in cars/RV's in Walmart Parking lot
- Woman with 2 young children begging at Ralphs lot on Portola
- Older man appears to be living at/near the toll road overpass on bake (near Shell station)

There's also a Sheriff's office very near by (though in LF not FR) so not sure why they don't clean up the area a bit. 

AlexG, I was also considering the Summit and I'm sure the models will be crazy awesome with some nice views - but buying the most expensive home in the city is usually not your best bet unless you want to live there forever.  Not a huge pool of buyers for this once resale hits probably.  I'd say you're much better off paying $1.6M for a Laguna Altura home with 2,900sq ft.  You won't have the high ceilings, the views, or the big lots, but in 10 yrs I think you'll be glad you did.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I truly think Baker Ranch would be an ideal community if the city and police address these issues which seems to be overlooked as many people in is forum agree they do exist Especially having homeless people near elementary schools. if here issues are resolved, it must improve the home values and attract international buyers looking for safe neighborhoods with great schools.The amenities in and near Baker Ranch such as the promenade park, sports park are amazing and you definitely get more home for your money than in Irvine. Laguna Altura does seem like a good alternative to Baker Ranch especially if you factor in the IUSD and University High School.
 
yes, too bad about that constitution thing that allows people to be in public spaces.

and too bad about the terrific way we as a society care for our most vulnerable  such that families need live in parking lots.

real-estate values could be so much higher if we just put them out of sight!

 
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