Casero - Portola Springs

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
IrvinePilot said:
iacrenter said:
IrvinePilot said:
Patrick Star said:
nytransplant said:
I wonder if they are tying to comply with the stat regulations to build more housing in Irvine.  In my opinion it is simply the ghettoization of the suburbs.  So much for the american dream of the nice SFR and picket fence
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This is an excellent point.  IHO likes to joke about it, but these new products being offered by TIC are really just sad and pathetic.  I mean really --- is anyone planning on buying these as a "family home" that you hope to live out your years in?  Where you hope you grandchildren will visit?  Heck no.  These are transient properties --- half a step above an IAC apartment.  And what happens once these properties start turning over?  Once the newness wears off in 5-10 years?  Who is going to want to buy an aging apartment with a $400 HOA (or maybe more in the future) and $4000 in mello roos? 

Serious question here:  Do you guys think Irvine is at its peak, or has yet to peak as a community?  Or was the peak of this community sometime in the past?  Does the new *urban* planning Irvine has embraced translate to this community getting better or worse during the term of the 30 year mortgage most of us would need to sign up for?

As a relatively long term resident, I know what I believe the answer is --- but curious as to what others think?
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High density in Irvine is not new.  In fact, it began in the late 90s with products like Wisteria in West Irvine (designed by our very own BK) and Cobblestone in Oak Creek.  I would say that people still ?want? those high density driveway less products despite their age.
The notion of buying a ?family home? to grow old and die in is a quaint notion but I don?t think represents modern living.  Would I like my kids to have the same childhood I had with shooting my .22 in my parents  ? acre backyard and throwing lawn darts straight up into the air and running out of the way before the dart landed?  Of course I would but I also recognize the world has changed since that time.  Kids today don?t expect to have a ? backyard so not having one shouldn?t cause them any grief.
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One could also argue that great neighborhoods will stand the test of time if built with care. Unfortunately most new home construction is built for profit maximization and not architectural aesthetics or ideal urban planning. The way TIC is rubber stamping new neighborhoods with little regard to aesthetics and density, it is inevitable  that these villages will be considered unattractive within 30 years. I can't imagine in 50 years we will be saying "WOW, look at these beautiful homes!" when touring WB, WBE, and SonegateEast; unlike touring Pasadena, Floral Park, etc...

These newer villages will attract buyers with young families, who eventually will tire of the
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Don?t let BK influence you into believing that ?timelessness? is a paramount consideration in housing choice.  Most modern families will not live their entire lives in the same house and pass it down from generation to generation like a treasured heirloom.  When your kids or grandkids inherit your house, they will likely sell it and buy what ever  is fashionable and functional at the time.
There are some who believe the ideal lifestyle is as depicted on old Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post covers and have the inclination and resources to make that possible.  But just because you are not one of those, that does not mean your preferences are any less valid than those who subscribe to that fantasy.
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I need to accept that modern living in Irvine means:
1) Homes on postage stamp lots with no driveway
2) Oversized mortgage and HOA payments
3) Neighbors who will move out in less than 5 years

This sounds like a great recipe for developing a stable community.
 
It might be a question without an answer, but, now that the days of house prices always going UP may be over, will that not reduce the number of times people move ?  I lived in the same house while growing up and we only moved once - when we relocated from the East Coast to West Coast
 
IrvinePilot said:
BK is unquestionably the most knowledgeable poster from the old forum.  I?m not worthy of even being an anti-BK.
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I was more referring to the Irvine vs. Santa Ana (Floral Park specifically) sentiments and the slight hyperbole contained therein.

Welcome to TI... I'm not sure who you are on OCR but it would be interesting to see you post similar opinions over there.
 
So is Casero considered an SFR?

The guy at Primrose said these were Single Family Detached and they were not condos and that you own the land but yet he could not give me lot sizes.
 
From the floor plans is looks like two units share a wall (no windows on one side of every plan).  Funny they only show pics of stand alone homes ...  I wonder if they are trying to mislead people?
 
nytransplant said:
From the floor plans is looks like two units share a wall (no windows on one side of every plan).  Funny they only show pics of stand alone homes ...  I wonder if they are trying to mislead people?
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I believe like Primrose, the side with no windows faces your neighbor's courtyard as a zero lot line wall to afford them some "privacy".
 
IrvinePilot said:
When deciding where to live, you have to look at the whole package, not just a single element, like whether there is a driveway or big back yard.  Irvine has enough pluses such as great schools, lots of parks, well maintained streets, abundant and well maintained retail, office centers, educated residents, etc. to overcome the drawback of having to settle for a small house.  Most people who pay $750k for a starter box in Irvine can buy the house of their dreams somewhere else but they don't because of the other things Irvine has to offer.

You can buy something right off the pages of Architectural Digest in Floral Park for the same price as a "cookie cutter" home like Serra in PS but do you want to take a leisurely stroll five blocks south on Flower St. and see the vast Orange County Central Jail Complex on your right and the Civic Center parking lot on your left, which is the largest homeless encampment in OC with guaranteed fresh steaming human poo in the stairwells every morning?
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I do look at the whole picture and that is why I still live in Irvine--renting happily and not owning. I do love this city but NOT the way TIC is packaging it.

I call BS on TIC's ideal home for modern living. I expect more from them and at a better price point--yes, that also means taking into account MR and HOA too!

Obviously there are many other people voting with their wallets with the 2010 Collection and I may represent the minority here.

TIC could pass on significantly lower construction costs to consumers but instead they slice and dice on the lots and add more fluff sq footage to create the illusion of value.

I would like to one day own a home in Irvine but not now with WTF pricing in reasale and cr*p design in new sale. Hopefully as REO activity picks up later this year and into next, TIC will be forced to make some adjustments.
 
iacrenter said:
IrvinePilot said:
When deciding where to live, you have to look at the whole package, not just a single element, like whether there is a driveway or big back yard.  Irvine has enough pluses such as great schools, lots of parks, well maintained streets, abundant and well maintained retail, office centers, educated residents, etc. to overcome the drawback of having to settle for a small house.  Most people who pay $750k for a starter box in Irvine can buy the house of their dreams somewhere else but they don't because of the other things Irvine has to offer.

You can buy something right off the pages of Architectural Digest in Floral Park for the same price as a "cookie cutter" home like Serra in PS but do you want to take a leisurely stroll five blocks south on Flower St. and see the vast Orange County Central Jail Complex on your right and the Civic Center parking lot on your left, which is the largest homeless encampment in OC with guaranteed fresh steaming human poo in the stairwells every morning?
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Hopefully as REO activity picks up later this year and into next, TIC will be forced to make some adjustments.
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Don't hold your breathe for that.  REO activity was supposed to increase at the end of last year and then earlier this year and it hasn't happened.  Banks will be dripping REOs into the market for the next decade.
 
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