Listings that pique my interest... feedback?

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we finally checked out augusta over the weekend and were very impressed.  we fell in love with plan 1 and 3 but 3 gave much more space and that downstairs bedroom/bath.  the price is much lower than anything in woodbury and if the promised parks get built out, it will be an amazing location.  the MR is about $2K more per year than WB (yes its large but so is WB so $2K more is trivial) which translates into a $780K at WB.  basically if a san marino house was $780K, your monthly would be a wash compared to plan 3 3000sq ft at $745K.  unfortunately, san marino isnt close to $780K and is approx $250K more.  is that $250K worth irvine schools, irvine address, and not being on former base where you cant plant any deep root plants?  but then you also get very dense living, product that looks the same, fob galore, and further from 405 if you go to LA a lot like we do...

we are clearly debating heavily right now on this exact topic.  the schools arent a big deal as that $250K more translates to ~$1500 a month which would easily augment education at any school in OC.  also friends in west irvine are happy with their tustin schools so no reason to believe that this area wont eventually have similar TUSD schools.  the location is actually much better and we like the look of the neighborhood more that WB.  so it pretty much comes down to the possible health factors...
 
I think the issue is that the TUSD schools that service Columbus Square aren't on par with the ones that service Tustin Ranch and West Irvine.

But... it's not the schools... it's the parents! (?2008 graphrix)
 
Tustin Legacy will probably have a good Elementary school once the neighborhood has enough school age children (that's the claim from Tustin Unified since the school is currently an adult continuation school). The middle school is Currie which is simply horrible, and Tustin High is okay.

Apparently, like IUSD, you can send your kids to any school in Tustin Unified, so you could technically get into the Tustin Ranch schools, but only if there is space (unlikely), and you have to figure in the longer commute.
 
totally agree that the current schools are lacking.  but they do allow you to send your kids to any TUSD that has space and we have a 1.5 year old so we have plenty of time before schools really become an issue. 
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I think the issue is that the TUSD schools that service Columbus Square aren't on par with the ones that service Tustin Ranch and West Irvine.

But... it's not the schools... it's the parents! (?2008 graphrix)
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this is my concern with Augusta at CS - i feel like i would have to send our unborn kids to private school, in addition to paying 6-7K in MR each year. otherwise the location is very good and the plan 1 and 3 are really nice.
 
qwerty said:
irvinehomeowner said:
I think the issue is that the TUSD schools that service Columbus Square aren't on par with the ones that service Tustin Ranch and West Irvine.

But... it's not the schools... it's the parents! (?2008 graphrix)
Click to expand...

this is my concern with Augusta at CS - i feel like i would have to send our unborn kids to private school, in addition to paying 6-7K in MR each year. otherwise the location is very good and the plan 1 and 3 are really nice.
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i have friends in IUSD that had their kids in montessoris till 3rd grade anyway...if we did that, thats ~7 years from now before we have to worry about IUSD or TUSD.  its hard for someone to guarantee that irvine schools will still be great in 7 years or that much better than future schools of tustin.  not saying that its not looking that way but with so many variables, i am leaning towards saving $$$ today. 
 
rkp said:
qwerty said:
irvinehomeowner said:
I think the issue is that the TUSD schools that service Columbus Square aren't on par with the ones that service Tustin Ranch and West Irvine.

But... it's not the schools... it's the parents! (?2008 graphrix)
Click to expand...

this is my concern with Augusta at CS - i feel like i would have to send our unborn kids to private school, in addition to paying 6-7K in MR each year. otherwise the location is very good and the plan 1 and 3 are really nice.
Click to expand...

i have friends in IUSD that had their kids in montessoris till 3rd grade anyway...if we did that, thats ~7 years from now before we have to worry about IUSD or TUSD.  its hard for someone to guarantee that irvine schools will still be great in 7 years or that much better than future schools of tustin.  not saying that its not looking that way but with so many variables, i am leaning towards saving $$$ today. 
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Once you have experienced a good Montessori school, you will feel IUSD schools are very sub par in comparison and want to keep your child in Montessori as long as you can.
 
There is no such thing as a Chidian under achiever. Send them to any school and they will rise to the top. For bragging right that is a different story.
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
There is no such thing as a Chidian under achiever. Send them to any school and they will rise to the top. For bragging right that is a different story.
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Chindian children have mastered Multi Variable Calculus by the 3rd grade.
 
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/41-Rising-Sun-92620/home/5950655

Plan 3 portisol, priced about $20k lower then its sale in '05, like the vaulted entry but it seems like a very "small" vaulted entry.  Like the efficient layout (or is it the lack of furniture).. Travertine? floors might be too chilly for me.. decent yard for what you get in woodbury..about $4k in MR/yr

Do Portisol Plan 3's come in different flavors?  Some in the past listed with different sq ft.  I think I might be interested if more in the low $300/sq ft. 

Not too familiar with Portisol but surprise to see a CalPac product where the stairs are not hidden behind the great room..
 
ps99472 said:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/41-Rising-Sun-92620/home/5950655

Plan 3 portisol, priced about $20k lower then its sale in '05, like the vaulted entry but it seems like a very "small" vaulted entry.  Like the efficient layout (or is it the lack of furniture).. Travertine? floors might be too chilly for me.. decent yard for what you get in woodbury..about $4k in MR/yr

Do Portisol Plan 3's come in different flavors?  Some in the past listed with different sq ft.  I think I might be interested if more in the low $300/sq ft. 

Not too familiar with Portisol but surprise to see a CalPac product where the stairs are not hidden behind the great room..
Click to expand...

This particular Portisol Plan 3 does not have the 3rd floor attic/loft.  CalPac made 2 versions of the Plan 3's. One without attic/loft, one with.  At its peak, CalPac tacked on approx $80K to $100K more for the attic/loft.
 
IHS - is that an easy thing to do after the fact?  Like follow exactly how CalPac did it and do the same to add 3rd floor loft?  And would it cost $80K or substantially more?
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
Not a bad deal to buy 450 sf of space for $80k . That is less than $200/sf.
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exactly. that is why the plans with the attic/loft sold like hot cakes. the attic/loft also has a full bath (shower, no tub).
 
ps99472 said:
Do Portisol Plan 3's come in different flavors?  Some in the past listed with different sq ft.  I think I might be interested if more in the low $300/sq ft. 

Not too familiar with Portisol but surprise to see a CalPac product where the stairs are not hidden behind the great room..
Click to expand...
The Portisol Plan 4 is the Plan 3 with a 4th bedroom over the Parlor. The Plan 5 is the Plan 4 with a 3rd floor. 3 models with the same basic floorplan... CalPac style (now IrvPac style too).
 
we looked at a home where the owner had already pulled the permits to add a loft that would add about 300 sq ft. the quote to build out the loft was about 12K.

80K to build out a loft sounds incredibly expensive.
 
12K extra for ~500 sq ft makes this house something to really consider.  IHS- you seem to know more on these projects than anyone else...is this even possible?
 
rkp said:
12K extra for ~500 sq ft makes this house something to really consider.  IHS- you seem to know more on these projects than anyone else...is this even possible?
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I'll defer to ihs, but my guesses are as follows:

$12K would be to "floor out" an open space on a second floor (I believe I've toured the same house that qwerty mentioned). It comes at a loss of the volume ceilings and closes off the feel of the first floor but does not change the exterior.

The $80K difference would likely be to change/add a 3rd floor where there wasn't one before. $80K would be from the original build. If the home is existing already, the cost would likely well-exceed $100K to add on.

-IR2
 
IrvineRealtor said:
rkp said:
12K extra for ~500 sq ft makes this house something to really consider.  IHS- you seem to know more on these projects than anyone else...is this even possible?
Click to expand...

I'll defer to ihs, but my guesses are as follows:

$12K would be to "floor out" an open space on a second floor (I believe I've toured the same house that qwerty mentioned). It comes at a loss of the volume ceilings and closes off the feel of the first floor but does not change the exterior.

The $80K difference would likely be to change/add a 3rd floor where there wasn't one before. $80K would be from the original build. If the home is existing already, the cost would likely well-exceed $100K to add on.

-IR2
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yes, i was referring to "flooring out" an open space within the house. i just clicked on the link and saw that this would actually be adding a third floor, that seems like it would be very expensive and not worth the head ache.
 
ps99472 said:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/36-Juneberry-92606/home/7217338

Another Columbus Grove short sale, 44% haircut from 2005, must be depressing to live there if I follow RE.  Great price but where's the bottom? 

So what's the problem with short sales in this area?  Bought at peak?  Lennar too lenient with funny money financing? 

Location is probably the most determining factor.  Other homes built around Irvine in 2005 are not losing as much ground as here.
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Looks like this may have been a load mod fisher.

There was a broker preview on Wed but it was cancelled... it was supposed to be rescheduled but now Juneberry is delisted.
 
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