Newer Irvine listings with crazy WTF asking prices from equity sellers

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
I understand that the FCB is loaded with cash, but this condo seems to be a horrible investment for cash flow? Wouldn't it better to put this cash in a CD and collect $64k in interest income without having to deal with tenants, toilets, and termites with no risk? With the carrying cost (HOA, Taxes, Melloroos, Vacancy etc), the FCB would be lucky to make a 2-3% yield on this tiny condo in Woodbury. Perhaps the FCB doesn't care.
This is no buyer with mortgage. It’s all cash investment considered how fast it went in and out of escrow 😀. It’ll be up for rent next week.
 
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@brergnat

Thank you for sharing. I think this is one of the main reasons why South Korea currently has the lowest birthrate in the world and singles no longer find marriage to be an attractive option. The Korean man no longer has the confidence he can take care of his woman and children in an ultra high cost area. For him to make ends meet on one income is literally impossible. The Korean woman is forced to work and contribute financially to the household. High cost of Education and Tutoring ($1000s / year) for children start at grade school.
They don't. They rent.

We aren't a young couple anymore, we are 45 with 2 "adult" (legally, as of this weekend) children still living at home. We have to rent, because without a massive down payment which we don't yet have, we can't afford to buy a suitable home here. We have been renting since we moved to Irvine in 2004. Buying has been out of the question for middle income families for a long time in Irvine. Renting is approximately 50% the monthly cost of homeownership here. Buying is a terrible financial decision right now for anyone who needs to take out a mortgage with only 20% down.
 
They don't. They rent.

We aren't a young couple anymore, we are 45 with 2 "adult" (legally, as of this weekend) children still living at home. We have to rent, because without a massive down payment which we don't yet have, we can't afford to buy a suitable home here. We have been renting since we moved to Irvine in 2004. Buying has been out of the question for middle income families for a long time in Irvine. Renting is approximately 50% the monthly cost of homeownership here. Buying is a terrible financial decision right now for anyone who needs to take out a mortgage with only 20% down.
Yeah, 2020 was the best time to buy with rates at historical low. Now it's too late.
 
I understand that the FCB is loaded with cash, but this condo seems to be a horrible investment for cash flow? Wouldn't it better to put this cash in a CD and collect $64k in interest income without having to deal with tenants, toilets, and termites with no risk? With the carrying cost (HOA, Taxes, Melloroos, Vacancy etc), the FCB would be lucky to make a 2-3% yield on this tiny condo in Woodbury. Perhaps the FCB doesn't care.
Cash in the banks is traceable. And they're probably banking on home price rising at some point as well.
 
We aren't a young couple anymore, we are 45 with 2 "adult" (legally, as of this weekend) children still living at home. We have to rent, because without a massive down payment which we don't yet have, we can't afford to buy a suitable home here. We have been renting since we moved to Irvine in 2004. Buying has been out of the question for middle income families for a long time in Irvine. Renting is approximately 50% the monthly cost of homeownership here. Buying is a terrible financial decision right now for anyone who needs to take out a mortgage with only 20% down.

Hopefully we see more housing inventory of varying types in the future in Irvine. It is so difficult for our early career employees and to support different levels of income diversity.
 
I understand that the FCB is loaded with cash, but this condo seems to be a horrible investment for cash flow? Wouldn't it better to put this cash in a CD and collect $64k in interest income without having to deal with tenants, toilets, and termites with no risk? With the carrying cost (HOA, Taxes, Melloroos, Vacancy etc), the FCB would be lucky to make a 2-3% yield on this tiny condo in Woodbury. Perhaps the FCB doesn't care.
It is only a horrible investment if price stays flat for few years. These investors are betting on Irvine RE’s at least 5-10% appreciation annually. Lots of people thought prices were at the peak 2 years ago when Fed started to raise rates. Quite frankly, the way is going. We dont know when the peak is.

I would prefer to see young professional families move into these homes instead of investors. When i sold my house in Woodbury a year and a half ago, I chose VA finance buyer ( military family with 2 young kids) over cash offer one. They wrote me a letter explaining their situation. It made me smile when I saw one of the kids walking from school when i drove by the old house one time.
 
It is only a horrible investment if price stays flat for few years. These investors are betting on Irvine RE’s at least 5-10% appreciation annually. Lots of people thought prices were at the peak 2 years ago when Fed started to raise rates. Quite frankly, the way is going. We dont know when the peak is.

I would prefer to see young professional families move into these homes instead of investors. When i sold my house in Woodbury a year and a half ago, I chose VA finance buyer ( military family with 2 young kids) over cash offer one. They wrote me a letter explaining their situation. It made me smile when I saw one of the kids walking from school when i drove by the old house one time.
Thank you for doing that. We are a military family and it is SO hard to use a VA loan in Irvine to buy a resale. My husband retired from the military in 2023 and we hope to one day be able to buy a home using his VA loan benefit, but I feel like new construction will be our only hope. It's good to know that there are some people out there willing to work with VA buyers.
 
It is only a horrible investment if price stays flat for few years. These investors are betting on Irvine RE’s at least 5-10% appreciation annually. Lots of people thought prices were at the peak 2 years ago when Fed started to raise rates. Quite frankly, the way is going. We dont know when the peak is.

I would prefer to see young professional families move into these homes instead of investors. When i sold my house in Woodbury a year and a half ago, I chose VA finance buyer ( military family with 2 young kids) over cash offer one. They wrote me a letter explaining their situation. It made me smile when I saw one of the kids walking from school when i drove by the old house one time.

Good on you, some of my sellers also preferred to sell to non FCB buyers but it can be hard when they offer way more. You know what's sad? The realtor association has instructed realtors not to send over buyer sellers to sellers because it might be discriminatory. Sorry, if a buyer agent sends a letter with their offer it's getting forwarded to my seller.
 
It's a real bummer.
2020 was only the most recent "best time to buy". There have been other times when Irvine has been in line with rental parity: 1995-1999 and 2011-2016. Both of these 4-5 year periods after a housing bubble pop have been good times to buy.

The current bubble that started with COVID money printing really hasn't popped yet, so it's still a terrible time to buy. Sooner or later, another "best time to buy" will come along, but that's not a lot of consolation when you've been waiting for so long to buy your own home.

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2020 was only the most recent "best time to buy". There have been other times when Irvine has been in line with rental parity: 1995-1999 and 2011-2016. Both of these 4-5 year periods after a housing bubble pop have been good times to buy.

The current bubble that started with COVID money printing really hasn't popped yet, so it's still a terrible time to buy. Sooner or later, another "best time to buy" will come along, but that's not a lot of consolation when you've been waiting for so long to buy your own home.

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Well, in 1995-1999 we were in high school/college and from 2011 to 2015, we were temporarily stationed in VA with the military. When we came back in 2015, 3br/2bath houses were selling for around $750,000+ and we didn't have the income to support that mortgage then as a single earner military household. Our monthly payment if we had been able to buy with a VA loan at 0% down would have been close to $5125/month for the brand new house (sold for $787,000) we rented instead for $3250. We are still in that same rental house, at a rent of $4200 today, still less than the theoretical PITI payment would have been to own.

Our income has almost tripled since 2015 and now we have the income to buy, but we are choosing to continue renting for now. I can't stomach a $9000+ monthly housing payment.
 
I forget the name of the tract but I remember looking at these when we were house shopping. The inside was soooo tiny, living room and kitchen felt like 2 10x10 bedrooms with a divider between. Literally felt like living in a tiny home. I felt anxiety there.
Cortile in Woodbury is the tract name; same floorplan is also in Aldea in Oak Creek, Sage in Quail Hill, and Chantory in Turtle Ridge.
 
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