Open letter to IrvineRenter!

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
W

wiredinoc_IHB

New member
Long time lurker, love your blog and the forums dude, you do a *most* excellent job! I enjoy the intelligent discussions, and my IQ has increased since I found you a few quarters back.



On to my request - I'm a 36 year old Costa Mesa resident living on a nice big lot on the east side, OC Native, and have been employee in IT for my entire career. I also just had my first child on January 6th. My wife and I are sitting on cash and finally decided to see if cookie cutter Irvine is the place for us. We drove around to many of the new developments near woodbridge/woodbury/whatever areas, and found them to be very stale and dead and not to our liking. That puts Irvine out of the market for us personally, however I can see how folks would enjoy areas of this city. Especially if you have kids.



So. I would like to request this - I know as a writer you are focused, and in business, this element certainly brings levels of success. I'm sitting here in CM wishing someone was profiling properties I am interested in, as we will end up probably purchasing in our town and upgrading. I feel sooo alone out here. I do feel your site is perfectly positioned to be "orangecountyhousingblog.com" and hope you consider expanding into different locales at some point.



Congrats on your success!! I'm buying your book as I dig your message, hook a brotha up and profile a Costa Mesa property sometime.



Thanks!!



MD
 
I think your best bet around here is FreedomCM, he is like-minded with you about where he wants to live and seemingly a great guy. He knows the area well and could give you some tips depending on the area in CM you want to live. I grew up there so I always have a special place in my heart for CM. My brother is in the same boat now as he is getting married in August, owns in Irvine and desperately wants to get back to Costa Mesa, so any current Costa Mesa advice is welcome for me too. Good luck!
 
Why buy a depreciating asset? Prices will drop another 35% over the next 3 to 4 years according to <a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/4073/P75/#89398">awgee</a> and he knows everything.
 
[quote author="asianinvasian" date=1231601041]Why buy a depreciating asset? Prices will drop another 35% over the next 3 to 4 years according to <a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/4073/P75/#89398">awgee</a> and he knows everything.</blockquote>


shut up invasian....





Freedom does his own CS on CM, which if I knew how to post a link to a thread I would, but since I don't, you could search in this area. I'm not being one of those search button frieks either... I don't know how to post that either. I do happen to have my knife here in CM and would happy to share anything I can as well. Definitely learned some lessons..... congrats on the little one on the way.
 
[quote author="asianinvasian" date=1231601041]Why buy a depreciating asset? Prices will drop another 35% over the next 3 to 4 years according to <a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/4073/P75/#89398">awgee</a> and he knows everything.</blockquote>


And if he's right? He's been right about every thing else so far.
 
[quote author="no_vaseline" date=1231604448][quote author="asianinvasian" date=1231601041]Why buy a depreciating asset? Prices will drop another 35% over the next 3 to 4 years according to <a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/4073/P75/#89398">awgee</a> and he knows everything.</blockquote>


And if he's right? He's been right about every thing else so far.</blockquote>


It just seems pretty lame for someone to reply to an initial post with the whole "why buy now, prices are going down another x%" without so much as responding to the posters initial question. Anyone who reads the blog is aware that the consensus around here is to wait it longer.
 
There are a few of us that follow Eastside. Some follow other parts of CM too.



The primary problem with profiling the properties is that a place like Eastside is roughly 1/3 the size (in the number of properties) of a typical Irvine Village.



A compare and contrast would be particularly interesting and I think a welcome diversion from the chronic heloc abuse stories. Some of the most enjoyable and enlightening posts on the main blog are the Village Profiles reviews done in 2007 (or was it 2006).



A similar look at nearby areas: Tustin, Eastside, MV, VP, etc would provide valuable information showing what's available and eliciting discussion as to schools, convenience and the sundry other issues of home ownership.
 
low property taxes

no mello roos

few developments even have HOA

your house doesn't need to be a shade of beige

incredibly convenient location- hubby works by spectrum and morning commute is 12 mins. shopping is all close

proximity to the beach and climate. the ocean breeze keeps it cool in the summer. we don't even have AC as we don't need it

bigger lots and yards

if you like the sterility of irvine, probably won't like cm. on the other hand if that blandness doesn't appeal to you, then cm might.
 
I would think that getting a home in Costa Mesa that is near Newport Beach would be a great idea. You pay much less than a home with a Newport Beach address, but have close access to the beach and the ocean breeze.



Another great part of Costa Mesa is near Orange County Performing Arts center.



Need to check the quality of the schools in those area I assume.
 
Unless you're east of the 55 I wouldn't recommend Costa Mesa if you have kids unless you're going to send them to private schools.
 
I agree with the idea of expanding the blog's focus, particularly as a resident of Orange not particularly drawn to live in Irvine. There are very few potential or current Irvine residents who aren't at least *considering* nearby cities, so the constituency for an Irvine-only blog is pretty small. OTOH, there are a *lot* of people who are interested in Irvine as one of the housing choices in the OC.



The forums often heads into discussions of (sub)urban planning issues, and that's not compatible with a strict focus on an unusually planned city like Irvine.
 
[quote author="sonicko" date=1231719916]Unless you're east of the 55 I wouldn't recommend Costa Mesa if you have kids unless you're going to send them to private schools.</blockquote>


<strong>This is an incredibly uninformed comment. </strong>



Have you seen my posts on the schools of the NMUSD?



Have you investigated the schools performance personally?



Are you a cretin?
 
[quote author="freedomCM" date=1231767885][quote author="sonicko" date=1231719916]Unless you're east of the 55 I wouldn't recommend Costa Mesa if you have kids unless you're going to send them to private schools.</blockquote>


<strong>This is an incredibly uninformed comment. </strong>



Have you seen my posts on the schools of the NMUSD?



Have you investigated the schools performance personally?



Are you a cretin?</blockquote>




Oh, and I forgot, FreedomCM is very protective of his community so WATCH OUT! I was reprimanded and corrected for a negative CM comment and I'll never do it again! %-P
 
[quote author="FairEconomist" date=1231733773]I agree with the idea of expanding the blog's focus, particularly as a resident of Orange not particularly drawn to live in Irvine. There are very few potential or current Irvine residents who aren't at least *considering* nearby cities, so the constituency for an Irvine-only blog is pretty small. OTOH, there are a *lot* of people who are interested in Irvine as one of the housing choices in the OC.



The forums often heads into discussions of (sub)urban planning issues, and that's not compatible with a strict focus on an unusually planned city like Irvine.</blockquote>




Since the blog's title is "Irvine Housing Blog", I'd like to see more information on Irvine RE.



It'd be nice if we had a click-able map of Irvine, divided by HOA community areas. When you click on a HOA, it goes to that section with specific info, floorplans, discussion thread for that community, photos, etc.



Then you could expand the map to "nearby" areas, where nearby cities have a simple city-wide section, i.e. "Mission Viejo", "Lake Forest", etc.



Right now, we have a lot of good information stored in the discussion forum, but it's buried and not always easily found. It'd be nice if we had individual HOA community areas, for both home owners and renters to discuss their likes/dislikes.



As a potential revenue source for the blog, I think Zovall could sell ad space to RE agents selling homes for that specific community. So if you click on "Woodbridge" on the map, you'd see some Woodbridge properties on the market off to the side on your screen.



Going back to the original topic of this thread, I do enjoy Costa Mesa for shopping and dining. Do we have any Costa Mesa residents who can do a write-up on the city and its residential areas?
 
[quote author="freedomCM" date=1231767885][quote author="sonicko" date=1231719916]Unless you're east of the 55 I wouldn't recommend Costa Mesa if you have kids unless you're going to send them to private schools.</blockquote>


<strong>This is an incredibly uninformed comment. </strong>



Have you seen my posts on the schools of the NMUSD?



Have you investigated the schools performance personally?



Are you a cretin?</blockquote>


Which elems in NMUSD serve Costa Mesa?



IUSD elems appear to score 10% better on average than NMUSD elems and have an API close to 100 points higher on average. The mean and median API in IUSD are quite close, i.e. not a huge difference between test scores across the district. Big swing in NMUSD though. Looks like more than a third of the elems in NMUSD are sub 800 APIs while a few are solidly into the 900-range. Those would appear to be great schools to send one's kids to. They really pull up the average for the district.
 
I think it would be good to get local realtors involved in writing up neighborhood descriptions.



Despite what some of us say, they are usually very knowledgeable about their communities.



For Costa Mesa, Christine Donovan has a little blog with some basic info: http://activerain.com/blogs/cldonovan







But I agree that getting more of OC covered in a central place (like here) would be great. And might also be a revenue stream for Zovall.
 
[quote author="momopi" date=1231826923][quote author="FairEconomist" date=1231733773]I agree with the idea of expanding the blog's focus, particularly as a resident of Orange not particularly drawn to live in Irvine. There are very few potential or current Irvine residents who aren't at least *considering* nearby cities, so the constituency for an Irvine-only blog is pretty small. OTOH, there are a *lot* of people who are interested in Irvine as one of the housing choices in the OC.



The forums often heads into discussions of (sub)urban planning issues, and that's not compatible with a strict focus on an unusually planned city like Irvine.</blockquote>




Since the blog's title is "Irvine Housing Blog", I'd like to see more information on Irvine RE.



It'd be nice if we had a click-able map of Irvine, divided by HOA community areas. When you click on a HOA, it goes to that section with specific info, floorplans, discussion thread for that community, photos, etc.



Then you could expand the map to "nearby" areas, where nearby cities have a simple city-wide section, i.e. "Mission Viejo", "Lake Forest", etc.



Right now, we have a lot of good information stored in the discussion forum, but it's buried and not always easily found. It'd be nice if we had individual HOA community areas, for both home owners and renters to discuss their likes/dislikes.



As a potential revenue source for the blog, I think Zovall could sell ad space to RE agents selling homes for that specific community. So if you click on "Woodbridge" on the map, you'd see some Woodbridge properties on the market off to the side on your screen.



Going back to the original topic of this thread, I do enjoy Costa Mesa for shopping and dining. Do we have any Costa Mesa residents who can do a write-up on the city and its residential areas?</blockquote>


But there are so many helpful people on the forum!! You just ask your subject and Graphix will be very helpful and paste his search button for you to use. What more could anyone ask for?
 
[quote author="tmare" date=1231823255][quote author="freedomCM" date=1231767885][quote author="sonicko" date=1231719916]Unless you're east of the 55 I wouldn't recommend Costa Mesa if you have kids unless you're going to send them to private schools.</blockquote>


<strong>This is an incredibly uninformed comment. </strong>



Have you seen my posts on the schools of the NMUSD?



Have you investigated the schools performance personally?



Are you a cretin?</blockquote>




Oh, and I forgot, FreedomCM is very protective of his community so WATCH OUT! I was reprimanded and corrected for a negative CM comment and I'll never do it again! %-P</blockquote>


Wow, I've always thought that NMUSD was much better/stronger than the Capo district. I just checked APIs on Great Schools and was surprised to see that the median and average APIs for elems in Capo were better than those in NMUSD. Saddleback Valley scores out better than Capo as well, so it tops NMUSD too.



For kicks, I checked elems in Fo Valley and HB, and they all scored higher than NMUSD elems... It would appear that NMUSD's average elem API is closer to that of Garden Grove's than any of the other districts I checked/mentioned.
 
Here is the data for NMUSD.

<strong>

The scores clearly depend on the % ESL/free lunch, as expected.

</strong>

NPB scores are high 800s, low 900s

CM (low esl) are mid 800s (except Victoria)

CM (high esl) are 700s





API, %white, %lunch

Mariners 930, 86%, 11%

Newport heights 887, 76%, 24%

Anderson 922

Eastbluff 911

Lincoln 884

Harbor View 907

Newport Coast 919

Newport 883

killybrooke (k-6) 824, 30%, 56%

paularino (k-4) 761, 33%, 67%

sonora (k-4) 843, 20%, 76%

college park (k-4) 748, 20%, 78%

davis (5-6) 743, 24%, 63%

woodland (k-2) 849, 65%, 32%

kaiser (3-6) 885, 59%, 36%

california (k-5) 832, 55%, 32%

adams (k-5) 771, 23%, 73%

victoria (k-5) 874, 32%, 62%

wilson (k-5) 704, 2%, 91%

pomona (k-3) 710, 2%, 96%

whittier (k-3) (ensign, nhh) 704, 2%, 94%

rea (4-6) 702, 2%, 97%
 
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