Orchard Hills - Strada by Irvine Pacific
- Thread starter ps99472
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NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
If I was 28 in 2004, I would have been freaking out owing over $10K month in and month out. Probably would have young kids that were hopefully going to need to go to college, not to mention their expenses along the way, car, vacation expenses, etc. You never know what might happen.
I'm pretty conservative but trying to make ends meet on ONE salary (in case something happened to the other one) and some money in the bank can be a good cover in a storm. Did I always have that? No way and that is one reason I paid down my mortgage every single month. A local realtor told me I was so dumb. I should be refinancing and buying rentals (wow...... with my equity I could buy TEN rentals in SC!) and I thought........... one good hurricane and you could be in a heap of trouble.
THEN came the housing mess and I slept ok, knowing that even if my hubby lost his job (and I was retired a few years before that at a young age thru some luck, so basically no salary income) we could still make our house payments (low principle, refinanced loan). Did also help we saved for college and the kids were just finishing as tuition started going up.
Rentals aren't for everyone. We had a house we rented out and every month I prayed the tenants would pay their rent and not damage the place. Renters have a lot of rights in California and being leveraged up with rentals could turn into a mess if they don't pay.
I agree, being a landlord isn't for everyone. We rented out our townhouse for 10 years to the same family. We thought they were great, paid on time each month, so we barely increased the rent in those 10 years to keep them happy and save ourselves the hassle of finding new tenants. When they finally moved out, we had to gut the place because once white tubs and walls, had now turned to grey/black. Spent ~$40K for a top to bottom renovation. Sure, one could argue we actually saved money because had we had new tenants each year, we would have had to paint and changed the carpet each time. After the renovation, we decided to sell the place. It just wasn't worth the trouble to go through that again because we had no guarantee how long new tenants would stay. The appreciation potential wasn't high in this particular area, it was easier for us to park the money in mutual funds and not have to worry about renters paying.
The way I look at it, I am diversifying my risk because my own house is a big investment in real estate. I prefer to put other money in stocks/bonds, rather than other real estate investments. Just my perspective, different strokes for different folks.
I'd say CV started the trend with ultra small yard and motorcourts?
This 10' setback house' problem is magnified by the rear neighbor's increased elevation. The block wall appears to by 8'+ high, making it feel even more boxed-in.
Irvine Dream
New member
Didn't Paris tell us that the Capella Models sold for 1.9M? I would then think Strada models will sell atleast for 1.7 M and up.Legit949 said:
Ready2Downsize
Well-known member
Paris said:
If I was 28 in 2004, I would have been freaking out owing over $10K month in and month out. Probably would have young kids that were hopefully going to need to go to college, not to mention their expenses along the way, car, vacation expenses, etc. You never know what might happen.
I'm pretty conservative but trying to make ends meet on ONE salary (in case something happened to the other one) and some money in the bank can be a good cover in a storm. Did I always have that? No way and that is one reason I paid down my mortgage every single month. A local realtor told me I was so dumb. I should be refinancing and buying rentals (wow...... with my equity I could buy TEN rentals in SC!) and I thought........... one good hurricane and you could be in a heap of trouble.
THEN came the housing mess and I slept ok, knowing that even if my hubby lost his job (and I was retired a few years before that at a young age thru some luck, so basically no salary income) we could still make our house payments (low principle, refinanced loan). Did also help we saved for college and the kids were just finishing as tuition started going up.
Rentals aren't for everyone. We had a house we rented out and every month I prayed the tenants would pay their rent and not damage the place. Renters have a lot of rights in California and being leveraged up with rentals could turn into a mess if they don't pay.
Paris167
New member
With the high property taxes, HOA and purchase costs, rentals in California never made sense to us. That's why our rentals are out of state where rental income greatly outweighs maintenance costs. Only downside is the actual appreciation values on those properties are modest compared to some parts of Cali but we aren't planning to sell those for awhile. Sometimes I wish we bought a "rental" in San Francisco 10 years ago.
Ready2Downsize said:
I agree, being a landlord isn't for everyone. We rented out our townhouse for 10 years to the same family. We thought they were great, paid on time each month, so we barely increased the rent in those 10 years to keep them happy and save ourselves the hassle of finding new tenants. When they finally moved out, we had to gut the place because once white tubs and walls, had now turned to grey/black. Spent ~$40K for a top to bottom renovation. Sure, one could argue we actually saved money because had we had new tenants each year, we would have had to paint and changed the carpet each time. After the renovation, we decided to sell the place. It just wasn't worth the trouble to go through that again because we had no guarantee how long new tenants would stay. The appreciation potential wasn't high in this particular area, it was easier for us to park the money in mutual funds and not have to worry about renters paying.
The way I look at it, I am diversifying my risk because my own house is a big investment in real estate. I prefer to put other money in stocks/bonds, rather than other real estate investments. Just my perspective, different strokes for different folks.
Perspective
Well-known member
Phase 30 release is tomorrow - four of the six homes already spoken for so no phase 30 pricing available yet. Two Plan 1's and four Plan 2's currently available - pricing per the attached. Lot 162 is the base plan 1 while lots 137, 156 & 166 are the base model plan 2. No design upgrades included but price variation due to elevation, conservatory and lot size. The only Plan 3 in Phase 30 (lot 142) has a base price of $1,264,800 - includes a conservatory ($17K) and larger yard ($15-20K) but no other options - already sold.
Build-out phase (including 3 Plan 3's and the models) to be released in 3-4 weeks - almost all non-models already spoken for. Estimated cost for the Plan 3 model is $1.48 mil but that is subject to change.
Build-out phase (including 3 Plan 3's and the models) to be released in 3-4 weeks - almost all non-models already spoken for. Estimated cost for the Plan 3 model is $1.48 mil but that is subject to change.
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potsticker
Active member
Is this homesite 183?
The yard isn't any different then the other house I can see and presume quite a few on this street were the same. In fact, they had quite a few very early on in the project with similar size yards. It really still baffles my mind that they don't get a little more generous on backyard sizes. I feel like it has gotten squeezed too far recently. Unless an unobstructed ocean view was where that wall was, I would never be okay with that size yard at that price point. What do I know though. I just feel so claustrophobic inside a house where you look at and bam, wall.
Different story if we were talking condo.
Different story if we were talking condo.
I'm sure there were tons of feedback, surveys, focus groups that had people wanting more space but it's something that builders constantly ignore because the sound of squeezing more money from the plot of land is too loudBullsback said:
I'd say CV started the trend with ultra small yard and motorcourts?
Perspective
Well-known member
That 10' setback on many Strada lots was a dealbreaker for us, causing us to wait six months for something bigger. At least this house has a CA room that will make the backyard feel a bit bigger.
Perspective
Well-known member
DrTravel said:
This 10' setback house' problem is magnified by the rear neighbor's increased elevation. The block wall appears to by 8'+ high, making it feel even more boxed-in.
Looking at the pic and numbers, Cressa at PS looks a lot more desirable. Cressa has similar floorplan and sqft. All the Cressa plans have at least a 15' setback although the plan 1 has at least a 17' setback. Not sure about the numbers for plan 1 but it looks about the same as plan 2 depth.
This is not counting the loggia/cali room which has an even deeper setback. The cali room depth from living room wall to retaining wall is about 20'.
Personally, I don't see myself spending a lot of time outside, especially since it gets so hot during the summer in Irvine. I will probably make use of the cali room esp at 20' depth to kick back, read a book, nap and maybe watch tv (w/o bothering the neighbors of course).
This is not counting the loggia/cali room which has an even deeper setback. The cali room depth from living room wall to retaining wall is about 20'.
Personally, I don't see myself spending a lot of time outside, especially since it gets so hot during the summer in Irvine. I will probably make use of the cali room esp at 20' depth to kick back, read a book, nap and maybe watch tv (w/o bothering the neighbors of course).
