Portola Springs Vs Beacon Park

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java123

java123

New member
We are trying to decide between PS vs BP and here are the parameters in the equation.

Good Schools.(Elem+Middle)
Better Floor Plans
Better amenities and environment cleanliness
Price/Sqft Or Real estate returns after 5 years
Overall cost of ownership in 5 years

OK on commute difference.
Price Range: 600k to $1m

Any knowledge sharing would be helpful. especially from PS home owners...

 
Lots of people like Ellwood........... if you can afford it, might want to get on the interest list and pray you can get one before they're gone.
 
For some reason, PS sort of like red haired stepchild of Irvine community, the sale price and pace are lagging other community.

But I have a feeling when all Irvine are build out, PS will sell on par with rest of Irvine.  If this turn out to be true, PS is the best bargain right now. 
 
at this point, I would give a slight edge to BP. Bc the elem school is K-8 so you don't have to trek to Jeffrey Trail for middle school. The other thing is the walkability of the elem school.  The PS school isn't very walkable and from what I've heard, nobody really walks but others may have better first hand knowledge.

But agree that there can be deals to be had in PS. Just make sure you're buying at a steep enough discount bc as of now, it still sells at a discount.
 
lnc said:
For some reason, PS sort of like red haired stepchild of Irvine community, the sale price and pace are lagging other community.

But I have a feeling when all Irvine are build out, PS will sell on par with rest of Irvine.  If this turn out to be true, PS is the best bargain right now.
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I don't think PS will be as popular as SG, WB, OH, CV, EW, or PP.  It's way too far away from the freeway, lack supporting retail centers, the elementary school is not within walkable distance from most of the community.  The layout is also very un-Irvine Company as it lacks tree covering and curvy streets (as opposed to a square layout).  That may seem like a small thing but it makes it more difficult to find addresses.  The location and lack of the tree covering also make PS feel "hotter" to me whenever I go there from WB or SG. 

PS has access point issues as it has has two exits points that feed into Portola...or else you have cut through PP to get to Irvine Blvd.  It's just not convenient.

You also have the elevated fire danger, proximately to the landfill, and the landslide issue.
 
java123 said:
We are trying to decide between PS vs BP and here are the parameters in the equation.

Good Schools.(Elem+Middle)
Better Floor Plans
Better amenities and environment cleanliness
Price/Sqft Or Real estate returns after 5 years
Overall cost of ownership in 5 years

OK on commute difference.
Price Range: 600k to $1m

Any knowledge sharing would be helpful. especially from PS home owners...
Click to expand...

Personally, I would wait until Eastwood comes out and compare.  BP's super high mello roos may make up some of the price difference between Eastwood and BP.
 
java123 said:
Price Range: 600k to $1m
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That's a huge price range. Can you point to some specific homes / tracts in both communities that interest you?

I've lived in Portola Springs for about 4 years. Your questions such as returns after 5 years and overall cost of ownership would need to address specific homes/tracts. BP has much higher mello-roos that also goes up 2% each year and never ends. Some of my mello-roos expires in less than 5 years.

The new Portola Springs elementary school is nice. I'd say more than half of kids walk even though it can be a 20min walk. I'm not sure about long-term middle school plans. Right now PS is zoned to Jeffrey Trails as mentioned above, but with all the homes they are building I'd think they'd need another middle school eventually.
 
We bought in PS for the "better bang for the buck." We got an SFR instead of the new development condo's we were looking at. We also got a driveway and avoided zero-lot and motorcourt issues.

I think the landfill and distance issues won't affect you in a day to day sense but it will affect resale. Perception matters, thus the price point difference.

If you're looking for a long term stay, I think PS is great.
If you're looking to move in 5 years, I would reconsider, you might get better increases with some of the newer products. But then again who knows.
 
I moved from PS to CV and now contemplating on moving to OH. Maybe for some folks they got a good return from PS, I didn't. The landfill wasn't an issue for me, and I couldn't smell anything like others claim, but sure enough, when I tried to sell, landfill was the common question or comment. Some potential buyers would ask for a discount because of proximity to landfill. It annoyed the heck outta me. The price listed was already discounted in comparison to other homes further away from the landfill. Originally I was going to go for SG but I just couldn't deal with landfill comments anymore.
 
Irvine Fanatic said:
I moved from PS to CV and now contemplating on moving to OH. Maybe for some folks they got a good return from PS, I didn't. The landfill wasn't an issue for me, and I couldn't smell anything like others claim, but sure enough, when I tried to sell, landfill was the common question or comment. Some potential buyers would ask for a discount because of proximity to landfill. It annoyed the heck outta me. The price listed was already discounted in comparison to other homes further away from the landfill. Originally I was going to go for SG but I just couldn't deal with landfill comments anymore.
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I don't think any other community is nearly as impacted by the landfill as PS.  I don't think anyone at SG talks about it...SG homes are selling quite briskly.
 
Irvine Fanatic said:
I moved from PS to CV and now contemplating on moving to OH. Maybe for some folks they got a good return from PS, I didn't. The landfill wasn't an issue for me, and I couldn't smell anything like others claim, but sure enough, when I tried to sell, landfill was the common question or comment. Some potential buyers would ask for a discount because of proximity to landfill. It annoyed the heck outta me. The price listed was already discounted in comparison to other homes further away from the landfill. Originally I was going to go for SG but I just couldn't deal with landfill comments anymore.
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I got a decent return in PS, but it was dicey for awhile even though I bought at the near bottom and pricing-wise, the bottom for my tract.  If you're buying sub $1M in PS, I wouldn't put too much $$ into your house... hard to get a return if you do.
 
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