Questions about Portola Springs

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hibutachan_IHB

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Hello, I'm new. I have been reading through the IHF for the past few weeks and am amazed by people's opinions who are so familiar with Irvine, and finally decided to register. Now I'm hesitating of purchasing a San Carlos home in PS due to the environmental and village incompletion concerns. Question to any of those who currently live in PS or specifically in any of the San Carlos homes by William Lyon Homes: how much is the tatal HOA you're paying currently? Do you guys ever smell anything from the landfill or the el toro base nearby? Is it worth to pay HIGH HOA and mello to live there since we don't know how long will them to complete the entire village?
 
I don't see any tax info on the one <a href="http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/32-Cienega-92618/home/18783548">San Carlo</a> for sale; looking at comp <a href="http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/21-Cactus-Bloom-92618/home/12248649">Vientos</a> (short sale, 2 beds-2 bath, 1087 sq/ft); you are paying a total tax of 2.42%!!! WTF??? If that is right; you need to come up with at least $68,000 down payment, your total monthly payments are around $2,710. Including LOL $295 HOAs; insurance and maintenance... I'm glad you are hesitant, and you wonder why no one is living there...



Try doing a search on PS; there are a lot of answers you are looking for...
 
[quote author="hesitating" date=1239980613] Is it worth to pay HIGH HOA and mello to live there since we don't know how long will them to complete the entire village?</blockquote>


Are the High HOA and mello supposed to go down when built out? If so, I doubt it is by much.



And like Socal said, it doesnt smell.
 
May I ask why you are buying at this time? You probably have really good reasons but many of us like to know a little bit more since you did state you were "hesitating".
 
[quote author="hesitating" date=1239980613]Hello, I'm new. I have been reading through the IHF for the past few weeks and am amazed by people's opinions who are so familiar with Irvine, and finally decided to register. Now I'm hesitating of purchasing a San Carlos home in PS due to the environmental and village incompletion concerns. Question to any of those who currently live in PS or specifically in any of the San Carlos homes by William Lyon Homes: how much is the tatal HOA you're paying currently? Do you guys ever smell anything from the landfill or the el toro base nearby? Is it worth to pay HIGH HOA and mello to live there since we don't know how long will them to complete the entire village?</blockquote>


I don't think the landfill or base would be an issue. Just like the rest of Irvine, don't drill a 250 foot hole and drink the water that you find there.



Our real concern with PS was the location being too far out which would have made my commute 30 minutes from Irvine to Irvine. But, that's your opinion/situation dependent.



As far as the village incompleteness, that could be the deal breaker. I really can't stand construction noise and dust, and the lots that are graded but undeveloped just blow dirt and weeds around. We lived through a year of final construction in CG and I'm glad its over. You're looking at several years to come in PS. Also, there's no services within a reasonable distance of the homes yet, and won't be there for a few more years. That's a long time to wait.



On the positive side, I think the village being on the hill makes it much nicer and more open than the other TIC villages down next to the freeway. Also, I don't think $300 for a townhome HOA is out of line these days. You'll find that in most of Irvine.
 
[quote author="Goofy" date=1240013926]Also, there's no services within a reasonable distance of the homes yet, and won't be there for a few more years. That's a long time to wait.</blockquote>


It's a 2 minute drive to Woodbury Town Center. It feels like a reasonable distance to me and I've been living here a year. It has a gas station, doctors, groceries, etc.
 
I almost bought in 2006 the San Carlos Plan D. Glad I didn't! I think it was going for $605,000 at the time...I was a rookie and learned better over the years.



I still think that Portola has good potential, but I don't think it will be exlpoited in the near term. I don't knowe if they still have th 5 phases in mind, nonetheless they are certainly still in phases 1 and 2. The smell wasn't an issue (never smelled anything there).



HOAs will be there for 30 years I think and this will be a killer for the owner (sucks for the monthly payments and sucks for the resale value).



Really, prices in PS aren't low enough yet.
 
We liked Portola Springs quite a bit, especially Los Colinas Plan 4(?) and the Serra Plan 3.



The hillside location is great but like Goofy said... it was a bit farther out than we wanted since we tend to access places we go to most via the 405.



I think most people agree that it's overpriced or they would have sold through all their plans by now. I think the Serra models will eventually go sub $1mil... the Los Colinas look to already be headed that way (with upgrades).



I think there is supposed to be another retail center built on the lower side of Portola Pkwy but that won't happen until the economy picks up and PS is sold through more. They've already moved the school to Stonegate.



Unless your situation absolutely calls for it... this is not a good time to buy there or anywhere else.
 
[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1240016377]They've already moved the school to Stonegate.



</blockquote>


So no school inside PS, or its just delayed? I hadn't heard this.
 
There will eventually be another school (or two) in PS off of Modjeska. The PS kids will go to Stonegate some time next year. For now they are still at Westwood.
 
Thanks all for your responses! I'm about to close escrow in a month for the final phase in plan E. I really like the floorplan, but recently heard too many information about the surrouding area which made me thinking about giving up the deposit and look at somewehre else. I have been looked around since 2007 and I didn't find anything bad about the stuffs my other friends told me, therefore I'm hesitating. Plus I really think I couldn't find the same price at elsewhere for 3 bedrm condo. Now just worrying about the HOA because I believe the sales agent gave me the built-out HOA not current which she didn't get back to me yet.
 
[quote author="hesitating" date=1240021285]Thanks all for your responses! I'm about to close escrow in a month for the final phase in plan E. I really like the floorplan, but recently heard too many information about the surrouding area which made me thinking about giving up the deposit and look at somewehre else. I have been looked around since 2007 and I didn't find anything bad about the stuffs my other friends told me, therefore I'm hesitating. Plus I really think I couldn't find the same price at elsewhere for 3 bedrm condo. Now just worrying about the HOA because I believe the sales agent gave me the built-out HOA not current which she didn't get back to me yet.</blockquote>
1. What things are making you think twice?

2. You can probably get out and keep most of your deposit.

3. You will be able to find the same price, if not less, for a 3 bedroom condo... IR hasn't bought a home yet so we haven't hit bottom.
 
The reason I decide to buy earlier was because I don't see any new constructions coming out when the market is down. My family prefer a new home instead of a resale home, especialy the condition for short-sale and REO homes are bad if the price is good. As far as I see people talking about Woodbury East in this forum, looks like the HOA is getting higher and higher for newer and newer villages. Also mello is fixed in each community, so since the purchase price is lower of course the % of tax + mello is as high as about 2%.
 
There's a reason why they aren't building new homes...it's because they aren't selling them. Once sale activity starts again, they will be building again.



Have you heard about Orchad Hills and Laguna Crossing?
 
The environmental issues in PS are no better or worse than most other places in Irvine. If you want new construction, your only choices in the near future are Woodbury and PS. Personally, I like PS much better than Woodbury. The "benefits" of Woodbury such as the Commons, the massive retail center, the proximity to the 5, etc, are detriments to me. While PS will eventually be quite large, it feels much more intimate than Woodbury because it is divided into five enclaves. There are 3 underutilized tot lots, a couple of community lawns, and a large park within a very short walking distance from San Carlos. Yes, HOA dues and MR are high, but that is unavoidable if you want brand new construction in Irvine. If price is your major concern, I believe it is likely prices in PS will continue to decline but this is true anywhere in Irvine and price declines will probably be worse in older villages. If price is not your major concern, PS is a great place to live.
 
[quote author="Roo" date=1240023716]Have you heard about Orchad Hills and Laguna Crossing?</blockquote>
Yes OH was supposed to be built in '08 but real estate market is down, and they kept postponed the date at both villages. Guess there will not be much options for new construction homes, but is the price going to be cheaper than now when they start building new developments?
 
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