Real Estate Advice Column

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The Motor Court Company said:
3 story, attached, paying perpetual Mello-Roos for “Great” Park facilities that everyone and their mother can utilize? nice.
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Stay away from 3 level homes where the living area is on the 2nd level and the bedrooms are on the 3rd level. Those type of properties have the greatest price declines in a down market and lowest appreciation in an up market.

Also, a buyer needs to factor in the total all-in monthly cost. An attached condo in Great Park with an HOA in the mid-$400s and a 1.8% tax rate with a price of $1m will have the roughly the same monthly payment as a detached home with no HOA and no Mello Roos for around $1.25m. Buyers need to compare homes why comparing the total monthly payment (including Mello Roos and HOA) and not just the sales price.
 
Ready2Downsize said:
Have you tried the Lennar homes in the Great Park? Lennar has been lowering prices and they have a 4 br 3 story on redfin for slightly over a million. Includes "everything" so you won't be paying a lot for upgrades.

www.redfin.com

173 Biome, Irvine, CA

Multi-family (2-4 unit) located at 173 Biome, Irvine, CA 92618. View sales history, tax history, home value estimates, and overhead views.
www.redfin.com www.redfin.com
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Aren't Lennar homes complete garbage, though? I've never heard anything positive about them.
 
usctrojancpa said:
Stay away from 3 level homes where the living area is on the 2nd level and the bedrooms are on the 3rd level. Those type of properties have the greatest price declines in a down market and lowest appreciation in an up market.

Also, a buyer needs to factor in the total all-in monthly cost. An attached condo in Great Park with an HOA in the mid-$400s and a 1.8% tax rate with a price of $1m will have the roughly the same monthly payment as a detached home with no HOA and no Mello Roos for around $1.25m. Buyers need to compare homes why comparing the total monthly payment (including Mello Roos and HOA) and not just the sales price.
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We like the Great Park area though. Kids went to Portola HS and we like the general area. Spend a lot of time on the bike trails over there. We are in Cypress Village now and like it a lot, but its too expensive and the homes are either too small or too big, and they are ALL too expensive.
 
CalBears96 said:
Surely you jest. The Willows at The Meadows, which is a ~1900 sq ft 4 bedroom, is priced at ~$1.5M and you think that they will built a 4 bedroom in Irvine for under $1M?
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Sadly, I don't think they could afford to do that even if they wanted to. Costs are just so high to build these days.
 
It's many things including land, and also labor, density restrictions, soft costs (legal fees, consultants, appraisals, internal administration), development fees, approval wait times (time = money), compliance with building codes, environmental impact studies, and so on. All of these costs get factored into the decision of whether and what to build.
 
someguy said:
It's many things including land, and also labor, density restrictions, soft costs (legal fees, consultants, appraisals, internal administration), development fees, approval wait times (time = money), compliance with building codes, environmental impact studies, and so on. All of these costs get factored into the decision of whether and what to build.
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There’s also the required solar panel friendly regulations recently too. I just visited Lapis and Sierra and they have paused/slowed all new phases as they have too much built inventory. The joke is if they cut 100k, they would still be over priced given the location.

There are some existing attached condos near 2k sq ft coming on the market recently around 1m. It’s tough to justify an extra 300k just for a new unit with sub par location. The Lapis price probably needs to drop 100k with seller incentives.

As for Sierra, I like them. I just wish I had the money. 1.65m is the cheapest unit. Unreal.
 
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Mawesome Sauce said:
There’s also the required solar panel friendly regulations recently too. I just visited Lapis and Sierra and they have paused/slowed all new phases as they have too much built inventory: the joke is if they cut 100k, they would still be over priced given the location.
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Absolutely, solar panels add tens of thousands to already costly new homes. Surely there are more efficient places to build solar generation than fixed to roofs of all new SFH and MFH under 4 stories, but those who made that requirement must have prioritized votes & contributions over home affordability.

Lol @ new home price cuts. They seem to be creeping into OC and heading towards Irvine. Perhaps we'll see some relative bargains in 2023 when builders start making moves to unload standing inventory. I know I know, Irvine Pacific is different than every other builder and immune from market forces /s.
 
someguy said:
Absolutely, solar panels add tens of thousands to already costly new homes. Surely there are more efficient places to build solar generation than fixed to roofs of all new SFH and MFH under 4 stories, but those who made that requirement must have prioritized votes & contributions over home affordability.

Lol @ new home price cuts. They seem to be creeping into OC and heading towards Irvine. Perhaps we'll see some relative bargains in 2023 when builders start making moves to unload standing inventory. I know I know, Irvine Pacific is different than every other builder and immune from market forces /s.
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The cost of solar panels is paid by the buyer, not the builder unless otherwise negotiated by the buyer. The new home buyers have to either lease the solar (horrible financial choice) or purchase the solar (builders mark up the cost...it's over $4 per watt which is around $1 per watt higher than someone can get themselves).
 
Hugo Township said:
I'm trying to think of what facilities--the pools require keys. Same for the dog park. I guess the playgrounds?
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Did the MR pay for the ice rinks? I suppose I should be thanking the residents as well, since my son just finished a 5-day tournament over the weekend.

On a related note, the intersection of the 5, Sand Canyon, and Marine Way doesn't seem very master-planned to me. The design is horrible!
 
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