Relocating to Irvine, need some information

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Schlotkins_IHB

New member
Good afternoon-



I'm relocating to Irvine in June of this year. I just got back from the area and am more confused than ever about my living situation. Generally, housing is still too pricy. Some are maybe only 10-15% too much while other is 30-40% too much. (note, I'm not looking at today's comps but future comps.) So, I don't think buying a property is a great idea. Next I looked at some of the apartments and reviews online. let's just say the ICA doesn't get very good reviews in terms of quality apartments or customer service. Finally, the private rental market looks like a potential huge landmind. So here are my questions:



1) If I want to live in the Irvine/Newport Beach area, what are my options for apartments? My price range goes pretty darn high so price isn't a huge barrier.



2) What websites can I use to get good information on NODs/REOs/title information/etc? I see a lot of private rentals that are certainly attractive but I'd imagine either the home owner or builder is in trouble.



I'd of course appreciate any information!



Thanks,

Schlotkins
 
A great community, with high quality apartments, is Baywood in Newport Beach. Unlike many of the newer complexes thrown up by IAC, these were solidly built back in the 70s. We lived there for a long time, and never heard our neighbors walking around, using the restroom, closing doors, etc. like I have routinely heard at some of the newer, obscenely priced complexes.



Promontory Point is also good, but very, very expensive.
 
<p>First off, it is likely that reviews online tend towards the negative. People that are happy rarely bother to post. So, that skews the data. When I was looking for an apartment 5 months ago, every place seemed to have mostly negative reviews. It would help us help you if you tell us more about what you need and want in a place. Is it just you? Do you have kids or pets? Do you want a pool, a washer and dryer, and a 2-car garage? What do you want to be near - shopping, biking trails, freeway? Will you be commuting one direction or another? Do you want quiet, or do you want a party?</p>

<p>I looked at Baywood. The apts there seemed old with bad floorplans. The apt that I went in had the smallest kitchen with no microwave and no where to put one. The bathroom had about 2 sq. inches of counter space. </p>

<p>Many of the IAC complexes are being upgraded. It seems they are all in the process to some extent. This upgrade involves replacing the flooring, paint, faucets, etc. You end up with new appliances, granite countertops, and non-white walls. I think the upgraded places look and feel a lot nicer. The differences make them feel more like a condo and less like just another apartment. Some of my impressions from my search:</p>

<p>Newport Bluffs was nice, but hadn't been upgraded yet. I met a couple that was moving into Newport Ridge from The Colony because The Colony got too much noise from the fire station next to it. Baypointe was too noisy due to being near 3 busy roads. Newport North wasn't upgraded. Bordeaux and Promontory Point were out of my price range. I wouldn't want a place in Promontory Point unless I had one with a view of the water -- having a view of PCH would suck due to noise. I also looked at a bunch of places in Irvine, but in the end, we wanted to live in Newport. The prices are less in Irvine though.</p>

<p>I live in Newport Ridge and really like it. My wife and I live in a (upgraded) 2-bed, 2-bath place with a 1-car garage. We are in the pet area, but we don't have pets. We never hear the dogs around us. The only time we hear the guy above us is if he happens to slide his closet door while we are quiet. He is moving out, so you can get his place! I like this place because we are only 3 miles from the ocean, 3 miles from Fashion Island, close to the 73, and close to Irvine. From our deck, there's a view of the park/greenbelt area behind our apt. When I drive or run down San Joaquin Hills Rd, I get a wonderful view of Balboa. Parking for our 2nd car seems easier to find than every other complex I looked at.</p>
 
<p>The IAC (Irvine Apartment CommunitieS) website is <a href="http://rental-living.com">http://rental-living.com</a></p>

<p>You can see all their prices, floorplans, vacancies, etc. there.</p>

<p>Be sure to check out orangecounty.craigslist.com too - the same apartments have better rates there</p>

<p> </p>
 
Don't fart around with any private rentals. Go to rental-living.com and find a property you like. Some have specials, but you can call each property directly. They'll let you sign a 9-10 month lease as well. This will give you time to find out which area of Irvine you like best. The IAC also requires much smaller deposits.





If you work in Irvine, you may want to live in Irvine. It can take some time driving to get to the major freeways if you live closer to the beach. If you aren't worried about money, you might want to check out Bordeaux. If you are single Villa Siena is in a great location on jamboree and the 405. They have underground parking, but they also have townhomes w/2 car garages. The amenities are top-notch. I lived there and it was much, much quieter than what I would have imagined
 
dude, bro, dude, brah, live on the peninsula if you are looking to hang with the younger crowd, guarantee you could find and walk into a party thurs, friday, sat nght. Trade off is, no parking or access on July4th or labor day, people peeing or yaking in your yard, and random people walking in on any party. These are all private rentals though.



The Village at the spectrum is pretty happening i hear, apparently a good pool scene, you can sit by the pool and order Juice it up. Starbucks within community. Lot of singles. Walking distance, i mean staggering distance from specturm. IAC.



Park Newport, crappy community but a lot of singles, young professionals.



Camden @ Main and Jamboree - Built to condo spec (better sound attenuaton), lots of ammenities, most i've ever seen, very very expensive. On site dry clean, souplantation, boudin's, juice bar.



Everyone hates the IAC (irvine apartments) but it's honeslty one of the better apartment companies out there (compared to EQR, AVB, Archstone, Camden), no apartment complex will have any positive reviews on those apartment rating sites.
 
[quote author="jcaraway" date=1205995684]dude, bro, dude, brah, live on the peninsula if you are looking to hang with the younger crowd, guarantee you could find and walk into a party thurs, friday, sat nght. Trade off is, no parking or access on July4th or labor day, people peeing or yaking in your yard, and random people walking in on any party. These are all private rentals though.



The Village at the spectrum is pretty happening i hear, apparently a good pool scene, you can sit by the pool and order Juice it up. Starbucks within community. Lot of singles. Walking distance, i mean staggering distance from specturm. IAC.



Park Newport, crappy community but a lot of singles, young professionals.



Camden @ Main and Jamboree - Built to condo spec (better sound attenuaton), lots of ammenities, most i've ever seen, very very expensive. On site dry clean, souplantation, boudin's, juice bar.



Everyone hates the IAC (irvine apartments) but it's honeslty one of the better apartment companies out there (compared to EQR, AVB, Archstone, Camden), no apartment complex will have any positive reviews on those apartment rating sites.</blockquote>


So Irvine is "singles" friendly? :) I keep hearing about the families, schools, parks, etc.
 
[quote author="Schlotkins" date=1205953833]Good afternoon-



I'm relocating to Irvine in June of this year. I just got back from the area and am more confused than ever about my living situation. Generally, housing is still too pricy. Some are maybe only 10-15% too much while other is 30-40% too much. (note, I'm not looking at today's comps but future comps.) So, I don't think buying a property is a great idea. Next I looked at some of the apartments and reviews online. let's just say the ICA doesn't get very good reviews in terms of quality apartments or customer service. Finally, the private rental market looks like a potential huge landmind. So here are my questions:



1) If I want to live in the Irvine/Newport Beach area, what are my options for apartments? My price range goes pretty darn high so price isn't a huge barrier.



2) What websites can I use to get good information on NODs/REOs/title information/etc? I see a lot of private rentals that are certainly attractive but I'd imagine either the home owner or builder is in trouble.



I'd of course appreciate any information!



Thanks,

Schlotkins</blockquote>


Any updates to your progress? Any insight or advice to give? Thanks.
 
[quote author="norcaljeff" date=1216305024]So Irvine is "singles" friendly? :) I keep hearing about the families, schools, parks, etc.</blockquote>


Hardly.
 
[quote author="norcaljeff" date=1216305152]Any updates to your progress? Any insight or advice to give? Thanks.</blockquote>


First, thanks again to everyone in the thread for their information. We moved to Irvine about 3 weeks ago now. I can't help with selecting apartments as we have a unique situation that isn't terribly helpful so enough on that. The only big advice not already here is to make an appointment at the DMV before you move. The wait is about 4-5 weeks for an appointment and of course, you only have 10-20 days to get everything done. Thus, you have to go wait in line if you try and make the appointment after you get here. I'm taking care of the cars today. The drivers test is actually relatively hard. The turning lanes are different here than in CT and they like to ask numbers questions so make sure you know those. The test has 36 questions and you have to get at least 30 right. In Mass, you get 20 questions and only have to get 14 right.



Otherwise, the differences will all depend on your background. As a person who has lived on the East Coast my entire life in fairly rural towns (no more than 25,000 people), Irvine takes some getting used to. I hate driving here as I just can't stand the lights. There isn't a lot of privacy. We rent so that doesn't help, but even if you buy a house, your neighbors will be quite close. We make 3 times what we did in CT and make well over the median income in Irvine and I honestly feel poorer here than I did in CT.



The weather is criminally good. It's about 95 and muggy in CT right now and here you don't even need to run the AC. People say it's not nice here in the winter because of the rain. HA... I guess they never got 10 feet of snow per year or the -40 wind chills.



If you have any questions other questions, I'd be happy to help.
 
Aha ! Another CT ex-pat !



What area are you from Schlotkins? I see a number of users logging in from Newington, is/was that you?



Can't beat the weather here, but I echo all of your other *concerns*. I've lived here for 12 years and have never quite gotten used to the lack of ...elbow room.
 
Also, go to iusd.org and check out the todo list before you can get your kids enrolled in school. It's rather long and time consuming - you can't just show up on the 1st day and get them taken in. Most requires some preplanning to make the transfer in go smoothly.
 
We came from the northern part of the state - near Manchester/South Windsor. We actually lived there only 3 years with the majority of our years in MASS.



OK, here's a question, where the heck can I hit balls at a driving range off GRASS?! What is with this mat stuff?
 
[quote author="Schlotkins" date=1216633010]We came from the northern part of the state - near Manchester/South Windsor. We actually lived there only 3 years with the majority of our years in MASS.



OK, here's a question, where the heck can I hit balls at a driving range off GRASS?! What is with this mat stuff?</blockquote>


Pelican Hill is a very nice spot. They have balls pilled like a pyramid, it's fun to take the bottom one and see all the balls fall one after and over the other. Yeah, that's included in the $235 fee.
 
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