Seeking assistance in relocation to Irvine/Tustin

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Anteater Alum_IHB

Anteater Alum_IHB

New member
<p>My family and I are looking to relocate back to Orange County. We current live in the midwest and have been for 15 years. This forum has been absolutely great and a blessing to find. My question to forum:</p>

<p>1. With the slow down in housing, what should I expect to pay for a new construction for a 2500-3000 sq. ft home. I see that Lennar, Lyons, etc. are selling these for $1m+.</p>

<p>2. Are resale opportunities better?</p>

<p>3. Can anyone tell me what the neighborhoods of Menzanita at Portola Springs and Columbus Grove/Columbus Square like? The latter appears too close to a marine air station. I thought El Toro Marine Base had shut down.</p>
 
<p>AA-</p>

<p>1. The prices at Columbus Grove and Portola Spring represent the widest berth of new pricing right now.</p>

<p>2. New is way better than resale right now.</p>

<p>3. Both bases are completely shut down, but not demolished.</p>

<p>Advice here is rent and watch the market drop! Consider it.</p>

<p>Question: What kind of % salary premium were you able to negotiate to come back to CA?</p>

<p>SCHB</p>
 
Hello Anteater,





Yes the MSAS El Toro has closed. Here's some info on what they're doing with it:


http://www.ocgp.org


http://www.orangecountygreatpark.org





Generally speaking, older resale homes in Irvine have lower HOA and mello roose to reduce your cost of ownership -- but the resale price is sometimes higher and it evens out.





Here's a sample home that fits your criteria (I love attics):


http://oakcreekrealestate.net/renestate/show_listing.php?record=170&page=3&search_type=&search_value=





If you're not under pressure to buy, just take it easy and shop leisurely. It's a buyer's market, enjoy it!
 
<p>Anteater,</p>

<p>1. For new homes from 2500-3000 sf SFR prices vary from about 850K to over 1MM in the new developments. If you negotiate well you may be able to get under 800K. Or just wait a while and prices will drop even lower.</p>

<p>2. I feel resale homes are not the better option right now despite lower HOA and taxes.</p>

<p>3. I really liked both Portola Springs and Columbus Grove. But I'm not a fan of Columbus square - near railway line, Tustin schools and not such a good area in my opinion. VoC is being built on the old marine base I am told.</p>

<p>I also relocated from the mid-west about 8 months back. Unlike you I have never lived in SoCal before. And I just love it. So much that I have decided to buy in this down market because I am sure I won't want to live anywhere else! I have lived in India, China, Switzerland, Belgium, East Coast and Mid-west in the last 15 years. So I'm not just comparing to the mid-west which I really hated for the 4 years that I was there. </p>

<p>Welcome back and happy shopping. </p>

<p>SCHB: I was able to get ~30% salary premium to move from Michigan to CA. But it feels like a pay cut with the living costs here. A true adjustment would be about 80% premium. But I doubt if anyone will give that. And SoCal is really worth an effective paycut. It's true, idiots like me will keep slowing the market's decline.</p>
 
<p> 1. I think 2500-3000 square feet will cost $800,000 to $1,100,000 in Irvine/Tustin. But if you want new, you should budget $50,000 to $100,000 for upgrades and landscaping (even with Lennar’s “everything’s included”, I believe many things are not included).</p>

<p>2. Depending on what you mean by “better”, I believe resales are less expensive if you compare by square footage, but in my opinion, most resales will require remodeling. I found very few resales when I was looking that had flooring, cabinets, paint, etc. that I liked.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">3. Portola Springs and Columbus Square/Grove are quite different in my opinion and what you think is better depends on a lot of factors. For instance, I was extremely interested in the Plan 2 in Las Colinas by Taylor Woodrow because of the master on the first floor. We were called to select a Lot, but when it came down to it, we chose Columbus Square in Tustin (most importantly, we got more house for a lot less money). Now, a lot of people really don’t like the Villages of Columbus and I respect that. For instance, I understand that some think that the school district that will serve Columbus Square and/or Grove are not good. But I have no kids and don’t plan on starting a family for at least 3 years. We also decided (after renting in Woodbury for a few months after we sold our condo) that Portola was a bit too far from everything. To us, Columbus Square seems 10 minutes away from every where we go. Yes, the Marine Corps Air Station shut down a long time ago. The entire area is being redeveloped and a portion of it will be a million square foot entertainment/shopping/restaurant center, etc. There are also 2 huge airplane hangars located at Columbus Square. This is a big turn-off for many people. One of the hangers is being torn down. The other was recently approved to be developed into a mega-sports complex that will include a concert venue and you name it. Again, others will disagree, but we see this as a plus (Also, we think it’s likely that this project may not work out and if so, we think the 2<sup>nd</sup> hanger will also be torn down – which we think is also a plus). We’re in it for the long term, and all things considered, we chose Columbus Square. But if you must be in Irvine, don’t mind being pretty far North and need the serenity and very “family-orientedness” of Portola, that might be better for you.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.25in"> Hope this helps and good luck!</p>
 
<p>hbunny,</p>

<p>I bought at Columbus Grove- Cantara about 6 months ago.</p>

<p>You are wrong about the Schools, Even Though Colombus Grove is in Tustin, My Kids belong and go to the Irvine School District. The IUSD is one of the best.</p>

<p>Columbus Square is in the Tustin School Distict.</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any other questions about Cantara or Columbus Grove</p>
 
Hi I am new to this blog





I am thinking of buying a home in VOC Lantana or Cantara.


I like the plan 2 from Lantana and plan 2 and 3 from Cantara. Lantana start at 850k and Cantara last time I looked was 930k for for plan three.





Anyway any idea how much should I paying ? I read it somehwere some people paid 765k for 993k house in VOC.


Thanks in advance.
 
<p>I live in a Plan 1 Cantara, So I do not know how much that will help.</p>

<p>I paid 870K plus 30K in incentives 6 months ago for my VOC Cantara house</p>

<p>I beleive the Cantara Plan 2 and 3 start out at 930K to 980K they just relased the last phase on Saturday.</p>

<p>More info on Cantara</p>

<p><a href="http://forums.irvinehousingblog.com/discussion/19/villages-of-columbus-columbus-grove-cantara/">http://forums.irvinehousingblog.com/discussion/19/villages-of-columbus-columbus-grove-cantara/</a></p>
 
<p>To All of You Kind Folks that Responded, </p>

<p>Thank you for the significant information. I have not negotiated a COLA adjustment for a relocation as yet, but good info from Finally Buyin above. This is a voluntary move for my wife and I as we want to be back closer to family so I don't think I will have much wiggle room. We're fortunate that our current salary will support the increased cost of living even without an adjustment. Our current midwest property is comparably priced to allow us to look at the $800-$1mm range for housing in Irvine/Tustin. </p>

<p> </p>

<p> </p>
 
I heard a rumor from an Evironmental Analysis & Design student that the columbus grove houses were built on an old landfill. Is there any truth to that? That would be something to consider before buying a home there.
 
<p>Finally Buyin and Anteater Alum or other Irvinites:</p>

<p>We are also looking to relocate. Would any of you have recommendations for recruiters/head hunters in the Irvine area? The industry that we are looking for a position in would be finance operations. Seems like that it is pretty limited in Irvine except for all the mortgage companies, which we have no interest in since the future doesn't look too bright in that area and we have no experience in the mortgage industry.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>
 
<p>Sorry Irvine Wanna Be. I'm in a different industry so I don't have any recruiter contacts for finance ops. </p>

<p>I did a large part of my search on the web. You can probably identify target companies in the area and then reach out to them through your peer industry contacts. I find it is most effective to send out a mild feeler and then let them chase you instead of the other way around.</p>
 
Re: Columbus <em>Square</em> - it was constructed upon the actual air field, so there is what's euphemistically referred to as a "toxic plume" of chemicals such as MTBE (jet fuel additive) in the ground water. In the disclosures it recommends that people and pets not eat fruit grown in the soil and drink the ground water (??) - not something the folks at Astoria and the Gables are screaming to tell you.
 
<p>Fraychieille: Do you know if Columbus Grove is also impacted. The toxic plume language is there in the disclosures. The sales lady went to great lengths to explain to me that it is only Columbus Square that is on the airfield. Columbus Grove was residential housing for the air-base staff. She had even planted a tomato plant outside and said she ate the tomatoes from it. Funny. </p>

<p>I will say they were pretty upfront and pointed it out even before they gave me the disclosures. But then why is the language present in the disclosures. We all know what the sales staff verbal assurance is worth based on the contract language. </p>

<p>While being able to grow my own groceries isn't really on top of my agenda, it's not nice to know that there are certain things you can't do on your own land. I was also upset that I can't drill for oil, but I let that slide too.</p>
 
Irvine Wanna Be,



I suspect there are quite a number of financial ops position in the area and especially in LA. Not sure if you're willing to drive that far?
 
Not willing to do the commute to LA. Looking for a max commute of 30 minutes from Irvine via car or train. Experience is in both managing a function within financial operations and project management for business planning and analysis projects for large investment bank. Have contacted a few recruiters in Irvine and been pretty disappointed. Just wondering if anyone knows of a good recruiter that has a good network in Irvine. Thanks.
 
Irvine Wanna Be, have you tried networking sites such as linkedin.com? It's a way to share corporate connections with your friends or friends of friends. e.g. if I add my connection at Google, my colleagues can see that I know someone at Google and I can refer them. Or the recruiters on my "list" can scope out my connections and see if there are any good fits. There are A LOT of recruiters on that site.
 
If you want a property here that you could drill for oil, you need to look around La Habra Hills / Brea / Fullerton / Placentia / Yorba Linda area. Irvine has underground water but I'm not aware of any petro deposits. Many years ago I actually visited one property up in La Habra Hills that had a working oil well, and the owner was getting about $1000-$1200/month from some oil company. Assuming if the oil hasn't ran out yet, the current property owner is probably richer from increased petro prices.





as for the "toxic plume", I think they're referring to TCE (trichloroethylene), which was heavily used by the food industry from 1920s, then as a degreaser/cleaner for metal parts. I think the aircraft mechanics probably used it as a cleaner. This chemical is toxic and they suspect prolonged exposure will cause kidney and liver failure. But then everything causes cancer anyway. The IRWD (Irvine Ranch Water District) attempted to drill some wells in a clean-up effort, but was blocked by local residents at Woodbridge. It's not that I blame them -- would you want a toxic cleanup drill site next to your house? So now we're kinda stuck with the problem.
 
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