Serrano Summit | Lake Forest

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
They are now releasing phase 10. They have increased base price significantly. ~75k for residence 2.

Residence 1
$1,417,990 3994 lot size

Residence 2
$1,597,990 3973 lot size

Residence 3
$1,484,990 4,494 lot size

Residence 3X
$1,724,990 3627 lot size
 
CalBears96 said:
That's Amara? Are these view lots? Lennar website is not listing them yet.
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Yes, Amara. View of the water plant for Residence 2 and 3X. Others have no view. Just slightly bigger lots.
 
They might be seeing TB selling their true SFH for 1.5m so now Lennar feels they can use TB as a gauge of market pricing. Whether or not that will work is to be seen. They are charging 2x the premium compared to their view lots in phase 9. All to look at a water plant..
 
Are you referring to the Redwoods Elite?

I remember talking to Soria consultant when I was looking at Soria and Amara models, and she was telling me the Amara view lots are like $100k-$150k premium, depending on the lot size.
 
CalBears96 said:
Are you referring to the Redwoods Elite?

I remember talking to Soria consultant when I was looking at Soria and Amara models, and she was telling me the Amara view lots are like $100k-$150k premium, depending on the lot size.
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Nope. I?m talking about magnolia. It?s going for 1.6m actually for slightly more sqft than amara.

View lots for amara were 100-150k for phase 9. But now they decided that looking at a water plant is a premium and the lot premium is double what the view lots were in phase 9.

Residence 2 in phase 10 contains a 208k lot premium. Which to me is a joke. I?m not sure what the lot premium is for the 3X but since it?s 1.725m I?m guessing it also has a 208k lot premium as well.

I really think these won?t sell. But I have been wrong so many times already. So it wouldn?t surprise me if they actually sold. Just like how they threw a 100-175k premium on phase 9 lots that they call a view when in reality the views for each of those lots were blocked by trees. 
 
You said $1.5M, so I thought of Redwoods Elite.  ;D

If I were to buy in Lake Forest, I would rather go for The Oaks at Portola Hills. My brother-in-law finally bought one over there. He won the bid for Residence 1, 4100+ sq ft, 3-car garage. He bid $1.59M. He really wanted a 3-car garage because his older son is in college and he wanted his parents to live with them and his dad also drives.

Neither Serrano Summit nor The Meadows is a nice location, IMO. Both surrounded by commercial areas.

Neighborhood is important to my wife, which is why we prefer Portola Springs. I mean, I would prefer Orchard Hills, but we can't afford it.  :P
 
CalBears96 said:
You said $1.5M, so I thought of Redwoods Elite.  ;D

If I were to buy in Lake Forest, I would rather go for The Oaks at Portola Hills. My brother-in-law finally bought one over there. He won the bid for Residence 1, 4100+ sq ft, 3-car garage. He bid $1.59M. He really wanted a 3-car garage because his older son is in college and he wanted his parents to live with them and his dad also drives.

Neither Serrano Summit nor The Meadows is a nice location, IMO. Both surrounded by commercial areas.

Neighborhood is important to my wife, which is why we prefer Portola Springs. I mean, I would prefer Orchard Hills, but we can't afford it.  :P
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Hey I thought i'd chime in with my thoughts since I looked at Portola Springs, Lake Forest, and dreamed about Orchard Hills but was priced out (for 4 bedrooms with anything more than a tiny patio). 

I think the Highland floorplans are super nice, walking in just feels like you're in a premium house with the way the big windows and slider flow off the kitchen and living room.  We also almost bought in Juniper but my wife really didn't like the smaller yards, and the lack of driveway was concerning.

We ended up in Baker Ranch (with Martin's help!) with a floorplan that is very similar to the highlands plan 1, but we didn't have to pay the 'new house tax'.  I'd defintely look at getting something not brand new, they nickle and dime you for it all.  People overpay for new houses IMO.  Also factor in mello roos as well.  It's not like the GP, but Portola Springs did add up to another what, 5k a year?

We're super happy in BR because of all the parks for the little one, but you might not care about that.  I like PS, but the big downside is lack of retail.  I'm about a 3 minute car drive from Inn & Out, a food court, 8 fast casual mexican restaurants, and can walk to Starbucks and a few other restaurants within five minutes.

PS is what, an 8+ minute drive to the nearest shopping center becuase of traffic and lights, and nothing is within a reasonable walk.  However, like I said, Highlands are awesome floor plans, I can definitely see it being a great investment as well as a great place to live.  Bluffs not so much though.  I'm sure it'll be a fine investment but it didn't feel like a 1.3M house haha.
 
The problem with resale is there is no inventory. So people are going directly to the inventory creators which are the builder. Most builders don?t require you to bid besides greedy pulte homes in GP. Lennar did it in Serrano summit at one point and stopped. Assuming something bad happened that caused them to stop.
 
ThirtySomethingWEquity said:
Hey I thought i'd chime in with my thoughts since I looked at Portola Springs, Lake Forest, and dreamed about Orchard Hills but was priced out (for 4 bedrooms with anything more than a tiny patio). 

I think the Highland floorplans are super nice, walking in just feels like you're in a premium house with the way the big windows and slider flow off the kitchen and living room.  We also almost bought in Juniper but my wife really didn't like the smaller yards, and the lack of driveway was concerning.

We ended up in Baker Ranch (with Martin's help!) with a floorplan that is very similar to the highlands plan 1, but we didn't have to pay the 'new house tax'.  I'd defintely look at getting something not brand new, they nickle and dime you for it all.  People overpay for new houses IMO.  Also factor in mello roos as well.  It's not like the GP, but Portola Springs did add up to another what, 5k a year?

We're super happy in BR because of all the parks for the little one, but you might not care about that.  I like PS, but the big downside is lack of retail.  I'm about a 3 minute car drive from Inn & Out, a food court, 8 fast casual mexican restaurants, and can walk to Starbucks and a few other restaurants within five minutes.

PS is what, an 8+ minute drive to the nearest shopping center becuase of traffic and lights, and nothing is within a reasonable walk.  However, like I said, Highlands are awesome floor plans, I can definitely see it being a great investment as well as a great place to live.  Bluffs not so much though.  I'm sure it'll be a fine investment but it didn't feel like a 1.3M house haha.
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I'm quite surprised that you think Highland 1 floorplan is better than Bluffs 2. IMO, Bluffs 2 floorplan is superior to Highland 1 in every way. They are similar in many ways, but Highland doesn't have high ceiling, which we really like. The only disadvantage with Bluffs 2 is it doesn't have a driveway.

Right now we're on both Bluffs and Highland priority list. Our preference is Bluffs 2X, Bluffs 2, Highland 1, Bluffs 1. We don't consider Highland 2 because we don't really like its floorplan and it's more expensive.

It's quite true that Baker Ranch (and now The Meadows) is more convenient. I'm more of a Carl's Jr. guy and there's one practically next to the Meadows. However, we prefer a neighborhood that is in a residential area, and not in a commercial area. We don't mind to drive a bit farther for stuff. And the Bluffs/Highland homes are on a little hill, so that's really nice, especially compared to The Meadows that, at least right now, looks like it's lower than the surrounding area.
 
sleepy5136 said:
The problem with resale is there is no inventory. So people are going directly to the inventory creators which are the builder. Most builders don?t require you to bid besides greedy pulte homes in GP. Lennar did it in Serrano summit at one point and stopped. Assuming something bad happened that caused them to stop.
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The Oaks at Portola Hills still has the bidding process.

I think Lennar stopped the bidding because their homes aren't selling. In the last Soria release, plan 2 and especially plan 4 took a while to sell.
 
CalBears96 said:
sleepy5136 said:
The problem with resale is there is no inventory. So people are going directly to the inventory creators which are the builder. Most builders don?t require you to bid besides greedy pulte homes in GP. Lennar did it in Serrano summit at one point and stopped. Assuming something bad happened that caused them to stop.
Click to expand...

The Oaks at Portola Hills still has the bidding process.

I think Lennar stopped the bidding because their homes aren't selling. In the last Soria release, plan 2 and especially plan 4 took a while to sell.
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Lennar still does that in San Diego (even Escondido!) and there are builders who do that in AZ. My daughter wanted me to buy in SD and I called Lennar (which I pretty much eliminate them anyway) and soon as they said bid on the lot I said I'm not interested. Then they put me on interest lists for all their homes. I marked every one of them spam.
 
CalBears96 said:
ThirtySomethingWEquity said:
Hey I thought i'd chime in with my thoughts since I looked at Portola Springs, Lake Forest, and dreamed about Orchard Hills but was priced out (for 4 bedrooms with anything more than a tiny patio). 

I think the Highland floorplans are super nice, walking in just feels like you're in a premium house with the way the big windows and slider flow off the kitchen and living room.  We also almost bought in Juniper but my wife really didn't like the smaller yards, and the lack of driveway was concerning.

We ended up in Baker Ranch (with Martin's help!) with a floorplan that is very similar to the highlands plan 1, but we didn't have to pay the 'new house tax'.  I'd defintely look at getting something not brand new, they nickle and dime you for it all.  People overpay for new houses IMO.  Also factor in mello roos as well.  It's not like the GP, but Portola Springs did add up to another what, 5k a year?

We're super happy in BR because of all the parks for the little one, but you might not care about that.  I like PS, but the big downside is lack of retail.  I'm about a 3 minute car drive from Inn & Out, a food court, 8 fast casual mexican restaurants, and can walk to Starbucks and a few other restaurants within five minutes.

PS is what, an 8+ minute drive to the nearest shopping center becuase of traffic and lights, and nothing is within a reasonable walk.  However, like I said, Highlands are awesome floor plans, I can definitely see it being a great investment as well as a great place to live.  Bluffs not so much though.  I'm sure it'll be a fine investment but it didn't feel like a 1.3M house haha.
Click to expand...

I'm quite surprised that you think Highland 1 floorplan is better than Bluffs 2. IMO, Bluffs 2 floorplan is superior to Highland 1 in every way. They are similar in many ways, but Highland doesn't have high ceiling, which we really like. The only disadvantage with Bluffs 2 is it doesn't have a driveway.

Right now we're on both Bluffs and Highland priority list. Our preference is Bluffs 2X, Bluffs 2, Highland 1, Bluffs 1. We don't consider Highland 2 because we don't really like its floorplan and it's more expensive.

It's quite true that Baker Ranch (and now The Meadows) is more convenient. I'm more of a Carl's Jr. guy and there's one practically next to the Meadows. However, we prefer a neighborhood that is in a residential area, and not in a commercial area. We don't mind to drive a bit farther for stuff. And the Bluffs/Highland homes are on a little hill, so that's really nice, especially compared to The Meadows that, at least right now, looks like it's lower than the surrounding area.
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It's a lot of personal preference, but the kitchen on the bluffs felt more cramped, it seems smashed into the corner of the house.  Also, the siding door isn't opposite of where you walk into the great room, makin g it feel smaller despite being similar sq ft.  I don't like the fact that the yard is on the 'side' of the house.

Highlands I believe have 10ft ceilings which are pretty tall and not at all common, and having a 'back' yard means it really draws your eyes far back making the house appear even more spacious.

However, with Highlands being 1.6 now *base*,( no upgrades, no landscaping), I certainly think even over paying for resale in LF gets more for the money.  Look at what recently closed in my neighborhood for 1.65.

If location and view are more important than sq.ft or saving some money though, I definitely think highland is a great choice. 
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Lake-Forest/27-Heron-92630/home/112725581
 
ThirtySomethingWEquity said:
It's a lot of personal preference, but the kitchen on the bluffs felt more cramped, it seems smashed into the corner of the house.  Also, the siding door isn't opposite of where you walk into the great room, makin g it feel smaller despite being similar sq ft.  I don't like the fact that the yard is on the 'side' of the house.

Highlands I believe have 10ft ceilings which are pretty tall and not at all common, and having a 'back' yard means it really draws your eyes far back making the house appear even more spacious.

However, with Highlands being 1.6 now *base*,( no upgrades, no landscaping), I certainly think even over paying for resale in LF gets more for the money.  Look at what recently closed in my neighborhood for 1.65.

If location and view are more important than sq.ft or saving some money though, I definitely think highland is a great choice. 
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Lake-Forest/27-Heron-92630/home/112725581
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Highland 1 *base* is around $1.5M. The latest ones at $1.58M is due to "privacy" lot and 4000+ lot size.
 
sleepy5136 said:
They are now releasing phase 10. They have increased base price significantly. ~75k for residence 2.

Residence 1
$1,417,990 3994 lot size

Residence 2
$1,597,990 3973 lot size

Residence 3
$1,484,990 4,494 lot size

Residence 3X
$1,724,990 3627 lot size
Click to expand...

Wow...3 of the 4 homes have been snatched up already.

Only the 3X remains. Seems pricey for a smaller lot.
 
CalBears96 said:
sleepy5136 said:
They are now releasing phase 10. They have increased base price significantly. ~75k for residence 2.

Residence 1
$1,417,990 3994 lot size

Residence 2
$1,597,990 3973 lot size

Residence 3
$1,484,990 4,494 lot size

Residence 3X
$1,724,990 3627 lot size
Click to expand...

Wow...3 of the 4 homes have been snatched up already.

Only the 3X remains. Seems pricey for a smaller lot.
Click to expand...

Wow how times have changed, one of my buyers got into contact on a Plan 2 home in Feb 2021 and closed in March 2021 for $1.134m, included the discount of about $10k I got them off the price and we split the $33k broker co-op.
 
Yeah, a co-worker of mine got Plan 1 for $1.1M back in March 2021. And it was one that was close to ready to move-in.

But I heard that the waitlist for Amara is pretty long, so I guess people on the list just jumped on them.
 
CalBears96 said:
Yeah, a co-worker of mine got Plan 1 for $1.1M back in March 2021. And it was one that was close to ready to move-in.

But I heard that the waitlist for Amara is pretty long, so I guess people on the list just jumped on them.
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Yeah, the home that my buyer purchase was a quick move-in home hence why I was about to get them a small discount.  Wait listings for all new homes are long as buyers are hedging their bets by getting onto various lists while still bidding on resale homes.  In fact, one of my buyers who got outbid several times on resale homes just reserved a lot at Highland today.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
CalBears96 said:
Yeah, a co-worker of mine got Plan 1 for $1.1M back in March 2021. And it was one that was close to ready to move-in.

But I heard that the waitlist for Amara is pretty long, so I guess people on the list just jumped on them.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the home that my buyer purchase was a quick move-in home hence why I was about to get them a small discount.  Wait listings for all new homes are long as buyers are hedging their bets by getting onto various lists while still bidding on resale homes.  In fact, one of my buyers who got outbid several times on resale homes just reserved a lot at Highland today.
Click to expand...

Highland had a new release this weekend?
 
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