What do your neighbors do for a living?

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RoyceLSP

New member
A few weekends ago, DH and I went to see some of the model homes in GP and PS. Many of the 'affordable' ones were already sold or only had one or two units left at the increased price in the high 600s - 800s (I believe you can still find the initial advertisements saying 'starting in the mid 500s'.) Anyway, it seemed there were plenty of options in the 900k - 1.8m range and...yeah, that's not happening for us right now ;D. Early 30s, DINKs, long time Irvine renters, Gov IT and Biotech jobs. I'd be comfortable with 500k (still semi do-able in Irvine...at least this week.)

Anyway, my question is: what types of employment do these buyers have? Where do your neighbors work? Are all y'all doctors and lawyers? IT?
FCBs? Did mom/dad/grandma help? Upgrading from a starter home? Great investments? Saved penny by penny? Just got in at the right time?  Breaking Bad money? Bahaha, you get the point.

Also, would you say most owners in Irvine are comfortable paying their Total Housing Payment? Let's say your THP is $5K (principal, interest, property tax, HOA, insurance) for your 882k house. Is your (+ your partner's) monthly take-home pay really $11-14k (35-45% pre-tax - traditional model) to $20K+(25% after-tax - conservative model)? I definitely have friends with a THP of $4k, 1-3 kids, and a total take-home pay of $5-6k :o

TIA!
 
in my newer single family neighborhood, its mostly older  (in their 40s-50s) folks who rolled in equity from previous houses they owned in Irvine or elsewhere in Orange County/LA, foreign cash buyers who live here maybe only a portion of the year, or travel frequently to attend to their businesses outside the US leaving their wife and kids here, multigenerational families (pooling $$ with the grandparents). If none of those situations apply, they are usually dual earner couples with professional degrees (e.g. 2 MDs, lawyer-MD) or in finance. Also the kids are mostly older school age, not so many young kids, because the parents are older to be able to afford these prices (>1.5M)
 
RoyceLSP said:
I definitely have friends with a THP of $4k, 1-3 kids, and a total take-home pay of $5-6k :o
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This sounds like a stressful way to live.  Renting a 2 bedroom apartment would be more suitable for that income level.
 
You will still be out almost $3000 renting a 2 bed apartment with rent going up every year. I guess the people with Take-Home-Pay of 5-6k with house payment of $4k probably figure they will gain equity to be able to buy a move-up property and there is some stability with owning(especially when you have young children). Hence, they are willing to make sacrifices in other areas of their lives
 
momto6 said:
You will still be out almost $3000 renting a 2 bed apartment with rent going up every year. I guess the people with Take-Home-Pay of 5-6k with house payment of $4k probably figure they will gain equity to be able to buy a move-up property and there is some stability with owning(especially when you have young children). Hence, they are willing to make sacrifices in other areas of their lives
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Honestly, I wouldn't live in Irvine.  There are other nice areas where you could rent for around $2k. 

Their current situation puts them one paycheck away from going bankrupt, so I don't view that as stable.
 
RoyceLSP said:
A few weekends ago, DH and I went to see some of the model homes in GP and PS. Many of the 'affordable' ones were already sold or only had one or two units left at the increased price in the high 600s - 800s (I believe you can still find the initial advertisements saying 'starting in the mid 500s'.) Anyway, it seemed there were plenty of options in the 900k - 1.8m range and...yeah, that's not happening for us right now ;D. Early 30s, DINKs, long time Irvine renters, Gov IT and Biotech jobs. I'd be comfortable with 500k (still semi do-able in Irvine...at least this week.)

Anyway, my question is: what types of employment do these buyers have? Where do your neighbors work? Are all y'all doctors and lawyers? IT?
FCBs? Did mom/dad/grandma help? Upgrading from a starter home? Great investments? Saved penny by penny? Just got in at the right time?  Breaking Bad money? Bahaha, you get the point.

Also, would you say most owners in Irvine are comfortable paying their Total Housing Payment? Let's say your THP is $5K (principal, interest, property tax, HOA, insurance) for your 882k house. Is your (+ your partner's) monthly take-home pay really $11-14k (35-45% pre-tax - traditional model) to $20K+(25% after-tax - conservative model)? I definitely have friends with a THP of $4k, 1-3 kids, and a total take-home pay of $5-6k :o

TIA!
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I commend you for doing it all on your own. It?s one of those life achievement badge items that we all want, is a home of your own.

I remembered when I first start out renting, then we bought a small place. It was scary for sure when you sign your life away to those mortgage schackle so I thought during the loan process. But looking back is always clear to me, is that it?s never a bad decision when you buy your own place. You have to figure your numbers and add some cushions to weather the storm if it ever comes. I knows doctors that struggling in my neighborhood and wife is pharmacist so combined I guess it would be closer to 300k at least, but they bought fancy cars and a big house beyond their need. At least from my perspective that if his house is 4000 plus sqft, it?s too big. Even MD as my neighbor is he still struggle because he taken on schools debt and a huge mortgage debt. The moral of my story is, look to be an owner but don?t overload and does not matter the profession because fiscal conservatives bear no profession. Look for long term and you will be glad when it?s time for you to trade up with equity build up. Good luck
 
Nothing.

Ever go to preschool pickup in irivne during ?working hours??  Lots of moms AND dads there together to pick up their one kid. It?s precious.
 
Great post.
I always wonder how people trade up? If you have equity in the house, should you rent it out with a hope for appreciation, or cash out and put that in a larger house? Any experts here who have done this?
 
bones said:
Nothing.

Ever go to preschool pickup in irivne during ?working hours??  Lots of moms AND dads there together to pick up their one kid. It?s precious.
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Some people may be working from home and have the flexibility to do pick ups even in the middle of the day.
 
misme said:
bones said:
Nothing.

Ever go to preschool pickup in irivne during ?working hours??  Lots of moms AND dads there together to pick up their one kid. It?s precious.
Click to expand...

Some people may be working from home and have the flexibility to do pick ups even in the middle of the day.
Click to expand...

Or Ive asked and the answer is nothing :)
 
In Eastwood village, I see so many  what i feel are recent immigrants from china...I wonder what type of work they do to be able to afford to live here. Besides that, I am finding that a bunch of homes recently sold in Eastwood were bought by a handful of investors - Very same listing ad for rental soon after escrow close. These homes sold close to a million dollars and rented out the as soon as escrow closed....where is the money coming from? FCB....??? 
 
older neighborhood, long time owners with jobs that probably don't pay enough to afford renting in some of the new luxury apartment communities
 
Irvinehomeseeker said:
In Eastwood village, I see so many  what i feel are recent immigrants from china...I wonder what type of work they do to be able to afford to live here. Besides that, I am finding that a bunch of homes recently sold in Eastwood were bought by a handful of investors - Very same listing ad for rental soon after escrow close. These homes sold close to a million dollars and rented out the as soon as escrow closed....where is the money coming from? FCB....???
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True story. I had a nanny when my kids were young. Before me, she used to work for a family in Woodbury who owned several oil wells in Western China!!!  A family friend of her former employer was the guy who owned the factory who makes all the Bell bike helmets. Why on earth such a wealthy family would want to live in Irvine  (versus Newport or San Marino/Arcadia, etc) is beyond me. But that is the competition for buying housing here.

I have some neighbors on my current street who own a pharmaceutical factory in China.  The guy next to me owns a hospital and several other medical clinics overseas (not China). The source of their income is in another country, but they want to live here. They don't have to go to dayjobs. They are business owners.  They just occasionally make trips back and forth to manage their businesses. I told my spouse we are some of the few unlucky slobs on our street who have to get up everyday and go to work to pay the mortgage.

 
RoyceLSP said:
Also, would you say most owners in Irvine are comfortable paying their Total Housing Payment? Let's say your THP is $5K (principal, interest, property tax, HOA, insurance) for your 882k house. Is your (+ your partner's) monthly take-home pay really $11-14k (35-45% pre-tax - traditional model) to $20K+(25% after-tax - conservative model)? I definitely have friends with a THP of $4k, 1-3 kids, and a total take-home pay of $5-6k :o

TIA!
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Yikes!  Definitely don't do that.

Everyone's opinion is different, but I say buy a home that you won't feel financially stressed living in.  As DINKs, I'm assuming you want to also live life and do fun things, like go on cool vacations, eat at nice restaurants, go to concerts, sporting events, etc. 

Look at your budget, see how much you're spending, project how much you might be spending in the near future (i.e. plan to have kids soon?  that's a significant expense for sure), then see how much home you're comfortable affording.  Make sure you are also saving money for retirement as well - your older self will thank you later.
 
misme said:
Irvinehomeseeker said:
In Eastwood village, I see so many  what i feel are recent immigrants from china...I wonder what type of work they do to be able to afford to live here. Besides that, I am finding that a bunch of homes recently sold in Eastwood were bought by a handful of investors - Very same listing ad for rental soon after escrow close. These homes sold close to a million dollars and rented out the as soon as escrow closed....where is the money coming from? FCB....???
Click to expand...

True story. I had a nanny when my kids were young. Before me, she used to work for a family in Woodbury who owned several oil wells in Western China!!!  A family friend of her former employer was the guy who owned the factory who makes all the Bell bike helmets. Why on earth such a wealthy family would want to live in Irvine  (versus Newport or San Marino/Arcadia, etc) is beyond me. But that is the competition for buying housing here.

I have some neighbors on my current street who own a pharmaceutical factory in China.  The guy next to me owns a hospital and several other medical clinics overseas (not China). The source of their income is in another country, but they want to live here. They don't have to go to dayjobs. They are business owners.  They just occasionally make trips back and forth to manage their businesses. I told my spouse we are some of the few unlucky slobs on our street who have to get up everyday and go to work to pay the mortgage.
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I wonder what kinda of Visa route they get to come to US when their source of incone is outside of US? Is it EB5...but I heard its not very easy to get that.
 
eyephone said:
I?m not sure if somebody already mention it, but maybe you should consider different area to buy.
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We?re definitely considering other areas (OC, LA, IE, out of state, international), but after 8 years you get a little attached...ok, I get a little attached :) I think we?re both pretty realistic that owning in Irvine may not be in the cards for us though.

bones said:
misme said:
bones said:
Nothing.

Ever go to preschool pickup in irivne during ?working hours??  Lots of moms AND dads there together to pick up their one kid. It?s precious.
Click to expand...

Some people may be working from home and have the flexibility to do pick ups even in the middle of the day.
Click to expand...

Or Ive asked and the answer is nothing :)
Click to expand...

LOL  :D
- -

RE: FCBs - (dang iPad froze) It feels like a certain chunk of Cypress Village is 70% FCB/Investment properties maybe? I?ll take an evening stroll and it?s like most houses are empty. *shoulder shrug*
 
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