Will Portola Springs Become a Ghost Town?

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
NIR...actually I did now your last stated point. I do like HOAs to be quite honest with you...well to an extent. I do not like that they can stipulate things like the kind of tile you put on your house, if you could put a shed in your yard, tell you the color that you have to paint your shutters....however, I do like the fact that it takes care of a community pool sometimes, a cost I wouldn't want to bear alone, repaves roads when needed, exterior upkeep....and so on.





Mello-Roos...bs!!!! That is why I pay all my taxes to the local govt for them to use to pave rds, build sewers, update power facilities...etc. This is also why I am a firm believer that the US seriously needs to consider a consumption tax. That way our politicians can cut the pork out of all their budgets and focus on what are serious needs, like school fundings, infrastructure, security...etc.
 
<p>mino2126,</p>

<p>Here is one way to look at Mello-Roos, it's a loan. You can either pay it off now or pay it off 30-50 years later. I bet you will feel differently about Mello-Roos later.</p>
 
<p><em>"Here is one way to look at Mello-Roos, it's a loan. You can either pay it off now or pay it off 30-50 years later. I bet you will feel differently about Mello-Roos later."</em></p>

<p>Except that I've been told they can't be paid off early by individuals.</p>

<p>SCHB</p>
 
<p><em>"Did you call the county controller withthe phone number listed on your tax bill? Why would you want to pay it off early?"</em></p>

<p>I have some friends with the means to buy a low to mid millions new property with a mortgage of 50% or less, and they were told "no way" to paying off their mello-roos at the time of purchase, presumably by the tax assessor, but I'm not sure. </p>

<p>The reason one would want to pay it early is that it is not (technically) deductible, so if you have the $$, you could pay off the "principal" of your fraction of the bond on behalf of your residence. The upside being you don't pay the interest on the bond (which doubles or triples its actual cost over time), and your house would increase in value by having this future liability removed.</p>

<p>SCHB</p>

<p> </p>
 
<p>SCHB,</p>

<p>I think your friends would have to complete the purchase, then call the county and arrange for pay off.</p>

<p>I once called the county and check on the interest rates. Some were as high as 11%. I think they refi 2 years later and raised money for something else. Hard to win.</p>

<p>I decided not to pay off mine because I did not think I can recoup when I sell mine.</p>
 
Ok dumb question, but why do you even think Mello-Roos is acceptable? You pay city or county taxes, state taxes, federal taxes, and even sales tax on all your purchases. I find Mello-Roos to be ridiculous personally. Why should I pay my hard earn money towards infrastructure that the city or county should want to do to attract individuals to the area...or TIC should want to do so it attracts builders to build homes. I personally will not buy a new home for the shear fact that Mello-Roos is nothing more than a way for developers, builders, and politicians to take more of my hard earned money.
 
<p>I always thought that Mello-Roos was merely the evolution of the home sales game. When a community gets built, there are always costs... and these costs were historically borne by Home builders, etc. Accordingly, the costs were passed along in the overall price of the home. More recently, these "costs" have been theoretically shifted away from the cost of the home, and into an additional property tax to pay for a facility district bond (which is what funds the roads and sewers, etc.) Thus, in theory, you are paying "less" on the initial payment (of a home today) through the use of Mello-Roos...</p>

<p>Of course, I'm uncertain that anyone with a pulse really believes this... but that what I've seen explained (on this blog)...yet another example of how TIC and home buidlers are looking out for us. Now I can sleep at night.</p>
 
Thanks for the explanation but if I had my way with Mello Roos I would stick it where the sun don't shine. Did you also know that you can have your home foreclosed and evicted in about the same amount of time as if you default on your mortgage?
 
the other day i was at my friends house. they live in north tustin. when i got to their house i asked if i could use their outhouse and to my surprise, they told me their home was outfitted with more than 1 bathroom. they had running water and the toilets actually flushed! i had no idea that the town had built the necessary infrastructure to support modern plumbing! i asked them what their mello roos assessment was per month and they said zero. IMPOSSIBLE! come to think of it, i thought it was odd that several of their neighbors also had automobiles. i presumed that people in their neighborhood rode horse and buggy on dirt roads.





i agree with mino. to tell homeowners these costs aren't included in the price of the home doesn't really mean much when prices are as high as they are anyway. how is it that in the past, there was a way to build roads, sewers, schools, etc with less tax revenue and home prices were cheaper in real dollars? they present mello roos as some wonderful thing that makes irvine better than other places...
 
Does anyone know when Portola Springs was estimated to be completed? Also, there are two "enclaves" currently right now, but I thought I remember reading a while ago there were supposed to be more. Anyone know how many total "enclaves" were planned?
 
<p>acpme,</p>

<p>Many people share the same feeling that you have about Mello-Roos. It's important to look at the amenities that Mello-Roos district and non-Mello-Roos district OFFER as it's is a part of the home that you buy. Basically you look at the whole package. Then look at the overall payment and see what you are willing to spend.</p>

<p>I do not want to sound like I promote Mello-Roos as I have no issue with it as a home buyer myself. Everyone pays the same, Mello-Roos or not. Example, homes in the Groves are priced so much lower to make up for the higher Mello-Roos cost. I think the builder should set the Mello-Roos to Zero and raise the home price to attract more buyers.</p>

<p>Keep in mind the Mello-Roos fees range from as low as $400/year to as high as $11,000/year. This fee is fixed and is not a function of home price.</p>
 
<p>jimmyzdc asked:</p>

<p><em>"Does anyone know when Portola Springs was estimated to be completed?"</em> </p>

<p>Not sure, but based on the delayed openings and pace of phase releases, they are at least 6-9 months behind schedule. Probably more.</p>

<p>SCHB</p>
 
<p>Maybe a decade from the moment they start grading dirt until the schools and retail are totally complete, but that seems way too long for the homebuilding to finish. If you could find the press release, let us know.</p>

<p>I'd guess they target 18-24 months from first sale to last for a given community within PS.</p>

<p>SCHB</p>
 
Well, direct construction is relatively quick. We have been able to pump out houses within 90 days up in the valley. I'm just going by the complete build-out time found in this article on the OC Register.





<a href="http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/atoz/article_1212660.php">http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/atoz/article_1212660.php</a>
 
<p>Acpme,</p>

<p>Mello-Roos are one result of Prop. 13. There's a bit of misinformation about them in this thread. I shouldn't post from work and have been a bit busy at home lately, but I'll try to put a post together about them (a little history, a little mechanics, etc.) hopefully by the end of this week and put it in a new thread.</p>
 
Does anyone have an opinion on whether the HOA dues will have to go up or risk being underfunded if the community does not sell out? My guess is the HBs will continue to pay for the HOA dues for the unsold units/ lots until the project is completely finished, but what if the HBs file bankruptcy, or in an area of high defaults and foreclosures, I suppose the risk is spread to all the remaining homeowners which means they will be asked to pick up the slack.





There is usually a disclosure on what you are expected to pay for HOA and what it might be at build-out, but is there a cap?
 
<p>The HOA's will be higher until the community sells out. That should be a question of when, not if, unless the builders & TIC re-subdivide the land to make fewer units with more land per unit, but that probably isn't likley.</p>

<p>I'm not aware of an HOA cap in contract language.</p>

<p>The most likely scenario is that current and near future owners could pay the elevated (pre build out) HOA for much longer than anticipated and desired. Eventually the community will sell through, but if it comes because of big prices reductions on the homes, it's going to be no comfort that your HOA finally dropped $100 or so if it comes at the cost of having a new comp for your home tens of thousands or a hundred thousand below your purchase price.</p>

<p>That is the big risk when a community doesn't get enough momentum at an early stage. With TIC involved, there really isn't much risk that the community will sit half built for years and years.</p>

<p>SCHB</p>
 
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