Laguna Altura homes

[rkp]

the air quality issue came from IHS discussing the wok design of LA and the possibility of air being trapped in there much like the valley.  if you ever drive the 405 into the valley, you will literally see a thick layer of brown smog above the entire basin and the concern is something similar can happen in LA, esp being cornered by 2 freeways.  but thats just a theory and as of right now, there are no articles or concerns about poor air quality

the lack of sales is real.  ignore the pins as they put down sold pins for people showing an interest in a property but not even committing.  easy way to know TIC is suffering: they offer something for free.  they are an extremely shrewd company and wont leave a penny on the table.  if they are giving upgrades and landscaping, then they are hurting.

 

[The Motor Court Company]

Mencius' mother, three moves is a very famous Chinese saying; If Mencius was born in Woodbury I'd guess his mother would move him somewhere else so he does not pick up bad habits from social economical challenged kids

for part time living, not for raising a family, Woodbury is at top of my list because of the town center, central location and amenities; Quail Hill and North Park are close second and third.

why isnt it on top of your list for raising a family?  solely because of Irvine High?

 

[rkp]

Mencius' mother, three moves is a very famous Chinese saying; If Mencius was born in Woodbury I'd guess his mother would move him somewhere else so he does not pick up bad habits from social economical challenged kids

i am surprised that is a chinese saying.  i have been to quite a few cities in china and poverty is right next to richness in most places

would you say stonegate has the same situation or not? 

 

[The Motor Court Company]

Unfortunately Stonegate is heading toward that way with Doria. However I believe the percentage is still less; Stonegate apartment residents cannot use private parks but Woodbury apartment residents can use Woodbury amenities. So that's less exposure.

Mencius' mother, three moves is a very famous Chinese saying; If Mencius was born in Woodbury I'd guess his mother would move him somewhere else so he does not pick up bad habits from social economical challenged kids

i am surprised that is a chinese saying.  i have been to quite a few cities in china and poverty is right next to richness in most places

would you say stonegate has the same situation or not?

 

[rkp]

we are really off topic and this should be a separate thread.  will start...

 

[The Motor Court Company]

the TIC sold button is used very liberally and their "blue" reserved buttons are never used. So the red sold buttons can sometimes mean "reserved". But usually reserved translates to sold so there is not much bluffing there. Given the lack of inventory and the obsession with University High zoned homes, it does not surprise me the sales in the detached condos are picking up.

I'm also surprised that many have mentioned stagnating sales, because I saw so many "sold" pins on that board when you walk in the sales office, but that could have been staged I guess.

Do I need immediate medical attention if I smell something from the landfill?

Lambert Ranch would have been perfect, but I can't imagine shelling out ~$900k+ for a home near a dump. A family friend lives in Las Colinas in PR, and when it's cloudy and slightly breezy you can smell something foul. If that wasn't the case, LR would be the obvious choice.

 

[jamboreedude]

For all Lambert Ranch, Portola Springs and Stonegate prospective homebuyers/renters and homeowners, watch this video and you decide if it's safe:

Bowerman Landfill, Irvine CA Tour:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9kBDi2PN9M

Do I need immediate medical attention if I smell something from the landfill?

Lambert Ranch would have been perfect, but I can't imagine shelling out ~$900k+ for a home near a dump. A family friend lives in Las Colinas in PR, and when it's cloudy and slightly breezy you can smell something foul. If that wasn't the case, LR would be the obvious choice.

 

[rkp]

did you actually watch the video?  between the choice of no landfill or near one, its easy to say no.  but among landfills, this is one is very well designed and shouldnt give you fear.  there is literally no smell to those students when they are right in the midst of the landfill.  and while people do throw batteries and other bad stuff in their normal trash, the massive majority is not toxic or dangerous. 

the one thing that the guy said that was remotely pause for concern was his personal non-scientific observation that people who retire die in 2-5 years (he said 2 first but then changed it to 2-3-4-5).  to see if that should be of concern, one should look at mortality rate after retirement for blue collar workers. 

its good to bring more attention and help increase public awareness but you are a fan boy of only LA and everything else is horrible to you. 

 

[vincent2048]

rkp, I have been struggling to look for a SFR or detached condo for a couple of months, mainly QH and Northwood Pointe area for better schools. I can't find any unit with reasonable price on redfin. Relatively, LA is even cheaper than the units in QH on redfin in terms of $/sqft.

Any advice?

 

[rkp]

Appreciate asking me but I am far from a guru or pro.  IrvineRealtor (Scott) and USCTrojanCPA (Martin) are the real pros and super helpful.  If you dont have someone helping you, would recommend PM'ing either of them.

I never really looked at LA and QH was always too expensive for us.  We personally narrowed our search down to NWP, WB, LR, and TF (Tustin Fields).  New always comes off cheaper but when you factor in landscaping and upgrades, its usually more.  I know for a fact that San Marino is much more expensive than WB resales.  LA vs QH is tough though as QH has no inventory right now.

What is your price range and what LA model are you interested in?

 

[irvinehomeowner]

One other detail that favors LA over QH when it comes to detached condos... FHA financing. Most of the QH condos no longer qualify for FHA but both detached condos tracts in LA do (at least that's what I was told).

 

[irvinehomeowner]

If the detached condos aren't selling that well... re-purpose the area and use the future Mendocino SFRs... I bet TIC can sell tons of those for $700k-mid $800k.

 

[vincent2048]

650K. We don't really think about WB and TF because of schools. My wife complains the bad influence on my daughter after she went to Kindergarten last year.

I don't really care academic stuff much but do care the bad influence from peers in schools. Tough call.

 

[cowlemon]

What's wrong with WB school?

650K. We don't really think about WB and TF because of schools. My wife complains the bad influence on my daughter after she went to Kindergarten last year.

I don't really care academic stuff much but do care the bad influence from peers in schools. Tough call.

 

[rkp]

650K. We don't really think about WB and TF because of schools. My wife complains the bad influence on my daughter after she went to Kindergarten last year.

I don't really care academic stuff much but do care the bad influence from peers in schools. Tough call.

what possibly bad things can a kindergartner pick up and how do you know they picked them up from the less well to do kids? 

i dont know whats available in the 650K range too well.  i am not sure buying the smaller properties in LA is a good idea as the parks and pools are closer to the larger homes.  i get the feeling that selling those houses will be hard down the road.  but i am not one of those people who only thinks about my future buyer.  i just wonder if people will be happy with no parks near them and in rows and rows of housing.  seeing the master plan map really says it all:
http://www.irvinepacific.com/LagunaAltura/Interactive-Village-Map.aspx

 

[The Motor Court Company]

$650k won't get you a detached home in NWP. In Quail Hill you'd get something like 63 Figtree.

It seems like you are determined to get a detached home from these neighborhoods (Turtle Ridge, Quail Hill, NWP or Laguna Altura) because of the top notch schools. Unfortunately, due to the lack of inventory, your best bet would be Laguna Altura. For best future resale value you need to stay away from 405/133 as far as possible, better with a corner lot. But given the sale pace, these more premium locations will not be up for release any time soon.

Or you have to settle for lesser area such as Stonegate or Portola Springs. Same schools but in Stonegate you get tiny land for the $$ but PS is closer to the landfill and not as convenient.

Tough call for buyers nowadays and TIC is enjoying the heck out of this.

650K. We don't really think about WB and TF because of schools. My wife complains the bad influence on my daughter after she went to Kindergarten last year.

I don't really care academic stuff much but do care the bad influence from peers in schools. Tough call.

 

[iacrenter]

650K. We don't really think about WB and TF because of schools. My wife complains the bad influence on my daughter after she went to Kindergarten last year.

I don't really care academic stuff much but do care the bad influence from peers in schools. Tough call.

what possibly bad things can a kindergartner pick up and how do you know they picked them up from the less well to do kids? 

i dont know whats available in the 650K range too well.  i am not sure buying the smaller properties in LA is a good idea as the parks and pools are closer to the larger homes.  i get the feeling that selling those houses will be hard down the road.  but i am not one of those people who only thinks about my future buyer.  i just wonder if people will be happy with no parks near them and in rows and rows of housing.  seeing the master plan map really says it all:
http://www.irvinepacific.com/LagunaAltura/Interactive-Village-Map.aspx

TIC really blew it in terms of designing this community. Their original design was much better:

TIC got greedy and wanted to squeeze in more homes. They got rid of the connecting paseos and parks. The current design killed any sense of connection/walk-ability between the different tracts.

 

[The Motor Court Company]

I will print this picture out and put it on the bulletin board in the club house so LA residents know how much they have been screwed.

TIC really blew it in terms of designing this community. Their original design was much better:

TIC got greedy and wanted to squeeze in more homes. They got rid of the connecting paseos and parks. The current design killed any sense of connection/walk-ability between the different tracts.

 

[OCgasman]

TIC really blew it in terms of designing this community. Their original design was much better:

TIC got greedy and wanted to squeeze in more homes. They got rid of the connecting paseos and parks. The current design killed any sense of connection/walk-ability between the different tracts.

I didn't know that was the original design.  That does look way better!  TIC should have stuck with the original plan and also made them all SFR.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Actually... that second satellite map was looking close to the original plan... you can still see there was supposed to be some sort of park/pool in the northern area near the detached condos.... and another pool/clubhhouse area in the center. The final plan looks worse:

Only one pool... and the parks that got their pools taken away are pushed off to the sides to make room for more homes... bleh.