Olivewood at Portola Springs by New Home Co.

Thanks @CalBears96 for the insight.

Were Bluffs built as Site Condos or SFR's? Perhaps insurance is less for these buildings as Site Condos if they are.

I've heard of many escrow foul ups due to insurance issues for properties that are "fire zone adjacent". Once you get a firm quote, please update your posts if you feel it appropriate to share. At minimum, passing along the contact info for ANY agent who is insuring in Cali is helpful for the readers here.
 
I believe Bluffs are considered condos. It's possible that it's less for condos. However, my brother-in-law's home in Portola Hills, which is in fire hazard zone, is less than $1000 a year also. And his house is 4100 sq ft.
 
I used to live in Woodbury back in 2008 and a fire burned the area north of portola by sand canyon. If the fire reached there it seems like it will reach portola springs.

Calbears - do you have other insurance that is covered by your HOA? Is your insurance just for the interior items or does it cover a rebuild of the entire house? That rate is very cheap. I’m pushing 5k a year.
 
qwerty said:
I used to live in Woodbury back in 2008 and a fire burned the area north of portola by sand canyon. If the fire reached there it seems like it will reach portola springs.

Calbears - do you have other insurance that is covered by your HOA? Is your insurance just for the interior items or does it cover a rebuild of the entire house? That rate is very cheap. I’m pushing 5k a year.
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It's not attached condo, so nothing is covered by HOA. The insurance covers the full rebuild of the house, which is why I mentioned replacement costs. Basically, the agent said replacement costs depend on just the sq. ft, for materials. Has nothing to do with value of the home itself.
 
usctrojancpa said:
AAA seems to be an insurance company that will insure Portola Springs with somewhat reasonable rates.
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Can we get a number attached to "somewhat reasonable"? For some, the insurer of last resort - California Fair Plan - is reasonable given the buyer has no other option.

So far I've seen $1k to pushing $5k PY which is some spread.
 
sgip said:
@CalBears96

I think it would help the posters and lurkers here to know what your insurance price quotes are and who is committing to insuring these homes. Even with a June delivery, lining up insurance now should be a priority. It's possible to argue back and forth on the subject, but real buyers can end the debate by detailing what their real costs are. I hope this information can bubble up soon, as June isn't really all that far away.
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Can second this.... I closed on a purchase in Irvine a few months ago and put all my energy on getting the lowest possible rate and didn't foresee it being so difficult to get insurance. I reached out to every broker and agent I could find and thought I finally had a firm quote only for them to cancel their offer right before I had to close which left me scrambling again. If I was looking at purchasing anything I would make sure to get insurance quotes lined up very early in the process.... I was used to insurance almost being an afterthought.

Last resort was CAL FAIR plan but they only cover up to 3m which wasn't enough so I almost had to "self insure" the balance... Insurance agents are telling me a lot of the carriers should come back early 2024 and begin insuring CA properties again but of course at much higher rates.

Just keep in mind if the value of your home (and the cost of rebuilding it) went up 50% in the last few years it stands to reason your insurance needs to go up accordingly....
 
hamilton said:
Can second this.... I closed on a purchase in Irvine a few months ago and put all my energy on getting the lowest possible rate and didn't foresee it being so difficult to get insurance. I reached out to every broker and agent I could find and thought I finally had a firm quote only for them to cancel their offer right before I had to close which left me scrambling again. If I was looking at purchasing anything I would make sure to get insurance quotes lined up very early in the process.... I was used to insurance almost being an afterthought.

Last resort was CAL FAIR plan but they only cover up to 3m which wasn't enough so I almost had to "self insure" the balance... Insurance agents are telling me a lot of the carriers should come back early 2024 and begin insuring CA properties again but of course at much higher rates.

Just keep in mind if the value of your home (and the cost of rebuilding it) went up 50% in the last few years it stands to reason your insurance needs to go up accordingly....
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Just want to mention that the value of your home has absolutely NOTHING to do with replacement costs. It doesn't matter if the value of your home is $3M or $5M if the cost to rebuild your home is $600k. That's what they're going by when insuring your home.

Let me put it in another way. Before I sold my Eastvale home, which I sold for $950k, it cost me about $900 a year for home insurance, because it was 3309 sq ft. When I called my agent to get quote for my Irvine home, which is 2606 sq ft, he quoted me less than $600. I was surprised and asked him why it was cheaper than my Eastvale home even though it the value is almost double. He said, only the sq ft AND materials (if you wanted the same upgraded materials to be replaced) matter.
 
qwerty said:
I used to live in Woodbury back in 2008 and a fire burned the area north of portola by sand canyon. If the fire reached there it seems like it will reach portola springs.

Calbears - do you have other insurance that is covered by your HOA? Is your insurance just for the interior items or does it cover a rebuild of the entire house? That rate is very cheap. I’m pushing 5k a year.
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The one in 2020 also burned through Portola Springs. It burned alongside Sand Canyon off the 133 as well.
 
Here are some helpful pics of the 2020 fire:

Map-Blue-Ridge-and-Silverado-Fires-224-p.m.-PDT-Oct.-26-2020.jpg

Silverado-and-Santiago-Fires.jpg
GettyImages-1282374185.jpg
ElR85qGUYAER14k.jpg:large


This last image always got to me because I drive on that toll road.
If you think you can save your house while the santa ana winds are blowing fire, well ..it feels like a flamethrower. You will need one of those fireman long coats.
 
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CalBears96 said:
My Cielo home is still 6-8 months out, so I don't have any quote for it yet. However, I paid less than $600 a year for my Bluffs home when I closed escrow in 2022, but then it increased to $800 when I renewed it in 2023. The insurance company is Mercury. I don't see PS increase by 10 fold in just one year.
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So Westwood Insurance just emailed a quote for my new Cielo home. It's $966 per year, or $81 per month. Of course, things could change by the time my home is completed in 6-8 months, but that's the quote I'm getting right now.
 
New Home Company made a huge mistake in increasing the price of Olivewood so much. They really overestimated the willingness of the buyers to take whatever home they released. Lot 88 was sold a few days after the release, but all the other homes are still untouched.
 

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CalBears96 said:
New Home Company made a huge mistake in increasing the price of Olivewood so much. They really overestimated the willingness of the buyers to take whatever home they released. Lot 88 was sold a few days after the release, but all the other homes are still untouched.
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Do you think potential buyers are being steered to other projects like Cielo now because of this?
 
irviniteeee said:
Do you think potential buyers are being steered to other projects like Cielo now because of this?
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Many Youtube real estate agents are starting to post more Azul videos now that Olivewood prices are so outrageous. I'm quite happy that Azul is getting more attention now since it wasn't selling as well. They're not doing many Cielo videos since Cielo priority list is already closed, so it wasn't beneficial to them.

I just don't know what New Home Company is going to do now as they can't move inventory. I wanted to see all of them sell out in no time, so NHC has been pissing me off.
 
usctrojancpa said:
Azul is not giving much commission compared to Shea and The New Home Company.
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Cielo gives the most commission, but their priority list is closed. Olivewood is way overpriced, so there won't be any buyers. So, even though Azul only gives a bit more than 1/3 of Cielo commission, and 1/2 of Olivewood commission, brokers have no choice but to bring potential buyers to Azul. $20k is better than nothing.
 
CalBears96 said:
Cielo gives the most commission, but their priority list is closed. Olivewood is way overpriced, so there won't be any buyers. So, even though Azul only gives a bit more than 1/3 of Cielo commission, and 1/2 of Olivewood commission, brokers have no choice but to bring potential buyers to Azul. $20k is better than nothing.
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The reason why the broker co-op on Azul is so low is because CalPac is the builder. Irvine Pacific offered a $45k broker co-op for Azul which is the same as what Olivewood is currently offering.
 
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