Recent content by jsboxer_IHB

My wife and I are from the East Coast. Coto is actually the closest thing to parts of the East Coast in the area. We like the hills and the quiet that Coto offers. The house we bought has no one behind us, no one in front, and no real fences. We live in Irvine now and we have gotten tired of...

It is in Coto De Caza.

Barring something strange...late december.

The bank came and accepted our offer. I can't tell you how shocked I am at this point. We delivered the offer in July. We got this home is 45% off its peak price from 2005. Thanks to all who have contributed to the board. I have mentioned in previous posts that I probably saved 12k per...

UPDATE - Still waiting. :(

A bank (BofA) had accepted our offer on a short sale (after 4 months) and asked us for proof of funds. We provided the proof of funds as requested. The bank then went silent for 3 business days. That delay concerned us so we checked Realtytrac. We learned that an NOD was filed on the home...

We are all over the map. We pulled out of a short sale buy in Tallega recently on a 4000 sq foot 5/5. We continue to look at some of the larger homes in Quail Hill that have come down into the $1.1 range range (3000 sq ft 4/4 or 5/5 -we live in Quail Hill today). It will take them coming down...

My understanding is that (for the big banks at least) it takes time to: (1) run the new loan limits through legal, (2) create the loan package, (3) do change control on mainframe, (4) train staff on new product, and (5) release to market. Considering those loans are only through 2008, I suspect...

I can open a new thread on this but was curious. Does anyone have a formula for valuation of a home taking into account the lot size? Many times we look at cost per square foot of a home but the lot is considered a "premium" lot size or too small. Is there a weighted commonly used formula I...

I drove through Tallega last weekend. On every corner are signs for open houses. On the top of half of those signs there is another sign stating that the open house was for a short sale. We talked to the owner of one short sale home who bought a house for approximately 1.3 million with ZERO...

The way you get lower prices is to submit an offer with exactly what you want. If you want 70k back at closing for furniture and landscaping then put it in the offer. I would look at 1) getting the developer to pay points to bring down your mortgage costs, 2) design center credits, 3) cash...

If someone else is paying the bill (a company) then you get Verizon because they are the best in So. Cal. If you are paying the bill, don't mind a dropped call or two, want less expensive hardware and a somewhat human approach to billing, getting new phones etc. then I recommend TMobile...

I saw that one on Redfin. If you notice, that buy in 2006 was the third time that house had been bought for above 1.3 (2004, 2005, 2006). I called my wife and asked how she would feel if we lost 300k in equity (or cash depending on the structure of the loan). I do not revel in their...

BTW - If you are looking for a reasonable mechanic for your car call Ray Lape @ Phillips Auto in Newport Beach 949- 756-1020. I have a 5 series with an extended warranty. He is very cool with telling me when BMW should fix it for free and whether he should do it. He has saved me a ton of money...

<p>Marty,</p> <p>Sometimes we deal with financial reality and sometimes we deal with marital harmony. I am happily married for the past 7 years and intend to stay that way. At the end of the day, I'll take the expensive tile over the alternative :).</p> <p> </p>