Recent content by recovering_homeowner_IHB

Exactly...we pay about 2400/month for the 3/3 in westpark, and we're not very stressed. We can easily handle the rent on this even on one income.

Take it from me as personal experience. Don't buy a place just because you just got married, plan to have kids and thinks it's the responsible thing to do. My wife and I bought a condo at the peak in 2005, and our entire 10% down payment when we sold it in 2007 (after accounting for upgrades...

I just offered to extend my current lease on my Irvine house rental to the end of 2010 in exchange for 200 dollars/off month. Saving some dough every month while our savings and down payment funds grow, and not have to worry about moving or finding another place to rent. We're happy in our...

I followed the google link that IrvineRenter sent me, and followed the wikipedia link...now I be askin', where can I get me some of that GFE on the cheap!

Still too pricy. The second house you linked sounds reasonable at 2003 prices. I'll wait it out. Thanks!

Thanks for all your informative posts and observations, bkshopr. As far as the sample above having higher income than is observed through the Census data, I have no doubt that it is true. All my acquaintances who wish to move to Irvine and buy a house make significantly more than the...

Just a casual look at the biased sample of people who voted has confirmed my observation of Irvine...that people looking to buy here make significantly more than the median income of Irvine. How could it not...given how high prices are here, since your Irvine median income person can...

Why can't Irvine build some homes like the one that bkshopr just posted above with the separated 3 car garage and shoe box near the door entry... bah, you'd think the builders will cater to the specific needs of a certain racial segment of the future home buyers in Irvine instead of worthless...

Hi IPO, Are you using the median home price for sale in Irvine to come up with the median house profile, or do you have some way to know that a 3/2 1600 sqft pad is really the median house in Irvine using some other statistical model? I currently rent a 3/3 1400 sqft home in West Park...

Hi all, Sometimes in the main blog, I read comments about how people won't pay this and that for a small matchbox in Irvine because it doesn't seem like you should pay 500k for a matchbox. So, my question is, given all the available housing inventory in total (regardless of for sale or...

Yeap, listen to IPO but don't touch his target houses! Seriously though, we were in the same boat as you in 2005 (just got married, felt like we needed a place to call our own ala HGTV) and bought a condo. We were thinking stay for 5 years, build some equity, upgrade to a bigger home when...

I wouldn't stretch to buy a house, especially in this economy. The rent we're paying for our detached SFR in West Park is about 12-14% of our gross income, and even then, it feels a bit excessive, so I don't even know how you feel about stretching yourself to the underwriting guidelines of...

Thanks for posting your story. I think more people can be educated or at least informed by our similar decisions to sell even though we would lose all equity (I bought at the peak in 2005 and sold in 2007). It feels crappy to lose money on selling your house, but believe me, it will...

That's a good point, Roundcorners. I have been thinking of this same phenomenon myself. A desirable area like Irvine with good schools, clean environment, etc. attracts some segments of people, and if there are few or no similar substitutes for Irvine (people can argue for and against, but...

Renting a 3/2 1400 sqft house in West Park for 2600/mon, lease signed in July, 2008. Very close to plaza vista elementary. I think this is too much to pay for a small zero-lot line house, but oh well, we were in a hurry to move out of our other rental and this was the best we could find for...