Recent content by viobruin

One thing that bugs me about OH (non Groves side) is that Strada is at the bottom of the hill. Strada's the most expensive development on that side of OH, yet it's located at the most non-prestigious part of it. (Contrast OH to Quail Hill, where the further up you go, the nicer the homes get; I...

Thanks for the replies everyone. I was getting worried that perhaps it wasn't possible to fit two cars inside the garage.

So driving around the neighborhood, I notice that the vast majority of homes have a car parked outside on the street. Are the garages really that small where you can't fit 2 cars in there?

Need more room, interest rates are low, and looking to stay there long term (thus riding out market fluctuations). Also, my hunch is that prices won't go any lower moving forward with all the new developments being built at increasingly higher prices, thus driving the rest of the market up. With...

So, I'm guessing two attorneys at mid-to-large size firms, haha. In any event, I like your plan. My wife and I were virtually in the same boat in our late 20's and, only now, in our mid-30's are we buying our first SFR. Good luck to you guys.

Sounds awesome. I think those are a few $100k more than Laurel/Strada, though, so I would hope that you'd get a bigger yard for that kind of dough.

Makes a lot of sense. I think that in pretty much every way other than price (and arguably school district if you're in TUSD), Strada is a better product than Laurel for sure. I ended up at Laurel and the backyard is indeed pathetic. The only "saving grace" is that with the elementary school...

Laurel's HOAs are proposed to be $129 at buildout. Not sure what the HOAs are before buildout, but I remember looking at the sales office and remembering that they weren't too much more than the $129. Whether it's $129 or a bit more, having only to pay 1 HOA with Irvine Pacific picking up the...

Good comparison. I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be a lot of love for Laurel. Yeah, the ceilings are a foot lower than Strada, but they aren't 8 ft ceilings either. Laurel's also cheaper than Strada, and has lower HOAs and a better school district. In any event, and though they may exist...

Didn't realize you could get a place with only one HOA. When I toured Vista Scena, I was told $189 to the Vista Scena Neighborhood Association, and then another $196 to the Orchard Hills II Community Association, for a total of $385. I asked them if there were any developments in OH where I...

If we're leaving The Groves out of it, I respectfully disagree. (*If a buyer is seriously looking to buy at The Groves, given the prices of the homes there, that buyer is probably not seriously interested in buying at CV. Also, by mere virtue of the fact that The Groves decided to distinguish...

Has anyone opted for the rain shower option through Irvine Pacific? I've always wanted one and am thinking about doing it through the builder since I believe they'd have to reroute the plumbing through the ceiling. If you have a rain shower through Irvine Pacific, I'd love to hear your thoughts...

So looking at the videos on the Marigold website, the microwave is a standalone appliance placed in the pantry. I assume that's just an extra microwave, right? Can someone living at Marigold please confirm that one of the built-in appliances is a microwave? If the microwave is indeed a...

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Still haven't decided whether to pull the trigger, but it generally sounds like as long as I can live with it day to day, it shouldn't be a burden to me in other ways - i.e., financially down the road.

What does everyone think the future of the motor court home is in Irvine? I'm looking to buy in the next few months, but it seems that, even in the $800k range, I'm going to have to settle for a motor court home if I choose to buy new. Something about that doesn't sit well with me. I can accept...