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    The Loft....

    We sold the house back in March and have been renting it back since.  I resisted longest time because of the property tax, but finally gave in when we "needed" a bigger house. 
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    The Loft....

    No, I am not an FCB.  I am a person with "old money" I bought my first house in Irvine 15 years ago.  The priced tripled during that time.  I sold the house and all my proceeds went to Sonoma as down payment.  Without that, there's no way I could have bought Sonoma.  To me, Sonoma house is...
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    The Loft....

    I have not moved in yet.  And no regrets so far, especially now that I locked in my loan at $417K, which is the limit for standard conforming rate.  I could not have done that if I bought Carmel plan 2, and would have end up with higher interest rate.  Other than one extra bathroom and nicer...
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    The Grove - Costa Mesa

    What is the $116 HOA for???  It doesn't look like there are any amenities.
  5. I

    The Loft....

    I like the Carmel I plan 2 with bonus room.  The bonus room was larger and was separated from all the bedrooms.  I seriously thought about it, but decided to save $100K and went with Sonoma 3. 
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    How old is old enough to walk to school?

    If you drop a pacifier on the floor:  1st child - boil the pacifier for 10 minutes 2nd child - rinse in hot water 3rd child - look at it against a back light to see if there's a hair on it.  If not, it goes back into the child's mouth.
  7. I

    The Loft....

    My first choice would have been Sonoma plan 2 (I like the downstairs better) with 4 bedrooms and loft.  But, that's not offered so I picked Plan 3.
  8. I

    The Loft....

    The loft will get much more use than a living room or a dining room in my household. We got the Sonoma plan 3 and the loft was a big selling point for us.  It's big enough to fit TV, wii, and any other mess my kids like to leave around. 
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    Closing Cost & Interest Rate

    Read into the details.  A lot of times, they will put a really high number for Title insurance and home owners insurance.  These will usually be lower and will be same regardless of lender. They put a high number to be conservative in giving you the estimate.  Also, the 10K figure may include...
  10. I

    recommendation on cabinets

    You can also eat for free up to $100 http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/IKEA_Food/index.html However, you have to assemble the food yourself.  :D
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    The long-term cost of HOAs and Mello-Roos

    That why the smaller associations tend to have higher fees for the amenities you get.  Another possible downside to a small association is that a foreclosed home or owner in default of association payment will impact the bottom line of association more significantly.  The shortfall will be made...
  12. I

    Portola Spring - Los Colinas

    I seriously doubt it.  Those incentive went away when they sold out the 2010 collection.
  13. I

    Portola Springs Fall Festival

    Second family room is great since it will get a lot of use by the kids and keep the mess away from the downstairs family room. However, I would rather have a loft on second floor than the third floor.  The 3rd floor adds too much stairs and also may not get used as much since it's kind of all by...
  14. I

    Portola Springs Fall Festival

    Did anyone go to the Portola Springs Fall Festival?  If so how was it? I went to the Irvine Global Village Festival but did not go to the Portola Springs Fall Festival.
  15. I

    recommendation on cabinets

    Ikea does have some furniture with solid wood, but is mostly made of soft wood like pine. All of my experience with Ikea furniture have been bad.  I am not familiar with their kitchen stuff, but have bought bed, mattress, sofa, coffee table, dresser, desk, etc from Ikea in my younger days when...
  16. I

    when does a neighborhood fundamentally change?

    I never thought of UCI really contributing to Irvine branding.  My wife went to UCI and she liked the city enough to have us end up in Irvine after we got married.  But, when I think of UCI, I don't thing prestige.  I am sorry to all the UCI graduates (and my wife, if she ever ends up reading...
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    The long-term cost of HOAs and Mello-Roos

    I am not sure you can find too many townhouses with association much less than $300.  Maybe a little less if it has less amenities, but a lot less.  Townhouses and condos usually have high association fee due to the fact the outside like roof, landscaping and paint is maintained by the...
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    The long-term cost of HOAs and Mello-Roos

    The same can be said about many things in life. Drive a nice new car every 3-4 years vs a basic reliable car for 200,000 miles. Dining out vs cooking at home. Cable vs over the air TV with antenna. Starbucks vs coffee from home. You just have to weigh the benefit vs cost and make your own...
  19. I

    Oops, my bad

    Sorry, that's what I meant.  Joking around and having a little fun at the same time.
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    3-Car Garage Homes

    Health concerns near freeway should be a very important factor if you have kids or are planning to have kids. http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.114-a305
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