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I would suspect that population size has something to do with the absence of Orange County towns. None of the places on the list have populations over 30K, and most are under 10K. This is why, for instance, Manhattan isn't on the list... -OCR

oc-conservative: In the case of our home (Stonetree Manor), we've been given what Laing calls their "Peace of Mind" pricing. If the price of subsequent phases drop before escrow closes, we automatically get the adjusted price. I think we're stuck if the prices drop after we close...

Summer reading list: Kitchen Confidential (Anthony Bourdain) Harvey Penick's Little Red Book (Harvey Penick) Rules for Revolutionaries (Guy Kawasaki) The Gospel of Food: Everything You Think You Know About Food Is Wrong (Barry Glassner) -OCR

The home we purchased recently, PITI plus HOA, will come out to about 38% DTI, not including tax breaks with a 50% down and a 30 year fixed. We don't have any car payments or debt, so the total DTI is also 38%. A bit aggressive, but within reason, I suppose... -OCR

It's high time for an update, as promised... First, we've been through the second round of upgrades, and we ran into a few surprises, both good and bad. The good surprise: Cat-5e cabling all over the home leading into the master bedroom closet is standard (no charge). The geek in...

I don't know where to start... I'm also not sure what the "Asian Style" of schooling and teaching means...I don't think the Irvine schools teach in any different a fashion than any other school in Orange County, and I also don't think that there are any more "Asian" teachers in these...

momopi: Fair enough, and I agree that the better food tends to be in areas outside of (but within close range) of Irvine. But that's the great part about Irvine, right? I don't mind cycling/driving a few minutes outside of Irvine considering that to go from Hollywood to Santa Monica on...

bkshopr: I'm going to have to disagree with you on the restaurant issue...there are really good places to eat in Irvine that aren't national chains...you just have to know where to look. In Northwood, there are some good Korean tofu/BBQ eateries (specifically, in Northwood Town Center)...

Irvine_grad, I would also consider the surrounding village. In other words, contrasting the HOA fees with the amenities provided by the village. For instance, Woodbridge charges $66/month. For that, you get two lakes, nice pools, etc. Woodbury charges $120/month. For that...

When I read this board (and others like it), it seems to me that the "Big Lesson" that should be taken away from all this isn't that we should all sell our homes and ride the market down. To me, the bigger point is that seeing real estate as an investment for small-time homeowners leads to...

It's interesting that half of OH will be served by Northwood high, with the other half Beckman. You would think all of it would be served by Northwood because the school is in the middle of the village. -OCR

My thoughts are the following: 1. New home builders have been "leading the market" down, in other words, on a purchase price basis, new homes are cheaper than resale homes. The reasons for this have been discussed in this forum (sticky downward prices, builders having less "emotion" in...

I used Austin as an example because I have a friend moving there. The property tax rate in Austin is about 2.55%. -OCR

Prop 13 is the key reason that Mello-Roos exist. The text of Prop 13 reads: SECTION 1. (a) The maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on real property shall not exceed One percent (1%) of the full cash value of such property. The one percent (1%) tax to be collected by the counties and...

Here's a random question: Do all CFD bonds have the same duration? I've heard 20 years, 25 years, 35 years...is there a set timing on all of these bonds, or does it vary by district? -OCR

<a href="../../../account/25/">GrewUpInIrvine</a>: $10K if you use their financing. I see your point with the apartments, but I think Woodbury will end up very similar to Woodbridge, which also has a high level of condos and apartments... But I suppose this is a conversation for...

Sapporo: In regards to the detached condo vs. SFR, we found that the latest pricing takes the higher HOA into account. For instance, we looked at both Campanile and Stonetree, and came up with the following numbers: <u><strong>Base price:</strong></u> Stonetree Plan 3...

Iceeman, Mello-Roos is assigned alongside your normal tax bill, so I don't think you can pay it up front. You can make it part of your monthly payment, though. Typically a mortgage company will offer to charge you extra every month and put it in an escrow account, then use...

Iceeman, It varies by village. Woodbury has mello-roos in the 0.6% range, which is obscene, but not quite as obscene as Portola Springs and VoC at 0.8%. I believe that most Irvine communities had Mello-Roos at one point in time. If I'm not mistaken, some parts of Westpark and Oak Creek...

The homes are zero-lot line homes, in other words, your side wall is your neighbor's side-yard fence. Therefore, there are no windows on one side of the ground floor..privacy reasons, I suppose. Some home designs deal with this better than others. Overall, it seems like Irvine has an...