CalBears96
Well-known member
foodisgood said:
Yeah, it doesn't hurt to sign up early and decide later. I filled out the pre-qual on November 1st as well, but I decided to pass when they asked for financial statements.
3 New California Pacific Communities in Portola Springs Late 2021
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Yeah, it doesn't hurt to sign up early and decide later. I filled out the pre-qual on November 1st as well, but I decided to pass when they asked for financial statements.
CalBears96
Well-known member
bkimxmd said:
Martin is visiting his dad in Vegas. He's probably going in next week.
Did you get the see the model homes? How do they look? Is plan 3 to your liking?
Portolaresident
New member
Hi All,
I have been following Portola Springs real estate and talk Irvine forums for awhile but have never posted before. I currently own a condo in Portola Springs and I've been looking to buy another condo as an investment and was pre-authorized by LoanDepot (Calpac preferred lender) for Lapis model-1, but I am shocked by the asking price @ 875,000.00 for 1172 sqft. I was wondering what justifies such a price? if the asking price is correct they are asking $746/sq ft for a tiny town house probably located in the worst part of Portola Springs. Would this even be a right decision as an investment property? Thank you
I have been following Portola Springs real estate and talk Irvine forums for awhile but have never posted before. I currently own a condo in Portola Springs and I've been looking to buy another condo as an investment and was pre-authorized by LoanDepot (Calpac preferred lender) for Lapis model-1, but I am shocked by the asking price @ 875,000.00 for 1172 sqft. I was wondering what justifies such a price? if the asking price is correct they are asking $746/sq ft for a tiny town house probably located in the worst part of Portola Springs. Would this even be a right decision as an investment property? Thank you
CalBears96
Well-known member
What are the prices on Lapis plans 2 and 3? I would guess the price/sq ft is a lot lower on those. They seem a lot more desirable as well at 2000+ sq ft.
Portolaresident
New member
I'm not sure of the pricing for the other two models, I was only told the cheapest one is $850K for Lapis but in the email I received today says $875K.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
Pricing is basically what Delano prices are but the HOA is over $500/mo on both Plan 2 & 3.
CalBears96
Well-known member
I think for the pricing, HOA fees and MR, I would probably go with Serrano Summit Covera over CalPac's Lapis, if I were to buy an investment property to rent out.
We looked at Soria and Toll Brothers' Meadows and decided against it because we didn't want to live in a neighborhood surrounded by commercial buildings. But if I were to rent, then the Meadows is really convenient.
We almost got on Sierra's priority list, but also decided against it because we think IP homes are higher qualify than CalPac's. So right now, we're just staying on Bluffs and Highland priority list.
We were offered Bluffs 1, but after agonizing over the decision for a couple of days, we decided that we really wanted to loft in Bluffs 2 and Highland 1, so we declined the offer. So we pretty much narrowed down our focus to Bluffs 2 and Highland 1. We prefer Highland 1 because it has driveway, but if we're offered Bluffs 2 first, then we'll take it since we can't really handle the price increase every phase.
We looked at Soria and Toll Brothers' Meadows and decided against it because we didn't want to live in a neighborhood surrounded by commercial buildings. But if I were to rent, then the Meadows is really convenient.
We almost got on Sierra's priority list, but also decided against it because we think IP homes are higher qualify than CalPac's. So right now, we're just staying on Bluffs and Highland priority list.
We were offered Bluffs 1, but after agonizing over the decision for a couple of days, we decided that we really wanted to loft in Bluffs 2 and Highland 1, so we declined the offer. So we pretty much narrowed down our focus to Bluffs 2 and Highland 1. We prefer Highland 1 because it has driveway, but if we're offered Bluffs 2 first, then we'll take it since we can't really handle the price increase every phase.
CalBears96
Well-known member
bkimxmd said:
That's quite a bit of a downgrade, from 4 bed/4 baths + bonus room to 3 bed/2.5 baths + loft, but you save almost $200k. How are the kitchen and bathroom upgrades?
CalBears96 said:
We went in thinking plan 2 all the way hopefully that 58 lot. So when we got the call and said there was only plan 3 left we said ok. However, today they said a person passed on the plan 1. After walking through the 2 homes, we actually liked the plan 1 better. The way the house faces you get more sunlight. The backyard is bigger because it doesn?t have a bump out. And to be honest, I couldn?t see paying 200k more for an extra room I?ll never use.
The plan 3 was a lot smaller than what I thought. That extra room on the first floor takes away a lot of living space. The living space downstairs on plan 1 looks much bigger., and the loft vs the super bonus room wasn?t that much different in size either.
But the model homes were not finished all the way and they weren?t staged so it was a little difficult.
At this point it?s only my me, my wife, and my 4yr old twins. No other family here in California. And I?m pretty sure this won?t be the last house we buy.
I feel good about the decision. My wife is happy with the options they picked out. Quarts countertops in kitchen and master bath. Back splash looks good. Bathroom tiles look good. Pocket door for bathroom. Frameless shower. Etc.
All the basics covered
CalBears96
Well-known member
It's great that you got a house you like. I agree that if you have plans to move later, then it's not worth paying $200k for an extra room that you won't use.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
bkimxmd said:
Most of my married couples with kids clients take title community property with right of survivorship. Then you may want to do a family trust (living trust) after you close because lenders won't let you take title under a trust.
CalBears96
Well-known member
USCTrojanCPA said:
Yeah, that's how we set up our title too. My company lets us pay a small premium for legal service. One year I decided to sign up for the legal service and set up a revocable living trust. And we put the title under the trust.
USCTrojanCPA said:
Oh wow! These prices are really surprising for an attached product when you could get Hillside, Highland and Bluffs for around the same price. Shocked CalPac is getting a little greedy with the pricing, bids, crazy HOA and no broker co-op. I always considered them a good builder for Irvine and had a great experience with them buying my first home, but that was 5 years ago.
CalBears Highland and Bluffs decision seems like a great choice, IMO.
I concur with Prototype and CalBear. 
CalPac seems a bit greedy relative to its peers in how they are going about selling these homes, in my humble opinion. Plus they don't offer co-ops, require home owners to lease or buy solar panel for the roof (not against this as we need more GREEN) but still they are doing this as they are getting a nice tax credit for their development, appear to be selling products that are not even complete (model homes; ie. think about buying a new car with the showcase room car being incomplete). It seems they are trying to jam it in and I'm concerned about their product quality especially as they seem to be using whatever inventory of supplies they have to fit into the homes v allowing homeowners to pick. Just seems odd, I get it we are in the environ we are in but still. Bluff and Highland in that area actually seem more appealing to me as I digest the situation at hand. IP seems to do things in a more elegant fair business like way.
Also as others pointed out seems like there are investment property purchases going on with Lapis. My experience with that has been a high churn of tenants every one to two years, especially in a city like Irvine where there are an abundant number of option albeit current dislocation.
CalPac seems a bit greedy relative to its peers in how they are going about selling these homes, in my humble opinion. Plus they don't offer co-ops, require home owners to lease or buy solar panel for the roof (not against this as we need more GREEN) but still they are doing this as they are getting a nice tax credit for their development, appear to be selling products that are not even complete (model homes; ie. think about buying a new car with the showcase room car being incomplete). It seems they are trying to jam it in and I'm concerned about their product quality especially as they seem to be using whatever inventory of supplies they have to fit into the homes v allowing homeowners to pick. Just seems odd, I get it we are in the environ we are in but still. Bluff and Highland in that area actually seem more appealing to me as I digest the situation at hand. IP seems to do things in a more elegant fair business like way.
Also as others pointed out seems like there are investment property purchases going on with Lapis. My experience with that has been a high churn of tenants every one to two years, especially in a city like Irvine where there are an abundant number of option albeit current dislocation.