3000 The Plaza---Good Buy??

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awgee,

Nice area in LA such as Westwood runs roughly 20% higher than Irvine's, very expensive and I see no sign of price dropping; perhaps OnTheFence can understand my saying.

OnTheFence,

On the MLS, 3000 Plaza is asking $629K for the 1,375 sq. ft. one. Similar ones in the 5000 and 8000 are listing at $720K; however, closed resale went for $685K. I am guessing you can pick up a resale for around $670K range.

New projects such as Skyline is looking at $700K+ for even smaller units. I think builder has to charge more for higher-cost materials.
 
if you were living at marquee or plaza, where is the nearest market? even convenience store? you have mothers mkt but thats a small specialty store and only if you dont like eating anything that ever bled. i guess you'd have to drive through uci to get to albertsons or all the way down harvard to ralphs off main.

westwood and the wilshire area is not a good comparison imo. that is a fully developed high rise community which has been designed to support that type of living. and look at the surrounding communities. westwood is pricey. century city or beverly hills to the east, brentwood to the west, and to the north you have bel air. the only reasonable option is west LA to the south, and i say reasonable in a relative way. a nicer home in that area might just cost you as much as the aforementioned communities. and i've lived near the 405/10 before. it was about 1.5 miles to century city business district but a 20 min drive at least.

so if i worked up there, i might just live in a high rise even if i was making several hundred thousand in income. the question is in oc, with that same sort of income, with much less traffic (which means i would be willing to live further from work than i would in LA), and with really nice amenities in the suburban communities at much lower HOAs, would i still live in a high rise?
 
Onthefence, I lived in that area for two years in the "glorified apartments". Sure, that place is affluent, we all have our wants and needs to be affluent. But once you add up the monthly cash flow you can see the true cost of being "affluent."

Annualized:

$700k i/o 6.5% = $45500

HOA= $11000

P.P (1.3% est) = $9100

= $65600/yr, or $5466/mo

If the home appreciates, then the monthly payment will be lower. If the home depreciates, your monthly payment just went up. Consider the fact that you can rent *ANY* home up and down Jamboree for $5466, why not rent one of those units for say, $2000-3000/mo? I wouldn't be on the highrise condos appreciating.

All this property at the plaza, etc reminds me of corporate housing... Company buy home for $5500/mo, rents out to owner at prevailing rental for $2000-2500/mo. Save you $$ on capital gains and also payroll tax (company to owner).
 
Oh yeah, you've got VOC, woodbury, quail hill... those are pretty upscale. I'm in the same shoes as you in terms of wants vs needs.

One last point - being in a business environment, I spoil myself expensing out expensive hotels, business class plane tickets, everything. But, I can't transfer the "business" lifestyle into the "personal & mundane" lifestyle. I might have $100/head business dinners but when i get home, I can still enjoy top ramen :)
 
Currently living in the land of high rises over here in the east coast and have lived in one myself but have not lived in one for a long time by choice. Perhaps, it's a novelty out there so that's why some would be interested in experiencing it but the novelty gets old quickly. Here are some cons: (1) you're constantly waiting for the elevator (2) unless it's quality construction, then you are going to hear your neighbors on both sides of you and on the top and bottom of you - so, make sure that they have put concrete in b/t the walls and b/t the floors (3) funky smells - the corridors always seem to be wafting with the odor of someone's cooking, for better or for worse and these smells can seep into your own apartment. Also, your HVAC system may be connected with other units so if your neighbor is a smoker and you're not, you may be getting unwanted secondhand smoke.

Coming from an overpopulated and overdeveloped region, I can't understand why anyone would pay $700,000 for a 1 bedroom when you could get so much more along with a little outdoor space for that amount in Irvine. That price is just crazy.
 
I have to agree with Irvine Wanna Be. I have lived in high rises in Chicago and for Chicago- high rises are great. There are places to walk to, etc, but here in Irvine? I think the concept here is silly, jmho.
 
I did the high-rise thing once in Arlington Heights, IL. It had mass transit and a walkable downtown.

The biggest downside, for me, was not having a place to work on any kind of projects. I couldn't maintain the car, I couldn't maintain the bicycle, I couldn't stain/sand any furniture or cut lumber. I doubt it's a problem for the modern credit card-wielding male, but it bugged this tool-using chimp . They can take my power tools when they pry them from my cold, dead fingers.

I did have a 5x7 storage cage in the basement... I set up a tiny "workshop" down there so that I could at least change a bike tire and lube the chain. This was eight years ago and I'm sure the place still smells like mineral spirits (no airflow).

Never again.
 
well, from someone who is moving into the 8000 building next week, let me tell you my thoughts. (since everyone here is so "anti," i thought i'd give a "pro" perspective.)

i wouldn't buy in the 3000 building. the 8000 and 5000 buildings are where you're gonna get the best deals right now. you've got a lot of people who bought early on these things and then realized they can't afford them anymore (or they couldn't get rid of their other home, etc...). because of this, many are willing to part with their units for a great deal less than they are actually worth.

as far as HOA fees... i live in an SFR right now and the HOAs are about the same as they will be for me at the Plaza. however, i'm going to be getting WAY more for my money at the Plaza. (the amenities are pretty amazing.)

someone mentioned shopping... they just opened The District right down the street which has a brand new Costco which is where i do most of my shopping anyway. (plus, as more developments go up, i guarantee a Ralph's or Vons or something will show up very quickly.)

i guess i can see both sides of it. but if you like the high-rise lifestyle, i don't think it's a bad deal. i think that the units will take a bit of a dip in the next year or two as more and more places open, but i think four or five years from now, you'll get a nice return on your investment.
 
acrobat -

i don't know anything about these buildings...but i'm just curious as to what some of the things are that the association provides? i read above (in the very first post) that the association is nearly $1000/month? that post mentioned that it will include all utilities other than electric. what else does it cover?
 
acrobat,

I do have a few clients at the Plaza. Everyone is happy with the amenities for the paid fees. I do like the Plaza's and do agree with your assessments. Please keep us posted of your hi-rise living experience. Thanks.
 
I want to know why someone would think that in 4 or 5 years these things will be worth more? You have over 2000 more units in construction, approved or proposed for the airport area. We have net-migration of the 25-35 year old age bracket and they are leaving at a rapid pace. This is a target age bracket for this type of product. Job growth is stagnant except in sectors that would barely qualify for the HOA dues. I also have never heard of an SFR neighborhood that has HOA dues of $1000 a month because my HOA dues for my SFR neighborhood is $0.

I'm not anti-plaza, I'm anti-stupid price. You can buy an SFR with no HOA dues for the same price and if you added that $1000 a month for a larger mortgage payment you could get more house. That and the tax break would be able to make up for any amenities the non-tax deductable $1000 HOA dues get you.

I like them and when they are down to $400k I might think about buying one. It won't be long for the foreclosures start happening here.

I know I'm just a negative nelly.
 
Graphrix,

Not disputing - nor addressing price - just a question:

I have the sense that older professionals or retirees would find this project very appealing.

No?
 
graphrix - You are just a negative nelly.

A negative nelly who will be in a great position to buy a property for much, much less.
 
Janet,

That is what they thought but it hasn't been the case. The older demographic goes there and thinks how far do I have to walk down the hall, what if there is an emergency and WTF do you mean I can't have Fifi my toy poodle here?

Older professionals are buying them but not as much as they thought. This product was built before the market really had a chance to test it. The Marquee blew it by selling over 60% of the units to investors and since it sold well all the other builders jumped on the bandwagon. Uh next time do some research 60%+ investors = not the right product.

They will all tout the OC business council and SCAG's stats for more housing and the solution being urban dense products. One part that all the builders somehow missed in those reports is AFFORDABILITY! So why would you build a product that is meant to be an AFFORDABILTY product and sell them for more than SFRs? This is why so many of the builders backed out of this type of product because of how expensive it is to build and what price point it really should be.

This isn't just all my own thoughts but more of what I learned from two people with over 30 years of building experience each. One of which was someone who worked for a company that was very successful at hi-rise projects.
 
Hahaha. Seriously, I vaguely remember that in their ads. Doctor(s) will be a on sight. Even makes house calls. In this case room calls =). That explains why this is catered to retirees?
 
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