Amber/Sorano at Blackstone

phanpd

phanpd

New member
Anyone take the plunge and purchase a house out here?  The woman and I are looking for a new development/starter home and these seem reasonably priced and sized, compared to the offerings out in Irvine (Sage in Portola Springs, San Mateo in Stonegate).  I work in Tustin, commuting from San Gabriel Valley has been shall I say, difficult (keeping the language clean).

Brea would make it a bit closer but the 57 is still unfortunate, but seems tolerable.  Have always loved Irvine though, went to UCI, and obviously it's much closer to Tustin.  The higher taxes and HOA make it less appealing though.  But at Blackstone, you have those oil fields, which I honestly don't know much about.

Any thoughts from Blackstone/Sage/Stonegate residents/people with knowledge of the communities?
 
i went to blackstone awhile ago when i was home shopping... i liked their homes and layouts in general... i remember i visited amber and jade... i remember after checking the models while walking around the community i bumped into a resident there, happens to work in irvine... he says the commutes not that bad and so far he really enjoys it there...

overall i liked that community because it kind of reminded me of a low density version of quail hill somehow maybe cause of the stepped hill layout and the homes are spaced out better

but i think thats all i remember haha >_<
 
blackstone project has the same problem as lambert ranch.  There is an active garbage dump 0.5 miles away.
Despite that problem I liked the houses Shea put up.  The built in fridge with custom cabinets did not show a line of stainless steel at the edges unlike lambert.
 
Can you smell the landfill though?  I didn't notice any funky smells when I visited, also didn't smell anything in Portola Springs as well, and I hear that's near a landfill as well.
 
My finance and I bought a plan 2 at Amber.  I work at the Pacifica Towers in Irvine, and the drive really isn't that bad...  The Olinda landfills are scheduled to be shut down and converted into a state park in 2022 I believe.  I love the layout of Amber, great use of space and very open. 

The Blackstone Community has no smell, unless you're driving next to a dump truck.  The demographic for the community is definitely a plus for me as well.  A good amount of the community is comprised of first-time home-buyers, mostly professionals.  I'm an accountant and my fiance is a pharmacist.  We've met other pharmacists, engineers, lawyers in the area. 

Best part is, we're still not too far away from the Asian food we love in Rowland Heights.  I believe the API index for Brea will inch higher and higher, as the children of these couples in the community get older and start taking those standardized tests, I think Olinda Elementary is 900+.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I'd be more than happy to assist you.
 
oh btw...  if you could pony up the extra money, definitely buy in Amber and not Sorano...  Sorano's floor plans can't match that of Amber's.
 
I've always thought of Brea as Irvine East...lots of business, shopping, dining, a great golf course (black gold), and accessible by many freeways that span different directions (91, 57, 60), and I've never heard anyone complain about the schools. 
 
I assisted one of my clients to purchase the Amber Plan 2 (the most popular floor plan) towards the end of last year.  They are really enjoying living out there and the home.  Shea is one of the better builders out there so you'll know that you get a quality home.  They moved from Irvine to Brea because my client's wife commute out to West Covina was just too long.  Be sure to take your agent up there to register so that way you can benefit from the broker co-op. 
 
z4fanatic said:
My finance and I bought a plan 2 at Amber.  I work at the Pacifica Towers in Irvine, and the drive really isn't that bad...  The Olinda landfills are scheduled to be shut down and converted into a state park in 2022 I believe.  I love the layout of Amber, great use of space and very open. 

The Blackstone Community has no smell, unless you're driving next to a dump truck.  The demographic for the community is definitely a plus for me as well.  A good amount of the community is comprised of first-time home-buyers, mostly professionals.  I'm an accountant and my fiance is a pharmacist.  We've met other pharmacists, engineers, lawyers in the area. 

Best part is, we're still not too far away from the Asian food we love in Rowland Heights.  I believe the API index for Brea will inch higher and higher, as the children of these couples in the community get older and start taking those standardized tests, I think Olinda Elementary is 900+.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I'd be more than happy to assist you.
Click to expand...



Sounds like we may have a lot in common, I'm an engineer and my better half is a pharmacist, and we love the Rowland Heights food lol.

Thank you everyone for the feedback so far, I think I will stop by Amber after work and check out their plans again (I only had a chance to check out Plan 2 at the time I went, but did check out all of Sorano's offerings).

Curious, what route do you take to Irvine from Blackstone?  I've simulated a commute from the 57 to the 5, and also one going local to get to the 91 to the 55/5, wasn't really sure it made much time difference, though I'm sure it depends on what time you leave as well.  I work off the Red Hill exit off the 5.
 
All the freeways are going to suck going with traffic...just wait it out.  If you're feeling adventurous though, you can take several local routes...probably won't save you much time, but at least you feel like you're moving.  I have to commute to Riverside every so often, and when I forget my transponder and don't have cash for the toll road, I'll take Jamboree to Santago Canyon, turn right on Cannon and then right on Serrano to get down to Weir Canyon and 91.  I've found that route is within a minute or two of taking the 5/55/91 when there is no traffic.  Similarly, you could take Newport Ave north Crawford Canyon, which turns into Cannon and then Imperial, and follow that through Orange Park Acres, Villa Park, Anaheim hills, and Yorba Linda...I'd imagine it would be about the same as sitting on the 5 and 57 in traffic
 
true that...  traffic is horrible on Friday...  but i guess one route you haven't mention would be going on 133 to 241 to 91W, exit Kraemer go all the way down, or do the 133 to 241 exit Santiago Canyon and do the same thing.... 

personally, i would just go to the spectrum grab a cocktail and wait it out...
 
If you can get on the 55n carpool before it meets the 5, I think it goes above everybody and merges back to the main carpool lane after 4th street, either way traffic is horrible, I know, I use to commute the route except in reverse, irvine to imperial hwy in the am and back to irvine at night, I always pity the people on the other side of the freeway, so much time wasted, especially if you got little ones.
 
z4fanatic said:
Definitely sign up with Martin, if you don't have a realtor.  He's a great guy and truly an asset to this board...
Click to expand...
Unless you are parking near Trader Joe's and he takes your spot with his Beamer!

PS - I was laughing too much that the Internet Famous USCTrojanCPA cut me off to really get annoyed and/or say anything to him.

PPS - Martin looks different in person than I imagined
 
LAtoOC said:
z4fanatic said:
Definitely sign up with Martin, if you don't have a realtor.  He's a great guy and truly an asset to this board...
Click to expand...
Unless you are parking near Trader Joe's and he takes your spot with his Beamer!

PS - I was laughing too much that the Internet Famous USCTrojanCPA cut me off to really get annoyed and/or say anything to him.

PPS - Martin looks different in person than I imagined
Click to expand...
I did?  I'm sorry about that, I must have been in a hurry.  I'm just a tall stocky polish guy.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
LAtoOC said:
z4fanatic said:
Definitely sign up with Martin, if you don't have a realtor.  He's a great guy and truly an asset to this board...
Click to expand...
Unless you are parking near Trader Joe's and he takes your spot with his Beamer!

PS - I was laughing too much that the Internet Famous USCTrojanCPA cut me off to really get annoyed and/or say anything to him.

PPS - Martin looks different more handsome in person than I imagined
Click to expand...
I did?  I'm sorry about that, I must have been in a hurry.  I'm just a tall stocky polish guy.
Click to expand...

Fixed  :p
 
homer_simpson said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
LAtoOC said:
z4fanatic said:
Definitely sign up with Martin, if you don't have a realtor.  He's a great guy and truly an asset to this board...
Click to expand...
Unless you are parking near Trader Joe's and he takes your spot with his Beamer!

PS - I was laughing too much that the Internet Famous USCTrojanCPA cut me off to really get annoyed and/or say anything to him.

PPS - Martin looks different more handsome in person than I imagined
Click to expand...
I did?  I'm sorry about that, I must have been in a hurry.  I'm just a tall stocky polish guy.
Click to expand...

Fixed  :p
Click to expand...
IHO is a more handsome man than I. 
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
homer_simpson said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
LAtoOC said:
z4fanatic said:
Definitely sign up with Martin, if you don't have a realtor.  He's a great guy and truly an asset to this board...
Click to expand...
Unless you are parking near Trader Joe's and he takes your spot with his Beamer!

PS - I was laughing too much that the Internet Famous USCTrojanCPA cut me off to really get annoyed and/or say anything to him.

PPS - Martin looks different more handsome in person than I imagined
Click to expand...
I did?  I'm sorry about that, I must have been in a hurry.  I'm just a tall stocky polish guy.
Click to expand...

Fixed  :p
Click to expand...
IHO is a more handsome manly man than I.
Click to expand...
 
z4fanatic said:
oh btw...  if you could pony up the extra money, definitely buy in Amber and not Sorano...  Sorano's floor plans can't match that of Amber's.
Click to expand...

When did you buy, how long have you lived in the community?  I drove by yesterday and noticed some residents out and about.  I haven't settled on a floor plan yet, they all have their hits and misses.
 
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