Hi everyone!
I've been a long-time lurker here and have always appreciated the insights and help that everyone provides so I'm hoping I could get some help with our current situation!
tl;dr: we're looking to move back to SoCal around late Q3 2021 and need help with what the best new construction community is in Irvine and thoughts on realistic chances to buy a home there given how the priority list works (we won't be able to get on the priority list until late August most likely since we need final confirmation from my employer that we can move and we'll need to sell our house here first).
We are OC natives who lived in Irvine/Newport Beach back in 2010-2017 prior to me going to the east coast for grad school. We ended up moving to the Bay Area in 2019 after I graduated as I'm working in Silicon Valley and bought a house here in April of last year. We've always wanted to go back to SoCal and it turns out that with COVID and all this WFH talk, now my employer is allowing us to apply to relocate. The LA office has been approved as a landing spot so now I'm keen on actually getting the ball rolling with getting back to SoCal.
We just had a baby girl last month so things could get a bit hectic moving so soon, but unfortunately I won't get the final green light about my approval to relocate until early August, and from my calls with some communities (Fresco @ EW/OH), it seems like we won't be able to get on the priority list until after we sell our house (non-contingent pre-approval). Since we won't be listing our house until I find out for sure I can relocate, that puts our priority list timeline back to August and it seems like Fresco is on its last phases, with an extension later?
I've been scouring the new construction options in Irvine and it seems like there aren't many options and competition is still crazy high! Since we were renting previously in Irvine, I'm not too familiar with the the new villages and all the pros/cons to each. I saw in the other thread regarding the various cons with each village (seems like it's really pick your own poison...), but is EW is the best bet? I guess it's just some pesticide contamination (is the asphalt smell still in EW...and is it really that bad in OH like everyone who lives there smells it all day)? What are all of your thoughts on what the best community is to target given my timeline?
At first I was thinking Genoa would be good since it's gated and the houses are on the larger side, but it looks like many of you don't think very highly of KB Homes. When we were looking at purchasing a new construction home in the Bay last year, I thought KB Homes was rated as the highest (tbh all the homebuilders have really bad reviews...). We ended up buying a new construction Toll Brothers home here and things have been mostly fine, but is KB Homes really that bad? Also, with the asphalt factory issues in OH, maybe Genoa isn't that great then (KB Homes + asphalt smell issues?!). Is the smell issue only a certain part of OH or does it practically affect everyone living there?
What are all of your thoughts on what our best options are given our circumstances? Mostly it's the fact that we won't be able to join any priority lists until late August, if they require non-contingent pre-approvals, such as Fresco. Is that non-negotiable or you all think I can see if we can work something out? The housing market is crazy hot here where we live too and most listings around our area are selling within 5-7 days @ 300-500K over listing price, so I don't think we'll have any issue selling, but it'll suck to have to wait until late August to get on priority lists given how in-demand these houses in Irvine are. I could list our house and sell before August and get on it sooner, but it's a pretty big risk if the relocation request gets declined for some reason.
Sorry to ramble but just wanted to give enough details on our situation and thanks for everyone's input!
I've been a long-time lurker here and have always appreciated the insights and help that everyone provides so I'm hoping I could get some help with our current situation!
tl;dr: we're looking to move back to SoCal around late Q3 2021 and need help with what the best new construction community is in Irvine and thoughts on realistic chances to buy a home there given how the priority list works (we won't be able to get on the priority list until late August most likely since we need final confirmation from my employer that we can move and we'll need to sell our house here first).
We are OC natives who lived in Irvine/Newport Beach back in 2010-2017 prior to me going to the east coast for grad school. We ended up moving to the Bay Area in 2019 after I graduated as I'm working in Silicon Valley and bought a house here in April of last year. We've always wanted to go back to SoCal and it turns out that with COVID and all this WFH talk, now my employer is allowing us to apply to relocate. The LA office has been approved as a landing spot so now I'm keen on actually getting the ball rolling with getting back to SoCal.
We just had a baby girl last month so things could get a bit hectic moving so soon, but unfortunately I won't get the final green light about my approval to relocate until early August, and from my calls with some communities (Fresco @ EW/OH), it seems like we won't be able to get on the priority list until after we sell our house (non-contingent pre-approval). Since we won't be listing our house until I find out for sure I can relocate, that puts our priority list timeline back to August and it seems like Fresco is on its last phases, with an extension later?
I've been scouring the new construction options in Irvine and it seems like there aren't many options and competition is still crazy high! Since we were renting previously in Irvine, I'm not too familiar with the the new villages and all the pros/cons to each. I saw in the other thread regarding the various cons with each village (seems like it's really pick your own poison...), but is EW is the best bet? I guess it's just some pesticide contamination (is the asphalt smell still in EW...and is it really that bad in OH like everyone who lives there smells it all day)? What are all of your thoughts on what the best community is to target given my timeline?
At first I was thinking Genoa would be good since it's gated and the houses are on the larger side, but it looks like many of you don't think very highly of KB Homes. When we were looking at purchasing a new construction home in the Bay last year, I thought KB Homes was rated as the highest (tbh all the homebuilders have really bad reviews...). We ended up buying a new construction Toll Brothers home here and things have been mostly fine, but is KB Homes really that bad? Also, with the asphalt factory issues in OH, maybe Genoa isn't that great then (KB Homes + asphalt smell issues?!). Is the smell issue only a certain part of OH or does it practically affect everyone living there?
What are all of your thoughts on what our best options are given our circumstances? Mostly it's the fact that we won't be able to join any priority lists until late August, if they require non-contingent pre-approvals, such as Fresco. Is that non-negotiable or you all think I can see if we can work something out? The housing market is crazy hot here where we live too and most listings around our area are selling within 5-7 days @ 300-500K over listing price, so I don't think we'll have any issue selling, but it'll suck to have to wait until late August to get on priority lists given how in-demand these houses in Irvine are. I could list our house and sell before August and get on it sooner, but it's a pretty big risk if the relocation request gets declined for some reason.
Sorry to ramble but just wanted to give enough details on our situation and thanks for everyone's input!
