Is this single story condo a good deal?

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saics72

New member
I happen to see this house.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/8-La-Paloma-Dr-92620/home/4785328

I have tight budget but 615K with 3 bedrooms seems a good deal to me. I have litte kid and this house is close to Santiago Hills and Sierra Vista which may keep me stay there until the kid graduates from the middle school. However, not sure whether being as old as 1978 is worth the price. Do you guys think there might be a big space for me to negotiate the price due to the age of the house?

Any comments will be appreciated.
 
No mello there and they go to Northwood High.

The HOA is a bit high because it's a condo.

I think when Irvine is sold out Park Paseo is going to be a good area to look for tear downs because of no mello and NHS.
 
Burn That Belly said:
Please, complaining about $298/mo. HOA?  That is the average price for attached condos in Irvine.  Woodbury attached are ~$280-300. Eastwood attached are already $300+ for helena/delano. Orchard Hills attached are like $330+.

$300 HOA attached is NORMAL. People should stop crying foul over this.  This is not the twin north korea towers on Michelson where they're asking $900+ HOA or Santa Monica or DTLA asking $500-600+ in those high rise condos.

For $300, you don't need to maintain the exterior, pay for roofing, or pay for building fire insurance. etc.
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Yes, a $300 HOA for an attached condo is sort of the average nowadays.  The HOA also covers termite repairs too.
 
That's why I say buy detached so the HOA is lower.

Or buy a single family house without HOA. Expand the house and turn it into a MacMansion.



I like to quote this old guy that I saw at a grand opening of a community,"Low HOA okay."
 
Burn That Belly said:
Please, complaining about $298/mo. HOA?  That is the average price for attached condos in Irvine.  Woodbury attached are ~$280-300. Eastwood attached are already $300+ for helena/delano. Orchard Hills attached are like $330+.

$300 HOA attached is NORMAL. People should stop crying foul over this.  This is not the twin north korea towers on Michelson where they're asking $900+ HOA or Santa Monica or DTLA asking $500-600+ in those high rise condos.

For $300, you don't need to maintain the exterior, pay for roofing, or pay for building fire insurance. etc.
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Just FYI "Burn That Belly" I stated the $298/Mo was quite high due to the community they are buying in.  That part of Northwood is one of the oldest in all of Irvine and can't compare to the amount of amenities that you get for all the communities you just mentioned (PP/Woodbury/Eastwood/Stongate/great park)

For $300 or more at those newer communites, you get lots of parks/swimming pools and very regular maintenance like you said and it's worth every penny even if overpriced.  I mean I pay $200 for a Baker Ranch HOA for a SFR which is expensive as they are usually $100 or less, but I don't complain since I know they put a lot of money in all the parks and club house

The part that sucks about that part of Northwood is that if you buy in the right area (like my parents across the street from Brywood) there is no HOA and no mello roos at all so it's like the Irvine goldmine HAHA.  You are literally across the street but you have to pay $300/month...but still you do have lots of benefits of having that hOA like you posted already

And my friend lives in one of the twin towers on Michelson where it's $900+ HOA, you are right it's quite high but there's no Mello Roos there so compared to newer communities, you pay about the same per month. 

Just my $.02 

For all the reasons you stated, as well as having no Mello still a good decision I think in the long run.  Good luck saics72!
 
I used to live in this neighborhood. The HOA coverage is better than many other old neighborhoods. They not only paint the exterior from time to time, but also replaced the exterior wood structure completely including the insulation materials in the wall. I used to take pictures when they did it and attached here for your reference. How many other old neighborhoods do you know that there is such wall replacement project done?

The HOA here also covers termite for sure since I called a few times and their contracted provider came to treat right away.
 

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Just for reference, my condo in the bay area has an HOA of $432/mo. It has a pool and comes with HO-6. It's "average" for the bay. $300 is a relief.
 
best_potsticker_in_town said:
Just for reference, my condo in the bay area has an HOA of $432/mo. It has a pool and comes with HO-6. It's "average" for the bay. $300 is a relief.
Click to expand...

The Bay Area is a large area. What part San Fran, Mountain View, Cupertino, Daly City, etc..?

Might as well and say Nor Cal and be super vague.  ;)


How much percentage is your Max rebate again?
 
eyephone said:
best_potsticker_in_town said:
Just for reference, my condo in the bay area has an HOA of $432/mo. It has a pool and comes with HO-6. It's "average" for the bay. $300 is a relief.
Click to expand...

The Bay Area is a large area. What part San Fran, Mountain View, Cupertino, Daly City, etc..?

Might as well and say Nor Cal and be super vague.  ;)


How much percentage is your Max rebate again?
Click to expand...

San Jose, right by the Caltrain station.

Regarding my max rebate, don't get me started. In a nutshell, I got an email from a "board admin" telling me that if I solicit business I need to enter into a  referral agreement with TI. I don't mind entering into an agreement and supporting TI, but I'd like to see some transparency...such as the admins posting some rules (like other forums or reddit) saying what is okay to post and not. And who has referral agreements. No response on that request - but hopefully the admins are making a killing on that dude from Lexington at Parkside in LF who keeps soliciting business.
 
best_potsticker_in_town said:
eyephone said:
best_potsticker_in_town said:
Just for reference, my condo in the bay area has an HOA of $432/mo. It has a pool and comes with HO-6. It's "average" for the bay. $300 is a relief.
Click to expand...

The Bay Area is a large area. What part San Fran, Mountain View, Cupertino, Daly City, etc..?

Might as well and say Nor Cal and be super vague.  ;)


How much percentage is your Max rebate again?
Click to expand...

San Jose, right by the Caltrain station.

Regarding my max rebate, don't get me started. In a nutshell, I got an email from a "board admin" telling me that if I solicit business I need to enter into a  referral agreement with TI. I don't mind entering into an agreement and supporting TI, but I'd like to see some transparency...such as the admins posting some rules (like other forums or reddit) saying what is okay to post and not. And who has referral agreements. No response on that request - but hopefully the admins are making a killing on that dude from Lexington at Parkside in LF who keeps soliciting business.
Click to expand...

Best Pot- how do you compare now and in the future the Bay Area Market and Irvine market? I was original looking there before marriage and kids brought me to Irvine. 
 
In my opinion, the bay area (SF, the Peninsula, SJ, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Danville, etc) are at or near their peak. Prices have gotten to a point where $1m buys you nothing. A 3-story detached condo product in an average area would run about $1.1m...much more than Irvine of course.

I may be on the opposite side of others, but I do not see an immediate down-turn or a drop in prices for Irvine. Buyers in Irvine are well-capitalized and the large majority would not be pressured to sell in an economic downturn. Still room to appreciate, especially after these new homes are all built and sold.
 
best_potsticker_in_town said:
eyephone said:
best_potsticker_in_town said:
Just for reference, my condo in the bay area has an HOA of $432/mo. It has a pool and comes with HO-6. It's "average" for the bay. $300 is a relief.
Click to expand...

The Bay Area is a large area. What part San Fran, Mountain View, Cupertino, Daly City, etc..?

Might as well and say Nor Cal and be super vague.  ;)


How much percentage is your Max rebate again?
Click to expand...

San Jose, right by the Caltrain station.

Regarding my max rebate, don't get me started. In a nutshell, I got an email from a "board admin" telling me that if I solicit business I need to enter into a  referral agreement with TI. I don't mind entering into an agreement and supporting TI, but I'd like to see some transparency...such as the admins posting some rules (like other forums or reddit) saying what is okay to post and not. And who has referral agreements. No response on that request - but hopefully the admins are making a killing on that dude from Lexington at Parkside in LF who keeps soliciting business.
Click to expand...

I've been under the referral agreement for many years and I view it as being fair since I do obtain business from the forum.  That being said, it may not be easily apparent sometime for the admin to know who is conducting business on TI as some real estate professionals won't/don't post much and will PM folks who think might be interested in their services.  The poster from Parkside is most likely an employee of the builder and doesn't make commissions like you or I would so there it might get a bit more tricky.  I think for folks who work for a builder, they should pay an advertising fee based upon some kind dollar amount per time period (sorta like a sponsor pays on other websites). 
 
best_potsticker_in_town said:
In my opinion, the bay area (SF, the Peninsula, SJ, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Danville, etc) are at or near their peak. Prices have gotten to a point where $1m buys you nothing. A 3-story detached condo product in an average area would run about $1.1m...much more than Irvine of course.

I may be on the opposite side of others, but I do not see an immediate down-turn or a drop in prices for Irvine. Buyers in Irvine are well-capitalized and the large majority would not be pressured to sell in an economic downturn. Still room to appreciate, especially after these new homes are all built and sold.
Click to expand...

No immediate downturn is coming, there are a lot of tailwinds right now (low interest rates, healthy global economy, increasing incomes, and strong job market). Until we seem something dramatic happen, Irvine home prices will continue to grind higher.  I thought this year might be a flat year....nope, prices are up 4-6% from late 2016 already (especially in the sub $1m market). 

Mark my words, when they have sold the last homes over at Orchard Hills, Eastwood, and Portola Springs Irvine resale home prices will pop as buyers will be forced into the resale market with no Plan B back-up of being able to buy a new home if they can't find any good resales.  Irvine home prices are "inexpensive" compared to home prices in the Bay Area and even compared to homes prices the South Bay and the Westside. 
 
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