Rancho Mission Viejo/ Yorba Linda/Rancho Cucamonga?

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Hello All, I'm new to Southern California and would like to ask for opinions for these  properties and potential purchase:

I like Irvine but can't afford high MR and HOA. I seriously almost bought great park but found out polluted there .

My target is less then 720K new home, low HOA and little mello-roose with 8-10 score schools. These properties below seems like a good fit. I am a single mom so safety is important too. I would appreciate any opinions. Thanks :)

1. Citron at Esencia
Rancho Mission Viejo

Starting from $701,656,
1797 sqft

2.Provence at Yorba Linda
$723990,  1995 sqft

3. Bristol at Chino Hills.$ 670000 , 2292 sqft
Single house

4. Rancho Cucamonga
$719190, 3129sqft ( no HOA)
Single house

5. Camden Square
Foothill Ranch, CA 92610
3 beds ? 3 baths ? 1,901 sqft
 
I grew up in Diamond Bar which is very close to Yorba Linda and Chino Hills.  I have various friends who still live in both places and wouldn't hesitate to suggest either.  But this is where I'd have to ask you where you plan to work, because both are way too far (traffic wise) to Irvine.  Rancho MV and Foothill Ranch are relatively close.  Rancho Cucamonga err if you aren't working in Riverside forget it you will be living on the freeways all day.
 
If you are commuting to Irvine, then I would eliminate Rancho Cucamonga. Yorba Linda may work if its near the 261 and Foothill Ranch is the best commute with a strong set of schools overall. Foothill's negative is a lack of green space around Camden Square. RMV is really nice, but relatively far too. I believe the toll road will one day extend to Cow Camp, but that could be many years to come.
 
upon9k said:
Rancho MV and Foothill Ranch are relatively close.
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Only if you consider 25+ minutes closeby. I think you're thinking of the city of Mission Viejo. RMV is about 15 miles away from F.R.
 
upon9k said:
I grew up in Diamond Bar which is very close to Yorba Linda and Chino Hills.  I have various friends who still live in both places and wouldn't hesitate to suggest either.  But this is where I'd have to ask you where you plan to work, because both are way too far (traffic wise) to Irvine.  Rancho MV and Foothill Ranch are relatively close.  Rancho Cucamonga err if you aren't working in Riverside forget it you will be living on the freeways all day.
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What about Diamond Bar?  Close to everything!
 
Very cool said:
Thank you all for the opinions. I work at Alhambra
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I don't know about the other areas on your list but RMV to Alhambra and vice versa are probably 1 1/2 - 2 hour commutes each way. You will probably regret buying so far from work or change jobs.
 
Ready2Downsize said:
Very cool said:
Thank you all for the opinions. I work at Alhambra
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I don't know about the other areas on your list but RMV to Alhambra and vice versa are probably 1 1/2 - 2 hour commutes each way. You will probably regret buying so far from work or change jobs.
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I agree. It will be a long commute.
 
Very cool said:
Thank you all for the opinions. I work at Alhambra
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Ok that changes a lot of things.  You could consider Brea, Yorba Linda, and Diamond Bar, but it will still be about an hour both ways.  However the last new builds by Lennar  in Diamond Bar sold out a year or so ago.  I drove both the 60 and 10 freeways for years when I was commuting westward and its gotten progressively worse over the years.  I do have a neighbor here in Irvine who drives to Monterey Park daily but leaves rather early in the morning.  But I wouldnt do it its not worth it in my opinion.

As for schools outside of Irvine, I'd say Diamond Bar and Yorba Linda have great schools, with the high school in Diamond Bar many years ranking around the same as Northwood HS if you believe US News and World Report rankings. 
 
Very cool said:
Thank you all for the opinions. I work at Alhambra
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That's one hell of a commute.

As a fellow mom / single mom, I'd prioritize accessibility to my child. Look closer to work. I live in F.R. and have enjoyed it a lot. But I wouldn't even remotely consider it an option under those circumstances. Just my 2 cents.
 
upon9k said:
Very cool said:
Thank you all for the opinions. I work at Alhambra
Click to expand...

Ok that changes a lot of things.  You could consider Brea, Yorba Linda, and Diamond Bar, but it will still be about an hour both ways.  However the last new builds by Lennar  in Diamond Bar sold out a year or so ago.  I drove both the 60 and 10 freeways for years when I was commuting westward and its gotten progressively worse over the years.  I do have a neighbor here in Irvine who drives to Monterey Park daily but leaves rather early in the morning.  But I wouldnt do it its not worth it in my opinion.

As for schools outside of Irvine, I'd say Diamond Bar and Yorba Linda have great schools, with the high school in Diamond Bar many years ranking around the same as Northwood HS if you believe US News and World Report rankings. 
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+1  Look at Yorba Linda, Brea, Fullerton, and/or Diamond Bar given where you work.  Stay away from anywhere South of Irvine as you'll hit all of the traffic heading up to Irvine in the morning.
 
I am looking for another job. The house at RC seems nice.
Just worry about the school district over there.
I heard that YD have hate crimes.
 

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YellowFever said:
Who exactly told you that the Great Park was polluted? And polluted with what?
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IIRC in her initial post she was presented with a disclosure prior to signing the sales contract stating there are pcb and tce around the former El Toro base.  Then I pointed her towards your environmental hazards thread for even more goodies...
 
If you are looking for another job, don't buy now... rent until you are sure you will be in your new job for a while... and based on the location of where the new job is, that's where you should buy.

For a single mom, it's paramount that you work close to where you live in case you need to shuttle the kids from/to school, for any school emergencies, medical/dental appointments, etc.
 
Agree with others, don't buy a house until you find a solid job first so you know the commute.  Other question: what profession are you in? Is it something that can be found easily or is it going to take a few months to find something?  You mentioned some very different areas of potential home sites...from rancho to Foothill Ranch. 

Like Irvinehomeowner said, renting may make more sense for now until you find something.  Just find a decent month to month apartment for now. 

I usually try to stay within 30 mins of work commute.  If you are in Alhambra for a few more months, how about South Pasadena, on the better side of the 210. There's some recent new builds in that area.  Parts of Alhambra are decent as well.  Arcadia and San Marino come to mind with great schools but the price is quite high for those SFR you mentioned.  Besides those, I think Brea or Whittier might make sense if you don't mind the drive.  If you profession is more home based, then I would just say visit the home sites and see where you like more.  I wasn't a fan of the layout of Camden square but you might be.  There's also Encanto in Lake forest if you are okay with 3 story SFR (no MR).  I would stay away from Rancho Mission Viejo as I believe the MR is quite high there.  Unless you worked there, I would stay away from Rancho Cucamonga.  I know the large sq ft homes are tempting but theres's a reason for that. 
 
SoclosetoIrvine said:
Agree with others, don't buy a house until you find a solid job first so you know the commute.  Other question: what profession are you in? Is it something that can be found easily or is it going to take a few months to find something?  You mentioned some very different areas of potential home sites...from rancho to Foothill Ranch. 

Like Irvinehomeowner said, renting may make more sense for now until you find something.  Just find a decent month to month apartment for now. 

I usually try to stay within 30 mins of work commute.  If you are in Alhambra for a few more months, how about South Pasadena, on the better side of the 210. There's some recent new builds in that area.  Parts of Alhambra are decent as well.  Arcadia and San Marino come to mind with great schools but the price is quite high for those SFR you mentioned.  Besides those, I think Brea or Whittier might make sense if you don't mind the drive.  If you profession is more home based, then I would just say visit the home sites and see where you like more.  I wasn't a fan of the layout of Camden square but you might be.  There's also Encanto in Lake forest if you are okay with 3 story SFR (no MR).  I would stay away from Rancho Mission Viejo as I believe the MR is quite high there.  Unless you worked there, I would stay away from Rancho Cucamonga.  I know the large sq ft homes are tempting but theres's a reason for that.
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Also as a single mom..... not sure if that means u r the only income but if that is the case you need to make absolute sure that you have plenty of cushion in case anything happens (job loss, major illness, car issues, etc) plus home maintenance (which can be a whole lot more than you think). What if you suddenly lost your job and had to get Obamacare with NO income and house payments? Just your house payments, HOA, insurance and property taxes could push you over the subsidy level if you had to pull it out of your 401K....... a true tragedy and potential financial disaster. Two income people have more of a cushion since the other one still would have income and the ability to get insurance.
 
OMG! You asked the dumbest question. If you work in Alhambra then you have so much to choose from. Buy the cheapest house you can in the San Marino schoool district. No brainer.
 
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