Santa Barbara in Woodbury

Come on guys. Lets get back on track on the subject matter of Santa Barbara. I visited the models and felt plan 3 was a bit small in the great room, but thats only because the designers put way too much furniture in that room. Plan 2 on the other hand alhtough smaller felt more open due to less furniture.
 
I understand that property tax and mello roos for santa barbra comes out to be about 1.9%. I thought taxes are supposed to come down in Woodbury due to not building the middle school. Also does anybody know how long mello roos will last in Woodbury?
 
fishfinder333 said:
I understand that property tax and mello roos for santa barbra comes out to be about 1.9%. I thought taxes are supposed to come down in Woodbury due to not building the middle school. Also does anybody know how long mello roos will last in Woodbury?
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The the absolute portion of 1.9% tax is equivalent to the other properties in woodbury which cost more.  The lower the cost of the home the greater the mellroos appears (even though it is a flat rate).  Last I heard, the mello roos for some of the properties in woodbury was about 40 years.
 
nytransplant said:
fishfinder333 said:
I understand that property tax and mello roos for santa barbra comes out to be about 1.9%. I thought taxes are supposed to come down in Woodbury due to not building the middle school. Also does anybody know how long mello roos will last in Woodbury?
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The the absolute portion of 1.9% tax is equivalent to the other properties in woodbury which cost more.  The lower the cost of the home the greater the mellroos appears (even though it is a flat rate).  Last I heard, the mello roos for some of the properties in woodbury was about 40 years.
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Good god thats a long time. I was thinking 20yrs. So mello roos is life time payment  :mad:
 
Only the older neighborhoods in Irvine have no mello roos.  Neighborhoods such as Woodbridge, if I'm not mistaken.

Any recent development and future developments all have mello roos.
 
Ah yes, Mello Roos...the gift that always keeps on costing you.  The majority of people sell their homes every 5-7 years on average so the 30-40 year Mello Roos bonds are a lifetime.  I wonder if I should look into buying those Irvine Mello Roos bonds as a retirement investment.
 
Got email on Tuesday night saying that they will be starting the release/reservation of Phase 2. Does that mean all phase 1 homes are gone? The time I went there on Sunday they just had one plan 3/3X sold.
 
Yeah, they called us this past Wed for the "pre-qualified" to place our deposits for Phase 2.  Dunno is Phase 1 is completely sold.

Also they've dropped the prices on the homes.

I think plan 3 or 3x are now in the $530k region compared to their original offering of 570k.  This information was told to me over the phone by their realtor. 

 
Price drop? Interesting.

I have to say though, when we toured the construction sites, the homes seemed to have VERY poor construction. Joints were not squared off properly, exposed nails, etc. The tile work also left a little to be desired (wish I had taken pictures).
 
Got a call from them today and asked about the plan 3/3x. They still have "at least a few left" for plan 3/3x in Phase 1.  How many do you have in total for plan 3/3x (3+3?)? I guess it's 6! Aha...

Looks like not so many people are so into plan 3/3x at all even though almost all phase 1 and some phase 2 plan 1/2 homes are reserved.
I think that might because of the fact that the performance/price ratio is not so good for plan 3/3x comparing to plan 1/2. anybody has any idea?
 
Patrick Star said:
LAtoOC said:
I have to say though, when we toured the construction sites, the homes seemed to have VERY poor construction. Joints were not squared off properly, exposed nails, etc. The tile work also left a little to be desired (wish I had taken pictures).
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That's a very interesting observation.  I live in a 2001-built Cal Pac home and am very impressed with the construction quality.  As a matter of fact, I have had discussions with other neighbors about how well our "value builder" homes seem to be holding up, even after almost a decade.  I was wondering if the new incarnation of Cal Pac would be as good as the legacy company was. Your post may have answered some of that question.
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Let me throw a conspiracy theory out there...  Could the "guest" builder program caused the lower quality?  Since TIC is driving the bus, and if you looked at the 2010 collection and beyond, to me they somehow share a theme.  Like the same road signs, floor plan and designs, shared materials etc...

Let me tell you this and without going into details, though we are happy with our purchase.  We have a good share of issues with the way the house is built as well. 
 
bluesky said:
Got a call from them today and asked about the plan 3/3x. They still have "at least a few left" for plan 3/3x in Phase 1.  How many do you have in total for plan 3/3x (3+3?)? I guess it's 6! Aha...

Looks like not so many people are so into plan 3/3x at all even though almost all phase 1 and some phase 2 plan 1/2 homes are reserved.
I think that might because of the fact that the performance/price ratio is not so good for plan 3/3x comparing to plan 1/2. anybody has any idea?
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Just went to check them out yesterday, the overall feel of the floor plan is actually not too bad.  Pretty much all of the 1 and 2 plans are either reserved or sold and quite a few of the 3s left.  I thought it's the price point that drove people to 1 and 2s.  When price point reach high 500s, they are competing to with other detach condo products whether it's new or re-sales.  So I am think by lowering pricing to low 500s should help their sales.
 
I do think you guys are on to something with TIC being the owner and the builders just basically being contractors.

I too have noticed the same items being used in all the models (that laundry room sink is pretty nice).
 
The biggest complaints were related to the bathroom right inside the entry door
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Why is this a huge complaint?  (I haven't seen the models so I can't picture why it would be a negative).
 
Patrick Star said:
locolocal said:
The biggest complaints were related to the bathroom right inside the entry door
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Why is this a huge complaint?  (I haven't seen the models so I can't picture why it would be a negative).
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Feng Shui violation according to those complaining in the room.  I personally didn't realize that was a violation (but I did not have BK there to help me).  It did stand out to me when touring the Plan 3 model, however, because the entryway seemed a little tight and the bathroom is right there.
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So it's the bathroom to the right of the entry way when facing the towards "inside" the house?  Meaning as you are walking in from the front door? 

I have heard the another way around, meaning as you are walking out from the house.  So which is right?  Or it's just bad by having the bathroom next to the front door.

I am by no means an expert, it's just what I heard.  I hope BK could help us out but BK doesn't post here anymore.  Anyone else would know about Feng Shui stuff?
 
Has anyone on the blog signed up to buy one of these homes?  I believe phase 5 is now open and I was just wondering how many more phases there will be?  Also, any thoughts on how far down they have reached on the priority/pre-qualified list? (We are number 176).  Thanks!
 
I always felt that Santa Barbara had the whole location thing going for it. Infact after
seeing the prices of monterey in WBE I felt that Santa Barbara would open at much
higher premium. But i was suprised that it was about the same as monterey.
Does anyone know the current pricing on these.


jumpcut said:
Got this spam-mail today:
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FINAL PHASES BEING RELEASED AT SANTA BARBARA IN WOODBURY!
Don't miss your opportunity to own in Santa Barbara!

Hurry in to tour the Santa Barbara  model homes soon, before you miss your chance to own! These new townhomes and flats are big on style and value and feature Great Rooms, oversized kitchens with islands and much more. Plus, Santa Barbara boasts a fabulous Woodbury location, walking close to award-winning schools, pools, parks and the Woodbury? Town Center! With historically low interest rates, and affordable monthly payments, now?s the perfect opportunity to buy!
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These were first released on June 19.  That's about 3 months to unload 125 homes.  That's even faster than the original 2010 Collection.  Doesn't look like much of a new home slowdown to me, at least in certain segments...
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