Villages of Columbus - Columbus Square - Camden Place

question for residents:



did you guys just go with uamc, or find your own lender?



why, or why not?



positives/cons?



thx.
 
No. They gave us the option either their flooring or no flooring.



[quote author="JVNA" date=1245802459][quote author="Polarbecca" date=1245744048]Make sure you find out how much it costs to chip out all the base tile that vintage has to install in order for the occupancy permit to go through if you are going to have some of their products installed and redo some with wood. Or whatever. Or if you choose to have <strong>the no flooring option </strong>and have your own installed make sure that you find out about all the plumbing stuff because as far as I know when you remove all the toilets etc to install flooring it voids all the Lennar warranties etc. We also looked into the option of having flooring installed outside of Vintage. We were not thrilled with Vintage. And when we finally decided to just go through Vintage because of the huge hassel of having flooring redone we had to approve the tile we ordered before it was installed but we weren't allowed to look at the wood floor before it was installed which made no sense to us.</blockquote>


I thought all new homes had to have flooring installed, even if the cheapest, prior to handing over they keys?</blockquote>
 
went through the sales center and there was only 5 in the last phase left. Only 5K towards closing costs. That is the only incentive right now.





[quote author="MojoJD" date=1246331470]Wow, last phase sold out of the plan 1/3 pretty quick. Just days, that's with prices up and incentives down.</blockquote>
 
yes because of interest rate. There was special interest rate when we bought ours. our experience was mostly positive.



[quote author="toph" date=1246604026]question for residents:



did you guys just go with uamc, or find your own lender?



why, or why not?



positives/cons?



thx.</blockquote>
 
[quote author="Polarbecca" date=1246704713]No. They gave us the option either their flooring or no flooring.



</blockquote>


Are you sure about that? Did you actually go with "no flooring"? I was told otherwise, and if what you're saying is true, i have a few frantic calls to make to save some uninstall costs.
 
We went with UAMC. I think the credit was $3k for us two years ago, and that made the decision easy - since the boring 30 year fixed rate they were offering was the same as the market rates at the time. UAMC's price to lock was attractive too I remember.
 
[quote author="MojoJD" date=1246942738][quote author="Polarbecca" date=1246704713]No. They gave us the option either their flooring or no flooring.



</blockquote>


Are you sure about that? Did you actually go with "no flooring"? I was told otherwise, and if what you're saying is true, i have a few frantic calls to make to save some uninstall costs.</blockquote>


You can't get a loan without flooring installed, or the 442 form from the appraiser. So unless you were paying cash, then you were getting flooring.
 
Is anyone else's exterior of their home in need of some TLC? The black gates that surround the front entry are no longer black as the sun has faded them to a light gray, there are cracks in the stucco in the rear of the home (almost a foot wide). The parking is getting worse by day...it seems as though the regulators are on vacation with our HOA dues?
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1247545472]Is anyone else's exterior of their home in need of some TLC? The black gates that surround the front entry are no longer black as the sun has faded them to a light gray, there are cracks in the stucco in the rear of the home (almost a foot wide). The parking is getting worse by day...it seems as though the regulators are on vacation with our HOA dues?</blockquote>


Interesting. No, our front faces north, so the gate doesn't get the sun's full force. There are no stucco cracks either, although the water run-off from the balcony has produced stains on the stucco there.



Our windows are in dire need of cleaning. Has anyone paid to have their windows cleaned?
 
No, actually the window panes come out with the proper leverage allowing you to easily clean them. I know it takes more work than hiring someone, but you can also scrub the screens at the same time.
 
Hello Camden owner... Just wondering how much the camden places are selling now. Considering Woodbury east has a 2 bedroom condo for 350K vs your place for 425k? Has the price of camden been lower? Have any of you stopped by the sales office lately?



Thanks
 
Its not a straight comparison, as Camden starts at 1553 square feet (plan 1), and the Ivy (woodbury east) top out at at 1500, for roughly the same price. Actually, the 350K plan you mentioned is <strong>only 1180 sq ft</strong>. In my opinion, the 2nd floor of the Camden plan 1 is very impressive and spacious by comparison.



Not a bad deal over there, though. Depends on preference. Their plan C isnt bad, to be honest. We'll see how a finished block turns out.
 
[quote author="MojoJD" date=1247629835]Its not a straight comparison, as Camden starts at 1553 square feet (plan 1), and the Ivy (woodbury east) top out at at 1500, for roughly the same price. Actually, the 350K plan you mentioned is <strong>only 1180 sq ft</strong>. In my opinion, the 2nd floor of the Camden plan 1 is very impressive and spacious by comparison.



Not a bad deal over there, though. Depends on preference. Their plan C isnt bad, to be honest. We'll see how a finished block turns out.</blockquote>


agree that the ivy is smaller but you get 3bedroom for 1300 sqft. for high 300K. that is a better value then a 2bedroom for 435k+ I am not too familiar with camden's price since I have not gone back there to check it out. Not to mention it is tustin vs irvine.



also.... this would put alot of pressure on the resale condo in irvine.... you can buy a new place for less then a older place. I wonder If IR will do a feature on this.
 
[quote author="jbatzmaru" date=1247635683][quote author="MojoJD" date=1247629835]Its not a straight comparison, as Camden starts at 1553 square feet (plan 1), and the Ivy (woodbury east) top out at at 1500, for roughly the same price. Actually, the 350K plan you mentioned is <strong>only 1180 sq ft</strong>. In my opinion, the 2nd floor of the Camden plan 1 is very impressive and spacious by comparison.



Not a bad deal over there, though. Depends on preference. Their plan C isnt bad, to be honest. We'll see how a finished block turns out.</blockquote>


agree that the ivy is smaller but you get 3bedroom for 1300 sqft. for high 300K. that is a better value then a 2bedroom for 435k+ I am not too familiar with camden's price since I have not gone back there to check it out. Not to mention it is tustin vs irvine.



also.... this would put alot of pressure on the resale condo in irvine.... you can buy a new place for less then a older place. I wonder If IR will do a feature on this.</blockquote>


IR is correct when he says desire does not equal demand. People may desire to buy in Ivy, but are they be able to? There are 15 cash buyers for every available unit. I should know, I'm one of them. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
 
hey guys, i have a few questions for you fellow camden neighbors. i own a floorplan 3 and have a single loan with impound account. i'm still in shock that my monthly escrow payments have gone up by a whopping $1,000 a month since purchasing in dec. 2007 (i had two separate increases of about $500 each). i contacted my mortage servicer numerous times to figure out why they increased my escrow payment (P&I amount is unchanged) and they claimed that it is because my impound account went into the red after tax payments were made. some part of the real estate code allows mortgage servicers to require "reserves" and effectively increase the escrow payment to keep the impound account in the black. it seems to me that several things could explain it: Lennar or UAMC sold me the property with a grossly underestimated taxable value to lower my DTI in order to attain loan approval, supplemental taxes and/or melloroos increased, and the property tax rate went up. i just find it very hard to believe that they would need an additional $12,000 a year from me to cover my taxes IN ADDITION TO the escrow payment amount i was already paying when i first purchased the place.



my first question is, are any of you with impound accounts experiencing similar re-assessments and increases in payments to the impound account (escrow)? i've applied for several waivers but do not qualify for any (i am already enrolled in the homeowner exemption). all the research i've done has lead me to believe there is nothing i can do. any advice in this area would be greatly appreciated, even if it's confirmation that there's nothing i can do.



secondly, to help accomodate the ridiculous increase in my monthly mortgage payments, i am contemplating increasing the rent for my roommates who are staying with me. i'd like to get a feel for the average rental rate for a floorplan 3 downstairs room w/bathroom (no utilities included). i want to make sure that i'm charging a fair (market) rate. feel free to PM me if you don't want to share with everyone.



any help would be GREATLY appreciated. i'm not underwater yet, but i could be in some serious trouble if my monthly mortgage payments keep increasing at this rate. i'm hopeful that it won't increase after fully reading and understanding the prop 13 notice i recently received. anyways, thanks in advance!



p.s. shooby, my place and the corner place next door are both showing significant cracking in the exterior stucco. i was told it's because the houses are "settling". i hope our HOA will think about fixing that sometime in the near future..
 
it's about 25% of my current monthly mortgage payment.



here's a history of my monthly mortgage payments. the increases are only in the monthly escrow amount. p&i payment amount has remained the same. i also must disclose that i do pay mortgage insurance but i don't believe that rate was increased.



$2,950 - at time of purchase

$3,500 - several months after purchasing

$4,000 - as of july 1st 2009



with a mortgage that large, i should be in a SFR!!!
 
yes, this is what doesn't make sense to me. my total annual taxes are $10k (secured property tax + supplemental property taxes). how then, can they justify increasing my payments by $12k per year in addition to what i was already paying at time of purchase?!



what gives!? any advice? is there any type of consultant that i could hire to help me sort this out? the assessors office, tax collectors office, and my mortgage servicer haven't been very helpful at all. my financial advisor and parents don't seem to know what's going on either.
 
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