Who is waiting for Orchard Hills?

[jmoney74]

I think the gated TUSD side will have great value.. they will be the snobs of the community. 

"oh.. you live outside there?"

 

[OpenSky]

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I'm not as cynical as OS but I am not impressed by OH.

I haven't seen the models in person yet but the floorplans are retreads and based on reviews from members here, not too different from what we've seen before.

I personally think the prices are outrageous but since some have said that phases have already sold out, it must be an FCB thing.

 

[OpenSky]

 

[jmoney74]

FCBs will tend to buy on a hill.. that's just something they like.  OH sales will do fine I think.

As for the common home buyer.. I think you go Groves or not at all.  Probably better options over at CV, SG, and PP.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

FCBs will tend to buy on a hill.. that's just something they like.

So that explains LagAlt.

But that doesn't explain Portola Springs... especially because Lambert Ranch is the same location but sold better.

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

Those Santa Ana migrant farmers working in the avocado grove will just wander over to burglarize your home when you and your wife must work and can't stay home to guard your McMansion.

[

quote author=thatOSguy link=topic=11541.msg231670#msg231670 date=1401687346]

I'm not seeing anything in the design of the community that is appealing or different.

What does OH offer? Some view lots. Is it integrated with the trail system? No. Density level? Medium->High. Does it have an abundance of amenities? No - just a few pools that you have to drive to. What is the character? "Nestled in a working orchard..." Ummm? I hear that and think pesticides and day laborers, not rustic beauty as they'd have you believe.

I think the 'halo effect' will be folks realizing PP or NP or QH or __ are a better buy / more appealing than OH.

Well this one is going to sting. "Working Orchard" will go from a marketing gimmick to a class action lawsuit within a decade. Why the hell would someone want to live where they will spray pesticides day and night? Where there are disclosed mosquito and coyote issues? Where trucks, laborers and pumps can run whenever they damn well choose, accessing FROM WITHIN THE GATES?!! I thought NP's gates were a false sense of security; imagine how many avocado trucks filled with laborers will get waved on through every.single.day.

I guess we'll have to see the build out.  They are claiming Luxury.. I just don't see them going half arsed on that.

It's half-arsed all right. Especially on the non-gated side. Amenities are weak sauce and feel rushed; on par with CV and sub-WB and NP. "Luxury" isn't what comes to mind -- "mediocre" is what I see. Strada being scoreless after opening weekend and hype for months (I counted 18 emails from when I registered) with an interest list at nearly 30,000... it speaks volumes.

Said it before, saying it again: this is a tale of two villages -- those with a view, and those without. Otherwise it's a pass.

OH = Over Hyped.

I called flattening and possibly discounts within a few phases. It may not even take that.
[/quote]

 

[OpenSky]

 

[ak]

You really have a lot of negatives working against Strada:

1. Tiny little lots (or should I say "NO" backyards)
2. Overpriced (Price per SF is the same a the much luxurious guard gated side Groves.)
3. Split school districts
4. Small loft/bonus room

TIC/IP will need to lower prices or provide incentives for people to take the bite on Strada. 

 

[homer_simpson]

FCBS don't work so they are home all day to guard their piles of cash hidden under their mattresses.  They also stay home and hang their clothes by their california room, spit on driveways, smoke cigarettes and throw them in your driveway, talk obnoxiously loud, roll their F'ing RRRR's when speaking... so annoying!

Orchard Hills??? More like Oriental Hills! ugh

 

[ak]

FCBS don't work so they are home all day to guard their piles of cash hidden under their mattresses.  They also stay home and hang their clothes by their california room, spit on driveways, smoke cigarettes and throw them in your driveway, talk obnoxiously loud, roll their F'ing RRRR's when speaking... so annoying!

Orchard Hills??? More like Oriental Hills! ugh

If you can't take the heat you need to get out of the Kitchen (Irvine).  In about 5 to 10 years Irvine will be about 85% Asian/FCBs. 

 

[lnc]

FCBs will tend to buy on a hill.. that's just something they like.

So that explains LagAlt.

But that doesn't explain Portola Springs... especially because Lambert Ranch is the same location but sold better.

It must be the gate, for some reasons, FCB love the gate.  If PS can add gates, it probably will sell like Laguna Altura.

 

[ak]

FCBs will tend to buy on a hill.. that's just something they like.

So that explains LagAlt.

But that doesn't explain Portola Springs... especially because Lambert Ranch is the same location but sold better.

It must be the gate, for some reasons, FCB love the gate.  If PS can add gates, it probably will sell like Laguna Altura.

I say gate the all!  I love gates myself and I am not a FCB. 

 

[Smashed]

Those Santa Ana migrant farmers working in the avocado grove will just wander over to burglarize your home when you and your wife must work and can't stay home to guard your McMansion.

Had my car broken into twice when we lived in Woodbury; both times IPD blamed it on construction workers noting property crime surges around homes near construction sites as crews move around. Now imagine you're picking avocados in the same area day after day, week after week. You'd get a sense of when folks come and go, the mail + UPS delivery guy route, your kids' schedules, etc. It'd give me the creeps to be living with such proximity with that kind of access and visibility -- and within the guard gates.

I don't know anything beyond backyard cultivation of fruit trees - are avocado orchard workers typically around on a daily basis?  I could see how there would be flurries of activity during pruning, fertilization, and harvesting periods but otherwise I'm thinking that it should be quiet?

Also, my impression is that workers wouldn't stay in one place for an extended period like they would on a construction site.  Otherwise, the same type of analogy could apply to HOA gardeners, tree trimmers, maintenance folks, etc. but that doesn't seem to bother anyone or affect crime (as far as I know)?

 

[homer_simpson]

I dont live in Irvine anymore... I live in JC... Weather is gorgeous here and I get a full driveway

 

[irvinehomeowner]

FCBs will tend to buy on a hill.. that's just something they like.

So that explains LagAlt.

But that doesn't explain Portola Springs... especially because Lambert Ranch is the same location but sold better.

It must be the gate, for some reasons, FCB love the gate.  If PS can add gates, it probably will sell like Laguna Altura.

Aha... so:

HILL + GATE = $

That means the non-gated side of OH is in trouble.

 

[ak]

I dont live in Irvine anymore... I live in JC... Weather is gorgeous here and I get a full driveway

Believe it or not, but most of the homes in Irvine have full driveways as well.

 

[ak]

FCBs will tend to buy on a hill.. that's just something they like.

So that explains LagAlt.

But that doesn't explain Portola Springs... especially because Lambert Ranch is the same location but sold better.

It must be the gate, for some reasons, FCB love the gate.  If PS can add gates, it probably will sell like Laguna Altura.

Aha... so:

HILL + GATE = $

That means the non-gated side of OH is in trouble.

I believe the non-gated side can be easily converted to being guard gated as there is no public school inside the development.  Northwood High is located/situated just like Orchard Hills School.....outside of the new home development. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I believe the non-gated side can be easily converted to being guard gated

If it's not gated now, it won't be gated later.

I'm pretty sure non-Grove homes are out of luck when the zombies attack.

 

[ak]

I believe the non-gated side can be easily converted to being guard gated

If it's not gated now, it won't be gated later.

I'm pretty sure non-Grove homes are out of luck when the zombies attack.

If the majority of the HOA members vote for gates, then it can be done.  The Hawks Pointe development in Fullerton did exactly this.  If members of the HOA believe the values of their home will increase significantly if gates were installed there would be no reason not to do it.  Laguna altura and Lamber Ranch are good examples of how home values appreciate with guard gates.