Anyone living in the Harbor Lofts? (Santa Ana, Anaheim: HOA fees, crime, townhome)

[oclifer]

I've been having so much trouble finding a place due to every time I find a place an investor or buyer comes in and pays cash. I've mainly been keeping my search to anything south from Santa Ana.

Since I haven't had much luck, I started expanding my search into other areas, I recently came across these places in Anaheim called the Harbor Lofts. I went down Lincoln and it didn't look too bad and the immediate area around the Harbor Lofts looked nice.

I've seen some older forum posts in regards to the lofts and them having trouble selling the units. I'm guessing this is a combination or location and price. Price being over 300k for a loft where you still need to partition it, at least if you want rooms.

Getting to my question, does anyone here actually live in the Harbor Lofts? If so, what has your experience been so far? How is the community in the complex? What do you do if you need to park a third car? Does the area seem to be improving at all?

Thanks

[boredfast]

I just typed a ridiculously long response, and of course.. my internet at work timed out.

I'm surprised that nobody has replied to this thread what so ever.
HL is comprised of 129 units, to which, I believe half are occupied as I write this.
HOA is well funded, and the last time I went to go with my Realtor, they were repainting the building. Good to know they upkeep the place. Pool is well cleaned and the common area is well maintained.

As far as the area goes, I was a little skeptical too. I work in Fountain Valley, so I have the unfortunate privilege of driving past all the crappy parts of Anaheim and Santa Ana, lol. I scoped out the place through crime stats, anaheim arrest records, and DIY investigative work. Seemed to check out for the most part, with the exception of a burglary early Feb.

Still, I feel that the overall area is improving greatly and attracting younger and higher income crowds. Umami, Gypsy Den, The Lab, Flame Broiler, StarBucks, and some other restaurants are already in the works (or already there). To me, indicates a good sign.

I bought a 2 story townhome off W Center St, which is set to close in a month. I'm really excited for the potential.

And to address your concern about parking a third card, I don't think there are any options other than street parking on W Center St, or trying to use the structure.. which.. according to the crime stats, has a pretty high rate of theft (busting out your window and grabbing). Although, I haven't witnessed anything like that first hand.

[Leonard64]

Originally Posted by boredfast

I just typed a ridiculously long response, and of course.. my internet at work timed out.

I'm surprised that nobody has replied to this thread what so ever.
HL is comprised of 129 units, to which, I believe half are occupied as I write this.
HOA is well funded, and the last time I went to go with my Realtor, they were repainting the building. Good to know they upkeep the place. Pool is well cleaned and the common area is well maintained.

As far as the area goes, I was a little skeptical too. I work in Fountain Valley, so I have the unfortunate privilege of driving past all the crappy parts of Anaheim and Santa Ana, lol. I scoped out the place through crime stats, anaheim arrest records, and DIY investigative work. Seemed to check out for the most part, with the exception of a burglary early Feb.

Still, I feel that the overall area is improving greatly and attracting younger and higher income crowds. Umami, Gypsy Den, The Lab, Flame Broiler, StarBucks, and some other restaurants are already in the works (or already there). To me, indicates a good sign.

I bought a 2 story townhome off W Center St, which is set to close in a month. I'm really excited for the potential.

And to address your concern about parking a third card, I don't think there are any options other than street parking on W Center St, or trying to use the structure.. which.. according to the crime stats, has a pretty high rate of theft (busting out your window and grabbing). Although, I haven't witnessed anything like that first hand.

The big question is the HOA fees. If the builder is still in charge he gets the work done at a far lower cost than the HOA would when sold out. He does this to keep the HOA low and not scare anyone off. In one place I know of the HOA was about $100.00 per month when the builder was still involved. When he left the fees went to $487.00 per month to cover the costs he did not include in his "coverage".

[boredfast]

Originally Posted by Leonard64

The big question is the HOA fees. If the builder is still in charge he gets the work done at a far lower cost than the HOA would when sold out. He does this to keep the HOA low and not scare anyone off. In one place I know of the HOA was about $100.00 per month when the builder was still involved. When he left the fees went to $487.00 per month to cover the costs he did not include in his "coverage".

Now this portion I'm not too clear on. I don't expect the HOA to jump 400% as I took a look at the itemized expected maintenance costs for the development and they didn't seem abnormally low. Currently, the builder is subsidizing the overall HOA reserves as more units continue to be sold. Don't know how long that will last, and am definitely not experienced enough to comment. I think given the property type and area, $350 is about the going rate (which, IMO is pretty steep already).

[Leonard64]

Originally Posted by boredfast

Now this portion I'm not too clear on. I don't expect the HOA to jump 400% as I took a look at the itemized expected maintenance costs for the development and they didn't seem abnormally low. Currently, the builder is subsidizing the overall HOA reserves as more units continue to be sold. Don't know how long that will last, and am definitely not experienced enough to comment. I think given the property type and area, $350 is about the going rate (which, IMO is pretty steep already).

That sounds pretty reasonable. You might ask your Realtor about comparable units in the area. Costs should be about the same.