Best HOA's in Laguna Niguel, CA. (Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo: foreclosures, HOA fees, new home)

[xraydlr]

My wife and I have decided that Laguna Niguel, CA. is the city we want to move to however we are currently baffled by all the choices of sub-division developments and HOA's in the area. What's your opinion? Kite Hill Vs. Marina Hills, Laguna Crest vs. Laguna Ranch. They all appear to be close to the ocean and all claim to have the same scenic views, ocean breezes, good schools, and of course close to retail shopping. Commuting is not a factor and we are looking for the best value in home Sq. footage (4/5 bedrooms and3/4 Baths) with decent sized lots.

[J double R]

my advice to you.. THOROUGHLY research any HOA before you put your name on any list or contract.. see if they'll let you attend a board meeting before making your decision... You need to figure out if the HOA is made up of citizens for the good of the community, or citizens ruling over their ideal community.

[flaglerwrangler]

Make sure your HOA is solvent, without many homes in arrears or foreclosures. Guess who will be paying if there are...

[missionhome]

Ladera Ranch isn't in Laguna Niguel nor very close to the close. Ladera Ranch is about four miles further inland than the most inland portion of Laguna Niguel. Ladera Ranch is a separate community east of Mission Viejo.

[Charles]

There's another thread I started which sort of addresses the concerns of the original poster here. It didn't go too far.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/orang...ello-roos.html

If it comes down to three or four neighborhoods, then I would recommend you speak directly which each HOA and get the specifics from each one. Put together a table and compare. And, perhaps you could share your information with the rest of us, maybe on the thread above. Thanks

[missionhome]

You need to contact each individual HOA or a realtor to figure out prices for that type of stuff.

With regards to feel, that is something you need to determine. I like the older and more established communities and the mix of architecture with brick, rock, and tudor styles in Kite Hill. However it does attend Crown Valley Elementary which is an average middle of the pack (6/10 rank) school. It is better than the other neighborhoods when it attends middle school (Aliso Viejo Middle) than the others which attends Niguel Hills then, but the other two neighborhoods have better elementary. Its honestly all up to you and what you look for out of a neighborhood. My sister in law lived in Marina Hill and liked it. Its a newer community that is very masterplanned and broken up into multiple subdivisions. I don't think you will find lot of big lots though. My sister in laws backyard only was about 10 feet from the house to back fence. Kite Hill has pretty big lots by So Cal standards. Don't know much about Laguna Crest.

[xraydlr]

Thanks so much for everyone's input espically Missionhome. We will check the HOA's for the development we are serious in. We are leaning towards Kite Hill. It is a very stable development with little movement which is good, that means people are happy there and that keeps the HOA dues stable. We did notice that some other HOA's in other developments have gone up over $100 dollars per month due to either foreclosures or vacancy's.

As far as schools go, our children are in High School now so the high school they would attend is more important than the elementary school at this point & Aliso Viejo High School is ranked a 9/10 which is the one I believe they would attend if we purchased in Kite Hill.

Thanks once again for everyone's input & if we get any more info we will link it to the other thread.

[xraydlr]

We purchased and took possession of our new home in Kite Hill (North) in Sept. 09. After only one month we feel we made the right choice. Neighbors are friendly but not too nosy and the scenic views are spectacular. The HOA dues are reasonable so are the property taxes and overall cost of living is good as long as you have a sizeable down payment.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by xraydlr

We purchased and took possession of our new home in Kite Hill (North) in Sept. 09. After only one month we feel we made the right choice. Neighbors are friendly but not too nosy and the scenic views are spectacular. The HOA dues are reasonable so are the property taxes and overall cost of living is good as long as you have a sizeable down payment.

What I'd like to see (and I indicated on my thread above) is a table of HOA fees and what you get for them. HOA fees vary from around $50 with basically community area landscaping to over $200 for landscaping and community amenities like pools and club houses. However, there might be HOAs pushing the $200/month range that don't include too many amenities.

Fortuneatly, when looking for a home, a person's parameters (for example 5 BR, tight price range, Z car garage, lot size at least X sqft, schools in top Y%, etc) limit them to a handful of homes. And, redfin provides HOA fees but redfin doesn't always include the included amenities.

So, for the sake of adding another data point to our table, what is your HOA fee and what does it include?

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by xraydlr

We purchased and took possession of our new home in Kite Hill (North) in Sept. 09.

Do you know why they call it Kite Hill?