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I'm not looking for a yard really! I couldn't care less about the size of the yard. I NEED at least 3000 square feet and a 3 car garage. We have just downsized from another state and I have a 2 car garage that fits things nicely in it and a walk in attic (quite large) that stores the rest. I have 2 dogs so a backyard of some sort would be nice.
We're looked in Mission Viejo and think that area is fine.
I'm looking at renting now. My biggest fear is that at 50 years old we will not like OC or my husband will hate his job and we'll be in moving mode again. I've moved 6 times in the last 7 years. I'm tired of moving!
You can get rid of a lot of stuff when you move. You do not need nearly as much clothing as you do in colder places. You do nto need as much indoor entertainment paraphenalia, because you can spend more time outside. You might want to keep a couple of cold weather and in between outfits, but you do not need a whole coll and cold weather wardrobe. You really do not much need rain coats, boots, and the like either.
On the other hand keep in mind that CA houses generally do not have basements. Many do not have attic storage space (newer houses are built with trusses and you cannot store stuff in the attic unless you get specially engineered and more expensive storage trusses.). Real estate is at a premium, so garages tend to be smallish even if they are 2-3 cars. In several of our houses, with two or three cars in the garage, you could not open the car doors and either had to crawl out the window, or park outside.
Not caring about a yard will help you and you may be able to put in a storage shed if you do nto care about eating up your yard.
One thing BTW. You will not find Mello Roos on a 40 year old house. Mello Roos are a temporary assesment that pays off the bonds for the subdividion common improvements (street, drainage, fire stations, parks, schools, etc). It is a relativley new development in charging people for common improvements and conceptually, it will eventually get paid off.
There are a few places that you might find a 3000 s.f. house for under $800,000. Floral Park Neighborhood in Santa Ana has beautiful large homes often with good sized yards and is often more affordable. It is a really nice neighborhood, but it is in the middle of Santa Ana, a mostly hispanic and comparatively impoverished city. However the Floral Park neighborhood is one of the nicest in OC. Another option is to go to the outskirts of Orange County (Corona for example is just outside OC). You will find bigger homes and often bigger lots for slightly lower prices.
For California, a 3000 s.f. house is very large. We lived in a 2600 -2700 s.f. home with a one car garage with a family of 7 and we were not crammed in. (We did have a vary spacious attic and a workshop attached to the garage). We had plenty of room for entertaining both indoors and out and were not cramped at all (closets were a bti crowded, but a mentioned, you do not need all the bulky winter and spring/fall clothing).
You can also rent stoarge unit space fairly cheaply. If the unit is nearby, you can keep all of your seasonal stuff in there (kind of like a basement or attic). Many of them are very nice.
You will fit right in in OC. People tend to move a lot. In our first four years we lived in 8 different places. We then settled down a bit, but we still moved twice more (three different places) over the next 14 years.
Thats a lot of moving. I did a move to the midwest 2008. Hated it so much that I moved back to Southern California 2 years later. The moved twice since returning to CA after we bought a condo (talk about downsizing). I think Im settled in for a while.
There is no guarantee that you will like it here (i thought I would hate Southern California after moving from NY in the early 1990's)
As long as you go in with an open mind with a head clear of preconceived stereotypes, you may be surprised how genuine and friendly the locals are around here. You may just like it. Mission Viejo is a nice community. Try living by the lake.
You can get rid of a lot of stuff when you move. You do not need nearly as much clothing as you do in colder places. You do nto need as much indoor entertainment paraphenalia, because you can spend more time outside. You might want to keep a couple of cold weather and in between outfits, but you do not need a whole coll and cold weather wardrobe. You really do not much need rain coats, boots, and the like either.
On the other hand keep in mind that CA houses generally do not have basements. Many do not have attic storage space (newer houses are built with trusses and you cannot store stuff in the attic unless you get specially engineered and more expensive storage trusses.). Real estate is at a premium, so garages tend to be smallish even if they are 2-3 cars. In several of our houses, with two or three cars in the garage, you could not open the car doors and either had to crawl out the window, or park outside.
Not caring about a yard will help you and you may be able to put in a storage shed if you do nto care about eating up your yard.
One thing BTW. You will not find Mello Roos on a 40 year old house. Mello Roos are a temporary assesment that pays off the bonds for the subdividion common improvements (street, drainage, fire stations, parks, schools, etc). It is a relativley new development in charging people for common improvements and conceptually, it will eventually get paid off.
There are a few places that you might find a 3000 s.f. house for under $800,000. Floral Park Neighborhood in Santa Ana has beautiful large homes often with good sized yards and is often more affordable. It is a really nice neighborhood, but it is in the middle of Santa Ana, a mostly hispanic and comparatively impoverished city. However the Floral Park neighborhood is one of the nicest in OC. Another option is to go to the outskirts of Orange County (Corona for example is just outside OC). You will find bigger homes and often bigger lots for slightly lower prices.
For California, a 3000 s.f. house is very large. We lived in a 2600 -2700 s.f. home with a one car garage with a family of 7 and we were not crammed in. (We did have a vary spacious attic and a workshop attached to the garage). We had plenty of room for entertaining both indoors and out and were not cramped at all (closets were a bti crowded, but a mentioned, you do not need all the bulky winter and spring/fall clothing).
You can also rent stoarge unit space fairly cheaply. If the unit is nearby, you can keep all of your seasonal stuff in there (kind of like a basement or attic). Many of them are very nice.
You will fit right in in OC. People tend to move a lot. In our first four years we lived in 8 different places. We then settled down a bit, but we still moved twice more (three different places) over the next 14 years.
Thanks for the lengthy answer. I am from NY so I'm pretty good on sparseness. We brought our children up in Scottsdale, AZ (LA South ) so we're pretty good about knowing what it's like to live without a basement and all. Been there - done that tons of times. Good on the whole clothes thing too. I think I own one sweater and a leather jacket. I live in Nashville, TN now - our winters are not that cold nor does the snow stick on the ground. But I will miss the autumns and springs just like I missed them when we lived in Scottsdale.
I've got the whole Mello Roos thing down now. But -- they DO sometimes ADD years to the bond. It's not uncommon for the bond to be extended for years. But I'm okay with the mellos roos depending on the situation.
I think what my biggest disappointment is the housing issue and the fact that nearly everything looked so old. (including the entire area - I felt like I was stuck on a 1970's movie set!) It was painfully obvious that many people were just barely getting by financially because when you'd walk into the house they'd have really old furniture that was falling apart, the house would be a mess, the backyard grill would be falling apart, etc. I was shocked at the conditions of the houses. It's a shame that SO many people were unable to keep up the inside of their house - most of the homes we looked at (up to a million mind you) hadn't even been painted since they had bought the house. It was quite the eye opener and I felt bad for these people. Unfortunately we've downsized already and don't have much more to give up. When we lived in Texas we had a storage unit so that may be where we'll keep our holiday/seasonal stuff.
Santa Ana - no offense to anyone but there is no way we would live in Santa Ana or any other area north of Irvine. I realize there are very nice areas all over Orange County, but many of those areas just aren't our style.
You must have been very young when you moved 8 times in 4 years! So you moved every 6 months? WHY??? This will be my 12th house. Unfortunately if you count my youth, I've lived in over 28 different cities and have bought 11 homes in the past 25 years! (That's not including all the apartments I've lived in. I guess I'm a bit of a nomad.) Unfortunately this is a move I'm not that revved up about. At my age, I wasn't expecting to have to move again and we've only been in this house for a little less than a year!
We're going to rent when we get there and take our time buying or having something built. I don't think we want to go as far south as Coto De Caza since my daughter would like to eventually move to LA. But, never say never is my motto. Ha ha ha.
Thanks again for your insight. I've read quite a few of your comments, you have much knowledge to share!
Plenty of homes that almost meet your requirements (you may have to look at something a bit smaller than 3000 sf) in the 500-650K range if you want to move to adjacent cities.
Irvine is very large and borders a lot of other cities. Try Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Tustin, Costa Mesa, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest. Eastside of Costa Mesa
Stay away from Santa Ana, Stanton (even though both cities do have very nice areas - just not worth the crap shoot).
I don't know who your realtor is, but maybe you should find someone else. There are a lot of homes with real yards.
The realtor we used in Orange County last week was very rushed because ours was a last minute visit. But he seemed to know what he was talking about and what areas would work best for us. However having said that, I may end up using a different realtor after we get there.
I agree on all the areas you mentioned, except our realtor told us to stay away from Fountain Valley. I didn't ask why.
Thanks for the lengthy answer. I am from NY so I'm pretty good on sparseness. We brought our children up in Scottsdale, AZ (LA South ) so we're pretty good about knowing what it's like to live without a basement and all. Been there - done that tons of times. Good on the whole clothes thing too. I think I own one sweater and a leather jacket. I live in Nashville, TN now - our winters are not that cold nor does the snow stick on the ground. But I will miss the autumns and springs just like I missed them when we lived in Scottsdale.
I've got the whole Mello Roos thing down now. But -- they DO sometimes ADD years to the bond. It's not uncommon for the bond to be extended for years. But I'm okay with the mellos roos depending on the situation.
I think what my biggest disappointment is the housing issue and the fact that nearly everything looked so old. (including the entire area - I felt like I was stuck on a 1970's movie set!) It was painfully obvious that many people were just barely getting by financially because when you'd walk into the house they'd have really old furniture that was falling apart, the house would be a mess, the backyard grill would be falling apart, etc. I was shocked at the conditions of the houses. It's a shame that SO many people were unable to keep up the inside of their house - most of the homes we looked at (up to a million mind you) hadn't even been painted since they had bought the house. It was quite the eye opener and I felt bad for these people. Unfortunately we've downsized already and don't have much more to give up. When we lived in Texas we had a storage unit so that may be where we'll keep our holiday/seasonal stuff.
Santa Ana - no offense to anyone but there is no way we would live in Santa Ana or any other area north of Irvine. I realize there are very nice areas all over Orange County, but many of those areas just aren't our style.
You must have been very young when you moved 8 times in 4 years! So you moved every 6 months? WHY??? This will be my 12th house. Unfortunately if you count my youth, I've lived in over 28 different cities and have bought 11 homes in the past 25 years! (That's not including all the apartments I've lived in. I guess I'm a bit of a nomad.) Unfortunately this is a move I'm not that revved up about. At my age, I wasn't expecting to have to move again and we've only been in this house for a little less than a year!
We're going to rent when we get there and take our time buying or having something built. I don't think we want to go as far south as Coto De Caza since my daughter would like to eventually move to LA. But, never say never is my motto. Ha ha ha.
Thanks again for your insight. I've read quite a few of your comments, you have much knowledge to share!
UNless yu are lloking in the millions, you will not be having a house built. No one can afford to build a custom home in OC except the very very high end. Propeerty is developed en masse and homes are built using assembly line practices. A custom built home is astronomically expensive and then has little or no more value than an similar mass produced home.
Yes we were pretty oung and the eight places were all rentals. (Starting with a room on a boat and ending with a 5 Br. house).
Given that you move so often, I am surprised that you have so much stuff. We found that moving a lot pares down your stuff, when we stayed in one place for five or none years, we tended to accumulate a lot mroe stuff. Last time we moed, it cost over $15,000 for movers.
I agree on all the areas you mentioned, except our realtor told us to stay away from Fountain Valley. I didn't ask why.
Press him on that and see if you can make him squirm. The only thing I can think of is that the northern part (north of Warner Ave) is being absorbed into Little Saigon. That doesn't mean its turned into a terrible area, but you may not want to live in Little Saigon. Of course, realtors aren't supposed to speak of such things due to Federal housing laws. I think it would be funny to make him sweat a little, trying to explain why Fountain Valley should be avoided, without telling you why. The southern part of the city, say south of Slater, is basically Huntington Beach.
UNless yu are lloking in the millions, you will not be having a house built. No one can afford to build a custom home in OC except the very very high end. Propeerty is developed en masse and homes are built using assembly line practices. A custom built home is astronomically expensive and then has little or no more value than an similar mass produced home.
Yes we were pretty oung and the eight places were all rentals. (Starting with a room on a boat and ending with a 5 Br. house).
Given that you move so often, I am surprised that you have so much stuff. We found that moving a lot pares down your stuff, when we stayed in one place for five or none years, we tended to accumulate a lot mroe stuff. Last time we moed, it cost over $15,000 for movers.
Because we both have worked in the Large corporate world, all of our housing moves (other than the ones in NY before we entered the corporate world) have been paid for by the company. They pick up our realtor fees, closing costs (on a new home) temporary housing, packing and shipping and unpacking and a sign on bonus to take care of incidentals.
Press him on that and see if you can make him squirm. The only thing I can think of is that the northern part (north of Warner Ave) is being absorbed into Little Saigon. That doesn't mean its turned into a terrible area, but you may not want to live in Little Saigon. Of course, realtors aren't supposed to speak of such things due to Federal housing laws. I think it would be funny to make him sweat a little, trying to explain why Fountain Valley should be avoided, without telling you why. The southern part of the city, say south of Slater, is basically Huntington Beach.
He actually DID mention Little Saigon and other things about other areas. But he wasn't being judgemental. He stated things matter of factly. I appreciated his candidness, sure makes looking in areas we'll feel welcomed that much easier...
Anyone moving to California should keep in mind that taxes here are very high and the state taxes just about everything. And if you are getting near retirement age, the state taxes all pensions (everything but SS). If you're older, it's really not the place to come, IMO. Most people coming into retirement age are moving out.
Anyone moving to California should keep in mind that taxes here are very high and the state taxes just about everything. And if you are getting near retirement age, the state taxes all pensions (everything but SS). If you're older, it's really not the place to come, IMO. Most people coming into retirement age are moving out.
Well we're a nifty-fifty. I'll keep my money elsewhere.
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). 
) so we're pretty good about knowing what it's like to live without a basement and all. Been there - done that tons of times. Good on the whole clothes thing too. I think I own one sweater and a leather jacket. I live in Nashville, TN now - our winters are not that cold nor does the snow stick on the ground. But I will miss the autumns and springs just like I missed them when we lived in Scottsdale.
This will be my 12th house. Unfortunately if you count my youth, I've lived in over 28 different cities and have bought 11 homes in the past 25 years! (That's not including all the apartments I've lived in. I guess I'm a bit of a nomad.) Unfortunately this is a move I'm not that revved up about. At my age, I wasn't expecting to have to move again and we've only been in this house for a little less than a year! 
