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Those towns also have some of the lowest unemployment rates in Orange County too.
Area Name Rate
Foothill Ranch CDP 2.8%
Coto de Caza CDP 3.7%
Las Flores CDP 4.2%
Aliso Viejo CDP 4.6% Portola Hills CDP 4.7%
Los Alamitos city 4.8%
Villa Park city 4.9%
Rossmoor CDP 5.3%
Newport Beach city 5.4% Rancho Santa Margarita city 5.5%
Tustin Foothills CDP 5.5%
Yorba Linda city 5.7%
Brea city 5.9%
Lake Forest city 6.0%
Dana Point city 6.2%
Mission Viejo city 6.2%
Laguna Beach city 6.3%
Seal Beach city 6.3%
Irvine city 6.5%
Laguna Niguel city 6.7%
Huntington Beach city 7.0%
San Clemente city 7.0%
Fountain Valley city 7.2%
Laguna Hills city 7.3%
San Juan Capistrano city 7.6%
Costa Mesa city 7.7%
Placentia city 7.7%
Orange city 7.9%
Tustin city 8.5%
Orange County 8.6%
Cypress city 9.1%
La Palma city 9.5%
Fullerton city 9.6%
Westminster city 9.6%
La Habra city 9.7%
Buena Park city 10.7%
Garden Grove city 10.7%
Anaheim city 11.0%
Laguna Woods city 11.8%
Santa Ana city 13.6%
Stanton city 13.8%
Distressed meaning underwater or behind on their payments? I can totally see the first one, but maybe not the second given employment numbers in those areas
Distressed meaning underwater or behind on their payments? I can totally see the first one, but maybe not the second given employment numbers in those areas
% of homes for sale that are distressed (short sale, foreclosure etc) i.e. 70%+ of homes for sale in Portola Hills are either a short sale or foreclosure etc.
I know this is terrible to ask, but can good bargains be had in ladera ranch? Are their good deals? I saw one house that was sold for 1,500,000 or was it going for 1,600,000 back in 2005 and it has been reduced a few times in the last 2 yrs, it is now listed at 899,000.
I bet taxes are high, since it's a large home in a gated community. But I'm really concerned about buying...
Can anyone please tell me some things I should know about, worried about etc
Would I be able to get a good mortgage rate?
I know they nicknamed ladera, foreclosure ranch.
I know this is terrible to ask, but can good bargains be had in ladera ranch? Are their good deals? I saw one house that was sold for 1,500,000 or was it going for 1,600,000 back in 2005 and it has been reduced a few times in the last 2 yrs, it is now listed at 899,000.
I bet taxes are high, since it's a large home in a gated community. But I'm really concerned about buying...
Can anyone please tell me some things I should know about, worried about etc
Would I be able to get a good mortgage rate?
I know they nicknamed ladera, foreclosure ranch.
Theoretically, there is no such thing as a bargain if the price is an established equilibrium based on supply and demand.
Are you really asking if it is a good time to buy?
I think those newer areas were hit very hard by the bubble. Too much inventory. A beautiful new 4500 sq. ft house sounds great until you realize that it takes 45 minutes from the El Toro Y to get home. That area was way, way overpriced. Big houses on tiny lots in the boonies. They're pretty to look at, though.
LR has dropped about 40% from what I can see. Some places have really high mello roos but others seem reasonable. The lowest MR I've seen is about $1700 per year. I think you should be able to find something that will be equivalent or better than renting. A friend bought there a little while ago and he bought a 2 story 1400 sq ft townhome, 2 master bdms, 2.5 baths, nicely upgraded (hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, etc) and his total monthly payment is about $2150 (hoa, taxes, mr, mortgage). Not bad in my opinion. And no, he isn't planning on moving anytime soon. I'm currently looking in that area as well.
I'm not from Cali and therefore I'm not that familiar with the area over all but is LR really that far out in the boonies? I'm interested in homes in Convenent hills area and also in portola hills, it's in Irvine, rt?
I don't mind the cookie cutter exterior of the houses side by side. I want something brand new or close to new, luxuries & spacious.
Since I'm not a local, worried about the hidden costs like MR etc
I'm not from Cali and therefore I'm not that familiar with the area over all but is LR really that far out in the boonies? I'm interested in homes in Convenent hills area and also in portola hills, it's in Irvine, rt?
I don't mind the cookie cutter exterior of the houses side by side. I want something brand new or close to new, luxuries & spacious.
Since I'm not a local, worried about the hidden costs like MR etc
Well interest rates are low so that's a good thing.
Some people think housing prices will continue to fall. However, if you are planning on being there awhile, the paper loss might not exceed the rent loss if you compared buying to renting for a couple years assuming houses continue to fall (and if rates stay low). There's a certain niceness to stability and with kids you wouldn't have to move twice. (We bought one year ago in Las Flores and we have four school aged kids so we wanted the stability vs the "possibility" we'd come out slightly ahead if we rented for a year or two.)
It is not out in the boonies. (What was out in the boonies was Mission Viejo in the 1960s when it was built and look how that turned out.)
It is not cookie cutter. Just about every home is completely different, different model, different plan, different elevation, different landscaping, reversed/not reversed, different builders on different streets. Nobody every things "Geez, our home looks just like the Yamasaki's down the street...." Everything is beautiful and landscaped and cared for. I personally love the roundabouts.
I am not familiar with Covenant Hills but the nothern neighborhoods do seem to have relatively small lots, like 6500 sqft or less for most of the lots. Seems like there are a lot of cars parked on the streets - sort of higher density, lots of SUVs and not a lot of curb space relative to the number of cars. And even though many homes have three car garages, many are tandem, one stall is to cars deep, so few people park two cars in that two car stall.
Ladera is five minutes from the 5 freeway on Crown Valley. It has every amenity imaginable though the HOA for homes is $200/month. Not sure if Covenant Hills has higher HOA??? It is a 100% total family community. Good schools, sports, safe, shopping, all geared for families. Like Las Flores it is unincorporated - it isn't in a city like RSM or LN or MV. I think OC Sheriff provides police and OC Fire provides fire and emergency services. We had an offer on one there (I think it was a REO) but then a standard sale became available at the end of a flat cul de sac in Las Flores so we bought in Las Flores (only $100/month HOA too) and our 15 year fixed rate was 3.675%.
Yuo can get Mello Roos info from the OC Tax assesor office (it's easy online). One thing you don't get is the MR bond maturity date. You have to use 1940s technology and actually telephone someone to get that. So don't just focus on the MR dollar amount; factor in the expiration. It might be better to buy a home with a larger MR that expires sooner.
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