DC to OC, thoughts/opinions/advice? (Santa Ana, Irvine: real estate market, apartments, rentals)

[Taktix1]

Hello all, I've been lurking on this forum for some time now, tons of knowledge to be had here. I am 30 yrs old and my wife is 26, we just had our first son in March. I am able to work from home full time so commuting won't be an issue. What I'm trying to figure out is good places to rent while we figure out if Irvine/OC is a good place to stay planted. We're open to renting condos/SFH/TH, basically anything. We'd like to be in close proximity to the beach (<30 mins) and are looking to pay about $2000 a month for a 2BR/1BA. Of course we'd like to be in a safe area.

We own a home right now and our mortgage is approx $2300. We are financially stable with a healthy 401k and savings account, just trying to figure out the best options for my family. We figure we can rent for a few years and rethink the situation when our little one is old enough to go to school. We'd either stay in California or just move back to the DC suburbs.

Any thoughts would be great, thank you for any/all help! If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

[pacific2]

You have tons of choices throughout South County, and I would suggest looking at apartments in Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Rancho Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo, etc.

They are all within a short drive (30 minutes or less) to the beach; all are safe; and all offer condo or large complex apartment rentals for less than you would have to spend in Irvine.

I stayed at Alicante in Aliso Viejo when I first moved from Manhattan. One thing I really liked about it, was that it was very easy to meet people there. Also, it's well-maintained with spacious grounds.

You can get a short-term lease, if you want, while you explore the general area.


Alicante Apartments | Aliso Viejo, CA | Sequoia Equities - YouTube


Additionally, you might want to check:
realtor.com
padmapper.com

[goozer]

I made that move from DC to OC almost two years ago. They are definitely very different cultures. If you don't like the hyper-ambitious, two working professional family vibe of DC and are interested in a more laid back (and politically apathetic compared to DC) suburban county with great year round weather, the move might work for you. Where you choose to live here might be influenced by where you lived in DC. If you live in Ashburn or another suburban tract community, you would probably take to OC since it is similar but with much better weather. If you lived in the District itself or a close-in suburb, you might prefer North OC which has a lot of 1950s and 1960s ranch houses (and some 1930s craftsmen) that will look vaguely familiar to some older neighborhoods in DC. Cost is a wash. Both places are expensive to buy and rent. All in all, I think it was a good move for my family. There are some things I miss about DC, but I don't think I will ever be able to give up the year round climate here.

[Taktix1]

Originally Posted by goozer

I made that move from DC to OC almost two years ago. They are definitely very different cultures. If you don't like the hyper-ambitious, two working professional family vibe of DC and are interested in a more laid back (and politically apathetic compared to DC) suburban county with great year round weather, the move might work for you. Where you choose to live here might be influenced by where you lived in DC. If you live in Ashburn or another suburban tract community, you would probably take to OC since it is similar but with much better weather. If you lived in the District itself or a close-in suburb, you might prefer North OC which has a lot of 1950s and 1960s ranch houses (and some 1930s craftsmen) that will look vaguely familiar to some older neighborhoods in DC. Cost is a wash. Both places are expensive to buy and rent. All in all, I think it was a good move for my family. There are some things I miss about DC, but I don't think I will ever be able to give up the year round climate here.

Thank you pacific2 for the info. I'll take a look at those cities you mentioned.

goozer: you hit the nail on the head. i'm getting tired of the super ambitious mentality around here (nothing wrong with a little ambition but..) and since we had our first child, my wife is looking to stay home. I actually live in Ashburn right now, we own a home that we've been in for 4 years so I'm looking for something similar to Ashburn but with much nicer weather. From what you're saying it seems like I should be looking at Orange County but probably the south side?

[BuckeyeAtHeart]

We live in Aliso Viejo and it takes about 15-20 minutes to get to the beaches (depending on which one and the traffic) in Dana Point. We have been renting for almost 5 years now and pay about the price you are setting as your limit (though we are in a 3 BR/2 BA townhouse/condo). Our landlords have been great about not raising our rent each year, but I have heard that from a number of friends who are also renters. Rent prices are sort of high right now for those just entering the rental market. Lots of young families in our city (and Laguna Niguel) and good schools if you decide to stay beyond the entrance of school age for your son.

[pacific2]

There are plenty of very nice and beautiful neighborhoods in North County, but IMHO, South County offers more bang for the buck since, generally speaking, ALL and not just some, of the following can be found here:

• Good schools.
• Safe and quiet neighborhoods.
• Plenty of parks.
• Bike lanes and hiking trails.
• Good infrastructure.
• As far as I know, balanced city budgets.
• Well-maintained streets; many of which are hilly/winding.
• Well-maintained greenbelts, trees and flowery medians.
• Relatively less surface street congestion.
• Newer housing for those who want it.
• Seemingly stricter code enforcement/compliance to help maintain a nice quality of life. For example, I'm not bashing N or Central OC cities like Santa Ana, etc., and I know that times can be rough for many, but I'm glad we don't have to deal with their problem of people living in garages.
• Easy access/driving distance to the beaches without the hassle of freeway traffic.
• Higher life expectancy (Yep).

PS

I know that some people say that Irvine is in South County, but if you look at a map, it's clearly in Central OC and flat as a pancake.

[goozer]

If you like the homes, neighborhood, and layout of Ashburn, VA, I think you will love some of the towns in South OC. My favorite is probably Rancho Santa Margarita because it is at the foothills of the tallest mountain (6000'-ish) in Orange County and still only 20-30 mins from the beach. Posters like pacific2 definitely know the South OC communities well.

[Taktix1]

Thank you all for your great insight. I have officially booked my ticket to OC in November to visit and check a few places out. My brother in law just moved to an apartment in Tustin in February so he has very limited knowledge about the area. From what I'm reading here, it seems that neighborhoods of interest for me to possibly BUY in would be Aliso Viejo or RSM. Are there a lot of new construction homes in those spots? As far as RENTING I think I may just rent near my brother just to be near family.

I started a preliminary search for houses to get a feel for the real estate market in AV and it seems that for $500-600k I'm looking at a TH/SFH in the range of 2-3 BR and around 1200-1700 sqft. Does that sound right to you? I came across a neighborhood that was called City Walk in AV that seemed interesting, any thoughts on that?

For perspective, I paid $466k for our SFH we're in now in 2010 and it's about 2700 sqft, is it wishful thinking to try to replicate that (even going up as far as $550k?)

[LuvSouthOC]

Hey Taktix:

As you've noticed from an earlier posting of mine, I too came from DC (but not from the burbs). If you are coming from the deep burbs in VA, transitioning to OC, especially South OC, will be pretty easy for you. Irvine is similar to Reston in some ways, or at least in feel.

However, and perhaps this goes without saying, weather and lifestyle are so strikingly different that there is really no comparison.

I think the biggest shock for me upon returning was readjusting to the tremendous distances between things and places here.

If you can make it here, take the money and run to California.

In my case, my significant other and I had had enough of urban living.

[pacific2]

Personally, I also think that it would be a good idea to buy in Aliso Viejo; in part because of the location (adjacent to Laguna Beach), but too since properties have traditionally been undervalued due to Mello-Roos.

A lot of people had unrealistic fears about Mello-Roos, and may were willing to purchase a similar home in a other city for much more, with concomitant higher property taxes, just to escape the fees. Others actually checked the taxes, found that in many cases they were as low as about $500/year, and decided to purchase in AV.

My understanding is that AV's Mello-Roos is set to expire in 2016. That means that there are still undervalued properties on the market. Still, I doubt you will find a SFR for $600K.

Redfin.com lists the average asking price in AV as $795,000 for SFRs, and $472,500 for condos/townhouses. In examining the SFR listings, it's obvious that the true asking price is much higher, since several of those listed are actually lower-priced condos, and should have been filtered out.

You should also look at both RSM and Ladera Ranch.

As far as City Walk goes, I like it. It's all brand new, or newer construction. It's at the top of a hill and, if one is lucky, there are some fantastic views.

What's more, long range, that area has a lot of potential. Beyond the great views, there are a number of three story live/work arrangements, and many people have already set-up shop. Unfortunately, they don't seem to know how to market that gem to generate a lot of foot traffic.

It's called City Walk, but it's treated just like another slice of suburbia. *They need a bunch of East Coasters to come in, shake things up, and show them how it's done.

I didn't mean to be so long-winded, but the city has approved the construction of a luxury long-term residential hotel nearby (Initially opposed by some City Walk residents who want to keep that area very suburban).

City Walk is also within walking distance of the very successful Renaissance Sports Hotel and Club Spa. Thinking long-term, this is a huge plus.

* New Yawkers, please come!

Hope this helps.