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True for some communities, since rules vary depending upon the development. Your friend was repimanded by her neighborhood HOA. There is no city-wide rule which says that the first car must be parked in the garage. Some people park two cars in the driveway and none in the garage.
Also, FWIW, street parking, outside of a development, is also almost nonexistent in Aliso. That helps with traffic flow. This rule was probably put into place by the City of Aliso Viejo (Safety, Health, Infrastructure, & Finance); a separate entity from the AV HOA.
For the most part, Aliso's city-wide HOA does not concern itself with matters beyond the maintenance and beautification of tress, parks, slopes, and medians; plus recreation.
Noted! I was not even aware that RSM had neighborhood HOAs, except for apartments/condos, but I looked it up and they do. We aren't in one, obviously (or I would have known), but our particular regulations about parking, fences, paint colors, etc., are straight from the city-wide HOA.
I would say Huntington Beach would suit your needs quite well. We moved from Bay Area three years ago (originally from Chicago's North Shore). Hb is actually very family friendly with great schools and awesome beach weather. HB is only partyville near downtown. Most locals stay away from downtown during summer weekend and go to the state beaches versus city beach on the summer weekends.We live in SeaCliff area and love it. Tons of kids playing all over the neighborhood and biking/walking distance to Seacliff elem. My kids go to HB high and are high achievers doing quite well. We have one already graduated from HB High and is now at a highly ranked California Univ. The High school has wonderful programs including a nationally ranked MUN program that both my girls have been heavily involved in.The academy of Performing Arts is a Charter program within HB High that my girls have done (Dance & Theater) You have to audition for the program. The MMET guild kids get recruited heavily into USC since its such and outstanding program. The water polo, baseball, volleyball, surfing teams also are top notch.Its a big school but doesn't seem that way with all the different programs. My kids take all honors/Ap classes , so usually with the same bunches of kids. Also my kids have done the Junior life guard program during summer and that is amazing as well. The Hopeview/Mesa View school areas are less expensive and non gated, but very nice place to live as well. Several friends live off Talbert/Springdale and really love it. Also look into Huntington Harbor marine view school area and Brightwater. Those schools are zoned to Marina high school and is a good school too. You can even audition for APA and come after school to do your performing Arts if kids go to Marina. Lots of people also love South HB Sowers middle/ Edison High Adams/ Magnolia area. I can't stress enough that HB is really family friendly and is a great place to be. My teenagers adore living here and have made such good friends with very involved parents.There are lots of homes in your price range that would work and even give you a bit of a yard and maybe a pool. Good luck with your move your going to love Ca weather.
I would say Huntington Beach would suit your needs quite well. We moved from Bay Area three years ago (originally from Chicago's North Shore). Hb is actually very family friendly with great schools and awesome beach weather. HB is only partyville near downtown. Most locals stay away from downtown during summer weekend and go to the state beaches versus city beach on the summer weekends.We live in SeaCliff area and love it. Tons of kids playing all over the neighborhood and biking/walking distance to Seacliff elem. My kids go to HB high and are high achievers doing quite well. We have one already graduated from HB High and is now at a highly ranked California Univ. The High school has wonderful programs including a nationally ranked MUN program that both my girls have been heavily involved in.The academy of Performing Arts is a Charter program within HB High that my girls have done (Dance & Theater) You have to audition for the program. The MMET guild kids get recruited heavily into USC since its such and outstanding program. The water polo, baseball, volleyball, surfing teams also are top notch.Its a big school but doesn't seem that way with all the different programs. My kids take all honors/Ap classes , so usually with the same bunches of kids. Also my kids have done the Junior life guard program during summer and that is amazing as well. The Hopeview/Mesa View school areas are less expensive and non gated, but very nice place to live as well. Several friends live off Talbert/Springdale and really love it. Also look into Huntington Harbor marine view school area and Brightwater. Those schools are zoned to Marina high school and is a good school too. You can even audition for APA and come after school to do your performing Arts if kids go to Marina. Lots of people also love South HB Sowers middle/ Edison High Adams/ Magnolia area. I can't stress enough that HB is really family friendly and is a great place to be. My teenagers adore living here and have made such good friends with very involved parents.There are lots of homes in your price range that would work and even give you a bit of a yard and maybe a pool. Good luck with your move your going to love Ca weather.
@4seasons67: thank you so much for the details! this is really helpful. I planned to visit the city at least a couple of times before purchasing, and a couple of areas you mentioned (or more) will be on my list. Your Seacliff area seems great, best HS in the city, close (enough) to the beach, close to the Central Park (look like a great park from Google Map). Probably will walk around the Edison high / Sowers middle area too. I think I will narrow down to 2-3 areas in HB, and 2-3 areas in Irvine (that borders Tustin), and start searching from there. Appreciate the help!
It totally depends, on the specific city and the specific development within the city. Many houses in OC don't have an HOA at all. Most of the newer ones do. Condos have additional fees in addition to any the city might impose.
In the links posted just above, for instance, the first house has a $265/mo. HOA fee; the second apparently doesn't have one. My city, Rancho Santa Margarita, has a flat $55/mo HOA for all residences. So you need to take that on a case by case basis.
As for how draconian they are, that differs as well. My city is pretty lax and most of the rules have to do with the inevitable fact that houses are very close together and we need to be considerate of our neighbors. So, for instance, you need approval of the HOA and all of your immediate neighbors if you want to put a tall play structure in the back yard that will be visible from the other yards. (Our neighbors did this, and we all signed off because it didn't bother us, so they got their play structure). And you can't park RVs on the street for more than one night, because they use up a lot of parking that is really necessary for others.
I know some cities are more strict. RSM doesn't care if you park on your driveway or on the street and never use your garage. Aliso Viejo says your first car MUST be parked in the garage; only if you already have a car in the garage can you park another on the driveway. My friends got tattled on for breaking this rule. So again, it depends. Something to ask the realtor and neighbors about when looking at homes.
Thanks for the information! I think common sense stuff, such as re. RV, are great. No problem with that. We are easy going people, but where I live, when they start pestering me when I bought out my trash bins at 3:30pm the day before, instead of after 5pm, and sent me a photo of my "violation", I start to get annoyed. We used to not be allowed to install solar panels on our own roof either, because apparently it "affected" the appearance of the block. Then after certain "younger" members of the neighborhood complained how idiotic these rules were and threatened to write an article about it, they dropped the ban. I will check the specific rule very carefully when we look at the house.
True for some communities, since rules vary depending upon the development. Your friend was repimanded by her neighborhood HOA. There is no city-wide rule which says that the first car must be parked in the garage. Some people park two cars in the driveway and none in the garage.
Also, FWIW, street parking, outside of a development, is also almost nonexistent in Aliso. That helps with traffic flow. This rule was probably put into place by the City of Aliso Viejo (Safety, Health, Infrastructure, Traffic, & Finance); a separate entity from the AV HOA.
For the most part, Aliso's city-wide HOA does not concern itself with matters beyond the maintenance and beautification of tress, parks, slopes, and medians; plus recreation.
"For the most part, Aliso's city-wide HOA does not concern itself with matters beyond the maintenance and beautification of tress, parks, slopes, and medians; plus recreation."
"For the most part, Aliso's city-wide HOA does not concern itself with matters beyond the maintenance and beautification of tress, parks, slopes, and medians; plus recreation."
==> this is what I am looking for!!
In that case, you might want to add Aliso Viejo to your list of possibilities. Schools are good, streets are safe, parks are everywhere, the budget is balanced, and the beach is a short drive away.
@4seasons67: thank you so much for the details! this is really helpful. I planned to visit the city at least a couple of times before purchasing, and a couple of areas you mentioned (or more) will be on my list. Your Seacliff area seems great, best HS in the city, close (enough) to the beach, close to the Central Park (look like a great park from Google Map). Probably will walk around the Edison high / Sowers middle area too. I think I will narrow down to 2-3 areas in HB, and 2-3 areas in Irvine (that borders Tustin), and start searching from there. Appreciate the help!
Wish I saw this before I researched and posted all of those other homes/areas for you to check out, oh well, I tried! Guess you missed it.
Wish I saw this before I researched and posted all of those other homes/areas for you to check out, oh well, I tried! Guess you missed it.
Cheers, and best of luck.
Sorry if I offended you? I came to the forum asking for opinions. Posted my wishlist earlier, and based on what you guys indicated and what I read elsewhere, Huntington Beach and Irvine are the good fits. I did not know about the advantages of those two cities before engaging you guys, so I'm not sure how you could "saw this"? I really appreciate the redfin list, nothing wrong with them, other than they are a bit more south than I'd like.
"For the most part, Aliso's city-wide HOA does not concern itself with matters beyond the maintenance and beautification of tress, parks, slopes, and medians; plus recreation."
==> this is what I am looking for!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by vietlam
Sorry if I offended you? I came to the forum asking for opinions. Posted my wishlist earlier, and based on what you guys indicated and what I read elsewhere, Huntington Beach and Irvine are the good fits. I did not know about the advantages of those two cities before engaging you guys, so I'm not sure how you could "saw this"? I really appreciate the redfin list, nothing wrong with them, other than they are a bit more south than I'd like.
Just so that you know, Aliso Viejo is also "south," as in South County.
All the places you are looking are going to be acceptable, just a matter of preference at this point. A few points (opinions?), HB is a great city but it is a bit like Texas in that people either love or hate the city. Many think it is the greatest place on earth and proudly fly their "Surf City" flags from their houses. Others think it is Corona or Stanton By The Sea (less desirable areas). It is preference. I don't like it because it feels flat, dry, older ranch homes, 50's development with lots of pink block walls running along every city street. Just my opinion and worth absolutely nothing. It does have some very nice neighborhoods, near the beach but away from Main Street (town center where many bars are located). HB pricing will of course increase exponentially as you are closer to the sea breezes than if you are up by Little Saigon.
HB is generally a blue collar to white entry-level populated community. A lot of the service industry (vet techs, plumbers, electricians, etc.) are here and in nearby Costa Mesa because there are large areas of 4-plex type apartments making the area more affordable than some others (talking to you, Newport Beach!).
Aliso Viejo is a nice city also. Yes, it is considered "South County," but it is VERY easy access to the toll road which is a direct 10 minute drive to where it meets the 405 in Fountain Valley which is immediately adjacent to "Little Saigon" (Westminster/Garden Grove). Aliso Viejo (Uh-Lease-Oh:Vee-ay-ho for the non Spanish aware, lol) has many very nice houses, especially around the Laguna Audobon neighborhoods, but there are areas of very dense housing as well (large corporate apartment complexes/condos). The shopping is plentiful and everything is within falling distance: Costco, Target, Barnes&Nobles, Lowe's, Etc.). It might be the one south county city that gives you rapid access to north OC. The Newport Beach homes near the toll road would do the same but give you both better sea breezes and a tonier address (i.e.- property value increase over time).
Irvine is the largest city in O.C. It has the largest amount of land mass, and when built out will have the largest population. It has many different types of housing and shopping areas arranged in "clusters." Irvine was built as the original master-planned community in the very early 1970's. It is a city filled with microcosm neighborhoods. Northpark will have a mix of single fam, townhouse, apartments, and a shopping center with grocery/drug/fast food/gas station/etc. Same with Westpark, and University Village, and Portola, and every other cloistered Irvine neighborhood. They are all clean and safe, they are all convenient. Except for the styles of homes based on the decade in which they were built, they are all kinda redundant and ubiquitous. Irvine also has a highly educated and diverse population of mainly white/Asian/middle-easter or Persian, and a growing community of blacks. However, as the city builds out, I find it takes longer and longer to get from different parts of it to others. If you surface-street it, you could take 45 minute driving from UCI to Crean High School! Irvine offers many very highly rated schools and is known for that. Their University High School is often times one of the best public schools in the nation and sends a very high percentage of its graduates to Ivy League colleges.
Anyhow, I just offer these thoughts up. They are my opinion only, and I'm sure others who love areas I am less fond of will vigorously defend their city/preferences, and that is fine. I only offer my opinion and observations because you asked, and hopefully it will just add to your process.
Good luck, I am sure you will find a place in any of these cities that you will enjoy and love.
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