Apr 4th, 2012
by Sylvia Walker
An IHB post from last week was about one of Irvine’s most recent housing development, Lambert Ranch. As Zovall stated in that post, a sneak preview of the homes in this new development occurred recently. Some TalkIrvine participants attended the preview and gave some interesting and differing opinions. You might want to take a look at their comments.
Today's post is another twist on this new housing development in Irvine.
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Mar 29th, 2012
by Wendy Larson
Recently I was driving through the Laguna Niguel community. I was on my way to a friend’s house, but decided to take a detour and scope out some of the neighborhoods. As I poked around several neighborhoods, I noticed the friendly atmosphere. People waved at me as I drove by. They smiled—even though I was a complete stranger. I know they didn’t recognize my car, but they still made me feel welcome. It was an amazing feeling that I haven’t felt since I was a kid growing up in the Orange Hills area. Neighbors interacted with each other—it was a novel concept. I’ve lived in Irvine for nearly fifteen years, and not once did I really know my neighbors. Most of the time I didn’t want to know my neighbors (and I’m a highly sociable gal). This got me to thinking: what is so different about Portola Springs versus this little neighborhood in Laguna Niguel? My answer was simple: The neighbors weren’t on top of each other. There may not have been a lot of space in between the houses, but there was enough comfortable distance that created privacy. Some neighborhoods in Irvine have this aura—but Portola Springs seems lacking.
I visited San Carlos Court (Overview) on the same day which reaffirmed my observations. San Carlos Court at Portola Springs is a collection of eight different residences centered around a common courtyard. The set up in theory would be cute and has the potential to be family oriented, but my primary concern was privacy. It felt too close for comfort. If anyone remembers the television show Melrose Place back in the 90s, the residents could never seem to hide secrets from each other. That’s how I imagine these places—particularly since new developments seem to be built with paper thin walls. Hopefully you’ll have mild mannered neighbors and this won’t be a problem, but I’m guessing that you’ll be able to hear every party, every dog barking, and every stereo blasting within the walls.
Floorplans
Options
Pricing
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Lambert Ranch is a new development that is being built by The New Home Company. It is located/surrounded by Portola Springs and here is a rough idea of the location (click for a bigger image):
The grand opening is on April 28th, 2012 but they had a private preview event this past weekend. There are a few members in the TI forums who visited and had some feedback:
From kalbi:
Just got back. Checked out The Grove (starting at $1.2 M). Lots are small. Approx 6000 sq ft with about 4300 sq ft in living space. Yard is practically nonexistent. The tour guide was focusing on the "courtyard" as the yard. Love the downstairs for the most part, love the kitchen island in all floor plans and the great room. Also like the casita (Plan 3 has a HUGE separate casita). Upstairs left much to be desired. All secondary bedrooms are rather small. Master bedroom itself is also rather small, bathrooms are decent size.
Also, you can see the 241 from the models as well as the landfill.
The Hills start at the low mil. Bedrooms are a tad bigger than The Grove bedrooms but again, rather small.
Overall impression, decent floor plans but would not buy there because of the price and location.
They have one rec room for the association called the "ranch house" with pool and ping pong table. No tennis courts. I guess ping pong for the asians? 
From Arman:
Having looked at 100+ model homes over the past several years in Southern California, these are some of the most impressive I've seen. The Hill was nice, but the Grove was quite unique. What's great about these model homes is that every floorplan is different from every other floorplan in the community, unlike Laguna Altura, for example, which are variations on each other, and were exactly the same as floorplans used in other Irvine Pacific developments. As a group, the homes in Lambert Ranch are quite large as well, something else that is unique in today's economy. Will these sell? Who knows. But, if someone's looking for something new and something of this size in Irvine, it's about the only option available. With Orchard Hills MIA for the foreseeable future (and certainly not opening in 2013 as was advertised on the Irvine Company website a couple years ago), I don't know what else may be in the pipeline that may offer something of similar size or quality in the central OC area.
Any thoughts from anyone else who visited?
Discuss below or on the active TI thread.
Mar 7th, 2012
by Wendy Larson
I knew from the moment I walked into the sales office and saw the floorplans, I wouldn’t like the Casero properties. The floorplans are rectangular, which created awkward angles and wasted space. The houses are geared towards children—young children, but even still I wouldn’t raise my family in any of the houses. As I was touring the properties I kept thinking about the prices. $600K+ for this? Tragic! Consider the hefty Mello Roos! You’re looking at well over $4K in taxes per year, which is tough for me to swallow. It wasn’t what I expected and I think if I had to choose between a house at Laguna Altura and Casero, I’d choose Laguna Altura. I think the builder (Standard Pacific Homes) got it wrong.
Floorplans
Pricing
Options
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Feb 29th, 2012
by Wendy Larson
Las Colinas is one of the larger (and pricier) tracts in Portola Springs. They’re currently in their final phase and have about seven properties left. I reviewed the property on a beautiful Saturday morning. Clear blue skies put me in the buying mood for some reason, so my review may have a positive twist. I noticed that the neighborhood was quiet, which was almost an eerie feeling since I’m so used to loud neighbors. The demographics in this neighborhood were different than the other Portola Springs communities. I saw the age 40+ crowd walking their dogs or jogging. I observed this very quickly since I’m used to seeing kids everywhere in the other neighborhoods. Indeed, the Las Colinas housing feels like it’s not built for families. The aura and atmosphere felt like it catered to an older, more established homeowner. I could never imagine skateboarding ramps or Hop Scotch chalk drawings on the sidewalks. Maybe that’s why this neighborhood appealed to me.
The builder of this tract is Taylor Morrison. Their motto is “homes inspired by you.” I tend to agree with their tag line. Out of all the builders that I’ve seen, Taylor Morrison is my favorite. They have hits and misses, but overall I like them the best because they’re the most practical and share my love of big bathrooms. The neighborhood does have its down side. It’s constructed like a quarter slice of a piece of a pie—literally. Depending on where your lot is positioned, you could experience street noise from Portola Parkway. Granted, there is a berm of trees and shrubs shielding you from the ugly street view, but if you get one of those loud construction trucks barreling down the street, you’re going to hear it. The outermost houses border Ridge Valley, so no matter where you go you’ll hear some street noise. Welcome to California.
Would I live here? Yes—if the house was given to me. If I had to sink money into it, I’d choose to bypass this property. It’s too big for someone like me. Even if I was married I still couldn’t imagine living in the space, unless I did a large volume of entertaining and had house guests often. Pricing ranges in the high $900,000s but you’re probably looking at well over $1 million if not higher. I’m not sure I can justify the price. I’d want a bigger lot size for that chunk of change. I’m sure it’s comparable to other properties, but I’m a dreamer and still holding out for that “gem” of a property that gives me more bang for my buck.
Pricing
Community Overview
Site Map
Floorplans
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Feb 21st, 2012
by Wendy Larson
Déjà vu! San Mateo at Stonegate is the spitting image of the Siena tract at Laguna Altura. I’m not surprised, but am a little disappointed particularly because my original assessment of Siena at Laguna Altura was overpriced. I stand by my opinion. San Mateo is significantly cheaper than Laguna Altura and if I had to choose between the two locations, Stonegate or Laguna Altura, I’d choose Stonegate. I like the neighborhood better and you’re not surrounded by freeways. San Mateo is close to an on premises soccer field and Hummingbird Park. I was impressed with the park and soccer field. Summertime would be fun in this community.
Estimated Property Taxes and Special Assessments:
Base Property Tax: 1.05% of sales price
AD Tax: $1,694 per year
CFD Tax: $1,700 per year
Other Taxes: $152 per year
Overall Effective Tax Rate: Approximately 1.7%
Siteplan
Revised Exterior Renderings
Floorplans
Pricing
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Feb 14th, 2012
by Wendy Larson
Santa Maria is the second smallest tract in the Village of Stonegate. These residences are considered townhomes. I’m going to come right out and say it: I didn’t really like these floor plans. If I had to choose between Santa Maria and Santa Clara, I’d choose Santa Clara. The Santa Maria properties are larger, but I thought that they lacked charm and were overpriced.
Estimated Property Taxes and Special Assessments:
Base Property Tax: 1.05% of sales price
AD Tax: $1,607 per year
CFD Tax: $1,700 per year
Other Taxes: $156 per year
Overall Effective Tax Rate: Approximately 1.8%
Floorplans
Pricing
Options
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