Ashton Green – Another Turtle Ridge Flip Gone Bad – UPDATE #3

Originally posted on September 30, 2006

Address: 235 Danbook, Irvine, CA 92603 (Turtle Ridge)
Plan: 1155 sq ft – 2/2.5
MLS: P537174 DOM: 18
Sale History: 04/21/2006: $625,000
Current Price: $619,000

The interesting thing here is that they listed it for less than what they purchased it only 5 months ago! They’ll have to go lower if they want it to move. This plan 2 has PLENTLY of direct competition:

  • 205 Coral Rose – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $619,000 – 57 DOM
  • 121 Jadestone – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $619,000 – 3 DOM
  • 250 Coral Rose – Plan 2 – 1155 sq ft – $619,000 – 80 DOM (~125 DOM Before)
  • 266 Coral Rose – Plan 2 – 1155 sq ft – $625,000 – 183 DOM
  • 127 Jadestone – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $625,000 – 123 DOM (~38 DOM Before)
  • 207 Danbrook – Plan 3 – 1185 sq ft – $639,000 – 44 DOM (~160 DOM Before)

Factoring in an estimated 6% to be paid out in commissions, the owner will be in the hole for at least $43,000. OUCH!

UPDATE #1 – October 31, 2006

I just noticed that the price on this home was reduced on 10/24 to $612,500. I don’t know if the lower price will bring in (m)any offers considering the competition has also lowered their prices (notice that some have played the relist game):

  • 205 Coral Rose – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $599,000 – 88 DOM
  • 121 Jadestone – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $609,000 – 34 DOM
  • 250 Coral Rose – Plan 2 – 1155 sq ft – $619,000 – 111 DOM (~125 DOM Before)
  • 266 Coral Rose – Plan 2 – 1155 sq ft – $615,000 – 29 DOM (~188 DOM Before)
  • 127 Jadestone – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $615,000 – 25 DOM (~170 DOM Before)
  • 207 Danbrook – Plan 3 – 1185 sq ft – SALE PENDING $639,000 SOLD at $610,000 – 56 DOM (~160 DOM Before)

How low could these go? Many of these sellers have a lot of wiggle room since their homes appreciated so much since they’ve bought. But our featured flipper at 235 Danbrook unfortunately does not have that luxury. If they sell at the current asking price, their loss including 6% in selling costs will be almost $50,000!

UPDATE #2 – November 15, 2006

We’ve got another price reduction on this home. On 11/13 the price was reduced to $599,000. The pricing by the competition is still the same as the last update. After 6% in selling costs, a sale at $599,000 will cause the flippers to lose almost $62,000! RiDiCuLouS!

UPDATE #3 – August 14, 2007

Well, 235 Danbrook finally sold about 8 months later on 5/21/2007 for $604,000. The loss was about $57,000 (assuming 6% in selling costs).

Here’s what else is going on in the tract:

  • 110 Jadestone – Plan 4 – 1200 sq ft – $578,000 – 2 DOM
  • 239 Coral Rose – Plan 3 – 1181 sq ft – $580,000 – 73 DOM
  • 240 Coral Rose – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $588,000 – 29 DOM
  • 127 Jadestone – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $589,000 – 146 (+119 +41 + 129 + 42) DOM

    • Original asking price was $695,000

  • 234 Coral Rose – Plan 2 – 1181 sq ft – $594,000 – 193 DOM
  • 231 Danbrook – Plan 4 – 1200 sq ft – $599,000 – 82 (+180) DOM
  • 217 Danbrook – Plan 2 – 1155 sq ft – $599,000 – 22 DOM
  • 227 Coral Rose – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $610,000 – 17 (+153) DOM
  • 105 Coral Rose – Plan 4 – 1181 sq ft – $619,000 – 109 DOM
  • 100 Coral Rose – Plan 2 – 1155 sq ft – $629,000 – 13 DOM
  • 107 Coral Rose – Plan 3 – 1181 sq ft – $648,000 – 21 DOM
  • 116 Jadestone – Plan 2 – 1155 sq ft – $659,000 – 109 DOM
  • 145 Danbrook – Plan 7 – 1400 sq ft – $659,900 – 39 (+379) DOM

    • Original asking price was $804,995

  • 226 Coral Rose – Plan 7 – 1400 sq ft – $669,000 – 49 (+92) DOM
  • 103 Jadestone – Plan 5 – 1324 sq ft – $675,000 – 120 DOM
  • 142 Coral Rose – Plan 7A – 1445 sq ft – $679,000 – 22 DOM
  • 126 Coral Rose – Plan 7A – 1445 sq ft – $689,000 – 120 (+27) DOM
  • 129 Jadestone – Plan 5 – 1500 sq ft – $729,000 – 25 DOM

Yes, there really are 18 properties on the market in this complex. I believe all the Plan information above is correct, although some of the square footage numbers are suspect.
{adsense}
The description for 129 Jadestone says: “Rarely on the market, largest floorplan with premium corner location. Highly upgraded with travertine flooring, crown mouldings, gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite counters, back splash, custom paint and large master bedroom with gorgeous master bath. Enjoy the many amenities which include pool, spa, BBQ, hiking trails and parks. Model perfect!

The Plan 5 is the only 3 bedroom and it is 1324 sq ft (not 1500) and it is not the largest. Hopefully the agent corrects this information soon.

Looking at the listings, I noticed that there are a few that continue to chase the market down. In this market, you really need to price aggressively if you want to sell quickly.

72 thoughts on “Ashton Green – Another Turtle Ridge Flip Gone Bad – UPDATE #3

  1. Anon

    This is a great website. Keep up the hard work. Information like this will help guide people through the remaining 2-3 life of this real estate crash. It’s amazing to me how many people are still unaware of the sudden turn in the market.
    —–

  2. steven

    Nice blog. Glad to read you got out in time. Probably 2 or more years before a realistic re-entry point. I expect prices to return, at a minimum, to 2002 levels, which correlates to an approximate 50% decline. If things go badly, perhaps back to 2000 price levels. I personally buy trustee sale foreclosures at the county court house. (not in O.C.). I’ve been told by other very experienced foreclosure buyers that they are facing net-net losses of $35,000 to $50,000 per house on properties they bought earlier this year. So it’s not just flippers getting burned, but also those who have been regarded in the past as the most sophisticated speculators. Good Luck.

  3. rerip2007

    “I’ve been told by other very experienced foreclosure buyers that they are facing net-net losses of $35,000 to $50,000 per house on properties they bought earlier this year. ”

    That’s interesting. Steven, please keep us informed if you have further conversations with these sophisticated speculators that deal with foreclosures.

    The most interesting thing about Ashton Green is the 207 Danbrook which went “sales pending” at the highest price on that list. Is it special? Or is it another cash-back-scam sale?

  4. zovall

    I’ve just updated the post with the actual sales price for 207 Danbrook. It closed at $610k on 10/30 according to MLS. The agent who entered the Pending information did not put in the correct Pending price (pretty common actually).

  5. Neil

    Zovall,

    Great site. I’m referring a friend who would like to buy in ~2 years to your site. Hopefully he reads up!

    I find it interesting that a property listed at $639k went for $610k. Why, that’s almost the old fashioned norm (4% to 7% below asking price. That must be making the other sellers a tad nervous. 200+ days on market must also hurt the flipper profits. πŸ˜‰

    Neil

  6. rerip2007

    1185 sqft CONdo for $325? Come on now. These CONdo have NO view, NO space, and some HOA with possibly M-R. I’d pay about $200,000…

    Actually, i wouldnt even pay $200,000 for a lousy CONdo with 2 bedrooms. What a joke that this house is offered at $600K.

    Keep that lousy CONdo.

  7. Irvinite

    This is ridiculous. You go to Quail Hill and they have this exact neighbrohood as a duplicate and it is called Jasmine instead of Ashton Green. You can get this same floorplan for 520,000s !

  8. Bill Jones

    I can’t get over how small these houses are in relation to their price! They are way too small for a family, but only a two paycheck family could afford to buy one. Also, at least from the pictures posted, they look UGLY.

    Who wants to pay $600K for a SMALL UGLY house?

    Are there recreational amenities in the complex? At least if there is a pool or small park there would be somewhere to go when you got tired of your small ugly house.

  9. lowrydr310

    So would a lot of people. The problem we’re facing in the near future is going to be finding buyers who can get loans. That may require a $65,000 down payment, a clean credit history, and a normal debt to income ratio. How many people can meet those requirements?

    The nice thing about Southern California is that there is more than just a handful of people who can meet those qualifications. Things will get very interesting when there are twice as many homes for sale as there are people who are able to buy them.

  10. EvaLSeraphim

    I’m up to my ears in work this week, but I’m wondering if some enterprising contributor could please tell us how many of those listings are arising near the same time as a mortgage interest rate reset?

  11. Janet

    Wow.

    They managed to get $522 psf.

    Unbelievable.

    Don’t people know about this important metric?

    Considering it’s not an SFR, makes it even more absurd.

  12. Mr Vincent

    648k for 1181 sq ft in todays market?

    Are there still people stupid enough to pay that price?

    These look like 300k condos to me.

  13. No_Such_Reality

    Anybody have the stats on how many condos/homes are in the Aston Greene development?

    I was shocked looking at the list, they’re almost all 2 bedroom. What’s with the preponderance of 2Bd developments lately? Does TIC think the retirees in woodbridge will sell their SFR to move into one of these? That there is a mass of single professionals that want to tie themselves to a location witha glorified apartment?

  14. Darin

    I clicked on ‘Touched my heart’. This is the kind of update that gives me warm fuzzies, partly because we get to see some great follow up. Mostly, it’s because I’m watching this 10+ seller game of chicken. And from an economic theory standpoint, it’s a great case study in market behavior.

  15. NanoWest

    Dear Zovall

    Thank you for the comment “……..In this market, you really need to price aggressively if you want to sell quickly………”

    Look at the situation right now…..there are about 600 condos on the market and there are about 45 buyers out looking. How is a seller going to get the attention of a buyer….cookies at an open house?…….reduce the price by .0001 %?, offer a flat screen tv worth .00001% of the selling price?.

    Sellers better get serious if they want to sell and can afford to do it. I understand that a lot of people purchased between 2002 and 2006 and they are stuck because they paid way to much for there homes……wait it out, prices will return in about 10 years.

    For those that purchased before 2000 and have a lot of room for price reductions, now is the time…..if you wait it is only going to get worse.

  16. Jasper

    IRVINITE great point, no difference between Quail and Turtle just like no difference between Riverside and Newport Beach….2 miles away from Pelican Hill mansions (quail 2 miles from Kohls), 3 miles from Crystal Cove mansions (Quail 3 miles to Big Lots) and 10 degrees cooler . Do some analysis all Turtle properties sell at a premium to Quail. Let me know when you get tired of kicking yourself for not buying in Turtle when it opened and making 100% profit…and be happy with your Ladera condo I hear they have a great chilis up there…

  17. FamilyGuy

    This condo was orignally listed for $619k, sometime between April and September of 2006 and was finally sold 5/21/07 for $604k.

    There’s a couple of negatives here:

    1. DOM ( +/- 8 months) was pretty long

    2. Seller (flipper) got burned by having to sell for less than they paid AND pay carrying costs for a long time

    BUT………………………….

    1. It did end up selling despite multiple competing priorities

    2. The final sale price was only 3.4% below the original asking price, which is not that much!!!!

    I know I’ll get blasted for this, but I interpret this as relatively encouraging.

  18. john

    I love the pan 3’s in Ashton Green (two available).
    They have large balconys and high ceilings.
    The plan 2’s are OK, but they dont have high ceilings or large balconys.

    I am planning on checking out the open houses this weekend.
    Prices in this community have really dropped.

    Quail Hill is not even comparable to Ashton Green.

    Quail Hill = close to the 405
    Ashton Green = close to Newport Coast & the beach

  19. No_Such_Reality

    “Quail Hill = close to the 405
    Ashton Green = close to newport coast and crystal cove beach (1 mile)”

    Reality, you’re six miles from Crystal Cove. You’re on the backside of the ridge sitting on top of the old trash dump and you’re 100 yards from the 73.

  20. Mr Vincent

    “2. The final sale price was only 3.4% below the original asking price, which is not that much!!!!

    I know I’ll get blasted for this, but I interpret this as relatively encouraging. ”

    I am still seeing houses in Pasadena sell for ultra bubble amounts, so its not just in Irvine.

    In the last real estate bubble, people were still buying at bubble prices right up until the end. The number of transactions declined, but there were still some suckers left.

    The same thing is happening here.

  21. NanoWest

    Family Guy,

    Your post fair and very factual.

    As you know I recomend drastic price reduction if the seller wants out in a short period of time……less than 3 months. If you wait long enough someone will purchase…..its only a matter of time. With the tightening of credit that is occruing, the wait will get longer and longer. For those that are “holding” the home, the hard part is figuring out if it would be better to lower the price and get our or stay and pay the holding cost……

  22. john

    “Reality, you’re six miles from Crystal Cove. You’re on the backside of the ridge sitting on top of the old trash dump and you’re 100 yards from the 73.”

    So you live in Quail hill …. bwahahahahahahahaha
    Have fun at the over crowded Spectrum because that is all you have.

    IMO, Turtle Ridge is such a great location. Even if it is ~6miles or so from the beach, that sure is a lot closer then Quail Hill is to the beach. How can anyone actually say Turtle Ridge is not a great location? Hopefully, I will be able to move there someday. Crystal Cove is one of my favorite beaches.

  23. Sue

    Fed Bailouts and the Bubble Boys

    http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/aug/12/fed_bailouts_and_the_bubble_boys

    One final point: the hedge fund crew may try to take the homeowners hostage, arguing that the only way to keep millions of low and moderate income homeowners from being thrown out on street is to bailout the hedge funds. This is not true. Congress can just pass legislation that allows homeowners who default to remain in their house as renters, as long as they pay the fair market rent (as determined by an independent appraisal) for their home.

  24. American-Screamer

    Lordy, Turtle Ridge is better than Quail Hill…blah, blah, blah. Both of you need to put down the Kool-Aida and back away from the bar. THE PRICES ARE STILL INFLATED…REPEAT…THE PRICES ARE STILL INFLATED. Crystal Cove or not. Sheesh.

  25. lendingmaestro

    Rate update for the morning:

    Well, today started off with me having to tell a client that he totally owned himself. His 5.625% 5/1 ARM adjusts in October. His profile looks good. 655k loan amount 950k value. 738 FICO full DOC.

    His rate on a new 5/1 ARM……..7.25% with no discount fee. This equates to an $887 a month increase in payment. They are already stretched thin as his wife is getting ready to take maternity leave. If he doesn’t refi, his rate will adjust to LIBOR + 3%. Ouch.

    I was watching 5 blubbering bafoons on CNBC bickering back and forth about what fannie and freddie should do. These people have no idea of how bad it is on the front lines.

  26. Steve

    Dear Mr/Ms. State the Obvious
    “Backside of a ridge” classic description, you should tell the people on Linda Isle what kind of mistake they made, “on an island with that salty water all around with that big wooden structure protruding from their land into the water ” or tell the owners in malibu their ocean front house is on a cliff far away from the 101 and 405

    Quail Hill is on a Hill

    Balboa Pennisula is on a Pennisula…

    East Bluff is on a Bluff…

  27. LAEF2

    The fraud o meter bliped on this one. Sold for over asking with similar compatition on the market for 5K less?

    Smells like Jenae and friends at work.

    Cash back at closing and back into the REO pile.

    God Damn FBI where the F#$K are you!!!!

  28. lendingmaestro

    Irony:

    I was reading this article from cnnmoney and I almost spat out my tea when I saw the giant advertisement. In the middle of an article about how bad foredlosures are getting, there is a giant quicken loans ad that says…”I want a 300,000 mortgage for $875 a month.”

    What is this world coming to, I ask?

  29. Mr Vincent

    “His 5.625% 5/1 ARM adjusts in October.”

    October! The month that may bring the REAL watershed event for housing and the stock market.

    I will go out on a limb and say that the DOW will be under 10k after October, and the housing crash will be much worse than it is now.

  30. CapitalismWorks

    Actually Quail Hill is less than one mile from Shady Canyon, west of the 405, has more convenient access to freeways (unless you like paying the $4 dollar toll on the 73 evertime you want to go somewhere). In Quail Hill you can walk to restaurants and shopping, in Turtle Ridge you can walk to Mariners church. Turtle Ridge is not, and never will be Newport Beach/Newport Coast. Hell, Beverly Hills is pretty close to South Central, doesn’t seem to be helping property values much.

  31. ellen

    Retired people won’t be selling their homes and move into a two story condo, or two story anything. Retired people think about being able to walk up stairs, being close to their doctors, shopping, and children. Retired people don’t care anything about swimming pools, spas, or a workout room. Just go on a cruise and you see what I mean.

    The only people that will be buying condos and homes, are speculators/investors looking for profitable rental property to rent to the “now generation.”. The 30’s generation are the “want it now.” They have it now, CC debt, plasma TV’s, car payments, and vacations every six months. Ooops, I forgot about the divorce rate of 50% and money problems are most often the reason for divorce. Got that going on here in the neighborhood, 8 homes on the market and 4 of them are getting a divorce.

  32. Aerogell

    Yes…so far not a single stone hasn’t been turned upside down: consumer retail, financials, discretionary product companies, etc.

    The surprising thing is that the job market has been strong but for how long?

  33. awgee

    I am at a loss to see how being close to either Newport Coast or Newport Beach would be considered a positive.

  34. SawItComing

    I think the job market is already in serious trouble, but just like R/E nobody realizes (or wants to acknowledge) it.

    In my area I know a few contractors, boat dealers, window manufacturers, office furniture mfgrs, building supply managers, and a dentist who say they are as slow as they have ever been. The dentist is busy, but collecting is terrible so se has resorted to COD for most customers w/o insurance. The window guy has gone from 115 employees to 12. Funniest of all is only the dentist thinks he is slow due to the housing slowdown; everyone else has other reasons!

    Yet inspite of all of this a house on my stree just raised their price by 135k after almost 2 years on the market!

  35. mino2126

    LendingMaestro

    Did you see where IndyMac pulled all Alt-A Loans? Even went as far as saying that if things don’t shape up they will only look at long-term strategic investments.

  36. Matt

    “According to the property records, there is no mortgage on the property, so this seller can cling to his WTF asking price for all eternity”

    Where do you get this info without going to the County Recorders’ Office??? Are there any subscription services where you can search mortgage liens by address? Thanks!

  37. Maverick

    If that’s the case, then you probably shouldn’t be living in the OC. There are much cheaper alternatives inland or out of state.

  38. Andy

    Does anyone have an opinion about real estate agent Mac McKenzie? I’m unsure about his claims to greatness.
    Thanks

  39. awgee

    Why would you assume expense has anything to do with a distaste for Newport? And to further explore, why should one not live in Orange County, (the OC), if one does not care for Newport.

  40. CapitalismWorks

    Newport Coast is a desirable location to live for the following reasons: 1) proximity to the water offering more moderate tempertaures 2) close access to the airport 3) close access to top shopping destinations Fashion Island and Newport Coast 4) Nice views 5) Close business centers in Irvine 6) Closer to LA than any southern beach communities 7) Much nicer overall development than any of the northern OC beach communities 8) Name recognition 9) quality schools 10) Much of the open space is state park preventing any possibility of overbuilding on the bluff directly above the coastline.

  41. Maverick

    One of the main reasons you pay a premium to live in the OC (indeed, any SoCal locale) is due to its coastal proximity. You said you are at a loss to see how being close to either Newport Coast or Newport Beach would be considered a positive. You may not see it, but you’re paying for the positive by virtue of living in the OC (and the closer you get to the coast, the more you pay).

    And CapitalismWorks is right too.

  42. biscuitninja

    So what was the gist of their bickering…

    But, wow, $1000 a month isn’t too bad, I guess they didn’t really think through buying a house in longer terms. Anyways good luck and don’t work too hard.
    -bix

  43. awgee

    All great positive points, but in your posted considerations you neglect to factor the people who live there.

  44. Sue

    A Wicked Credit Crunch

    http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/13/wachovia-mortgage-cmo-pf-re-in_ps_0813realestateintelligence_inl.html?partner=yahootix

    Led by seismic subprime holdings, the roiling debt markets are casting a pall over the entire real estate sector. And so they should. Before central banks around the globe acted in unison to inject liquidity that lubricates the mortgage machine, published reports put the total number of unsold loans sitting in financial institutions’ warehouses waiting to be resold at around $260 billion in the U.S. and another $200 billion in Europe

  45. Laura Louzader

    Just went to the link and read the article, Sue.

    This woman is actually lucky, for she could go down considerably in price and still buy a great place. Not the palace in the gorgeous sprawling setting she is accustomed to, but you can get a very, very nice place for, say, $500K in Marietta, GA.

    So she should just eat the loss here and now, and ditch the place. She can afford to eat a $120K loss, won’t kill her. Then she should buy a place for about $500K. She will offset her loss by getting a relatively good deal on the next notch down.

    Or better, she could rent a really lavish apt for a while, for way less than the payments on this place. She’d be saving herself from deeper losses and would be positioned to take advantage of the really great deals she will no doubt see in her locale about a year hence.

  46. Sue

    She’s honoring the spirit of the deal, trying to pay back what she borrowed. Nothing wrong with that – I kind of admire that actually.

  47. I love the dump

    CapitalismWorks forgot the number one reason why Newport Coast is a desirable location to live:

    you get to live on top of a landfill. Back in the good ole days those hills were filled with cows and manure and daily trips by the dump trucks.

  48. Renting in Newport

    I find it so odd to hear all the hate for Newport Coast. Do you even know anybody who lives in Newport Coast? I live there now and I can honestly say it’s the greatest place I have ever lived. It is amazingly safe, the schools are very good, the Pavillions is giant, clean, has great selection. Just drive down the hill and you are at the ocean. John Wayne airport is just 15 minutes away but you don’t hear the jets flying over every 5 minutes like you do in the bay. The parks are not crowded, well maintained, and safe.

    And the people…well what do you want? Wherever you go, half the people are nice, and half the people aren’t. It’s no different in Newport Coast.

    If fact there are only two negatives that I can think of about Newport Coast. 1. That you are driving by an old dump when you come up from Irvine. 2. That the prices to purchase anything, even a townhome, are outrageous.

    If you had to choose between two similar homes, one in Irvine, and one in Newport Coast, you would be a fool to pick the one in Irinve.

  49. Dan

    Sue – Interesting article. I think the lenders in the next 2 years are going to go way too extreme on the lending standards that we’re guaranteed to see the prices fall. Just like they were way too lenient when things were going up to make things skyrocket in prices, it looks like they’ll overreact to make the downturn even worse. I know IrvineRenter thinks it will take a few years to meltdown from now, but it might drop even faster with the help of the banks and whatever new legislation which will even stop people with good credit and cash from borrowing money.

  50. Sue

    Interesting County Percentage stats there for San Francisco. Wonder what those are for LA/Orange County?

    San Francisco Chronicle

    Home buyers find it’s harder to get jumbo loans amid credit crunch

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/14/BU99RI017.DTL

    Jumbo territory
    Home purchase loans of more than $417,000 from January through June

    CountyPercentage

    Alameda56.8

    Contra Costa54.0

    Marin78.4

    Napa51.2

    Santa Clara72.7

    San Francisco77.2

    San Mateo78.8

    Solano29.8

    Sonoma39.3

    Bay Area61.9

  51. almon

    All the chatter regarding Turtle Rock vs Quail Hill and Newport Coast vs Irvine is quite amusing. Can someone please start a thread dedicated to these arguments?

    I’ve lived in Newport Coast, Newport Beach and Irvine πŸ˜‰ As I discussed with awgee previously, I didn’t find the people in Newport Beach that nice. Certainly not as nice as the ones surrounding us in Irvine nowadays.

    Renting in Newport – I appreciate your comments regarding why you love Newport Coast, but all the positives you listed also apply to Irvine, except for the “drive down the hill and you’re at the ocean” piece.

    CapitalismWorks – Seems to me your #2, 3, 5, 6, 7 apply to Irvine too. You’re right on #1, 4, 8 & 10. Regarding #9 though, my friends in Newport Coast send their kids to private school because of low school scores. Where did you get that idea?

  52. v

    With the upcoming bubble burst, not only are there going to be alot of homes available but alot of women too…you can help them spend their alimony checks while shopping for bargains…That’s got to hurt as I’m sure a lot of guys were “persuaded” to buy a home or make costly improvements or fill them with stuff they didn’t need in the first place.

  53. Sue

    As IrvineRenter pointed out in Holy 2003, ” it certainly appears as if it is going to behave like a traditional commodities market.”

    Perhaps that’s because in the brave new financial world, that’s what mortgages are, commodities to be bought and sold.

    The mortgage crunch bites even the rich
    http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/15/MORTGAGE.TMP&tsp=1

    Lenders nationwide have drastically tightened their purse strings because Wall Street investors, spooked by rising foreclosures and defaults, no longer want to buy mortgages. Earlier this year, both lenders and investors soured on subprime loans to people with poor credit.

    But starting last week, Wall Street started to spurn jumbo mortgages — those above $417,000 — even for borrowers with sterling financial profiles. Those loans have become scarcer, harder to qualify for and more expensive.

  54. covered

    LendingMaestro

    Thornburg joins the party. My financial contacts were speaking in terms I had never heard before today. What’s the word at your outfit?

  55. awgee

    “I find it so odd to hear all the hate for Newport Coast. Do you even know anybody who lives in Newport Coast? I live there now and I can honestly say it’s the greatest place I have ever lived.”
    I looked through the posts and can not find anyone saying they hate Newport or harbor hate for Newport, so it seems you may be exagerrating a little bit. I am fairly sure that all I said was that I was suprised that anyone would find living next to Newport to be some type of positive. I have not lived in Newport Coast, but we did stay in Newport Beach for a short time whilst deciding on a place to live. One of the things I noticed about the folks who live in Newport and I guess one of the things I found less than agreeable was the folks there seem to be so quick and intent on letting you know where they live.

  56. Trooper

    That whole $417,000 “Jumbo” mortgage amount drives me crazy…makes it seem as if you get obtain one, you are buying some serious shack.

    I think it should be $417K for all states but California and Hawaii. We get shafted with higher rates because of this… have any of our politicians attempted to address it? Just curious….as the only SFR’s selling for 417K and less in L.A sit squarely in South Central….ooops, wait…those are going for 500K now too. Never mind.

  57. Sue

    See link below. I wonder why the limits are higher just for those areas. Maybe it’s just that the base cost of construction (ie. putting lumber and the other materials on a boat) is higher?

    http://www.fanniemae.com/aboutfm/loanlimits.jhtml

    Note: One- to four- family mortgages in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are 50 percent higher than the limits for the rest of the country.

  58. k.o.

    The reason there are no jets flying above every 5 minutes is because the Newport people lobbied the correct people to change the freaking flight path of the planes! Anyone who has been to John Wayne knows the rollercoaster of a take off, and anyone who has come from the East Coast on an afternoon flight feels nervous about getting to John Wayne because of the 11pm curfew that, once again, the Newport people lobbied for.

    Those reasons alone are for me to think Newport people aren’t the nicest or accommodating.

  59. Andy

    Anyone out there have any experience dealing with a Realtors named Mac McKenzie? Good, bad, indiffernet?

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