Irvine Housing Blog

Just go there for the free meal.

Hell, I wish I could go….

Hey IR, you need to mouse-over the floor maps in order to click on individual plan details. I still question the value of highrise living in Irvine though. Especially since the location sits between a freeway and a office park. But since I drive by this blight every day, I’m glad that Lennar is trying to finish the project finally (after 4 years). I’ll probably stop by the office tonight just for shits and giggles. 

Investor pays $131 million for ‘trophy’ properties

http://lansner.freedomblogging.com/2010/02/11/investor-pays-131-million-for-trophy-properties/55579/

Did I hear “wine tasting”?

If the State would just buy these and the North Korea Towers across the street, they could put up a maximum security perimeter and you could have prisons IN Irvine!
Oh wait, these are already debt prisons for those living there….nevermind Arnold.

“... extremely high HOA dues ...”

Also Mello-Roos.

My wife and I looked at these last year (for entertainment only, of course). Every unit on the 405 freeway side has a severe noise problem.  It’s fine in lockdown, but crack a window or a balcony door and it sounds like you’re standing next to a jet engine. We LOVE balconies…and it would be impossible to sit on these at anytime of the day…you’d have to yell to each other just to talk.

The beginning of the tour was impressive. White glove valet service for your guests, a “wine cellar” where you can store your own wine, a “boardroom” to have meetings in and the pool has great views.

We found most of the units small, cramped, dark and without the high ceilings we’ve seen in other lofts. The penthouse…is incredible. We loved walking through it, two stories of glass and a gigantic open air rooftop deck.

The agent at the time said someone had bought one of the penthouses and needed a place for his “staff” so he bought one of the other regular units to house them.

I asked if the huge “hole” next to the building was going to be a lake or a park…no, it will be an underground parking lot.

Of course, it was rediculously overpriced and obnoxious association fees. Nice to look at though.

Someone must of liked Vegas c.a. 1960’s.  Brings back memories of the hotel casinos. 
Might be similar, gamble your money away on a long shot.  The odds are with the house, but it can be entertaining.

Back with the best of toxic lending.  How are the lenders going to get the govt (i.e., taxpayers to pick-up this tab)?  Is it time for another round of flushing the average Joe’s pension plans down the toilet again?

The vampire lenders like the living dead.  Just when you think they’re gone, they come back.  They have eternal life but are dead and have others willing join them by their seducing siren songs and promises.  I like it better with the loan sharks, they didn’t bill the taxpayers for their bad loans.

IR, you simply MUST give us a report tomorrow.  Please, please please.  You cannot deny us this.

Could someone please explain how the builder loans for this place works?  2.875% for years 1 - 5, but 3.57% APY? How can you be paying 2.875% interest, but have a APY of 3.57%?

Could anyone clarify how this property could possibly qualify for FHA financing (I am guessing from the $729k, above)?

I was under the impression that 80% of the units had to be owner-occupied and paying the HOA to qualify.

You guys see this one?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/02/eveningnews/main6167610.shtml?tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.2

I hope this works.

Hail, Hail Freedonia!

Thought the loan was a strange one as well. It appears to be a 6/1 ARM. There are 5, 7, and 10/1’s, but this loan is an oddity. What does it tell us…. That Fannie, Freddie, and HUD won’t touch these units. This is likely private money that is being used to overcome owner occupancy issues. They’ll build up to 50% owner occupancy, then the Agencies or HUD will finish off the rest if they ever sell.

To be clear, I like ARM loans. They serve a purpose in specific situations. I don’t know how eager buyers will be though to close today on ARM loans while 30 fixed mortgages are well priced. They need to dump the ARM, even though their costs are cheaper to create this kind of financing, and put in place a low cost fixed that is also assumable. This ARM will be assumable in six years, but who would want to buy a unit in the complex and assume a 10% ARM rate loan?

My .02c

Soylent Green is People.

Sounds like we are in for a tough 2010l.  The Corona couple who bought the tract home for 700k were “able to keep their home after a loan modification, but their investment would likely never pay off”.  The wife admitted they learned a lesson: “You don’t need it - it’s not worth it”.  These people will probably never be able to get ahead in life as long as they hang onto that home. A tough lesson.

Trustee Sale Update

68 Townsend hit the market today asking $542,500
Sold at auction to a 3rd party for $501K on 2/3/10

the building reminds me of UCLA dorms.

Not sure if anyone caught this headline today:
Citi to let distressed homeowners stay for 6 mos
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100211/ap_on_bi_ge/us_citigroup_foreclosures

Suckers!

Why should banksters modify when they are doing this?

http://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/archive/1/29027

I never understood how anyone would want to live in these things!  I worked in the office building next to the North Korea towers and you took your life into your own hands just walking out of the building to go to the shopping center down the way because of the traffic and lack of sidwalks.

I would see an old couple walking their dogs every day in our parking lots, right next to the roaring freeway.  How sad that it was the only place the NK people had to go walking.  A PARKING LOT!!!

Wel, actually, I kind of like the towers and being about 53 years old with no kids it is appealing. Yes,if they could redesign some of the area and put in a sidewalk, it might be appealing, its not much of a money maker but believe it or not the average age in OC for non-hispanic whites is 44.1 according to the 2008 census that means a lot of whites are moving out of the childbearing years and kids in another 10 years to being empty nesters and retirement.