Irvine Housing Blog

That is ridiculous indeed.  When I first saw the price, the first thing that came to my mind was who was the realtor.  I said to myself- is this a Hanu Reddy house since it is so overpriced?  And yes, I was right!  I see so many of his homes just priced way over comparable homes.
——-

Yeah. I noted these two yesterday.

True, there are very homes like this, but at this price you might as well move the Shady Canyon or Corona del Mar. 

This people are nuts and/or plain not serious about selling.

The home looks like a trophy home, straight out of Architectural Digest, so it’s surely a gem.

Trouble is that as you go a couple of miles East you have some beautiful CUSTOM homes on Shady Canyon that look across a valley -a green belt- that looks like it came from the lower Pyrenees or the Apemnines.  Bring a few sheep, a sheepherder and his dog, walk out from your “Etruscan Palazzo” and you’d think you were in the Old Country.

Or go to Corona del Mar and get a California High End home with a view of Newport Harbor.

No… sorry..  homes like this, in this location, are being priced ahead of the market by about 10 years.  The buyer is in serious denial of the competition, regardless of state of the market.  Even in a bull market, such a mark up would give the buyer the ability to look in much more desireable neighboorhoods very close by.

Hannuh Reddy huh?  I thought he was a low baller.  I guess he’s changed his stripes.  What is he doing this side of the 405?

I just remember the word this house reminds me of:

Nouveau Riche.

Sort of like El Zorro gets rich, moves to the 21st century and builds a house in Irvine.

This house has no design restraint, looks ostentatious and doesn’t really have much taste. 

That’s all IMHO, but then I think restraint in design is important.

Again, a trophy product, form over function, designed to impress but not very useful in the long run.

The design of the wine cellar tells it all.  A serious wine drinker would not have ersatz medieval wine globets laying around.

Firstly,  Cobalt Sky and Reserve and two different streets.  The Cobalt Sky property is the former model sitting on 1/2 acre very near the top of the hill with dazzling views.  It is fully upgraded (way beyond what you are imagining) and is fully and expensively landscaped.  For your information, landscaping a property such as this can easily cost in excess of $500,000.  These are luxury properties.

Firstly,  Cobalt Sky and Reserve and two different streets.  The Cobalt Sky property is the former model sitting on 1/2 acre very near the top of the hill with dazzling views.  It is fully upgraded (way beyond what you are imagining) and is fully and expensively landscaped.  For your information, landscaping a property such as this can easily cost in excess of $500,000.  These are luxury properties.  Are you going to challenge the luxury market across the US and around the world?

So you say that the owner overpaid.

Look at the properties on sale at Shady Canyon.  They are custom homes. and their location, overlooking the valley, are far superior.

Furthermore, if you want “prestige”, a custom home in Shady Canyon trumps anything in TR or TRidge.

At this price point, I’d think “prestige” comes into play.

Chances are that anyone with the means to purchase a $3.6 mil property isn’t too stupid, and the unrealistic and even ludicrous price leads me to think this property is not really for sale.  I am unfamiliar with any reason why someone may put a house on the market that they do not really intend to sell, but this does not pass a smell test.  Something else is going on other than a home sale.

Nouveau Riche

Oh ... I get it.  NEW MONEY!  Do you think this could be one of Daniel Sadek’s rentals.

And what about the tile pool, with what looks like male rabbits emptying their bladders.  No wonder the water is so blue.

Does anyone know what the tax rate plus mello roos and the HOA are in Turtle Ridge and Shady Canyon?

On redfin it lists as an amenity: furnished.  Does that mean that the seller is seller everything in the house too?  If so, that might make up for some of the difference between this price and the builder’s.

The resale price of furniture is pretty low.  Go check out the consignments stores.  There’s a good one by John Wayne Airport, right behind Office Depot on Campus and Jamboree.

Maybe they wine is included?  If the thing is loaded with pristine 79 Haut Medocs then I would like to just buy the wine.

Besides, the furniture looks like it came from an old El Zorro movie. 

IIRC, a realtor in Turtle Ridge told me that this is not just your typical WTF-priced Hanu Reddy listing.  He actually owns this house personally. 

What’s his carrying cost on the $3.5m purchase price?  Because this is a former model, I assume he bought it and the builder leased it back from him during the showing period, so he didn’t have to cover the monthly costs until recently. 

To the commenter supposedly known as “Janet”—it seems you have, ahem, “inside information,” not to mention an attitude that suggests you have a dog in this fight.  Care to tell us what Hanu’s strategy is here?  As to your silly non-sequitur about “challenging the luxury market in the US and around the world”, I believe that other commenters were alluding to “luxury market” competition in better neighborhoods such as Shady Canyon, where the same $5m price would buy a better house in a better location.

I think this guy has spent to much time in his wine cellar.  This property, IMHO, shows exactly how many retards and knowledge lacking individuals we have here in Southern Cali.

I did a search for Hanu Reddy Realty on the web.

http://www.hanureddyrealty.com/

It looks like they are moving most of their operations to India…

In Irvine, I think they’re hosed.  They’ve got a very heavy portfolio of Turtle Ridge homes.

I sure hope the real estate market in Bangalore supports them for a while.

Interestingly, I though that Hanu Reddy was mostly involved in Northwood and Woodbridge, not on this side of tfhe 405.  I guess they got carried away in Turtle Ridge.

I owned a home in Turtle Ridge from 2004 to late last year.  I downsized to another area in Irvine because I will be moving to Colorado in a few years and will keep two homes.  Turtle Ridge is a special place - I don’t care to convince you.  As for Shady Canyon - I love it there too.  Problem is (for some) it’s hotter there.

WTF is a “Janet” - just Janet OK?

If these wine bottles are part of the original model home furnishings, they are probably empty.

Cost of funds on $3.5 mil @ 5.5% is $192,500 per year plus $63,000 per year for tax including Mello Roos, assuming a total of 1.8%, plus HOA of $4800? per year, plus gardener and pool man @ $3000 per year, plus utilities, for a total yearly cost of $263,300.  And he/she will probably have to pay buyers broker fees of 2.5% for another $87,500 or more depending on the selling price.  He/she has to get over $4 million just to break even.

If this indeed was as model, I figure the wine cellar is filled with cheap wines. 

All for show.

Imagine,  two thousands bottles of Two Buck Chuch! 

I figure a big chunk of the buyers would be clueless, but anyone who really had the money to spend and knew their way around even a mediocre wine list at a reasonable restaurant would see the display as just that -a clueless, ignorant, uneducated show-  and start to wonder about the quality of the rest of the house…. and just walk away.

Of course, if there are indeed any good bottles of Haut Medoc… but wait… if the house was a model, then you can probably figure the cellar door was opened too much and the wine is perhaps just a step away from vinegar.

Just the buyer’s profit.  From wine to vinegar.

What is with these ugly homes going for so much cash? Some of these pseudo-palaces look more “characture” than achitecture. This home looks like it started out as a silo with some extra rooms tacked on. Plus, that pillar for the garage looks horribly low brow.

You can’t build “old”. It has to evolve.

Janet,
  If you don’t care, why are you commenting on it?  Honestly the place IS overpriced at $900+ a sqft.  If you want to buy into prestige and false pretenses, that is your issue.  But this house is definitely not worth over $700 per square foot. 
good luck with your move back to Colorado.
-bix

A somewhat unnattractive home for a price that is totally stupid.

For that price you can get a better home in Beverly Hills or Bel Air or Huntington Harbor.

From my experience, this is correct also. 

In talking to sales reps regarding former models, they have said more than once that most of the cost is based on the landscaping and upgrades.  The furnishings is significantly less as it depreciates quite a bit once a model is for sale.

Here’st the 2006 information straight from the County:

Parcel No.: 478-432-33
Tax Type Description/Service Agency Tax Rate
Value Base Amount (Rate x Value) 

A1 BASIC LEVY RATE 1.00000 $3,458,000.00 $34,580.00
A1 METRO WATER D-MWDOC 0.00470 $3,458,000.00 $162.52
A4 IRWD #206 SEWER BOND 0.02030 $2,321,848.00 $471.33
A4 IRWD #106 WATER BOND 0.01168 $2,321,848.00 $271.19
A4 IRWD ID #161 BOND 0.00001 $2,321,848.00 $0.23
A4 IRWD #261 WATER BOND 0.00001 $2,321,848.00 $0.24
*** SPECIAL ASSESSMENT USER FEES***
BA MOSQ,FIRE ANT ASSMT (800)273-5167   $5.24
B3 VECTOR CONTROL CHG (800)273-5167   $1.92
C7 MWD WATER STDBY CHG (866)807-6864   $10.08
E0 IRVINE USD-ASMT (949)955-1500   $0.59
MS 1915_AD BOND MS (866)807-6864   $5,169.44
N1 LNDSCP & LTG #1 (866)807-6864   $42.50
R3 MELLO-ROOS R3 (800)858-8233   $1,466.24
  Total Tax:  $42,181.52

Here’s the 2006 supplemental:
Parcel No.: 478-432-33.0200
 
Tax Type Description/Service Agency Supplemental Value Tax Rate

A1 BASIC LEVY RATE $2,362,834.00 1.00000 0.920000 $21,738.07
A1 METRO WATER $2,362,834.00 0.00520 0.920000 $113.04
A4 IRWD #106 BOND $1,226,682.00 0.01168 0.920000 $131.81
A4 IRWD #206 BOND $1,226,682.00 0.01000 0.920000 $112.85
A4 IRWD ID #161 BOND $1,226,682.00 0.00001 0.920000 $0.12
A4 IRWD #261 BOND $1,226,682.00 0.00001 0.920000 $0.11
  Total Tax:  $22,096.00

So the total tax, Mello Roos is $42,181 + $22,096 = $64,277.  Ouch!

Make that $4.5M, it was reassessed at $4.1M. 

Mello Roos don’t look too bad, total “tax” bill comes in at about $47,000 a year.

It looks nice, but I still see just a McMansion Tract Home.

As for Reserve being a different street, well, it’s the other side of the Y shaped cul de sac on the top the ridge with Cobalt Sky.  They are actually less than a 1/10th of a mile apart.  Maybe one or two homes seperating them.

Go to zillow and look, you’ll see the homes dominate the lots, the large the lot is basically useless and other homes stick everywhere.  Did you notice the “incredible view” from the patio?  Yep, it’s largely blocked by your own wall and landscaping.

Wish I had the wealth to say “I’m in this price range, but this one’s overpriced!”

Anyways, at over $900/sqft, is this the most $/sqft for a non-oceanview home in OC?

Just a curiosity, I think the rendering does not show justice for the home. The actual picture depicting the architecture has quite a bit of restraint

There are 42 of these homes on the top of the hill. The streets as I recalled are all curvilinear due to hillside contours and terminated at a circular cul-de-sac.

The silo and its splayed wing I thought were designed well to echo the curvature of the street and cul-de-sac. The silo was cleverly utilized as a hinge point to allow for the wing rotation.

The property is overpriced I agree but the architectural form IMO is sensitively developed due to the site constraints and appropriately staged for its initial 1.5-2 mil price tag.

What would you suggest in design to show more restraint? No coastal wannebe would spend 2 million dollars to buy an $800,000 restraint aesthetic.

This is not old pasadena or montecito where buyers understand the vocabulary of restraints. The old money community have a different mentaility. A home should be tranquil and designed for comfort.

The new money mentality of Turtle Ridge. A home is should be impressive and make your friends envy. The new money consumers who seek the coastal address like the gilded decor and glitzy gold accents. They are the Versace followers.

Janet,
contrary to the many posters here, I agree these are very nice home. Especially since they are set on 1/2 acre lots.  However, these are not $5 million dollar homes.  For this kind of money You could drive down to Newport Coast and take your pick of a custom- built home with a beautiful Ocean view and still have $1 million dollar left to go party with your next door neighbor Kobe.  It amazes me how realtors have been hyping this area; It’s just not worth it—Newport Coast is much nicer for the same amount of money.  I think a lot of realtors jumped on TR, hoping that it would be like “Newport Coast in the ‘90’s.”  where many homes have quadrupled in prices.  Now many of them are caught holding the bag, and so all they can do is hype it so they can dump onto a GF.

Hey Irvine Renter,

The legendary Iraqi Information Minister gave us a perfect motto for the WTF award:

“I now inform you that you are too far from reality.”

—to John Burns of the NY Times, April 9, 2003.

I think it’s perfect for this house.

[Bonus points:  he kinda looks like “Janet”, er, I mean, Hanu.]

Ok, but how many upgrades were there from 2005 to 2007.  The place sold in 2005 with all the upgrades and landscaping for $3.5 mil.  Why now, $5.2 mil?  Nothing changed, except than re has depreciated.

Having lived in the Santa Barbara Riviera and in San Marino (old money Pasadena), I would say that Bkshopr and many others here are absolutely spot on regarding the architecture.

I think Bkshopr is especially spot on with regards to:

“The old money community have a different mentaility. A home should be tranquil and designed for comfort.

The new money mentality of Turtle Ridge. A home is should be impressive and make your friends envy.”

What’s this supplemental tax?  Does everyone in Irvine get assessed this?  How often do supplemental taxes occur?

I’m a recent transplant, renting, don’t know this stuff.

While we all agree that $900 per square foot for this house at this time is ridiculous, you have to agree that a comparable view in Bel Air or Beverly Hills will cost you far more.

And the lifestyle in Huntington Harbor (or is it Harbour?) is quite different.  There you don’t get a view, you get a tight house on a channel or a tighter house across the street from the house on the water.

I think I’d rather live in TRidge or Spyglass Hill than Huntington Harbor.

Of course, I do like Naples, Shady Canyon and Cameo Shores.

And, there’s a number of TR “President” homes built overlooking Concordia, plus the Crest Homes that have comparable views, and they all go for significantly less than this one.

So, there’s a lot of competition and this home is simply the most expensive home in its area.  Not a good thing.  I’m surprised Hanu Reddy forgot that owning the most upgraded home in the tract is not a good thing at all!

I don’t think you’ve priced Newport Coast recently, because $5m there certainly won’t go any further than it will in Turtle Ridge.  For $4m you can get a 4 bd, 3 ba “tract” home by John Laing’s luxury division—a 4,000 sq. ft. home on a 7,000 sq. ft. lot.  With that you have a faraway view of the ocean, but your lot is less than half the size of these Turtle Ridge mcmansions.

How many homes are in this tract?

How the hell are people affording this?

Even at 10X income its still a 360K chunk o change…

So… as far as a buisness plan goes… I dunno what the rich persom market is like for this stuff.

Calling all ranters ....

Luxury Consumers Stay Bullish on Real Estate, According to the 2007 Coldwell Banker Previews International®
Luxury Survey

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070618005317&newsLang=en

According to the 2007 Coldwell Banker Previews International®

Now there is an objective opinion you can bank on.

I don’t know if this is one of Daniel Sadek’s but his penthouse at the Marquee is for sale for $1.9mil. I hear you can pick up Ferraris on the cheap these days too.

400 per sq foot. will all the easy money gone bye bye, you either need someone making 400-500k yearly or some rich person paying cash or putting a huge downpayment,( as others alluded above would have many choices in nicer neighborhoods to choose from). JMHO

I think this is moving from Denial to Anger (ie raising the price)..LOL

This may surprise you if you’re a long-time wage earner who relies only on wage income to pay for housing and other necessities, but some people actually have cash and other investments to their names.  I would bet that most of the people buying $3.5m+ homes are not calling up Ditech for a $3.5m mortgage loan.

Grammar police here. “Make your friends envious,” or “make your friends have envy,” but never, “make your friends envy.”

Of course, the person buying this house will not be able to afford a dictionary after escrow closes!

try making 1.5 million a year.  A 5 mil asking price is still over 3 times your annual income if you make 1.5 mil a year

assanine, simply assanine

Jimbo,
check out this home http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=737454. 
Ok it doesn’t have Ocean View, but wouldn’t you say it’s a little bit nicer than TR.

or how about this one
http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=492656

Ok it’s not 1/2 acre but don’t you think that your friends would be a bit more envious if they saw you living here?

The kind of people who can truly afford to by this home are the uber-rich.  Unless you make more money than you know what to do with you are better off are renting a mansion and keeping your millions in high yield investments.

Even at the 3.5 mil price tag…earning a cool 6.0% on 3.5 mil is 210k a year (or 17,500 a month).  Who the hell wants to shell out over 3500 a month im taxes alone!?!?

Our bank will do loans up to 5 million @65% LTV.  I am closing on a purchase for a client in Newport Coast who is purchasing a 6,789,023 home from a builder.  They are putting 2.3 mil down as a downpayment.  They make 875k a year (or 73k a month) on W2’s.  Their monthly 30 year fixed with taxes and insurance on the remaining 4.5 million is a whopping $$32,000.

I wanted to ask them…“what’s wrong with this 4 million dollar home only 2 blocks away?  The only conceiveable reason why these people are purchasing this home is because they are “banking” on the property appreciating in value.

The kind of people who can truly afford to by this home are the uber-rich.  Unless you make more money than you know what to do with you are better off are renting a mansion and keeping your millions in high yield investments.

Even at the 3.5 mil price tag…earning a cool 6.0% on 3.5 mil is 210k a year (or 17,500 a month).  Who the hell wants to shell out over 3500 a month im taxes alone!?!?

Our bank will do loans up to 5 million @65% LTV.  I am closing on a purchase for a client in Newport Coast who is purchasing a 6,789,023 home from a builder.  They are putting 2.3 mil down as a downpayment.  They make 875k a year (or 73k a month) on W2’s.  Their monthly payment on a 30 year fixed with taxes and insurance on the remaining 4.5 million is a whopping $32,000.

I wanted to ask them…“what’s wrong with this 4 million dollar home only 2 blocks away?  The only conceiveable reason why these people are purchasing this home is because they are “banking” on the property appreciating in value.

I know of many people who could afford this house.  And honestly, they could and would just buy it.  BUT really, a home near the beach is a much better idea for them.  I have bought property near the beach (*Crystal Cove - apartments*) but this is WAY beyond what is “affordable”/reasonable.  I guess it boils down to a mindset, if you have the money do….  ALOT of people in CA do have this mindset, but they just don’t have the sustaining power (*insert Nouveau Riche*).  Anyway, I just think it is overpriced for the comps in the area.  For the difference in cost I can bring up the property to whatever “I” want and still be ahead.  But that’s just me, and I’m nowhere near rich.

-bix

That’s because in two years it will be worth over $10mil! OC home prices never go down especially in Newport Coast it’s not like they went down in the 90s. The area is immune to price declines because everyone there has uber money.
(sarcasm off)

How many struggling mortgage guys “own” in NC like Daniel Sadek? I can name at least six people but I’ll be nice. Sadek is different because he loves the attention. He probably thinks it might get someone to see his movie.

Of course those are nice homes…but other than the anomaly that IR found, you’re not going to see homes priced at $5m in TR.  TR tops out at around $3.5m, which is why I said $5m goes a lot further in TR than in Newport Coast. 

BTW, the faux finishes and cheapo looking furniture in that first one look awful.

How about the second one.  Five million for your own mini-mansion custom developed with two mini-mansion neighbors that both have 3 foot set backs. 

You can see them both in picture three of the front elevation with the wierd aspect lens.  Notice the queen palm that looks like it barely would fit between the two monoliths.

What do they do for a living?  And how old are they?  I’m in the wrong field.

hmm, maybe I’ll reconsider that.  That first one is just as bad. Take a look at zillow. You can see clearly in the photo, there’s no lot left.  I don’t know how they’re calculating 16000 of lot, but the front yard is all driveway and the back yard is a pool and two palm trees.

And of course, both monolithic neighbors with what looks like a 3 or 5 foot set back. 

Does anybody know what the set back is on these monstrosities?

For $5mil I would need an ocean view like these:

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=500954

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=590440

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=451333

No HOAs and less property taxes and an ocean view. Let me think about that. WTF I don’t have to. These people are nuts. I don’t care if it has a wine cellar because with the money I’d save per year in property taxes and HOAs I’d be able to buy a case of 1988 Chateau Mouton Rothschild and drink a bottle of it watching the sun set over the ocean.

Bel Air - 5.2 mill will get you between a 7000 and 10000 sq ft home. Some of them on more than 1 acre lot.

Beverly Hills - 5.4 mill will get you a 6000 sq ft hm on a 20k lot.

Huntington Harbor - 5.7 mill will get you 6000 sq ft home on the water with 110 foot water frontage and 110 ft boat dock.

These are all current listings.

I will take any of those areas over Irvine.

Correction: I will take any of those places over THIS particular house in Irvine which is asking 5.2 mill.

I dont want to make it sound like im haten on Irvine….I like the city.

OK. let’s look at what 5.9 mil will get you in Newport Beach. 

Forget Newport Coast… those homes make me feel like I should dress like Louis XIV and parade around my palazzo in a powered wig and white stockings…

Let’s look at tasteful homes on Cameo Shores, the west part of Corona del Mar and Spyglass Hills… Forget the ersatz palazzos….

Check this one out:

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=627986

Almost 6 mil but the location is impeacheable and the house impeccable with GOOD TASTE.  Four stories, elevator and you can walk to the beach. 

Now this is a house that will hold up in value.

Let’s look around

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=587817

and

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=520324p

and for over 4 mil you get a boat slip

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=656641

This is a beautiful “Newport Beach Traditional” in Spyglass Hill for ONLY 3 mil…

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=560628

OK, I lied, this is on East Bluff. small but will do just fine… check out the VIEW!  Catalina, Fashion Island, etc…. LESS THAN 2 MIL!

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=468540

This one I think is my favorite looking one. 

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=456336

I think these homes are what brought people to Newport and Turtle Rock.  Nice California homes with an understated look, small lots! and close -or right on- the Coast.

All the new McMansions are palazzos that would make a 17th Century French Aristocrat proud.  ROCOCCO… BLAH! 

The triumph of no taste.

Maybe, I’ll drive and check this one out. 

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=636581

How about this in TR?

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=746350

HEY: FLIPPER ALERT?

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=607769

It will likely sell at 400 per sq foot is what I meant. my thought is that when this whole bubble unwinds this tract home as nice as it is, wont sell for more than 2-2.5 mil(big yard, nice views, perception of an upscale neighborhood), which is about 4-5 times 500k.

I guess if you are making that much you can afford to stretch it a bit and still buy food and what everelse you need.

any way my point was not too many GFs making that amount of money available despite what realtors want you to believe.

You’re assuming they are wanting to make money off the house.

With their downpayment, they could just retire & live cheap forever.

Maybe they just like the house and anticipate an even greater income in the future to help pay it off.

Speaking of Sadek and his movie, why is that stupid billboard ad for it still up off the 55 (going north around Edinger, I believe)?

“Open April 13th!”  Well, guess what, we are way passed that!

I’m thinking that someone “con-ed” him into getting a long lease for the billboard:

SadeK (entering Hollywood with script in hand and pockets filled with cash): I wrote a script about cars n’stuff and would like to make a movie about it.”

Hollywood: “Wow Mr. Sadek!  This is the best script we’ve ever seen!  And about fast cars!  How novel!  We want to do this movie for you!  One of the things we’ll need to do is get my 7th grade son who just got a C+ in his Mechanical Drawing class to draw a car for a year-long billboard ad, and…”

I’ll bet Sadek got played by Hollywood like a Quick Loan broker played a 760 area code client.

The only reason to make those type of payments is if you want others to think you can buy a $6.7 mil home.

Well, if you are able make “those type” of payments, then you CAN buy a $6.7 mil home.

Wow, how utterly distinctive, cozy, and quaint that one looks.

Kinda reminds me of these (artists depiction):

OR

The home I linked to is a tract home, built by Blu S.K.Y., located up in Bakersfield’s newest development outside of town called “City In The Hills”.  Of course, these sell for $470k new from the developer (although these are ONLY about 3,400 s.f., up to 5 bd/5 ba), and it’s out in Bakersfield, so as they say, location, location, location.

But it has that same faux Euro look and feel that’s all over the place nowadays, even out in Bakersfield, Palmdale, Fresno, etc.

Yes, you can.  lendingmaestro said he was wanting to ask the borrowers why they didn’t just buy a $4mil home.  My interpretation is that he is asking why spend the extra $2.7 mil when you could spend a lot less and still have a wonderful home.  My snswer is that they are extending themselves to show how much money they have.  I wasn’t remarking on their ability to afford, just on possible motivation.

Its nice to be able to have time to read the site again…

Anyways, if this is Hanu Reddy’s investment property, I have a inkling as to why he is selling it for so much…

I went to elementary school with his daughter, whom I saw a couple years ago. She’s going to med school, which can leave someone with over 200K in loans. So Mr. Reddy is just trying to make sure Rohini doesn’t have to be saddled with that much debt. I mean, someone needs to pay for med school back East, right?

His daughter ought to hurry up and finish med school so she can treat her dad who is going to have a serious case of indigestion by the time he unloads this!

My thoughts exactly - no offense to Irvine in general, but when I see $5 million being bandied about, my first thought to location is Belaire, Brentwood or the swankier parts of Malibu.

I track some places in Beverly Hills (just for fun), and have seen larger (and much nicer) houses, on larger lots, going for less money there.

IrvineRenter,

Take a look at 19191 Croyden terrace (bought for 66K in 1971 - Zillow estimate 975K..they are asking 1.9 million for a 2400 sq ft home in Irvine)

IR - in all fairness, the Irvine house is over twice the size of the LB one.  Also, it has way more bedrooms.  If I was an executive here for a year or so with a family of 4 or 5, I would take the Irvine house over the LB one.  However, 25k a month is a ton of money and I can’t even imagine how one can lose that much money a month hoping for appreciation.

I’m all for the talk about the realtors. . . they make themselves publicly known, but their kids? I think they deserve some privacy (I think I know his daughter as well). Zovall or IR. . . can you pull just her name? Thanks, ISB.

Does anybody really need that much home? If you are going to spend that much money, why dont you buy a commercial property that will earn income? Real Estate Finance