Raymond - I own an older house and yes maintenance is expensive but more or less the same as an HOA. The difference is some things can wait until you have the money to fix or improve them but there will be immediate needs. But a foundation crack or a leaking roof should not get past an inspector and if it did that will be big problems for all parties involved. The most important thing for you is your career since you are tied to the building industry. I wouldn’t recommend buying a home in a more reasonably priced time when their employment industry is on the slow down. You should get better idea of the area and see what you like or dislike about the area. If the Mello Roos were paid by the homebuilder like they used to be and could be in the near future it would actually make the home value a little higher. This would be an advantage to the buyer since it would be built into the payment making it tax deductable. This is unfortunately a disadvantage to the builder when prices come down since they have already paid for the mello roos up front. Just think too when the place that has HOA dues as it gets older they get more expensive just take a look at the HOA dues in Woodbridge. Of course if you need a new roof expect a special assestment. That extra $100k in home also gives you a better tax advantage as mello roos and hoa dues are not tax deductable. You would have more take home money that would equal more or less what the HOA and mello roos are and you would be able to afford the maintenance of an older home.  

nirvinerealtor & graphrix;

Thanks for your input. I have put into consideration both your thoughts and really appreciate them.

I have looked at several properties in Aliso Viejo that are approximately 10 years old and don’t carry the high mello roos and hoas that I’m seeing here. I don’t want to compare apples to oranges here but I’ve been around most of south OC (it’s nice!) and unless prices drop a bit more within 2 years, I’d rather skip Irvine and get a place more south-east.

But then again, I too would like a spankin’ new home in Irvine to call my own. I might take some time and tour the models this weekend and will post any updated price sheets I get a hold of.

We paid a visit to Decada and the pricing has not changed.

Residence 1 - From $580,000

Residence 2 - From $602,000

Residence 3 - From $628,000

Residence 4 - From $648,000

Effective 2/3/07

My favorite plan was Residence 2. Out of the 4 (Vientos, Bowen, Cortile, Decada), Decada was my favorite. Residence two had a nice open floorplan than flowed from kitched to dining and into the yard. HAHA, not much of a yard, but it’s still a nice layout. I definitely like the loft-option in place of the 3rd bedroom.

raymond,
i agree with you about the layout with Residence 2.  I personally like Residence 4 due to its open air feel with the living room, dining room, and kitchen…but it’s nearly $50k more and sits on the backside of the quad residence layouts. If i’m buying a home, i expect to have atleast the front side of my home visible…not hidden behind other units.
I know Decada was slated for about 8-9 phases,but with recent slow down of the market…they did mention that the project may be in hiatus until the market levels or stabilizes…because they don’t want to discount the price of the home further. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next 6-12 months… i know many newspaper and economists are predicting OC to be "saved" or unaffected by the recent sub-prime lender issues…but in reality i beg to differ. My buddy got laid off from Argent Mortgage (in irvine) recently and he had nothing to do with sub prime lendings. It’s matter of time until people start seeing more layoffs and mild recession in OC…
But going back to Decada, I hope the price drops another 20% ... then i might jump in.

I have the following information
Phase 1 (Effective 10/06/2006)

Residence 1 - From $644,233

Residence 2 - From $678,785

Residence 3 - From $702,767

Residence 4 - From $733,646

Phase 3A was 9Jun2007:
1 plan 1
1 plan 2
2 plan 3s
2 plan 4s
Prices remained the same from Feb (580, 602, 628, 648).  Move in is around Feb 2008.  They didn’t seem too sure of this.
Phase 3B is 23Jun2007;  Plans 1 & 2 only for this release.
I still predict another price cut for them before the end of the year.
SCHB
 

Anyone have any idea when Plans 3 & 4 will be released again?   The salesman at the office today was too aloof to answer any of our questions. 

"Anyone have any idea when Plans 3 & 4 will be released again?"
The earliest possiblity is phase 3C, but who knows when.  I would guess it either happens in another two weeks (following the recent trend) or many months if they haven’t sold through their 1s and 2s.
SCHB

Has anyone been to Portola Spring’s Decada phase releases lately? If so, what kind of offerings were made? upgrades? financing, etc? Did many prospect buyers attend?

I visited Decada two days before the last release (couple of weeks back). No changes. They still insisted sticking to the prices (580, 602, 628, 648). All they offered was a 10k incentive if you financed thro their lender. They were not ready to throw in any upgrades.

I intended to "drive by" on the release day to see the turnout, but unfortunately couldn’t go that day. I’m thinking of revisiting them now to see what kind of response they got.

Does anyone know where the Decada plans have been duplicated from older communities? Is Mericort and Arborel (Northpark & Turtle Ridge) the same exact units?

Does anyone know if there’s brokers co-op. at Portola Springs?

It depends on each project, but generally yes.  IIRC, you must bring your agent/broker with you and sign up on their interest list on your first visit.

raymond,

Yes, Decada is the same as Arborel and Mericort.

Just visited  the Decada models again. The price on the plan four has gone up from $648,000 to $677,000.  (However there was an * saying this new price included options). The other plans have the same prices as phase release 3A listed above.

I’m not sure if I believe the price increase until we get more details on what is included.  Is is possible they had a unit  with pre-selected options fall out of escrow?
Decada is still retaining a bit of momentum on the plans 3 & 4.  The plans 1 & 2 are not going anywhere.  Once the similar or improved product in Woodbury East (Sienna, Celedon) hits the market, they will be forced to adjust downward.
SCHB

The plan 4 with the $677,010 price is on lot 53- plan 4B. The address is 80 Keepsake. The patio will have 6ft. walls. This is actually lower than the model walls, so maybe a bit less privacy.  It only has a few options, such as the kitchen island, granite countertop, upgraded appliance package, surround sound in the great room, etc. The salesman said the base price for a plan 4 is still $648,000. I didn’t ask if they have an irvinehousingblog discount. I’ll inquire about that next time.

profette, this suggets the builder was forced to chose some options because of construction progress.  Did you get an idea of move-in date on lot 53?  It is very interesting that there is even a plan 4 available, because these have sold through consistently since the price reduction at the beginning of 2007.  More evidence the market really is changing.
And since Celedon has been released, I partially rescind my comments above about the competition between those communities.  There isn’t much in common besides the square footage and high taxes.  Sienna will probably be a different story, though, providing some direct competition for the Decada 3&4, and leaving the smaller plans in the dust.
SCHB

"You can move -in in December," the salesman said hopefully. He did explain that they got to the point in construction where they needed to choose the options themselves.

There are two concerns that i have heard about Portola Springs.. if anybody has info that would be helpful… 1) Has anyone given any thoughts to the portola spring homes being very close to Frank Bowerman Land fill?  Thoughts? 2) I heard that portola springs area is a flood zone, true?
I am interested in the decada as well but just wondering why the homes are cheaper than say woodbury even though they are about a mile apart and by the same builders with the same amenities (most of the time)...
any feedback would be appreciated!

The homes in Portola Springs have a cheaper price tag, BUT the taxes are much more in Portola Springs.

Bubble,
I agree with you. Celedon is a bad remake of Casolon from Quail Hills. The name of Woodbury East is tainted by the bad taste of Celedon. Why on earth would TIC allow such a bad project to anchor a grand opening. It is like celebrating a grand opening of a classy mall but the ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the anchor store Walmart. I did sneak into Sienna. This project is really good and a huge improvement over all the previous detached clondo project. For those who like Decada this may even be better if it is priced right.
 

I remember these from February, it is part of what blew my mind up in Portola, they’re the cheapest and sadly, the most liveable of the designs up there from what I recall.

This is a very scary time to buy a house, though I really want to. Decada Plan 3 was originally listed at $742,000. Last weekend I was there, the price was $628,000. That is a huge drop. Does anyone have a crystal ball and see if Decada is going to drop their prices again?

scared,
Considering that lending is getting tighter everyday. This will limit the pool of buyers. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if prices will be even lower.