Well, after reading this website and many others, I decided to sign up for a 16 month lease at Woodbury Place and wait for the market to cool even more! If anyone is interested, Woodbury Place has really good move-in incentives on these townhomes. We got $1,500 off our first months’ rent. I am sure you can just call and ask them about their move-in specials. I think they may even have a referral bonus of $500 if anyone wants to split it! lol My husband and I really wanted to live in a place that has the feel of a home, and these definitely accomplish that. I love their two-car garages on every plan. There is never anyone living above or below you. Some of these townhomes are even detached completely!
Thanks for the great advice! I think it finally hit me when I read someone saying that if you saved 100 grand off the purchase price, you could pay rent for a few years and have white-glove moving services! That’s what we are doing. We are paying someone else to pack our stuff and move everything for us instead of paying way too much for a home.
Awesome!!! Congratulations. Thank you so much for posting; I bet that people like you are a big reason why our wonderful hosts zovall and irvinesinglemom, not to mention many other bloggers, work so hard to keep us informed.
Thanks IrvineRenter and bigmoneysalsa. My husband and I are pretty excited. Yes, our wonderful hosts do keep us informed and helped me make a great choice. People <u>still</u> keep trying to put us in fear that we will never be able to afford a house if we don’t get in now, but because of the research I have done on this site and others, I am not afraid. The only thing I am afraid of is paying half a million dollars for a condo I could rent for a fraction of the price! If I had let the fear drive me last year, I would have bought at an ever higher price of 50-100k more than the current prices! YIKES!
Hi o0odianao0o, congrats on your decision. I may be your neighbor next year! I will be moving into North Irvine in Spring/Summer of 2008 (Portola Springs, Woodbury, or the Great Park) and if prices have not dropped enough, Woodbury Place will be at the top of my list to look at leasing. I love the location - you are really, really close to the retail center so walking to Trader Joe’s, etc., would be a no-brainer.
Thanks irvinesinglemom! Our lease runs up in the middle of 2008 and if the prices are reasonable, we may buy too. Woodbury Place seems very nice, I will let you know my impressions when we have actually lived there! The location is awesome, I agree. That center is huge. And I LOVE Trader Joe’s!
I know who I’ll be consulting when it’s time to move. If you guys keep it up, you’re gonna be armchair rental experts in addition to bubble critics!
Maybe it’s time for one of us bubbleheads to start a rental advocacy blog!
oc_fliptrack: Maybe it’s time for one of us bubbleheads to start a rental advocacy blog!
I meant to respond to this yesterday but I had my head up my armpit (ah, the struggle to keep things "PG-13")...
OK - I like the idea of a rental advocacy blog. Sign me up as a charter member! I propose we call it Grumpy Renters United Forever, or G.R.U.F.!
Ah, choices, choices…
The last one has a nice ring to it, but the second to last one has a touch of class, sort of like the "yard-free" faux SFRs at VoC… Alright - it is decided then?
"renterunderclass.blogspot.com"
I could see the site evolving. At first it would be populated by housing bears waiting for the right moment to buy. Later it would be frequented by former owners who are bitter about being foreclosed on.
If anyone does set up a blog, I’d suggest registering the domain name ASAP— ocfliptrack.com got snagged by a cybersquatter only days before I got around to registering it.
I had to settle for a hyphenated domain name.
irvinerenter: "I could see the site evolving. At first it would be populated by housing bears waiting for the right moment to buy. Later it would be frequented by former owners who are bitter about being foreclosed on."
oc_fliptrack: "If anyone does set up a blog, I’d suggest registering the domain name ASAP ."
Given the prognostications of irvinerenter, and the sense of urgency created by oc_fliptrack, and being bears to begin with, we should forego the money/registration route and stick to the cheapie google-sponsored solution… just get a blogspot!
I doubt it. We’re 3%-ers. We’re on the fringe.
I expect sales to hold pretty steady from here on out—It’s the inventory that will overwhelm the demand and eventually drive prices down.
Next week is Flopped Flip week at OC_Fliptrack!
This is where doomed flippers slap a Band-Aid on a deep flesh wound by renting out their specuvestments at a loss. I trust all of you are smart enough to not go anywhere near next week’s featured units, for these are accidental landlords who aren’t in it for the current income and likely have no clue just what the hell they’re doing.
haha I love the ideas for the rental advocacy blog! Do it, do it! Remember to feature the pacificbeachbubble.blogspot.com rent vs. own calculator! You gotta love the investment category of "wife’s wardrobe!"
Yes, those kitchen islands have granite. It’s all very nice! Where did you end up renting?
back2irvine so now with all of us convinced that 2008 as the year to buy…are we just going to flood the market and drive those prices back up?
Good question back2irvine. If we all wait for prices to drop before we buy, isn’t the market going to be flooded with buyers that will drive up prices? Part of the reason why prices are dropping is because inventory is overhelming the demand. So should we not wait until 2008 and buy now with offers way below listed prices? If the seller speculates the same negative appreciation, wouldn’t they be pressured to sell at lessor prices?
Your friend,
dayday
Please take this "expectations" survey… Results will be posted to the forum soon! http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB2265RPA6SQQ
Just three basic questions to gauge what people are expecting to do if ready to purchase a house now….
Thanks,
crucialtaunt
I actually decided to rent at Shadow Oaks instead of Woodbury Place. The townhomes there have more space for my big screen TV!! My husband and I just moved in today. It’s very nice! : ) Thanks again for saving me from paying 4-5k a month for what I am getting now at less than half the price. Glad I didn’t hang myself with a rediculous mortgage!
im jealous!
