Squatting Newport Coast Style

Inspired by last year's series on HELOC abuse, I started looking for upcoming trustee sales to see who has been squatting in luxury. Today's featured property is one of many I found.

Irvine Home Address … 5 LONGBOAT Newport Coast, CA 92657

Resale Home Price …… $2,988,900

{book1}

She calls out to the man on the street

"Sir, can you help me?

It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep,

Is there somewhere you can tell me?"

He walks on, doesn't look back

He pretends he can't hear her

Starts to whistle as he crosses the street

Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh

Think twice

'Cause it's another day for you and me in paradise

Phil Collins — Another Day In Paradise

Last year we looked at $3,367,500 HELOC Abuse from Hollywood, $5,000,000 HELOC abuse from Laguna Beach, $7,000,000 HELOC abuse in Newport Coast, 18 different properties in Huntington Beach, and several properties in San Clemente. Everyone was rightfully outraged, but that was not the end of the madness. Many HELOC abusers who cannot make their payments are now staying on in these properties squatting on your tax dollars.

While renters and the other "little people" suffer during the Great Recession, the entitled rich squat in their luxury homes and enjoy another day in paradise.

Today's featured property has it all:

  1. $2,500,000+ in HELOC abuse.
  2. Delusional seller who has chased the market down more than 50%.
  3. Gaming the system to squat in luxury for a year and a half.

HELOC Abuse

The original sales price is not clear from my records, but it looks as if the buyers paid about $1,200,000 in 1997. There was a $900,000 loan which I assume was 80% of the total purchase price. The original owners were a couple, and after the point where only the wife is on title in 2004 — presumably after a divorce — the HELOC abuse became truly remarkable.

  • On 3/11/2004 the wife appears alone on title, and the first mortgage is $999,800.
  • On 8/30/2004 she refinanced with a $1,000,000 first mortgage.
  • On 12/28/2005 she refinanced with a $2,170,000 first mortgage.
  • On 2/1/2006 she got a HELOC for $250,000.
  • On 8/22/2006 she refinanced with an Option ARM for $2,500,000.
  • On 11/15/2006 she opened a HELOC for $490,000.
  • On 8/1/2007 she refinanced with another Option ARM for $3,225,000.
  • On 10/22/2007 she opened a HELOC for $500,000.
  • Total property debt is $3,725,000.
  • Total mortgage equity withdrawal is $2,725,200 during a four-year stretch.

That is $681,300 per year in cash to spend to enjoy this beautiful property for doing nothing. Great gig if you can get it.

Delusional market chasing

This listing price history speaks for itself:

Property History for 5 LONGBOAT

Date Event Price
Mar 20, 2010 Relisted
Mar 08, 2010 Delisted
Feb 04, 2010 Relisted
Feb 02, 2010 Delisted
Jan 20, 2010 Price Changed $2,988,900
Sep 22, 2009 Price Changed $3,900,000
Aug 26, 2009 Price Changed $4,900,000
Sep 02, 2008 Price Changed $5,300,000
Aug 21, 2008 Price Changed $5,700,000
Jun 26, 2008 Price Changed $5,998,800
Jun 10, 2008 Listed $6,100,000

A 300% markup followed by a 50% reduction. Is that delusion, ignorance, or stupidity?

Gaming the system

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 07/23/2009

Document Type: Notice of Sale

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 04/27/2009

Document Type: Notice of Rescission

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 04/21/2009

Document Type: Notice of Default

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 03/23/2009

Document Type: Notice of Rescission

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 03/18/2009

Document Type: Notice of Default

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 03/17/2009

Document Type: Notice of Default

To be in default on 3/17/2009, the borrower has missed payments since at least December 2008 and likely much earlier.

Where did you live for the last 16 months? Did you live this well? Did you pay for it?

These loans are above the conforming limit, so perhaps we will not pay for it, but somehow I imagine lenders will find a way to take bailout money for these losses. You are probably going to pay for Washington Mutual's loss on this property with your tax money as part of the backstop agreement when Chase took WAMU over. Your tax money is supporting a HELOC abusing squatter living in luxury in Newport Coast… Just so you know….

IHB News

As you noticed last week, we are now able to buy at trustee sale and sell to families that require financing. I intend to write a series of posts to detail everything soon. This will be a slow rollout. I would rather under-promise and over-deliver.

Housing Bubble News from Patrick.net

Los Angeles Area Rent/Buy Ratios (patrick.net)

Housing market's upswing at risk of collapsing (chron.com)

Mortgage delinquencies rise to nearly 14 percent (finance.yahoo.com)

Households Facing Foreclosure Rose in 4th Quarter (nytimes.com)

Housing's big "shadow" up to 10M more houses could be for sale (finance.yahoo.com)

Half of U.S. House Loan Modifications Default Again (bloomberg.com)

House loan modification program oversold: watchdog (reuters.com)

Obama Loan-Modification Effort Failed Miserably (businessweek.com)

Treasury defends houseowner assistance plan (reuters.com)

Treasury, Ahem, Clarifies Goals for the Mortgage Mod Program (propublica.org)

Underwater "Owners" Will Never Surface Again (centralvalleybusinesstimes.com)

James K. Galbraith: Oh Please, Greenspan (huffingtonpost.com)

Real Estate ETFs Face Uphill Battle (minyanville.com)

Existing house sales dip in Panama City, FL (newsherald.com)

Man convicted on 160 counts of realty fraud (signonsandiego.com)

Realtor suspected in foreclosure theft (columbiatribune.com)

US new house sales hit record low (news.bbc.co.uk)

Sales of New U.S. Houses Dropped to Lowest on Record (bloomberg.com)

Sun Belt Loses Its Shine in Migration Data (online.wsj.com)

Arizona Officials Apportion Bailout Funds and Wrestle with Moral Hazard (irvinehousingblog.com)

California has 1.7 Million Additional Houses priced under $249,000 (financemymoney.com)

What if It Was ALL Just a Big Bubble? (timiacono.com)

Positive cash flow in rental properties (johntreed.com)

Obama Loan Program May Extend Foreclosure Crisis (bloomberg.com)

The Housing Crisis and the Resentment Zone (economix.blogs.nytimes.com)

BofA to start reducing mortgage principal (finance.yahoo.com)

U.S. banks pay lip service to second mortgages (blogs.reuters.com)

Treasury Takes First Steps to Reshape Fannie and Freddie (nytimes.com)

Kansas City Fed's Hoenig Endorses Volcker, Blasts "Too Big To Fail" (Mish)

High-End Repo Man Takes Back Toys From the Over-Leveraged Rich (online.wsj.com)

Why political futures markets got the health care bill so wrong (slate.com)

Toll road operator files for Chapter 11 (signonsandiego.com)

The Rising Cost of Public Higher Education (phdcomics.com)

The Case for Ending the Mortgage Deduction (nytimes.com)

Noe Valley "Dreamhouse": One raffle you might not want to win? (sfgate.com)

Renting Can Be A Smart Investment (PDF)

HAMP applicants who don't really need the money (calculatedriskblog.com)

Fannie, Freddie messy government tie tough to cut (reuters.com)

Why Fannie and Freddie Continue to Cost Taxpayers Billions (huffpostfund.org)

Will Misrepresented Mortgage-Backed Bonds Come Home to Roost? (seekingalpha.com)

Bernanke Wants to End Bank Reserve Requirements Completely: Does it Matter? (Mish)

AIG Increases Pay for Most Top Managers Who Remained (businessweek.com)

How Middle Class Evaporated in Last 40 Years (mybudget360.com)

Global Housing Prices: More Room to Fall? (imf.org)

Influx of listings set to cool Canadian housing market (theglobeandmail.com)

German pensioners guilty of abducting financial adviser (news.bbc.co.uk)

San Francisco Bay Area Rent/Buy Ratios (patrick.net)

New round of foreclosures threatens housing market (washingtonpost.com)

Defaults and foreclosures bounce up (nctimes.com)

Notices of default up 24% in San Diego county (signonsandiego.com)

Microcosm of the Housing Crisis on an Arizona Street (nytimes.com)

A Florida Sprawl Development's Road to Foreclosure (eyeonmiami.blogspot.com)

In Metro Detroit, 47 percent of properties are under water (detnews.com)

In Boston, a Lender Steps in After Foreclosures (dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com)

Finding in Foreclosure a Beginning, Not an End (nytimes.com)

House Builders Can't Compete With Foreclosures (forbes.com)

America's most underwater housing markets (finance.yahoo.com)

Poll Shows Little Confidence in Housing Recovery (fastpitchnetworking.com)

Five Financial Trends Keeping California Home Prices Depressed (doctorhousingbubble.com)

Reply to NYT article claiming that paying off your mortgage is bad idea (slycapital.wordpress.com)

More troubles coming for Portland commercial real estate (blog.oregonlive.com)

The Incredible Lightness of the SP 500 (theautomaticearth.blogspot.com)

Inflation? Where? (Mish)

Contrarian Trade of the Decade: the U.S. Dollar (Charles Hugh Smith)

Too-Big-to-Fail Banks Will Spark New Crisis (bloomberg.com)

House Call: To Buy or Not to Buy (smartmoney.com)

More Ugly Housing Data (safehaven.com)

Supply of Foreclosed Houses Increases (calculatedriskblog.com)

Option ARMs pose threat to housing market (latimes.com)

Loan Spread Points to Limits on U.S. Housing (bloomberg.com)

CA Housing is Double-Dipping Right Now! (mhanson.com)

House values in Phoenix may fall again because of 'shadow inventory' (azcentral.com)

Many South Florida house sellers still asking too much (miamiherald.com)

Some homedebtors facing prospect of repeated foreclosures (latimes.com)

Credit scores can drop after getting loan help (finance.yahoo.com)

Why On Earth Would I Attempt A Short Sale? (housingstorm.com)

Should You Buy or Rent? (realestate.yahoo.com)

Renters' advantage (thenewstribune.com)

US Headed For Commercial Real Estate Crash Of Unprecedented Magnitude? (beforeitsnews.com)

Sale Fraud, Squatter Stimulus, and Buying Before Foreclosing (mybudget360.com)

Trust, Underwater (nytimes.com)

The Misinformed Tea Party Movement (forbes.com)

Irvine Home Address … 5 LONGBOAT Newport Coast, CA 92657

Resale Home Price … $2,988,900

Home Purchase Price … $1,125,000

Home Purchase Date …. 11/19/1997

Net Gain (Loss) ………. $1,684,566

Percent Change ………. 165.7%

Annual Appreciation … 7.8%

Cost of Ownership

————————————————-

$2,988,900 ………. Asking Price

$597,780 ………. 20% Down Conventional

5.11% …………… Mortgage Interest Rate

$2,391,120 ………. 30-Year Mortgage

$626,654 ………. Income Requirement

$12,997 ………. Monthly Mortgage Payment

$2590 ………. Property Tax

$250 ………. Special Taxes and Levies (Mello Roos)

$249 ………. Homeowners Insurance

$600 ………. Homeowners Association Fees

============================================

$16,687 ………. Monthly Cash Outlays

-$1918 ………. Tax Savings (% of Interest and Property Tax)

-$2815 ………. Equity Hidden in Payment

$1199 ………. Lost Income to Down Payment (net of taxes)

$374 ………. Maintenance and Replacement Reserves

============================================

$13,526 ………. Monthly Cost of Ownership

Cash Acquisition Demands

——————————————————————————

$29,889 ………. Furnishing and Move In @1%

$29,889 ………. Closing Costs @1%

$23,911 ………… Interest Points @1% of Loan

$597,780 ………. Down Payment

============================================

$681,469 ………. Total Cash Costs

$207,300 ………… Emergency Cash Reserves

============================================

$888,769 ………. Total Savings Needed

Property Details for 5 LONGBOAT Newport Coast, CA 92657

——————————————————————————

Beds: 4

Baths: 4 full 1 part baths

Home size: 5,300 sq ft

($564 / sq ft)

Lot Size: 10,508 sq ft

Year Built: 1994

Days on Market: 656

MLS Number: U8002650

Property Type: Single Family, Residential

Community: Newport Coast

Tract: Esor

——————————————————————————

According to the listing agent, this listing may be a pre-foreclosure or short sale.

COMPLETELY REMODELED IN 2008: NEW PAINT AND CARPET, GRANITE TOPS, AND KITCHEN CABINETS. THIS SPECTACULAR MEDITERRANEAN CUSTOM ESTATE OFFERS BREATHTAKING VIEWS OF OCEAN AND CITY LIGHTS. FROM THE LUXURIOUS AND ELEGANT INTERIOR TO THE BEAUTIFUL YARD WITH ROCK POOL, WATERFALLS, SPA AND OUTDOOR BUILT-IN BARBEQUE, THIS HOME IS PERFECT FOR ENTERTAINMENT. HOME OFFICE LIBRARY AND SURROUND SOUD SYSTEM ARE JUST A FEW EXTRA THINGS THIS HOME HAS TO OFFER. LOCATED IN THE PRESTIGIOUS GUARD-GATED COMMUNITY OF PELICAN RIDGE AND BUILT BY BRIAN FOSTER.

33 thoughts on “Squatting Newport Coast Style

  1. Planet Reality

    “I imagine lenders will find a way to take bailout money for these losses. You are probably going to pay for Washington Mutual’s loss on this property with your tax money as part of the backstop agreement when Chase took WAMU over. ”

    You got that right.

    We are all Newport Coast home owners now !!!

    Another week, and more tax payer help for homeowners. There is no end in sight. Government sponsored principal reductions are just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

    This will all blow up into major inflation 5 to 10 years from now.

  2. newbie2008

    IrvineRenter,
    Why you heartless soul. You’re likely picking on a single mother. She only did what was legal and forced there by dead, divorce or stragetic separtation. Only 3.2 million dollars in cash equity withdraw from a first with the banksters blessing. The $0.7 million HELCO is questionable, because that would create a recourse loan, but payment of 20 cents on the dollar, still a ROI of 500% for the HELCO.. :{

    What’s it to you that she got the good deal from the bank? $3.2 million in walk-away money and only one year plus free rent now.

    It doesn’t matter what price she sells it at this point. You’re assuming that she really wants to sell the place. It likely a one action/non-recourse. The game is to give the bank a reason to delay FC. String the lowering of the price for another 3 years of free rent. If it sells for $500 thousand or FC, it no skin off her back and that would be 4 years of free rent plus 3.2 million in walk-away money. Maybe she can make some political contributions on behalf of GS for more bailout money for the banksters and expansion of non-recourse for all home loan, unless she’s a bankster. Is she?

    I would put some quotes of our founding fathers, but the OHS would like be shutting down your website. :}

  3. Alan

    If it had sold for $6.1 million, she would have gotten another $2.3 million on top of the $2.7 million in equity withdrawal. Great fantasy, but too bad life didn’t play along quite right. I guess some lawyers and debt collectors will take the time to look into this one eventually. Any Sugar Daddies out there?

  4. OrangeRenter

    I’m always compelled to post when you discuss Option Arms.

    Having worked in loss mitigation for a larger servicer, I was amazed at the number of Multi-million dollar option arms going bad… Especially in hard hit areas of FL.

    One comes to mind: a single woman that work for a large TV network making $450,000/yr.

    $3 million Option Arm with a teaser rate payment of about $10,000/mo. In Foreclosure. We offered to get her all caught up with a fully amortizing 2% rate which would keep her payment at about $10,000 (but no longer be neg am). Rate would step up to a “normal” rate of 5% after 5 years.

    She sued us. Case was still pending when I left.

    Does this rich, saavy business woman deserve a 2% payment? Do YOU have a 2% payment on your $3million dollar home?

    The whole mod business disgusted me, which is why I quit.

    The 5% payment shocked her (about $16,000/mo), but what did she expect was coming on a 3 MILLION DOLLAR LOAN!

    Why can’t she just go rent somewhere with her $450,000 ANNUAL SALARY! No, we “owed” her somehow.

    No I’m mad all over again…

    1. Chris

      If the salary/commish pays well, hell, I’ll take your job 🙂

      Screw morality….do you think this gubbermint cared about morality when it provided the largest bailout ever known to mankind?

  5. newbie2008

    Alan,
    If it sold for $6.1 million, she would be responsible for pay the REA and clearing the loan. The net with the sale would be about only $1.8 million. A walkawy with $3.2 million is $1.4 million more plus a few years of free rent. She only needs to do the math.

    The one action rule with a judical FC might keep her in the house for another 3 years and call the title into question for one year after JFC. But then she could of hid the $3.2 million.

    You can buy a lot of house for $3.2 million in 95% of the USA. $3.2 million is a life time of rent, small house and retirement funds.

  6. newbie2008

    Sorry, Math mistake. Net on sale for $6.1 million would be $4.5 million cause the property was purchased for 1.2 and she should have cash for the refinance what would be a wash. But she at a point that the sale below her loan value would not likely be in she best interest.

    JFC are a crap shoot. Too much rest upon a judge that might have great sympathy for this poor single mother or buddies with her family. The title/sale would still be in limbo for a year after JFC.

    Not leagal advise, just looking over the possibilities.

  7. oc bear

    While I enjoy IHB very much, I doubt that many people in the mid west are reading the blog. Once everyone that rents, pays their mortgage, or owns their home outright truly understands this problem and has a way to express their displeasure, something big is going to happen.

  8. wheresthebeef

    Those are some mind blowing numbers! Like you said, the tax payers will probably eat the loss. When all the people in the midwest who live within their means figure out where their hard earned tax dollar is going…shit could hit the fan real bad. It’s funny how the MSM doesn’t cover any of these stories because it would insite anger and possible violence.

    The woman featured has zero ethics or morals. But she is business savy and knows how to game the system…that is what sets her apart from the rest of the Oprah watching, cheesy poof eating regular working class.

  9. Major Schadenfreude

    Thank you for this post.

    I will be printing it out and sending it to elected officials along with a letter explaining why their heads should be more or less lopped off.

    This story will be in support of just one bullet point of many in that letter.

    1. tonyE

      I was thinking of doing the very same thing.

      Unfortunately this is the kind of person, living on the kind of neighborhood that supports the politicians.

      They may let Moreno Valley and Hemet go down in flames,. Irvine will take a big hit… but the rich areas of Newport, The Westside, San Francisco, etc.. will be propped no matter what.

      Going after this woman would upset the apple cart -err the gravy train for the politicians.

  10. newbie2008

    She even better. The listing has a lease option while in default.

    Taking 3.2 million in cash, not paying and maybe have someone to pay her by leasing the house. It doesn’t get much better than this bailout.

    Say $10,000 month plus deposit for leasing. Plus prepayment of rent and deposit? The bailouts are really reeking of greed. Will the leasee get stiffed? I hope the laws have been changed to protect the leasee for FC.

    The large families in the midwest are needed. Who else is going to pay for all these bailout?

  11. E

    Hmmmph.

    Interesting.

    I did a little noodling around on the internet.

    Looks like this person *may* also be the owner of a $1,640,000 Sunny Isles Beach, Fl condo bought in 2008.

    I wonder if she’ll “homestead” her condo and get to keep it for free. I think that’s how it works in FL.

    Bitch.

  12. Laura Louzader

    Ohmygod, I am beyond disgusted.

    I am a renter and I have just been informed that my job in financial will go away next month, or the following month.

    Let me tell you that I will not get the forbearance from my landlord that this woman has gotten from the system, and I don’t make anything like $450K a year. My landlords are great people but even THEY are not in this woman’s income bracket,nowhere near, and they cannot afford to carry a 42-unit building full of unemployed freeloaders. I wish I could tell you she is the only rich person living on welfare in a palatial home, but I personally know of a couple such here in Chicago.

    This woman should be prosecuted for bank fraud and made to move out of this house and to pay back as much of her debt as she is able to. That means that she should be left about 20% of her income to live on, about $90K, which last I heard was well above the poverty line. Maybe she should be left $45K, which is ample for her needs. That will get her a nice rental in FL and pay her car expenses. She should have a lot of nice clothes and jewelry left to show for her HELOC spending binges- but the jewelry should be hocked to help pay the debt.

    And she should be made to perform Community Service. I would suggest she be put to work in a homeless shelter, so she can meet people who’ve really been had by our rotten system.

    1. IrvineRenter

      Laura,

      It’s sad to hear you are facing difficulties. I wish you the best of luck finding a new job.

    2. zubs

      You guys have gotten it all wrong. This woman is a hero who is trying to bring down the corrupt system. Everyone should emulate her, and then the system would collapse, and out of the destruction, a new and better system borned.

      So yeah..game the system and get yours while you can and try to do it legally…..lots of grey areas.

  13. Laura Louzader

    OOps, why did I say FL? This house is in CA. Oh well, she can get a livable rental somewhere in SoCal for $1100 or so, I’m sure, though I do not know your market.

    Where she really ought to be living is in a jail cell. This was HELOC fraud, pure and simple.

    1. Swiller

      A “livable” rental in OC for $1100? LOL!!! Where? And what is “livable” varies from person to person and even from one phase in life to another.

      Sure livable can be a tar paper shack south of the Salton Sea….or a husk of a home in Hemet. No jobs out that way and commute is a bust in the gonads every drive….plus the cost of Arab gasoline is only going to go up.

      I’ve been living in OC since 1986, and even THEN, I was paying $660 for a one bedroom. I would say $1400-2500 for a 2 bedroom in OC in a good neighborhood. A house? $2200-5000 If you like to risk your life for cheaper rentals, you can do SanTana, Anaslime, Garbage Grove, or Guada-La Habra.

      1. Swiller

        I agree with you on the HELOC fraud and people going to jail, but only *IF* the banksters and those at the top go to jail for even longer periods of time….which won’t happen. HELOC abusers should be forced into bankruptcy. You see, IF you have the $$$, you will be forced to pay on those debts, it may not be 100% recovery, but at least they can’t slimeball out with profit free and clear.

        I would one day like to see Pecora trials begin, but as some of our founding fore-fathers wrote about the dangers of a central bank, it may be too late for that.

        I voted for Ron Paul, and I will again, even if I have to WRITE his name in like the last election. I vote for what I believe in, not for fear of who will do the least amount of damage. To the older generation, they think I’m wasting my vote, but I see what voting for the “lesser of two evils” has done to this country. Now all the politicians are devils, just some worse than the others.

        Eventually, Satan himself will have to run for President and elected Congress just so the people have someone to vote AGAINST.

      2. Laura Louzader

        Well, a “tar paper shack south of the Salton Sea” is sure as hell livable enough for this fraudster. She’d have her freedom, which is really more than she deserves.

        I wouldn’t let this woman bankrupt, but would make her commit 90% of her pay to paying back these loans. Unfortunately, her Sunny Isles place gives her Florida residency, and FL has the most liberal,corrupt bankruptcy laws in the country, except perhaps for TX. In FL, you can declare a Chapter 7 total liquidation and keep a house worth up to $2M. This place is probably worth a little less than that.

        Irvine Renter, thank you for your kind sympathy. But I believe I will be OK. I’ve sensed this coming and have been scouting other job and business opportunities, and I am frugal and live in an inexpensive apartment.

    2. tonyE

      There’s no room for people like this in our jails. They’re overcrowded with pot and crack users.

      Hopefully when we legalize pot we’ll have room to throw people like this in for 20 years or so. Make them pick cauliflowers in a work farm.

      Good luck with your job.

      1. Swiller

        I’ll agree with you that the War on Drugs has been an abject failure. Making crimes out of things that by nature aren’t crimes is foolish. Prohibition *never* works.

        I do ponder whether a crack smoker (not an incarcerated crack smoker, they employ police with union jobs and a 3% per year retirement plan with full bennies) has more of a negative impact on society than a HELOC abuser who costs taxpayers a million bucks or so. Both cost us tremendously and are a huge burden. Police with bloated pay and unsustainable pensions, and someone walking away with a cool million, just because the law says they can.

        When a Ponzi scheme is discovered, who do they go after to arrest? The little guys who all contributed and lost their money, or the person or people who started the scheme and made the most $$$? The flippers participated, but the banksters and politicans, they created it through their laws, but when will people indict themselves? That’s why there is no investigations, and no one going to jail. The system would have to jail itself, and we would have to elect an entire new government and abolish the central bank. Will never happen….

  14. Laura Louzader

    Here is a nice Irvine rental for a thou a month.

    Now, it’s a studio, and I have no idea how the neighborhood is. But it is on the 2nd floor and looks fairly break-in resistant, if you put a good stout deadbolt lock on the door. It has a tennis court and a pool and parking and is close to everything.

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/264-Streamwood_Irvine_CA_92620_1115400302

    I found many other nice cheap places in the Los Angeles area. Very nice little places in charming, well-kept, secure old buildings for as little as $667 a month. Granted, they are not in choice neighborhoods, but if you are careful and alert, you can live safely in these areas.

    While I’m sure it’s not a great apartment and it probably isn’t in a desirable location, it is still far from being a slum. You can paint the place and make it charming, with a little imagination and almost no money, especially if your are already loaded with luxe furniture left over from your binge-spending days.The location also might make up for what it lacks in desirability in its proximity to retail and recreation.It beats the hell out of a prison cell. Many people who used to live far better would now be grateful to live this well.

    But this lady probably has closets bigger than this place so she will have to sell a lot of her nice designer duds to fit into the joint. She shouldn’t feel bad- it beats living in a Tent City

    1. tonyE

      “close to UCI”
      “close to the Spectrum”

      WTH?

      It’s on the North Side of the Santa Fwy towards Tustin.

    2. Swiller

      This is so funny I almost spit my drink out…

      “Granted, they are not in choice neighborhoods, but if you are careful and alert, you can live safely in these areas.”

      Not around here. I lived in Santa Ana for 5 years shortly after moving here in the 80’s, and let me tell you, no amount of be careful and alert will save you from a bullet fired on a drive-by, you would be jumping on the ground every car that went by. It’s just different out here. You have good neighborhoods (where killings still take place, just a lot less frequent) and you have bad neighborhoods where you read about killings going on darn near every week-end.

      If I was a single woman, I would want to move somewhere that is relatively stable (condo/house, not an apartment) and get to know the neighbors.

    1. Swiller

      Well, it depends on what you are calling a “neighborhood”. In the midwest there are houses and parks and schools around. This specific area is all business. It’s close to the airport (see Airport Way on the little map), and there are large business buildings all over. Heavy industrial/commercial use is nearby in all directions. So, it depends if that’s how you want to live. There are other areas much more conducive to actually having a social life without having to drive everywhere.

      That whole complex there reminds me on one giant Precinct 13…I’m not a fan.

      1. Laura Louzader

        It’s Ok if you are “not a fan” and can pay your bills to live elswewhere. You pay your bills, so you are entitled to your choices.

        We are all entitled to our choices within our means.

        But when you are someone who has scammed the system for $2.7M, you should be darn happy living in a “non-premium” neighborhood. If it’s close to commercial and the airport, a BK person should be grateful-it’s at least convenient to jobs and retail.

        Beggers can’t be choosers. This woman should be grateful she’s not in a homeless shelter.

        1. Swiller

          Now you are sounding like the government…”I’ve made this decision, and this is good enough for you”.

          I thought you were asking about living areas for yourself and was trying to help out because I know the area very well. I should know better than to help 🙂

    1. JH

      I, like Laura, have a hard time believing you can’t find a decent place to live in Orange County for a little over $1k a month.

      Studio for $1k at Seal Beach
      http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartments/California/Seal-Beach/Oakwood-Long-Beach-Marina/1774/

      San Clemente studio or one bedroom for around $1.1K
      http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartments/California/San-Clemente/Pacific-Pointe/20677/

      Newport Beach:
      http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartments/California/Newport-Beach/The-Beach-House-Apartment-Homes/1655/

      Laguna Hills one bedroom less than $1.1K
      http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartments/California/Laguna-Hills/Alicia-Plaza_-Alicia-Village/25682/

      Are all of these places unlivable?

      1. nefron

        There is no place in Irvine that is unsafe. The studio is in Northwood, it’s perfectly fine. The rest of them, I’m not familiar with. But no matter what, we’re not talking South Central.

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