Address: 35 Hidden Trail, Irvine, CA 92603 (Turtle Ridge)

Plan: 3675 sq ft – 4/4.5

MLS: S446750 DOM: 241

Sale History: 7/13/2006: $2,250,000

Price Reduced: 07/19/06 — $2,499,000 to $2,350,000

Price Reduced: 09/19/06 — $2,350,000 to $2,225,000

Price Reduced: 01/04/07 — $2,225,000 to $2,150,000

Current Price: $2,150,000

Thanks to waitingtill08, we’ve found our first flip inside The Summit at Turtle Ridge! This is a Plan 3 in the Cirtus tract built by Brookfield Homes. It was first listed on the market on June 26, 2006. That is BEFORE they even closed escrow on the purchase on July 13, 2006! Doesn’t that smell like a flip to you?

The description reads “Corporate relocation. Outstanding panoramic view – city lights, ocean. Highly upgraded with hardwood floors, crown molding, plantation shutters, custom built-ins. Main floor master bedroom. Extra large bonus room.” This makes you think that the seller is relocating. When I looked into the title, it says that the owner is Prudential Relocation Inc. Hmm, sounds like it’s actually a company that specializes in Corporate Relocation. The property is listed by Prudential California Realty so I suppose this all makes sense now.

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Each of the price reductions on this property have been pretty substantial. I couldn’t find any mortgage information for the home and it wouldn’t surprise me if a behemoth like Prudential actually owned it outright. Anyone know how these Corporate Relocation companies work?

Instead of wishing for a $250k profit on the home like they did in July 2006, they are now wishing for no more than a $100k loss! Assuming 3% in selling costs, this flop will be a loss of around $164,500! Oh, and don’t forget the carrying costs on this beast. The MLS listing says that it is Vacant.

So what else is available in the Citrus tract right now? Continue reading →

Address: 21 Eden, Irvine, CA 92620 (Northwood)

Plan: 1915 sq ft – 3/2.5

MLS: S473170 DOM: 6

Sale History: 12/28/2005: $755,000

4/30/1999: $322,500

Current Price: $759,000

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Here we’ve got a Plan C SFR in the Park Paseo tract (builder?) in Northwood. Our seller purchased this home about a year ago (with 20%/151k down it seems) and is now relocating to Austin, TX. It’s refreshing to see they aren’t asking a ton more than what they bought it for. At a sales prices of $759k, they are facing a loss of about $41,000! Continue reading →

Address: 301 Rathbourne, Irvine, CA 92620 (Northwood)

Plan: 1481 sq ft – 3/2.5

MLS: S470313 DOM: 26

Sale History: 5/25/2005: $625,000

5/17/2001: $310,000

6/30/1998: $190,500

Price Reduced: 01/16/07 — $684,900 to $649,900

Current Price: $649,000

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This is the second flip that we’ve reported on in the Greystone Villas tract in Northwood. Built by Greystone Homes (now Lennar?), this home originally sold for $190,500 back in 1998. Our seller bought it for more than 3 times that price in May 2005 and it looks like they put $225,000 down. Continue reading →

Originally posted October 5, 2006

Address: 27 Maywood, Irvine, CA 92602 (Northpark)
Plan: 3250 sq ft – 5/3
MLS: P513737 DOM: 139
Sale History: 4/22/2005: $1,250,000
3/19/2001: $578,500
Price Reduced: 06/25/06 — $1,359,900 to $1,329,000
Price Reduced: 08/05/06 — $1,329,000 to $1,299,900
Current Price: $1,299,000

Here’s a Plan 2 in the Brentwood tract built by Warmington Homes in 2001. The flipper bought it in April 2005 and listed it in May 2006 hoping to make around $100,000. It looks like the flipper has loans totaling $1,200,000 on his $1,250,000 purchase! If sold at the current asking price and factoring in 6% in selling costs, he is facing a loss of about $29,000. I just noticed the property is listed as vacant so once you account for carrying costs, the pain is even greater!

UPDATE #1 – January 30, 2007

First of all, I want to mention that this flip was first uncovered by OC Fliptrack. I can’t believe I didn’t realize that when I featured this flip here in October (especially given that I commented on the original thread at OC Fliptrack!). All I can say is that I apologize and that it wasn’t done intentionally. Are we still cool OC Fliptrack?

Now to the update. This home finally closed escrow on January 25, 2007 (241 DOM) at a price of $1,175,000. Assuming 6% in selling costs, the seller probably lost around $145,000! And that does NOT include the carrying costs for having a vacant $1.25mil place for 8 months.

Comments have been purged and reopened. Play nice this time! 🙂

Address: 45 Nightshade, Irvine, CA 92603 (Quail Hill)

Plan: 1553 sq ft – 3/3

MLS: S469390 DOM: 37

Sale History: 3/31/2005: $647,000

11/26/2003: $438,000

Price Reduced: 01/10/07 — $709,000 to $685,000

Current Price: $685,000

This is a former model home in the Casalon tract built by John Laing Homes in the village of Quail Hill. The current owners bought this place almost 2 years ago with 10% down. In December 2006 they put it on the market for $709,000. I’m pretty sure they didn’t get a good response so a few weeks later they dropped the price by $24,000.

It’s also available as a rental (MLS #S469388) for $2700/month (originally at $3000). My guess is that if it sells soon, the price will be pretty close to what they paid for it. If sold at the current asking price (assuming 6% in selling costs), they are looking at a loss of around $3000. And that does NOT include the money they are losing every month while it is sitting there vacant!

You would think that everyone at this point would understand that real estate cannot continue to appreciate indefinitely. But I’m sure there are still tons of misinformed buyers out there. If you come across one, send them this way! 🙂