Weighing Options in University Park

14 Butternut Lane $899,000

Butternut is a private lane in University Park. And 14 Butternut sits near the end of the lane. From the street this home has a park-like landscape with a rose bordered brick walk leading to a tiled entry.

Space is a focus here. This 3,200 square foot single family home sits on a 6,313 square foot lot. Five bedrooms and 2.75 baths make room for guests, grandchildren, and hobbies too. High ceilings and good sized rooms give the whole house a light, airy feeling. Built in 1974 and completely remodeled, the home has been reduced from $970,000 to $899,000.

If you have a stash of antiques and dreams of extra rooms for a library, art studio or other projects, this home could provide answers.

The tiled entry leads to a large living room with a handsome fireplace and wood floors. The living room is really a hub for the house with vaulted ceiling, and stairway with balcony-like view above. A formal dining room is off to the left with a patio to the right. Beyond the living room, a roomy family room sits opposite the country kitchen and overlooks a wrap-around park-like yard with spa and garden.

The kitchen has a garden window and brick framed cooking top. Granite counters, breakfast bar, stainless appliances and custom cabinets have all been added.

Upstairs, there is a light filled, large master bedroom and bath and three other bedrooms and a bath, available for guests or to become a home office or hobby center. There is also a main floor bedroom and bath with sitting area and walk in closet. The home has custom vanities, dual paned windows, central air, newer exterior and interior paint, and a double garage.

Specifics for this two level home:

Beds: 5

Baths: 2.75

Sq. Ft: 3,200

$/Sq.Ft.: $291

HOA Dues: #$168/month

Lot size: 6313 sq. ft.

Association Pool

Private Spa

Forced air, central air, ceiling fans

Property: Residential

Type: Single Family

No Mello Roos Tax

Year Built: 1974

Community: University Park

County: Orange

On the Market: 64 days

Considerations and Comparisons: Weighing the options here involves the age, size, upgrades and price for this home. This home was built in 1974 and sold in 2006 for $1,085,000. In 1992 it sold for $445,000. Now it has has been reduced from $970,000 to $899,000, and it has been on the market 64 days. Completely remodeled, the home’s classic looks have been enhanced with quality upgrades. The lot and home size on a secluded private lane in the desirable University Park community make this home an interesting competitor in the Irvine market. On the minus side, there is some noise out front on the street from University Street traffic and other homes with 5 bedrooms might include another bath.

Who will be the next one to welcome guests to 14 Butternut Lane? A good sized family with active kids will benefit from the space and the excellent schools and parks. A couple who entertain, travel and act as frequent hosts to guests or grandkids will see the potential here. People who work in Irvine, or who are involved with the University of California Irvine, might find this home to be a natural.

Recent Sales and Listings nearby: 18 Charity sold for $1,300,000 in July; 16 Wondering Rill sold for $1,390,000 in July. Nearby current listings: 2 Angell is listed at $1,495,000 and 8 Rainstar is $889,000.

Discuss on Talk Irvine: http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3114.0.html

Super investment in Irvine!

Four bedrooms and three bathrooms!

Low HOA Dues! Low Mello Roos!

Cul-de-sac location! Single Family Residence with high ceilings and double doors!

That covers the listing description.

It’s a tri-level old and dated property in need of incredible amounts of TLC. Some people actually like buying properties with character and a little bit of history rather than invest in yet another sparkling new perigraniteel dream sold by The Irvine Company.

It backs to the busy Culver Drive. According to some veteran Irvine residents, homes close to Culver Drive are blessed with the white noise of a smoothly flowing river.

That covers the initial analysis based on MLS pictures.

What’s the reality?

Reality is a property can be listed at any price the seller and his agent deem appropriate, and it sells for any price the buyer and his agent deem appropriate.

So what have buyers paid for a similar property in the same village in 2011?

14502 Larch Ave $230/SF

3641 Myrtle St $271/SF

14581 Fir Ave $307/SF

14592 Oak Ave $326/SF

3531 Pecan St $253/SF

3832 Magnolia St $259/SF

3501 Pecan St $309/SF

14647 Beach Ave $326/SF

3932 Banyan St $313/SF

14561 Mango Ave $316/SF

What’s the property in question listed at?

At $283/SF, it might very well sell within the listed range.

3932 Banyan St, Irvine CA 92602

Listing price: $624,500

Beds/ Bath: 4 Beds/ 2.75 Baths

Area: 2210 SF

Year Built: 1972

Lot Size: 5400 SF

Village: Walnut

Price/ SF: $283

HOA Dues: $40 Monthly

Property Tax: (1.00381%) $6268 Annually

Mello Roos: $172 Annually

Mortgage (3.5%): $2243

Fixed Monthly Expenses: $2820

A newer house with similar monthly fixed expenses would be most probably a detached condominium, with a much smaller backyard and higher Mello Roos and HOA dues.

Similar river noises are offered at a newer house on the other side of 5 with TUSD schools with Irvine addresses. It went into escrow within days of being listed (lower listing price as well). This detached condominium has all the bells and whistles associated with a newer property , but it’s smaller, and has higher HOA dues and Mello Roos.

44 Night Bloom, Irvine CA 92602

Monthly cost of owning this detached condo:

HOA Dues: $156 Monthly

Property Tax: (1.0595%) $5878 Annually

Mello Roos: $2492 Annually

Mortgage (3.5%): Monthly

Fixed Monthly Expenses: $2844

What would you do?

Would you invest in an older property like this in need of work?

Would you buy a newer property that will be move-in ready?

Comment below, or discuss at Talk Irvine.

I was talking to a friend recently about investment properties, so I thought I’d take a look at a smaller home and see what it had to offer. I had heard that the Lane’s End neighborhood in Northwood Pointe had cute, detached townhomes, so I visited 170 Garden Gate Lane.

The basics:

Asking Price: $498,000

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 2

Square Footage: 1,039

Lot Size: 1,742

$/Sq Ft: $479

Days on Market: 40

Property Type: Single Family Home

Year Built: 1998

Community: Lane’s End, Northwood Pointe

HOA dues are $134 per month and there are Mello Roos taxes.

To get to this home, you take a walkway between two other homes and enter into a small courtyard area. I could imagine forming a close community with the neighbors and liked that aspect of the house. From the front, 170 Garden Gate Lane is cute, with a white picket fence and small courtyard. As the house lacks a backyard, this is really the only outside space it has. The garage is off an alley at the back of the house, so it doesn’t have a driveway.

This house has a small, tiled entry way that feeds into the living room. Featuring laminate flooring, a tiled fireplace, a built in bookcase/cabinet, and large French doors leading to the courtyard, the room is bright and cozy. It’s somewhat small and limited in how it can be arranged, but I found myself liking the feeling I got in the room. It was definitely my favorite part of the house.

The kitchen is behind the living room, with a small breakfast nook tucked up against the staircase. The nook, like many other areas in the home, has small cutouts in the wall that make cute display areas for vases, photos, or other home décor. The kitchen has white Whirlpool appliances and tiled counters. One side has white paneled cabinets and the other has glass paneled cabinets and an overhead rack for wine glasses. Counter space is limited but there is a lot of storage. It also has a sliding door that goes out to a small side yard.

The master bedroom is right at the top of the stairs. It has several windows, including one that could be used as a window seat or have a storage box built into it. There are two small mirrored closets and a small bathroom. While the shower is a nice size, it lacks a bathtub and only has one sink.

The other bedroom is fairly small and doesn’t have room for much beyond a bed and one other piece of furniture. The current owners removed the closet doors and put a desk in the closet area to create more space.

The other bathroom upstairs has a shower/tub combo and a single sink. Because there isn’t a bathroom downstairs, this would have to serve as the bathroom guests use whenever they visit the house. For me, this is a big negative and would deter me from buying this property.

This house would work well for a couple without children or for someone single. It’s too small to be comfortable for a bigger family. It is in excellent condition, needing only new paint and carpet upstairs.

The pros: I really liked the design of the house, with the cutouts for décor and the window seat option in the master bedroom. I also liked the feel of the living room and all of the windows throughout the house. The potential to form a close-knit community with the neighbors is also attractive to me.

The cons: No downstairs bathroom, limited counter space in the kitchen, a small secondary bedroom and the smaller closets and bathroom in the master.

The price, however, is the major problem in this house. At $479 per square foot, it is grossly overpriced and much higher than others in the area. Comparable homes have sold at an average of $312 per square foot over the last three months and current similar listings average $365 per square foot. If we were to price this one at $350/SqFt, it would bring the asking price down to $363,650. The realtor actually encouraged me to make an offer that was more in line with the comps, rather than even coming to close to the owner’s asking price. The house has been on the market for 40 days, has zero offers, and has open houses scheduled again for each of the next two weekends.

While I do think it’s a cute house in a nice neighborhood, for me, the negatives outweigh the positives.

Discuss on Talk Irvine: http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3095.0.html