Last week I wrote about Lambert Ranch, Irvine’s newest development that goes on sale at the end of this month. As I mentioned in that post, the Lambert Ranch developers are departing from a trend in Irvine that has been dominant for some time. This trend is the inclusion of Mello-Roos taxes as part of the purchase of a new home.
That got me wondering what areas in Irvine have homes available without Mello-Roos taxes. The general answer is the older areas in Irvine. But to give you a better idea of where these homes are located, following is a sample of homes in Irvine that are currently on the market that do not have Mello-Roos taxes. They may or may not have HOA fees.
• Northeast Woodbridge single-family home
• Single-family home built in 1979
• 3 beds/3 baths
• Asking price: $669,900
• Lower Woodbridge
• Single-family home built in 1981
• 4 beds/3 baths
• Asking price: $745,900
• Northwood
• Condo built in 1985 (near freeway)
• 3 beds/3 baths
• Asking price: $349,000
• Northwood
• Single-family home built in 1977
• 4 beds/3 baths
• Asking price: $640,000
5106 Scholarship, Irvine 92612
• Airport/IBC
• Condo built in 2007 (The Plaza)
• 3 beds/4 baths
• Asking price: $1,175,000
• University Park
• Single-family home built in 1976
• 4 beds/3 baths
• Asking price: $622,000
19462 Sierra Santo Road, Irvine 92603
• Turtle Rock
• Single-family home built in 1971
• 4 beds/2 baths
• Asking price: $895,000
22 Marbella Aisle #12, Irvine 92614
• Westpark
• Condo built in 1989
• 2 beds/2 baths
• Asking price: $322,900
136 Oval Road #4, Irvine 92604
• El Camino
• Condo built in 1972 (Walnut Square)
• 2 beds/2 baths
• Asking price: $200,000
3892 Claremont Street, Irvine 92614
• Westpark
• Single-family home built in 1971 (Culverdale)
• 5 beds/3 baths
• Asking price: $480,000
For more information on homes in Irvine without Mello-Roos taxes click here.
Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.
The first Village in Irvine to have Mello-Roos taxes imposed was Westpark I, which opened for sale in 1986-87. Anything built before that does not carry that burden, however there could be small assessments in addition to the basic 1% + 2% per year Proposition 13 requirement for street lights, etc.
One question you might attempt to answer, is there on any newer Irvine properties, a sales tax that is returned to the builder (approx 1% of sales price). You could use the services of a title company to determine this…it would show up in recorded liens against the property.
There are 3 in-fill projects, 2 in Woodbridge and 1 in University Park that were small tracts of new homes built in the 90s that don’t have Mello Roos.
Another one off of Walnut was built by the Hanu Reddy Real Estate group I think. It was built in the mid 2000s and was at the back of another project next to the 5 Freeway (Irvine Groves II?) and I believe it is also MR-free.
I believe the builder can choose to sell the property with MR (share burden from the CFD) prepaid. It might be an attractive alternative today for the following reasons:
– The equivalent rates (8%-11%) carried on MR is quite high relative to available mortgage rates.
– MR payments legally are not tax deductible.
– For a new tract with 30 year MR, it is common to be able to use the MR monthly payment to qualify for more than twice the amount of the CFD pay out amount.
Thanks for all the additional information and suggestions. Very interesting insights.
I am looking for a house in Irvine with no MR and no HOA. Where should I look?
Many of the homes in Northwood have no HOA fee as well as no Mello-Roos tax. You might also look on one of the real estate sites (such as Redfin) at the homes in the Irvine neighborhoods listed in the post and scroll around to see which one of these have no HOA tax. Good luck with your search.