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Closed Sales from 2/02/2012 to 2/08/2012

Date Sold Address Zip Tract Sold Price Beds

SqFt
Northwood
2/2/2012 79 Lakepines 92620 The Lakes $169,000 1 934
2/3/2012 42 Van Buren 92620 Horizon $292,000 2 1052
2/8/2012 18 Longstreet 92620 Shadow Run $620,000 4 2077
Oak Creek
2/2/2012 6 Redberry 92618 Cypress $570,000 3 1750
2/7/2012 66 Ivywood 92618 Kelsey Lane $749,000 4 2386
Orange Tree
2/7/2012 349 Orange Blossom 92618 Lake Condos $160,000 1 639
Turtle Ridge
2/3/2012 35 Clouds Pt 92603 Amberhill $1,980,000 3 3100
University Town Center
2/2/2012 57 Wellesley 92612 Cambridge Court $384,500 2 1455
West Irvine
2/4/2012 15 Emory 92602 Andover $415,000 3 1498
2/8/2012 17 Bradford 92602 Sheridan Place $450,000 3 1569
Westpark
2/3/2012 18 Del Azul 92614 Borgatta $455,000 2 1139
2/6/2012 17 Del Roma 92614 Borgatta $580,000 3 1762
2/7/2012 1502 Solvay Aisle 92606 Brio $350,000 2 1028
Woodbridge
2/3/2012 3 Winterhaven 92614 Seasons $399,000 3 1117
Woodbury
2/3/2012 2 Iceberg Rose 92620 Bowen Court $282,000 1 1100

Happy Birthday Zovall!

$775k in Northwood or Northwood Pointe – What would you do?

What a difference a Pointe makes…If you had $775,000 to spend on a home in Irvine and were debating between Northwood and Northwood Pointe, what would matter most to you? I did a quick search of homes sold in the Northwood and Northwood Pointe villages in Irvine and saw these two homes, similiar in size and price, but very different in age and features. Let's do a quick comparison.

Home 1:

17 Mount Vernon

Village of Northwood Pointe

Home Size: 2390 Sq Ft

Lot Size: 3741

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2.5

Year Built: 1999

$325/sq ft

Sold for $777,000 on 9/14/11

Home 2:

21 West Ensueno

Village of Northwood

Home Size: 2392

Lot Size: 5500

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2.5

Year Built: 1978

$324/sq ft

Sold for $775,000 on 10/20/11

Let's get the easy part out of the way first. Here's what the two homes had in common for about $775k:

  • Square footage (2390)

  • Price and price/sq ft

  • 4 Bedrooms

  • 2 1/2 bath

  • Stainless steel appliancesric

  • Detached, no common walls

  • Middle School – Sierra Vista

  • High School – Northwood

The Differences:

  • Elementary Schools

    • Home 1 goes to Canyon View

    • Home 2 goes to Santiago Hills Elementary

    • Both belong to Irvine Unified School District

  • Home 2 is in on a cul-de-sac, Home 1 is not

  • Taxes –

    • Home 2 in Northwood does not have Mello Roos but Home 1 in Northwood Pointe does

    • 2010 Property taxes for Home 1 were $10,084 vs. $5626 fo Home 2

  • Home owners association dues

    • Home 1: $90 +$45 = $135 per month

    • Home 2: $83 per month

  • Age

    • Home 1 is almost 20 years newer than Home 2 and it shows:

Luckily Home #2 has been updated to include a more modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances:

Is it just me or does it seem like there are a whole lotta cabinets in this kitchen? Home 1 also has a lot of cabinets with stainless steel appliances but I think I like the shape of the island and setup of the the kitchen in Home 2.

  • Lot Size

    • Home 1 has a lot size of 3741 with a 2390 square foot house built upon it. Once you factor in the space used by the driveway, garage, etc., there's not a ton of yard left. But it does have some lawn in the backyard and actually a nice little outdoor barbeque/counter setup for entertaining. I could see myself gettin' all Bobby Flay out there with that.

  • Home 2 has a lot size of 5500 sqft and has considerably more space to play with. They have a pool, a spa and a grassy patch too…I could see myself gettin' all “coolest mom on the street” with that pool and the fun chandelier.

And really, the chandelier isn't enough to make me want the house. If the home didn't have a pool, I'd actually lean towards Home 2 over Home 1. The $4400 per year break that you receive as a result of having no Mello Roos is significant. Although the older home has “Newer (?) Interior Doors” and would require some updating, I would still pick it over Home 1…if it weren't for the pool. What would you do?

Discuss below or at Talk Irvine.

A Review of the Esplanade Tract (Plan 4) at Woodbury

Hello readers, I'm Nilam and was one of the first original fans of IHB (might have something to do with the fact that I'm married to zovall/Omkar). I've lived in Irvine since 2003 and am very happy to call the city home to our family of three, which includes our one year old daughter. While I have no formal real estate training, I love to write and learn about our community, and do so from the perspective of a mother and wife. I'm a stay at home mom these days but in my former life, I was a web marketing executive at an insurance company and hold an MBA from the University of Arizona and a BA from UCLA (go Bruins!).

Recently I took a tour of Plan 4 in the Esplanade tract in Woodbury. I really wasn't interested in the smaller units so I spent my time in the Wisteria model.

For some, it might seem strange that a home of this size would be attached. I felt that way too, until I moved to Irvine and drank TIC's Kool-Aid became familiar with the more recent home offerings. Land squeezing in Irvine has been discussed to death on this blog so I won’t belabor the point. Honestly, I was just happy to see this square footage at this price (go ahead – judge away – but I haven't seen too much in Irvine with this kind of pricing on a new home of this size in a while so I was curious). Here’s a link to the homes and here are the facts:

Village: Woodbury

Tract: Esplanade

Model: 4: Wisteria

Square Feet: 2074

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 3

Price: Release 5 span from $535,575 (may have builder incentives available)

Base Property Tax: 1.05% of sales price

Mello Roos: $4623 per year

Association fees: $105 for Woodbury community, $193 for Esplanade tract

Builder: Taylor Morrison

While I normally find something off about model homes and their décor, I must say, this one was impeccably furnished/finished. So much so that when I first walked in I was enamored. Let’s start downstairs.

Upon entry, you come into a short corridor. To your right are the stairs to the second floor (Please excuse the stroller).

To the left, an entry to the first bedroom and ¾ bathroom (no tub but very nicely finished shower). The bedroom is a decent size and faces the front of the house.

Past the bedroom and stairs is a great room that I really liked. It includes a kitchen with a large island spilling over into a family room with a dining area off to the side. The family room and dining area are lined with windows and since there are no walls separating these areas, they really add light to the space. The kitchen didn’t have a walk-in pantry but the cabinet space and counter space seemed ample and I likes me some space in the kitchen.

Whoever decorated this model did an outstanding job. I walked into that room and thought, “Wow. This is a space I’d love to live in.” It felt big and I liked it! But then I kept looking…

On the other side of the great room is the home management (?) center (fancy term for a couple desks along the wall) in a skinny corridor followed by a utility room. The utility room is also long and skinny; the washer and dryer are lined up along one wall and had a sink on one side and a counter on the other. Beyond that is the door to a side by side two car garage.

The garage had additional space for storage. Did I mention it was a side by side garage? Sorry, that really appeals to me because our current garage is tandem and I am amazed at the ways my body has contorted to get in and out of our car. But back to this model.

Off to the side of the living space is a small (and I do mean small) courtyard. I found this disappointing. For 2074 square feet; it would be nice to see more outdoor space and in the description I had read before visiting, it seemed like there would be some space for a little one to play around in. Well, at least the little one could stand around out there.

Despite the airiness of the great room, the layout of the home gives a slightly awkward feel upon entry because it is obvious that the home is long and thin, which reminds you that the layout is a condo. It’s clear that the design was meant to fit this condo mold, rather than a home that was designed in an ideal way. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the decor was what I liked, not the home. It's actually kind of like a submarine, long and skinny.

On to the second floor! At the top of the stairs, there is another awkward view of the long skinny floor plan. When I saw the plan on paper, the space seemed more awkward than it did in reality but it's still strange.

The master bedroom was a decent size with a nicely upgraded bathroom attached. The shower stall is large and the model had attractive earthen tiles next to a full sized tub. Beyond the bathroom is a nice square walk-in closet. The master also has a Juliet’s balcony that didn’t really add to the bedroom in my opinion. Maybe if there was a view, or an area to sit, it would make more sense. Or maybe if we were in Verona, and there was a gentleman calling, it would make more sense. In this place, it didn’t. All in all the master was nice but not particularly outstanding.

The loft wasn’t huge – the designer had placed a flat screen on the wall but the space seemed small for that. It might serve well as a playroom or hobby studio.

Off of the loft is a linen closet and the third bedroom. The third bedroom was larger than I expected. This full bath was also nicely furnished and the space itself is pretty good and didn’t feel cramped.

Here are some of the pros and cons to this model as I see ‘em:

Pros:

• Large rooms

• Great room is open and airy

• Side-by-side garage

• Pricing is decent compared to other homes of this size

• Corner unit (only share one wall)

• None of the living space is above or below anyone else’s unit

Cons:

• Long, skinny plan is awkward

• Very small outdoor space

• Bedroom downstairs is not ideal for families with multiple young children (although if your in-laws are visiting, this might be a pro!)

• No powder room for guests

While there were some really nice things about this home, it wouldn't be a fit for our family. Have you visitied Esplanade? What do you see as the pros and cons?

The Village of Turtle Ridge

Note by zovall: This post is written by my wife, Nilam. She took some pictures around Turtle Ridge and provided some thoughts on the area. We'd love to hear your comments on Turtle Ridge as well as her first post.

Located on the southernmost border of Irvine, Turtle Ridge is one of the city's few hillside villages. Unlike most areas of Irvine, Turtle Ridge does not have a commercial shopping center, nor does it have any office or industrial buildings. It is almost exclusively residential, with a few exceptions. Turtle Ridge's borders are Bonita Canyon Dr. and Shady Canyon to the north, the 73 Freeway to the south, and Bommer Canyon to the east. It neighbors University Hills, Turtle Rock, and Newport Coast, which means it has close access to UCI, Fashion Island and the beach.

Turtle Ridge contains several gated communities, the costliest being the guard gated Summit which is where the traditional single family detached homes are. Turtle Ridge is next to 735 acre Bommer Canyon, one of Irvine's nature preserves. No housing or commercial structures will be built on this land preserve. Additional gated communities, detached condos, are found off of Summit Park (Chantory and Arborel) and Shady Canyon (Canyon's Edge). The remaining ungated tracts (Ashton Green and Whispering Glen) are attached condos and are found off of Summit Park. Turtle Ridge was constructed in the mid 2000's and pretty much all homes are Tuscan style, regardless of whether the home is a single family detached home, condominium or apartment. While consistently attractive (to me, anyway), it does feel cookie cutter with Every…single…home…brown topped with red roof tiles.

The village has one apartment complex – you guessed it, Turtle Ridge Apartments, which is located at the very west part between the 73, Bonita Canyon Drive and Newport Coast Drive. The apartment community is gated and has tot lots and several types of floorplans including some that are townhome style. It's conveniently located right off of the 73 toll road and is an Irvine Apartment Community, which means it, like most apartments in Irvine, is owned by the Irvine Company.

Within the village is Las Lomas Community Park, a large municipal facility that includes soccer fields, baseball fields, a tot lot, basketball and tennis courts, and an indoor recreation center that can be rented for events. The community center also provides classrooms for courses offered by the city of Irvine. Las Lomas is gorgeous but the tot lot is not shaded and can get quite warm in the summer.

Next to Las Lomas Community Park is Vista Verde K-8 year round school, which formerly was located in University Park, off of Michelson. The school is a K-8 Blue Ribbon school and is an “alternative school,” meaning interested students from all over Irvine are welcome to apply. Students with siblings who attend the school are given priority and all others are given priority to enroll based on a lottery system. Apparently people really REALLY want their kids to go here.

Across the street from Vista Verde is the Samueli Jewish Campus which consists of the Merage Jewish Community Center and the Tarbut V'Torah school.

And just down the street on the other side of Turtle Ridge Drive is Mariners Church. Both facilities are incredibly large, attractive and impressive and offers schools and extensive facilities. Mariners Church is so large that the Irvine Police Department directs traffic every Sunday morning to ensure that the area doesn't become backed up.

Nestled between Merage JCC and Vista Verde school is Sepulveda Vista Point. The views from here are fantastic, especially on a clear, smog-free day. You can see a great deal of Orange County, and I'd say it's one of the best views in Irvine. It's kind of hidden, though, so you have to look for it.

A second lookout point (Bommer Canyon Vista Point) is located off of Summit Park. One of the great things about Turtle Ridge is that there are a lot of designated walking paths and since the area is hilly, you can get a decent bit of exercise walking/running/biking those paths. What's not so great is that there really is nowhere to walk to that's less than several miles away; no Yogurtland, no nail salon, no grocery store. Sure, you could walk to UCI or to Pavilions off of Bonita Canyon, but it's a bit of a hike. I suppose you could walk to Mariner's Church and have lunch or grab coffee at their cafe, but it's not the same as being able to walk to a center like Woodbury or University Town Center.

Most of Turtle Ridge is quiet. It does sit adjacent to the 73 but because the freeway is elevated in comparison to much of the community, you can't really hear the freeway too much. All in all, I'd say it's a nice community to live in. Do any of you live here? What do you like and/or dislike about it?