Portico in Carmel Valley

[KingKong]

To be the first to eat the crab here 🙂

I visited this development in Pacific Highland Ranch by Pardee early this year.

What I like:
The price. At that time they are offering 3% incentive on a built house. It was nice with lots of upgrades. The price range of upper 700K attracts lots of buyers. Translation: good for resale.
The location: freeway close by (56), close to high school (Canyon Crest) but not elementary school and middle school.
Good school districts: Solona Beach and San Dieguito.

What I dislike:
No yard: There is practically no yard space except for the concrete slab surrounding the hourse itself.
Too close to your neighbours: You can practically touch your neighbours’ window.
Future Traffic: this is an unknown right now but I can see some potential problems.
Elementary school is too far away.
HOA dues: these are SFR, why do you need a HOA in the first place?

[powayseller]

KingKong, what is the pricing and inventory now, compared to earlier this year?

[KingKong]

Hi Powayseller,

Thanks for replying 🙂

I have not been there since my Feb visit. I loosely followed their online information at http://pardeehomes.com/index.php?startat=%2Fcalifornia.php%3F. At first, Pardee will list all the available homes and their prices. Later on, they stop posting that information and introduced “Featured Home” to list a single house. This trick has been discuss in another thread on Torrey Hills communities by Pardee.

You might notice the specials in the middle:
“Specials

SPECIAL FINANCING and PRICE REDUCTIONS on select lots!”

So I think there is more inventory than Feb.

Here’s another question for you. What would you do if we are the seller trying to sell in this buyer’s market?

[arny]

Has any one checked this lately ? I found them listed on the MLS in the high 600K range. I called them and they said that the mello roos is around $300 per month and HOA is another $100+.

Their website shows $730k+. Is the high 600K in MLS for real ? What is the best strategy if I am a buyer and would like to get the best deal ?

Thanks in advance for you opinions.

Arny

[Anonymous]

you can alway alway squeeze out more from the builder. Don’t just take what they offer; put in your own (but don’t low ball too much) reasonable offer. Ask for high 600K, showing the MLS listing. Also, check the completion date; if already completed or near completion date, builder will give you better deal. Also, if the property has lots of upgrades built in, those have more room for bargaining than those w/o any. It’s much easier for builder to give “free” option than to cut price. (it’s like giving incentive rather than lowering sale price)

one thing i don’t like about Portico is the stigma of “alley home”

[recordsclerk]

Their website actually is showing from the high 600’s. They probably just changed the pricing. Good luck with the purchase. You might want to wait for any incentives or bring a real estate agent willing to give you a kickback on the the sales commission.

[sdcellar]

What is the best strategy if I am a buyer and would like to get the best deal ?

Wait another year?

[SD Realtor]

I think that is probably the best way to go sdcellar. I know that kind of sucks. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. Some people have extraordinary needs in terms of the house they want and thus it is hard for them to find stock readily. For the other vast majority of us that do not have extraordinary needs it most likely would be better to wait.

If you are going to be buying straight from the builder then try to negotiate with them to get some upgrades etc… The builders are coping with the downtrend much better then the resellers because they have significantly reduced the number of homes per phase and have slowed the development pace considerably. Also, as mentioned by one of the other posters, you can find a realtor who will rebate you part of the commission that the developers pay to realtors for bringing buyers in.

SD Realtor

[ucodegen]

What is the best strategy if I am a buyer and would like to get the best deal ?

Wait another year?

I have to disagree with you… Referenced is the cascade of resets.. “we have only just begun”…

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/reset.PNG

One year will place us at about month 14, just after the first peak (data starts January). You might get a decent deal here.. but look at the oncoming peak of neg-ams. I worry about these more, because the holders are already under water because of the loan. They were betting on appreciation.

Evaluate how badly you need to get a house. I would recommend holding out for a bit.. This looks like it will get bloody. How bloody depends upon how the fed acts and what they do. Make sure that when/if purchasing, you leave enough spare cash for yourself for emergencies, temp job loss, etc. An HELOC will probably not be able to bail you out in an emergency right now.

[fsbo]

You can practically touch your neighbours’ window, that is a huge disadvantage, even worse than the most of townhome or condo!
Agree with SD Realtor, most likely would be better to wait for another 6 months. The price has droped from the upper 700K when KingKong first posted last year to Arny’s high 600K, hasn’t it?

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