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Are the financial requirements that are imposed (salary + assets above property price) what's required to buy-in or the situation for as long as you live there? I can understand that somebody buying a retirement or future retirement home while still working might meet the minimum requirements, but not as they aged.
Been reading a number of your recent posts. In my opinion you need to seriously consider Laguna Woods. Approximately 17,000 people reside there. Really all types of age groups; many more people in the 55 to 65 age group are starting to move in. HOA fees cover water, garbage pick-up, exterior maintenance for condo's, exterior and interior maintenance for co-ops, all lawn maintenance, basic cable, club houses, swimming pools, fitness centers, computer rooms, gated security, bus system. Higher fees you may see are for the co-ops as they include your property taxes in the assessment. In my opinion you won't find a better value for a house within OC unless you happen to get very lucky. As you probably know, OC real estate is currently on fire with very reduced inventories.
Hubby is really big on looking there. We've been there twice, but even for an open house, we needed to have a realtor come in with us. They wouldn't let us past the gate. We need to find someone to do that.
Thank you for the recommendation. Do you live there?
I'm just turned off by the HOA fees, particularly if it's going to be a second home for a few years until we relocate.
We've also owned our own non-HOA home since the mid'-70s and never have heard anyone praising them. My hubby related to me the story of a co-worker who lives in an HOA. They wouldn't allow garbage cans to come out before 6:30 in the morning, but he's at work by then.
I live there at some times and I live in my non-HOA home in Illinois (for 37 years) at other times. Check out the Laguna Woods website. You can obtain a tour of the place. IMHO if you are serious about Laguna Woods or for that matter any place in OC you might be well advised to make a decision and a purchase soon. Again IMHO prices have no place to go but up especially in southern OC.
Actually, we were waiting to sell a property in Illinois before we bought. Unfortunately, the market continues to go down or stay down in the Chicago area and has started to rise in south county.
My parents used Liz Head to find their place in Laguna Woods and they could not have been happier with her. They consider her a friend now and every time she is in the area, she drops by to say hi.
There are no "garbage cans" inside the gates, you drop your grabage in communal dumpsters.
As I've said in other threads, you can get into a two bedroom for as low as $100k in LW. It would need updating I am sure, but there is no housing bargain like it in OC for the price. My parents regret they didn't pull the trigger 5 years earlier.
Thanks, much.
We just saw a home in the Rancho Del Oro section of Oceanside for $399k with very low HOA dues. Unfortunately, if we can't just write a check for it, it would have to wait until we sell our Illinois property.
Thanks, much.
We just saw a home in the Rancho Del Oro section of Oceanside for $399k with very low HOA dues. Unfortunately, if we can't just write a check for it, it would have to wait until we sell our Illinois property.
Well, the appeal of Laguna Woods to me (besides the beauty of the area) was the sheer size of the development and number of activities available. Seems like it would be hard NOT to find friends with compatible interests. I did visit there a few years ago (worked with Patrick McNamee from Century 21, a LWV specialist, he was wonderful), just to get a general sense of what was available in my price range (the low end). I was a bit taken aback by the median age (75), but I figured I'd be getting it early on the influx of baby-boomers. The fees are high, but that's to be expected in a community with that many amenities, including a golf course and numerous swimming pools, and offset by the affordability of the condos themselves. My concern would be that the infrastructure and amenities are aging and will need replacement, which will continue to escalate the HOA fees. I never got far enough along in the process to dive more deeply into that issue, but I would still seriously consider LWV if I were moving back to SoCal. I literally have heard no negative reports from folks who have moved there.
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