Mission Viejo and Mello Roos tax (Torrance, Orange: HOA fees, condo, buying a home)

[sheggie]

Hi, My husband and I are moving to the So Cal from WA state and I'm still trying to figure out the best place to live. I've already asked about Torrance, HB and CM and ya'll were so great to help me think through the pros and cons of each of those cities.

But now I'm wondering about Mission Viejo which is another possible location for me to work. I love the idea of everything being newer but are all homes in MV subject to the Mello Roos tax? I'm not sure if we could afford both a huge HOA fee and Mello Roos taxation too. (We're looking at buying a home around 750-800K and know that won't go very far!)

Anything else I should know about MV?

Thanks so much!
Sarah

[saibot]

Originally Posted by sheggie

Hi, My husband and I are moving to the So Cal from WA state and I'm still trying to figure out the best place to live. I've already asked about Torrance, HB and CM and ya'll were so great to help me think through the pros and cons of each of those cities.

But now I'm wondering about Mission Viejo which is another possible location for me to work. I love the idea of everything being newer but are all homes in MV subject to the Mello Roos tax? I'm not sure if we could afford both a huge HOA fee and Mello Roos taxation too. (We're looking at buying a home around 750-800K and know that won't go very far!)

Anything else I should know about MV?

Thanks so much!
Sarah

Whether or not the property has Mello Roos depends on the specific property. Most of Mission Viejo is not particularly new; my husband grew up there 50 years ago and there are plenty of older neighborhoods. Mello Roos eventually expire; at this point, I'd expect that only the newer developments still have Mello Roos.

I live in Rancho Santa Margarita, which is adjacent to Mission Viejo and much newer, and our Mello Roos have been gradually going away year by year. You will want to search for homes in Mission Viejo without Mello Roos. This website may help explain a little: https://www.homefinderoc.com/mello-roos.html

I don't know anything about the HOA fees in Mission Viejo or if they are "huge" or not. In Rancho Santa Margarita, HOA is $55/mo. I would expect Mission Viejo to be comparable, although if you live in a condo or townhouse there is usually an additional, larger HOA fee.

I think RSM is a better bargain as well as a nicer place to live. I don't particularly like the way Mission Viejo is laid out (more car-dependent than RSM), and I prefer the RSM lake to the Mission Viejo lake. We have community pools, too, which MV does not have. The advantage of MV is mainly its closer proximity to the 5 freeway, if you are in the right location.

[pacific2]

This might be of help:

Mission Viejo Ends Mello-Roos Tax for Residents
https://patch.com/california/mission...-tax-residents

"The Board of Trustees' vote to end this taxation is significant for the residents living in Aliso Viejo and Mission Viejo's 87-1 district," stated CUSD Board President Amy Hanacek. "By ending this CFD, Capistrano Unified saved these homeowners $42 million."

The Community Facilities Act (more commonly known as Mello-Roos) that was enacted in 1982, enabled "Community Facilities Districts" to be established by local governments as a means of obtaining additional public funding.

Also, you can access the tax assessor's website to learn about any potential special assessments that a property of interest might carry:
Orange County, California - Property Tax

MV is a nice city. You basically just need to find a suitable property and go from there.

[sheggie]

Thank you, Saibot, that is so helpful! And encouraging enough that I think I'll present the MV option to corporate too and will check out homes in both MV and RSM also.

[sheggie]

Pacific2, that is also encouraging! Thanks so much too for the link to the OC Tax assesor's website. I'll check it out!