All Forum Posts by: David Soria

Oops! Laguna VILLAGE. Not Woods. Too many Laguna's....village, woods, hills, niguel. And on their website I think they call it "Laguna Woods Village" which makes it more confusing.

Woods, as far as I know, is full senior community like Joaquin mentioned. Village is right next to it. 

Laguna Village condos in Laguna Hills

Have definitely seen the underpricing/bidding frenzy.  Some are extremely obvious, but the annoying ones are the ones that make you think you have a chance.

The other properties were all around the same. Not 100% remodeled with the latest and greatest, but all basically turn key. Completely livable upon moving in, but we would have done minor things, like changing or refacing cabinets, repainting, floor changes in some rooms based on preference, etc. 

Ours is a condo (another compromise, 2 shared walls). It was actually in a location we had put on our "hard no" list a while ago, because the area didn't look that great in pictures. Our realtor suggested we drive down and walk it one day and it turned out to be different than we expected. Out of 5 homes currently available in that area (Laguna Woods), ours seemed to be on the better looking side with the best view, so we jumped on it. The next upgraded home with same floor plan sold for around $580 I think. So I guess another suggestion would be to keep an open mind and actually drive the areas that you don't think look great in pictures. Obviously, depends on your individual price range and needs for a home. We HAD to have work space available since we both work from home.

Coincidentally, I just bought my first primary residence in Laguna Niguel a little over a week ago (closing on track for 3/15). We bid on about 6 properties.  We were out-bid on all. Here are the results (forgot to record 1st, but lost it to a higher than asking bid):

Asking - Our Bid - Final price

$620k - $622 - Cash offer for $620 and no contingencies won

$610 - $620 - Last we heard, it was at $670 (cash)

$630 - $636 - Sent multiple counter offers for $700

$640 - $645 - Last we heard it was at $770!! $130k over asking

$578 - $572 - This is the house we ended up winning. Right place/Right time situation.  Appraisal just finished today too.  We were getting really discouraged as well, especially since we were so quickly getting out bid by things we had no chance of competing with. Fortunately, we snagged this place and did not overpay. 

The week we ended up locking in our rate is the week that it started creeping up. 3bd/2bath. Had to make some compromises on things like 2 car garage (only got 1) and a backyard (got front courtyard and open back area), but we are looking at it from an investment standpoint and plan on using it to jump to something better next. 

Just keep reminding yourself not to overpay. It can be easy to get caught up in the frenzy of outbidding others and just trying to finally win something, but make sure you're making the right financial decision. 

What does everyone think in terms of a time frame to seeing prices fall. Whether it's minor or major. I don't see major decreases any time soon (even a year). Thoughts?

That was actually going to be my next question. I don't have a specific number in mind, but was wondering what was a reasonable return I can expect for the market right and that price range right now? 

Don't want to hijack the thread, but I'm very interested in the current Vegas market and its investment potential as well. I gather mixed feelings from this thread, but @Robert Adams, you seem positive about buying now, but it sounds like its only aimed at holding houses for a year or less?

I'm looking at the $200,000 range and looking for cash flow. @Melissa Machat, you aren't as sure about now being the time to buy. When do you see that turning around, or what are you looking for in terms of signs that it will once again be a good time to buy (buy and hold cash flow property).

I'm having difficulty deciding what my primary game plan is, because I'm in a situation where I don't think I can afford the area I live in, but I still want to keep my options open. If I invest out of this area, it would be for the goal of helping me afford something here within the next year or two. I have contacted a few people after wanting to invest in the Las Vegas area, but they required that I get pre-approved in order to even meet. This is what brought me here.

If I can afford something here now, then I would prefer to house hack. I just don't see the opportunity for that in an area close to where I am, given my current income. 

@Joseph Chiavatti I'll reach out to you to talk more. 

In my experience, I've come to the realization that I need to get pre-approved, rather than pre-qualified, in order to get someone (real estate agent) to show me around an area and start helping me find a property I'd like to invest in. 

The problem is that I don't know where I want to invest in yet. I live/work in South Orange County California and with only ~$40k to put as a down payment, I don't have a lot of options to buy. Ideally, I would like to buy something in my area to house hack, but that's still hard. I was looking at Las Vegas for investing, but want to keep my options open. 

Is there a "best thing" I should do in terms of where I go to get pre-approved? I want to avoid having to go to different places in different areas to get pre-approved, each time getting a small mark on my credit history. I don't want to limit myself by getting pre-approved at a bank in my area and not being able to use that pre-approval in another area, or vice versa.

@Raj S. 

I made an intro thread myself a few days back and expressed my interest in the Las Vegas market. Are you still looking for single family homes in the area? Your post made it sound like you thought the market wasn't getting gains that you would be interested in (leveled of). I'll be going there next week to look at properties. If you have any tips on certain areas to look in let me know. I'm trying to get as much information as I can before I head.

@Paul Timmins

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check out those books and read up on specialized housing as well.

@Brant Richardson

How did you get over to Kansas City for investing? Was it something that you researched and then followed, or do you go out to Kansas City regularly? 

@Phillip Dwyer and @Mark Kemp Sent a connection request