Live Lake Forest

A new home development, “Summit Crest” by Van Daele Homes, will be opening in Lake Forest this weekend!  Last weekend, while driving to an appointment in the area, I noticed this previously-undeveloped slope, and was amazed to see the sign announcing that sales will be starting on February 6th! 

I am very interested to see how well it sells, as there have not been any new homes built in Lake Forest since the Lyon Parkside Homes opened in 1999.  Last weekend, at the opening of Irvine’s Woodbury East, it was reported that 10,000 potential buyers came through their models.  I don’t know how many were actually sold, but it is very encouraging to hear that there are that many people thinking about moving to a new home right now.

I stopped by yesterday and drove through the neighborhood, being careful to not get in the way of the trucks and construction equipment working to get ready for this event.  From the apartment complex just above the neighborhood, I was able to take some photos over the privacy fence (with my zoom lense.)

It looks to me like they are going to be working ’round-the-clock to be ready for Saturday morning, because there is still a lot left to do.  The roof tiles are set up on the roofs of the models, and the siding has not yet been attached to the fronts of the homes.  They also have to finish the landscaping, and get all the dust and dirt swept up.  If it rains, which is forecast, they may not finish on time, and if it rains very hard, I am betting that only the most serious buyers will show up!  I am planning to stop by to get the scoop, but if it’s raining, I may wait a few more days.

Here is the info that the builder is providing right now on their website.   It has floor plans and lists of amenities, but nothing specific about pricing or delivery dates.  The floor plans are attractive, and appear to be quite liveable, with upstairs laundry, large master baths, walk-in closets, and good-sized open kitchen/family rooms.  The smallest model is almost 2500 square feet, so these are not little starter homes.   

I don’t know why, but builders never quite tell the whole story about their new home developments on their websites.  Maybe they think once you visit the models and fall in love with their decorating, that the details about association dues, and school assignments won’t matter.  Since there are only 29 homes in this tract, and there are a lot of slopes to be maintained, I am guessing that the HOA fees will have to be somewhere near $100, unless the streets are private.  If the streets are private, they will have to create a reserve account to re-surface them occasionally, so that would probably add another $40 per month to the fees.  (This is just guess work on my part – I may be very wrong!)  Update : After going to the sales office on 2/06 and speaking to a sales agent, I found out the dues will be $214/month and the streets are not private, so they don’t have to reserve to repave them.  Apparently, those slopes will requre more maintenance than I had originally thought!   Since Lake Forest has established infrastructure, there won’t be any Mello-Roos taxes, so that may be a bonus feature that will attract buyers.   It is probable that the assigned high school will be El Toro, and the junior high will be Serrano, but you never know which elementary school will be assigned until the district figures it out.

If you get by there, please leave me a comment and tell me what you thought about it! 

If you need any real estate help, or have any questions, just give me a call at (949) 457-0281 or drop me an email!  Thanks for reading.