I have several clients considering moving to a new home, and with the low tax rate in Lake Forest, these are probably the best value around right now.  The newest California Tax Credit of $10,000 is available to any buyer (not just “first time”) if they buy a brand new home.  If you can close by June 30^th, you may be able to double dip to get either $18,000 for first time buyers, or $16,500 if you are a repeat buyer who lived in your previous home at least 5 years!

The Plan #3 is the largest at 3,026 square feet  and comes with either 4 or 5 bedrooms, and 4 full baths.

Priced at $710,000, this is the only one with a ground floor bedroom.

The Plan #2 at 2,845 square feet has 4 bedrooms and 3 & 1/2 baths.  There’s a “butler’s pantry” separating the dining room from the kitchen.  Price for this plan is $698,900.

The Plan #1 is my personal favorite!  It is the smallest, but still a very good size at 2,449 square feet.  It has 3 bedrooms + a loft and 3 & 1/2 baths.  (I love the garage at the back of the lot!)   Price of this one is $670,000.

Some of the most popular features (offered in all the homes) include :

• Upstairs laundry room
• Big walk-in closets in the master bedrooms
• Separate tubs and showers in the master baths
• Pre-wired for ceiling fans in all bedrooms

I think they turned out quite nicely, and the decorators did a great job staging them.  If you are thinking about a new home in the near future, give me a call and I’ll help you pick out the best one!

For now, the sales office is in a trailer where the sales agents are available to put your name on an interest list, hand out brochures, and Summit Crest Site Plan, and answer some questions.  I did find out that the HOA dues are projected to be $214 per month, and that the assigned schools are Lake Forest Elementary which is the closest one to the neighborhood , Serrano Jr High, and El Toro High School.

Tip-toeing through the mud, I went inside each of the half-finished models.  With brochure and floor plan in hand, I was able to figure out which rooms were which, although I had to think backwards because the layouts are all reversed from what shows in the brochure.  I really like the master bedrooms in all the plans as they are all good sized, have large bathrooms attached, and very generously sized walk-in closets.

My favorite plan is the “Plan 1″ which has 3 bedrooms and a loft (optional 4th bedroom) and about 2450 square feet.  The unique feature of this house, is that the garage is set at the back of the lot, requiring an extra long driveway to access it.  If the CC&Rs don’t restrict them, I imagine this long driveway will be used as a basketball court by many of the homeowners.  You can view the rest of the floor plans and information at the builder’s website.

The park at the end of the street where the models are located already has the kids’ play equipment, but no grass yet.  They are probably thinking that this would be a nice place for potential buyers’ kids to play while parents are touring the models.

I will be stopping by this development occationally over the next few weeks, and reporting their progress as I learn it.  Let me know what you think about it by leaving a comment below.

If you need any real estate help or advice, please contact me by phone (949-457-0281) or email (Vicki at VickiLloyd.com)

Thanks for visiting -

See my previous post about this development

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.