Having Fun With Bob's "Affordable" Housing

Click on illustration to enlarge.

Here is a loft for sale at Bob's City Place project in Santa Ana.

The first phase of City Place, a loft/commercial/retail project seems to now be complete.

Bob is now talking about building a 31 or 32-story condominium tower across the street from the first phase of the project.

City Place is quite close to the Main Place Shopping Mall, the I-5 Freeway and would be considered a much better candidate for "smart growth" than Ponte Vista could ever be.

So take a look at what is being offered on the flier that I have added the floor plan of the loft to.

You get 1,717 square feet, with ONE bedroom, but 2-1/1 baths.

You also get a "tandem" garage, which looks like you might be able to park two vehicles inside, but not next to each other.

All of this, minus HOA fees, dues, or other costs can be yours for the asking price of only,

Six Hundred Eighty Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety Dollars.

You get a swimming pool, but I am sure it is shared with your neighbors.

So, you just have to put 20% down now, to get a loan ($137,998.00) and you can move right in with about a just under 6.5%, 30-year fixed loan.

You will only owe another %551,992.00. Here is a sample breakdown of monthly mortgage costs.

Principal And Interest
$3,488

Taxes and insurance
$1,027

Mortgage insurance
$0 (you have enough to put 20% down, so no mortgage insurance, great!)

Total Payment
$4,516

Now of course your mortgage payment doesn't include HOA fees, dues, or other fees. You may get stuck for many hundreds of dollars per month added. How about $800.00 per month?

It looks like all you would need to do is put down that $137,998.00 as a down payment, then start spending about $5,316.00 per month, until the fees and dues go up, and then just 360 months later, bingo! You own your very own loft.

Of course the lowest priced units at Ponte Vista are currently being considered (by Bob) going for about $330,000-$360,000. So you can see that living farther away from a shopping mall, freeway, and other local infrastructure, may save a ton of money.

I think to be fair, I'll try a 20% down, 30-year fixed loan on your very own $360,000.00 Senior Studio unit at Ponte Vista.

Total Sales Price: $360,000.00

20% Down Payment: $72,000 (See you won't have to use all your kids' inheritance after all.)

Amount Financed: $288,000.00

Principal And Interest
$1,820

Taxes and insurance
$560

Mortgage insurance
$0 (Good for you for putting 20% down)
Total Payment
$2,380

Now, let us consider dues and fees. For this unit, I'll guesstimate just $600.00 per month.

I hope you can spend $2,980 per month on mortgage and fees. I know I can't.

Of course you will also have your utility bills, transportation costs, food, clothing, entertainment, and other things that will need some of the rest of your income.

For all of this you get a one-level, no bedroom, large open space studio unit that will look pretty much like a studio apartment, but you will have the clear ownership of it after only 360 months.

Now, if you have to be 55-years of age or better to buy into Bob's senior units if they are ever built at Ponte Vista, you will have now mortgage payments after you turn just 85-years old, IF you buy at 55.

Oh, won't your golden years be grand?

However, if you happen to work in Orange County, I think you may want to stick with not living at Ponte Vista.

Or, if you work in the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, or other places far from San Pedro, you may not wish to live at Ponte Vista, where traffic and access to freeways and shopping malls is not as easy to deal with.

I was particularly enjoying the "North Tustin" reference in the flier.

Folks, City Place is in Santa Ana and NOT in the city of Tustin. That makes a very big difference if you have any qualms about living in a gentrified project in a remarkably non-gentrified city.

Santa Ana is quite a unique city, with a heavy Latino population that I have found to be good to me when I worked there. It is also home to a great number of Vietnamese people. I worked well with them, too.

There is a great deal of cultural differences that makes Santa Ana a place to visit if your eating pleasures include very different types of food.

Yes, there are gangs in Santa Ana. But there are gangs just about everywhere else, too.

O.K. the fun is over. I know I won't be able to afford anything at Ponte Vista, will you?