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Lansner on Real Estate ~ The latest news about the housing market from Orange County Register columnist Jon Lansner.

Archive for the 'Coto de Caza' Tag

‘Real Housewives’ Coto home in default

June 9th, 2009, 2:03 pm by Mark Eades
keough-jeana

Photo by Jebb Harris

Jeana Keough of the ‘Real Housewives of Orange County’ TV show confirms that creditors have filed notices of default on her Coto de Caza home.

According to ForeclosureRadar.com

  • Lender Washington Mutual — now Chase — last month filed a notice of default for a $1.3 million mortgage made in 2003. Unpaid was $37,538.
  • The Coto homeowner’s association filed a similar motion in April, claiming its owed $3,732.

Jeana told The Register that she recently got some paperwork from lenders and “I’m trying to doing a loan modification.”

She admits that she controls four homes — the other three are rental properties — and all are in trouble. “I think all four of my houses have notices of defaults on them, as I’m trying to get loan modifications on them. To get a loan modification you have to stop making payments to qualify. I have renters in the other three now. I don’t know if I’m going to sell it, or what I’m going to do.”

Jeana, who when she isn’t acting is in real estate sales, added: “The realty business is so bad. You’ve got to come up with $10,000 a month. It’s a tough market, everybody’s struggling. My kids don’t really need this news right now.”

What’s the home worth?

  • A Zillow Zestimate of the home’s value pegs it at $1.382 million.
  • The county tax collector puts assessed value for the current tax year at $1,537,549 with a $17,286 tax levy for 2008-09.
Keough home

Keough home

Keough, who for four years has appeared in every episode of the popular Bravo reality TV series, said recently she didn’t think she would be returning to the show.

As for other ‘Housewives’ real estate, co-star Tamra Barney took her house in Ladera Ranch off the market in February.

Extra ‘Housewives” news …

New mansion goes on market in Coto

May 20th, 2009, 6:00 pm by Mark Eades
4 Palma Valley in Coto de Caza on sale now for $10million

4 Palma Valley in Coto de Caza on sale now for $10 million

With the economy holding down the sale of mansions in Orange County, a developer in Coto de Caza decided to throw a party Saturday night to debut the latest mansion in the gated community to come onto the market. The 16,500 square foot mansion sits on 2.5 acres at 4 Palma Valley. The house has a view of most of Coto from its hillside location. The listing is with C21 Superstars and the McMonigle Group and is for $10 million.

CLICK HERE TO READ the whole story about the house and the party by reporter Mark Eades

More homes selling for less in Coto

May 5th, 2009, 10:30 am by Mark Eades

Courtesy Coto de Caza real estate agent Mike Ameel.Reporter Mark Eades reports that home sales in Coto de Caza and the surrounding Trabuco Canyon area increased in the first quarter of 2009, but the prices of the homes that are selling are lower. Real estate agents think this could lead to increased sales for higher priced homes in the gated community.

If you like brick siding on your home, this 5-bedroom home at 3 Weather Ledge in Coto de Caza is listed for $1,899,000. In 2005, the home would have listed between $2.5 and $2.7 million according to Coto de Caza real estate agent Mike Ameel.

Read the complete story.

Other news …

Look what $11.9 million gets you in Coto

March 30th, 2009, 6:35 pm by Mark Eades

A 9,000-square-foot mansion that sits on 7 acres has been listed for $11.9 million in Coto de Caza. It has been in and out of escrow three times in the past couple of years as buyers changed their minds. The listing agent, John Evans of the Evans Group, has been holding open houses to see what kind of interest there is in the home.

Read the story and see some photos of the large home here…

Or take a video tour…

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Other housing stories …


… in the lending world …

… from South County …

… and Surf City:

This guy argues cutting property tax not so easy

March 30th, 2009, 10:58 am by Mark Eades

Beans

In 2006, Cornell Beans purchased his house in Coto de Caza for $1.3 million.

After submitting paperwork through Orange County’s informal review process, he got his property taxes reduced by $3,000.

Then, Beans noticed all the mailers from companies advertising to reduce property taxes for prices ranging from $250 to 40% of the amount saved.

“I heard of all the scams and figured there had to be an easier way,” said Beans, who had been laid off from his job at a subsidiary of property data giant First American Corp.

The result: He and a friend, tech guru Scott Daniel, formed CA Property Tax Savers, an online company that walks property owners through the process of filing either an informal review or a formal appeal of their property taxes.

“Can anybody do this? Absolutely,” Beans said. “Anybody can take the time … to get the form. The key is where to you get the evidence? Where do you go to get the comps.”

While real estate Web sites like Zillow.com, Trulia and Redfin can provide lists of recent sales in a home’s area, and while the county provides workshops and a PowerPoint on the tax appeals process, Beans maintains that some homeowners still need professional assistance.

For $11 to $65, customers can get the data they need to complete applications for an informal review or an appeal themselves.

Read the rest of this entry »

Slump zaps Coto de Caza homes

March 22nd, 2009, 8:37 am by Mark Eades
$1.3 million

Mark Eades of The Register has this tale about Coto de Caza homebuying — with a sample of what’s for sale above …

Linsey Planeta with Belterra Fine Homes decided to do a microscopic breakdown of home sales in the gated community on her blog at www.ocrealestatevoice.com.
According to Planeta, there are 116 homes listed at prices higher than $750,000. Ten are in escrow and just eight sales closed in the last 30 days. “At that rate, it will take a year to exhaust the inventory of listed homes,” Planeta said.
On her blog, Planeta says the highest priced home currently in escrow is for $1.1 million. The highest sale in the last 30 days was for $1.6 million. The highest sale in the last six months per SocalMLS was $2.9 million. The only sale more than $2.9 million in the last 12 months was the record sale on Violeta Lane as reported by The Orange County Register in May for $19.5 million.
In the preceding 12 months, there were seven sales listed above $2.9 million, ranging from $3.2 million to as high as $6.6 million. Currently, according to Planeta, there are 24 homes listed for more than $2.9 million in Coto de Caza – 16 percent of the active inventory behind the gates.
Planeta finds that while the expensive homes aren’t selling in the down economy, the cheaper homes are. “There is movement in the under $500,000 market,” said Planeta. “Granted 60 to 70 percent of them are under distress, either foreclosure or behind on payment, but there is some movement, things are selling.”

To read the rest … CLICK HERE! (And click on photos of for-sale homes above for house details!)

Other real estate stories …


… in the lending world …

… from South County …

… and Surf City:

O.C. foothills home now $7,500-a-week rental

February 4th, 2009, 1:25 pm by Mark Eades

Mark Eades of The Orange County Register has an interesting story about a 5,000-square-foot home on 4.2 acres in the Santa Ana Mountains that’s being marketed as an exclusive getaway rental property after the home wouldn’t sell. He writes, “The estate does not come cheap. Renting the home for a week costs $7,500, including cleaning fees, but not the cost of food.”

In other real estate news …

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