Orange County Information Center

Featured Questions

Where is the best place to buy in Irvine, CA?

Irvine is a great place to live and work. Depending on your needs, there are a lot of great areas to choose from. It's a little hard to get specific about which areas without knowing what is important to you. For example, are you looking for a detached single family residence or an attached condominium? Is it important for you to be near an elementary school? Do you want to live in a gated community? Do you need a yard?

If you could answer some of these questions or provide other criteria that you would like to use to narrow down your search, I would be happy to suggest some areas in Irvine to focus on. As a real estate broker who helps clients buy and sell homes in Irvine, I am very familiar with the neighborhoods and what each has to offer.

Also, if you'd like to contact me directly, I'd also be happy to share with you the questionnaire I give to my buyer clients which contains 34 questions you should answer before buying your next home.

Warmest Regards,

Amanda Wheeland
Orange County Real Estate Advisor

We are looking for a home in Laguna Niguel in the $900,000 - $1,400,000 range. What is the best neighborhood? We are looking for a neighborhood that has a lot of young families with kids.

I grew up in Niguel Shores and absolutely loved & still love it! In fact, my family still lives there after 25 years. Although it is now considered part of Dana Point, it was part of Laguna Niguel when I lived there and is on the border between Dana Point and Lagua Niguel.

What is great about living there is that the kids can get themselves to the beach and to the community center which has an olympic swimming pool, tennis courts, volleyball court, and basketball court, without ever leaving the gated community. If you can find a home you like in there, I would definitely recommend purchasing it. The community is highly desirable and has really low HOA dues (only paid each quarter).

I hope this helps! If I can be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me directly. Happy House Hunting!

Warmest Regards,

Amanda Wheeland
Orange County Real Estate Advisor

If I buy in a new development, do I need a realtor? If so, why? I am interested particularly in the Columbus Grove area in Irvine, California. I currently would like to spend $80,000 less than the price of the home I'd like to buy. How feasible is an offer like this?

Although you do not have to use an agent to represent you in the purchase of a home, I definitely recommend that you do. As a real estate lawyer, I saw a number of transactions in which an unrepresented buyer was unhappy with the purchase of a home and later tried to undo the purchase or obtain compensation for the difference in value between what they thought they were purchasing and what they ended up with.

It is important to remember that the owner will have an agent representing them, and potentially an attorney as well. As it does not cost anything to have an agent represent you, there really is no downside to working with an agent whose job is to look out for you interests, and yours alone, not the seller's interests.

It can also be a big time savings to use an agent. As one of the other answers suggested, it is a good idea to know what other homes have sold for in the area. An agent can provide you with this information, and much more, and save you the time of trying to find it on your own.

There are currently 7 properties for sale in Columbus Grove. As most of the properties have been on the market for quite some time, it is reasonable to expect that you will pay less than asking price, and in some cases much less than the asking price depending on the seller's motivation.

I also have a property for sale in Columbus Grove that is not listed in the Multiple Listing Service as it is currently being used as a rental. It is a 5 bedroom, 4 bath home, 3100 sq. ft. home with major upgrades. My clients are looking to sell the home and recover most of what they paid for it, and don't expect to make a profit, so it is a good buying opportunity. If that sounds like something that may be of interest to you, please let me know.

Warmest Regards,

Amanda Wheeland
Orange County Real Estate Advisor

Selling vs buy in a buyers market...It seems a Catch 22. I have to sell to afford to buy..So I am selling at a lower price but potentially buying at a lower price too? I own now, with a single income, but am looking to move to a nice, more expensive neighborhood, with a dual income household. Does it make sense to make the move in today's market?

A lot depends on your specific situation, and whether you are looking at your home primarily as a financial investment or a place to raise your family.

There are opportunities in most parts of Orange County because some sellers need to sell their home now and are therefore pricing it below market value. So it is a good time to be a buyer. On the flip side, it is a hard time to be a seller as the high number of homes on the market means it is taking a lot longer to sell a home than it did a year ago, and you'll need to be very competitive in terms of your asking price, and the price you will ultimately accept for your home.

If you do decide to put your home on the market, I recommend waiting to make an offer on another home until your current home has sold. You don't want to put yourself in the situation of carrying two mortgages if you don't have to.

Best of luck with your real estate decision!

Warmest Regards,

Amanda Wheeland
Orange County Real Estate Advisor

What is the difference between a flat-fee real estate agent and a traditional real estate agent?

The biggest difference between a flat-fee agent and a traditional real estate agent is how much you have to pay the agent who helps you sell your home. Most agents are traditional real estate agents who work on commission. The average commission for a real estate agent in California is 3% for the seller’s agent and 3% for the buyer’s agent, for a total of 6% commission. Even though 3% of the commission goes to the buyer’s agent, the seller is responsible for paying all of the 6% commission.

In contrast, flat-fee agents like O.C. Real Estate Advisors do not receive ANY commission when they help you sell your home. We receive a low flat fee that never varies no matter how much you sell your home for.

There may also be a difference in the type of services that traditional agents and flat-fee agents provide. For example, in exchange for saving our clients an average of $15,000 in commission, O.C. Real Estate Advisors will not hold an Open House for your home. Instead, we will provide you with all of the tools and information you need to hold your own Open House, if you choose to do so, including Open House signs, an Open House Registry, and tips for making your Open House a success.

But do you really need to hold an Open House to sell your home? The answer is no. You do not need to hold an Open House to sell your home. Although it is not uncommon to see Open House signs if you drive through a residential neighborhood on the weekend, statistics show that very few buyers find their home by attending an Open House. Some real estate agents hold an Open House simply to meet potential buyers who are not already working with a real estate agent.

Warmest Regards,

Peta Carley
Orange County Real Estate Advisor