Wednesday and Thursday Broker Preview. First I have to apologize, I have been trying to get over a bad head cold for the last 7 days. I am finally feeling half way normal. Yesterday I went to Shady Canyon, Irvine for broker preview. It had to be around 100 degrees. I couldn't tell if I was not feeling well and still had a fever.....or it if was really that hot. I was glad to go back to Newport to cool off. Anyway, I went to a new listing on Golden Eagle. For those of you not familiar with Shady Canyon, it is a guard gated community behind the hill of Crystal Cove. Shady Canyon has a few pro athletes living in there. Shady Canyon has its own private golf course. It is a beautiful area....when it is not so hot. :) Back to Golden Eagle. This home is $12,995,000. It is about 11,000 sq ft, 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms......9 car garage. I was impressed with the infinity pool....and the great view of Shady Canyon. As far as the interior.....I wasn't as impressed. I really like the Tuscan look.....and they were trying to get away from the Tuscan look. They used color tiles in many of the bathrooms. If you like color....you will like this house. I also noticed they didn't use baseboards. I guess I can be a little picky. Last week I visited a home on Grey Owl. This home is currently owned by a professional baseball player. For $18,995,000, you could buy a 13,500 square foot house with 5 bedrooms and 9 baths. This house has the WOW factor. The master bedroom is amazing and I was very impressed with the 2 girls rooms......very girly. They had a separate entertaining building that was by the pool. It housed a theatre. This was connected underground to the main house. Sometimes I wonder why someone would spend almost $19 million to be in Shady Canyon, Irvine.....maybe for the great schools? For $19 million, you could be in Newport Coast with an amazing ocean view. The big difference other than the view is that it is much cooler in Newport Coast. I might complain about how hot it was....but it usually isn't that hot. If you like to use the swimming pool......Shady Canyon is probably a better pick.
Today for Broker Preview I visited a couple new listing in Crystal Cove (area between Laguna Beach and Newport Beach).....one on Sidney Bay and one on Sidra Cove. The home on Sidra Cove was interesting as the master bedroom was on the lower level. The bedroom still has a view, but where I come from......Minnesota...it felt like a walk out basement. The agent told me that the builder originally sold the floor plan this way until many people complained so he switched the 2 bedrooms on the upper level with the lower level master bedroom. It makes much more sense to me to have the master bedroom on the upper level with the better view. I viewed a couple of other homes in Corona del Mar. The two that stand out was one on Marguerite and another one on Heliotrope. The home on Marguerite was new construction ($4.9 million)....on the 200 block. You are really close to the ocean.....but there is a lot in front of you that is under construction. This home was neat as it has a mother-in-law quaters in the back of the unit. I love my mom, but after 3 days.....it would be nice if she had her own area. Maybe that is why I really like this other home on Heliotrope. This home also has a mother-in-law quarters. In-between the two areas there is a really cute garden area. I have a picture of it posted above. This home is a little older, but it was very charming and had character. It is a 5 bedroom/5 bathroom home and is priced at $2,490,000.
The big news that I thought I would announce on Monday actually happened today. I am going back to work for Prudential in Newport Beach. I left Prudential a year ago. I am going back to Prudential to work with James Gray. He is a Newport Beach native.....and has been in real estate for over 20 years. I am looking forward to the partnership. We met today to discuss what our marketing pieces will look like. I am excited to see my ideas in print. More later.
