Nicole

Fizzy,
It will take some time for the ownership transfer to show up on the county records. It is likely that you are seeing what Toll was carrying the property at. You may be able to look up the history to see what the transfer date is and that may confirm if it is Toll's value. - Mon Oct 6 2008, 21:59

Fizzy,

If you are not sure which ones are Cecina's, the map in the Firenze office is color coded and all the Cecina's will be the same color. Locate your's on the map and then you will know which ones are Cecina's. Then, like Firenze mentioned, drive or walk down the road and write down the addresses that coencide and you just plug them into the county's tax assessor/collector page of the website.

We did this for the unit that we are interested in purchasing. However, since most units that will be listed were from previous phases before the prices dropped, it might not be much help with negotiating for the current construction. You should also look up similar developments or even single family homes in the area and use these as your negotiating tools.

Good luck to you. - Mon Oct 6 2008, 17:56

Hi Anjali,
The school district in Warm Springs is excellent. However, the elementary schools are overcrowded and there has been discussion on the new developments going to Grimmer rather than James Leitch and Warm Springs Elementary. I don't know if this will change in future years, but currently this is the plan. You can find this out if you call the office at James Leitch.

The train schedule is not consitent but the train runs frequently. It is not the noise of the train that you need to be concerned with. What you should be concerned with is the conductor blowing the horn. I live in the area and sometimes I think the conductor is horn happy. He blows is multiple times at every crossing and it is VERY Loud. The Castilleja development is next to the Scott Creek crossing. The entire time that the train is crossing the intersection, there are bells that ring. The further away you can get from the tracks, the better. There are houses and townhouses available in the Mayfield complex next door that range from 2-4 years in age. More than half of this development is further from thet tracks than the Castilleja development and they are even further away from the intersection crossing. The streets are Meadowfaire Cmn, Park Cmn, Daffodil, and Woodgrove. If you prefer paying for a detached home, there are two available at the front of the compex near Warm Springs Boulevard. I would consider one of those before I bought at Castilleja, but this is just my personal taste.

Good luck. - Fri Aug 22 2008, 11:29

We are interested in the Luserna. We even put a hold on the last one they had and then realized we were getting ahead of ourselves without having put our home on the market yet. It was sad to find out when the Luserna went into contract a couple weeks later. I know the timing will be better for us early next year. I appreciate your feedback on the water issue with the balcony doors. I'll make sure to bring it up. I'm sure there is something they can do to make sure it is fixed going forward. Hopefully all the current plans were addressed and taken care of.

Thanks for the future Cheers. We really look forward to joining the community. - Tue Aug 12 2008, 12:57

Rouriel,
I was only interested in the Firenze group so I only know as it relates to the next Firenze building. Since they are down to 2 units now, they expect to release sometime around late September. This is not guaranteed, but it is a good probability since they are low on inventory. The completion timing would be around April/May 2009 at the earliest. I don't know when they plan to sell the models. I would think this would be their last phase. I think there is one more building after the next phase in the Firenze group and then the models. Sorry if that didn't answer your question. - Tue Aug 12 2008, 11:35

Thanks GT. You don't need to call TB for me. I've toured many times like you and have already found out informatin on the next release. We wanted to get in now, but need to wait until we sell our place first so the next release works better for us. - Tue Aug 12 2008, 11:08

Hi GT,
I have been following your blog as I plan to purchase in Sorrento in one of the next phases. Your tax rate is based on Alameda County. Here is the info from their webpage:

Estimating Your Taxes
If the tax rate in your community has been established at 1.20% (1% base rate plus .20% for prior indebtedness) the property tax would be calculated as follows:

Assessed value $250,000
Because the rate is 1.20% of assessed value,
Multiply the rate times the assessed value X .0120
Tax Amount: $3,000

The tax amount may be adjusted for any special benefit assessments, such as sewer service charges, or reduced by any legal exemption which may apply.

You may also want to look into a separate insurance policy for your personal belongings and general liability. I have a townhouse now which I did this on as the association only covers the structure. My policy is about $300 annually. It all depends on the value you want to insure, but it is a low cost good investment. - Tue Aug 12 2008, 10:25

Hi Raj,
I don't know if you are still looking. It sounds like you are interested in a new development. There are some homes available in your price range in the Mayfield complex next to the new KB Homes complex. Mayfield was built by Robson who is a much better developer than KB Homes in quality as well as appearances. There is a former model available in the main central courtyard, clubhouse and playground area. If you are still looking, you should take a look at this home. It was built 4 years ago, but it looks brand new.

Best of luck to you! - Mon Aug 11 2008, 11:40

I don't know when you are looking to move, but there are a couple townhomes that are about 4 years old next door to the KB complex that are ready to move in now and overlook the main central park area of the complex. They have also been up for a few years so you don't need to wonder if anything is going to fail from the new construction. One of the units was a former model and has all the upgrades. The price is more competetive then KB as well. I've posted the link to the unit which has photos and a virtual tour that you can view.

Good luck in your home searching. - Tue Aug 5 2008, 11:30