Lake Forest 2 Homes & Neighborhoods

Sales this year have been lead by the short sales and foreclosures.  The traditional sales have generally sold quickly when well-priced, but some sellers just couldn’t bear to lower their price to compete with the distressed sales.  Those who didn’t really want or need to sell, either withdrew, or allowed their listings to expire.

So far this year, there have been 65 homes that have closed through the MLS.  I compared this to the Sun & Sail Club’s records, and they have collected transfer fees for 70 properties, so obviously some sold outside the MLS.  The prices have ranged from $223,000 for a bank-owned condo, up to $1,140,000 for a short sale on the lake front.

The total active listings in Lake Forest II today is only 23.   Of those, several of them have delusional prices and I think they are mentally living in 2006.  I’m not going to point them out, because that wouldn’t be nice, but you should be able to find them by looking at the lists.  (Hint -  the highest priced non-lakefront home that sold this year was my listing on Sawmill that closed at $633,000 in June, a highly upgraded 2900 square foot house with a 3 car garage and big back yard.) There are a few short sales too.

Here are the links to today’s LFII active listings (check the line that says “Special Conditions” to see if it is a short sale, REO, or standard sale.)  These links will only work until 11/09, when the MLS makes them expire.

North of Lake Forest Drive

South of Lake Forest Drive

I will update all the neighborhood reports for this year on Monday afternoon, so please check back then to see exactly what has sold since January 1, 2009.

Do you want some fun, cheap entertainment?  Next Friday, the 16th, there will be another Comedy Night at the Sun and Sail Club.  For only $16, you get 2 pieces of pizza and a beer, plus some great entertainment right in our own backyard!  Alisa Millers, the recreation manager at LF2 set this up, and you can read about the scheduled entertainers at her website. You can order your tickets online, or save the handling fee and run down to the front desk and get them in person.  Hope to see you there!

PS – I have some buyers waiting for homes in Lake Forest II, so if you know of one coming up soon, please call or email me to let me know!

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The Lake Forest II Association will be hosting another Comedy Night on Friday, May 22 (Memorial Day weekend.) 

This is the best entertainment that $15 can buy!  The price includes acts by 3 professional comedians and lots of good munchies.  The bar will be open with special “comedy night” prices of $1 each for beer or wine. 

I have been to these many times, and have never been disappointed.  Alisa, the Recreation Manager at LFII, does a great job setting these events up.  She will be putting the list of comedians up on her website soon, so check there if you want more details.   You can even buy your tickets online (but I’m going to save the handing fee by getting mine in person.)

This may sell out, so get your tickets early.  I will be there – please join me!

The City of Lake Forest will present the first of two public information sessions tonight at 7:00 pm the Sun & Sail Club regarding the proposed improvements to Jeronimo Road.  Homeowners from the neighborhoods that are bounded by Jeronimo Road are particularly encouraged to attend to find out what is planned, and to let the City know of your concerns.

Last month, I attended a brief overview of this project, along with members of the homeowner association boards from the Lake Forest Keys, and Lake Forest I, but due to time limits, we left with many un-answered questions. 

The main proposal, from what I understand, is to add a landscaped center median to many parts of Jeronimo Road.  This may require that several exits from the neighborhoods adjacent to it (Lake Forest Keys, Lake Park West, and Parkwood Estates II), will become “right-turn-only” and residents will be forced to drive out of their way before being able to make a U-turn at a break in the median.  The impact of that may also cause an increase of vehicles driving on residential streets within these neighborhoods in order to bypass these “right turn only” exits.

Other questions that hopefully will be addressed are :

• Where are the funds coming from to build this?
• Where are the funds to maintain it when it is finished?
• What are the expected benefits of doing this?  (I heard “traffic calming” but don’t know if this refers to a projected reduction of accidents, or just slower cars.)
• Is this road really wide enough to fit a center median?  We currently have 2 lanes on each side, with bike lanes – will we lose the bike lanes, or the sidewalks?

Bring your own questions and join me there tonight!  I’m going to take a drive along Jeronimo right now, so that I can see where it could be improved.

The Lake Forest Keys will again host the annual boat parade on Saturday, December 13 this year.

Decorate Your Boat!

We will start with a social hour at the amphitheater beginning about 5:30, then plan to start the parade around the the lake at 6:30.

If you need lights, I just saw the low voltage lights in different colors and sizes at Costco last week for less than $14 per 100 light string.  These lights hardly use any of your battery power, so it may be worth it to upgrade if you have the old lights.  (They had a good supply, but you never know when they will run out!)

Please give me a call or email to let me know if you are entering your boat.  I’m hoping to get some prizes for various categories, and it’s always nice to know how many boats to expect in the line up.

Toys for Tots

As long as you are decorating for the parade, please consider volunteering your boat to take people out on tours on one or both Friday nights (the 12th, and the 19th).  This is a fund raiser for Toys for Tots. Last year, we raised $200 for this, but with better advance planning (and no rain!) we are hoping to collect $500 this year.  It’s a worthy cause, and there are many non-lake front neighbors who are willing to pay to support this.  Please let me know if you will be willing to bring your decorated boat and participate.  Call me at (949) 457-0281 or email Vicki@VickiLloyd.com.

Alisa, at the Sun & Sail Club, will be taking reservations for anyone who wants to ride around the lake those evenings for a donation of $5 per person.  You may call her at (949)586-0860 x-29, or visit her recreation website where she will have a sign up form available soon.