"Below is a copy of the letter we sent to Mike McGee with 100+ homeowner signatures.
Bill Busch
Moorpark Highlands Homeowner
Michael V. McGee January 6, 2007
President and CEO
Pardee Homes
10880 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1900
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Dear Mr. McGee
Re: Pardee Homes payment of Mello-Roos for new home buyers in Moorpark Highlighlands
On Thursday January 4 2007, it was brought to our attention that Pardee would be paying the Community Facilities District (CFD) Assessments/Mello-Roos, No. 2004-1, Zone 3 (Moorpark Highlands) for prospective homebuyers. We do not agree and find it unethical that Pardee would offer a new homebuyer in the same CFD "no Mello-Roos", while current homeowners would potentially have to pay Mello-Roos until 2044/45.
In the Community Facitilies District Subsidy Agreement dated September 2005, Pardee committed to pay the amount of the CFD Assessments for five (5) year period commencing on the close of escrow for all the Moorpark Highlands releases. On January 4, 2007, we were told that this commitment has been modified for new home buyers This decision has left loyal Pardee homeowners upset with this unethical decision.
We are upset because our commitment to purchase a home in the Moorpark Highlands CFD extends back to January 2005. The Builder Assessment and Tax Disclosure Agreement stated that "all prospective purchases" in the CFD No. 2004-1, Zone 3, would have pay a Mello-Roos/Special Tax, the amount of which is based on the square footage of the home. Your recent action has resulted iin selected lots being burdened with the assessment over the long term. If we had known that only our specific lots were subject to Mello-Roos we would have never agreed to such irrational terms. We are concerned about the re-sale value of our homes iin comparison to a prospective homebuyer selling their home absent any Mello-Roos. Those of us who in good fath closed escrow prior to January 4th, 2007, have been denied an equal opportunity to have this Mello-Roos stigma tax removed from our properties. We perceived this as a deliberate division in the community. Should we choose to sell our home, we will be handicapped by this tax assessment while our neighbor will not.
We have stood by Pardee for up to two (2) years during this entire building process and have referred friends and family to buy a Pardee Home - and this is how Pardee treats thier loyal homeowners? A slogan printed on a Pardee notepad states that Pardee Homes wants their customers "to feel they can trust the organization and its people". The division in this community you are deliberately creating is in direct opposition of what your company supposedly stands for.
To resolve this issue, the current homeowners and those in escrow request fair and equitable treatment. Specifically, we are requesting Pardee Homes to pay off our Mello-Roos assessment too! We are fighting to preserve the future value of our homes, to maintain equity in this community, and preserve the neighborhood you promised us.
We are confident that the City of Moorpark shares our concern of an unethical treatment that appears to be affecting their residents in Moorpark.
We would appreciate a timely response and resolution to this issue. We expect Pardee to do the right thing.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned Pardee Homeowners
cc: Jim Bizzelle, VP of Community Development, Pardee Homes
Patrick Hunter, Mayor, City of Moorpark
Amy Brandt, President and CEO, WMC Mortgage Corp. "
I will keep everyone updated with any new information I hear.
4 comments:
Thanks for the updates regarding this development. Living in Moorpark I went to the Grand Opening where the sales agents were obnoxiously arrogant and people were applying like bangees...I couldn't believe Pardee chose this option rather than a decrease in price...as a potential homebuyer, I am in total agreement with the current homeowners, what a disadvantage for resale....will be interesting to see how Pardee works this out.....
My wife and i visited Moorpark Highlands in late December. Pardee Homes ran a full page ad in the L.A. Times saying that they had lowered prices... We came in with the ad and the salespeople were totally unaware of any lowering of prices. They couldn't tell us what the lower price was... But, the ad did run. They should refund any late December buyers as it was Pardee's intention to lower prices in December.
Personaly, my wife and I couldn't justify the expense of Mello-Roos. We are in the market for a new home and just think there are too many other deals right now. $150,000 of payments? We could invest that money in an IRA for our kids and they'd never have to save a dime for their own retirements. Mello-Roos is a foolish proposition. It should be a tax, then it would, at least, be deductible.
We're taking our sweet time and have decided to rent for another year. We moved here in October 2005 and it took us 11 months months to sell our Mini-Mansion in Northern Virginia. It sure is nice sitting on the sidelines with a cash horde from the sale of our house earning 5% bank interest. Doesn't seem like the prices will be going up anytime soon. The real estate market is in decline right now. Too many speculators bought in the last run-up. Too many vacant properties. Foreclosures are incresing. I really feel like there will be a better deal on a home for us in late 2007.
The home we're renting in Simi Valley was for sale at $829,000 originally... It sold for $765,000 over the summer. The buyer bought it for his mom and dad. Mom broke her hip and couldn't move in as the home as upstairs bedrooms. After 5 months of ownership, he decided to rent it to us for $2,975.00 per month. I'd be paying roughly $4,600 per month to own it.
The cost of homeownership is too high in Ventura County when compared to what home amount the home will rent. I've done calculations factoring tax deductions, insurance, home owner fees, and property tax only to find it's better to rent for the time being.
Hey guys, thanks for stopping by, I'll have a bit more on this story later as well. Also I will be going around town taking pics of some of the "goings on" of the local housing market. So keep an eye out.
Talk with you again soon.
I am a lapsed realtor. I sell art now - its much more enjoyable, and quite profitable.
I think the letter to the homebuilder is rather silly. In a marketplace, pricing is determined by the dynamics of the market, and what sellers are willing to liquidate for. I have little sympathy for the kind of whining I see by people who have bought high, and then begin to see a downturn, in whatever shape that might be (reductions, kickbacks, granite countertops or rebating taxes for schools). Frankly, I think that those who encourage open land to be torn up in order that McMansions be plonked down ad-nauseum ought to shell out the money to build parks and schools for their kiddies. Where the bill lands is up to the builder and the buyer, period.
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