PORTOLA HILLS LIVING by Kelly Turbeville

Looking for a little holiday fun??  This evening in Lake Forest is the 26th Annual Candlelight Tour .  Cost is just $4.00.  Located at Heritage Hill Park.   Dec. 10th and 11th between 5:30-8:30. Grab the sweaters, hot chocolate and take a lovely stroll through the park to see the lights, visit with Santa and listen to the Carolers. Enjoy!

Trying to get into the holiday spirit?  Below is a list of events you might want to check out. Lake Forest Dec 3rd:            Annual Victorian Christmas - Heritage Hill Historic Park Dec 10th:          Breakfast with Santa. Lake Forest Community Center. Dec 10th-11th:  Annual Candlelight Tour: Heritage Hill Historic Park  Mission Viejo Dec 3rd:            Nutcracker Puppet Show - Saddleback Room Mission Viejo City Hall Dec 9th:            Holiday Light Tour - Norman P Murray Center Rancho Santa Margarita Dec 31st:          New Years Eve Celebration  Silverado Canyon Dec 10th:          Christmas in the Canyon Click on the city for specific details! Portola Hills Residents, let's have some fun with Christmas Lights - Post your pictures here and you may just win a prize!!

It was a quiet month for real estate in Portola Hills, below is a quick recap of what was sold and is currently active on the market. Sold Properties: 4 Attached Homes:                3-Bedroom / 2-Baths Average Sq. Footage:         1469 sq. ft.   Average Price:                    $376,000 Average Price Per Sq.Ft.    $255. Single Family Residence:       5-Bedroom / 4-Baths Average Sq. Footage:          3500 Average Price:                     $780,000 Average Price Per Sq.Ft.     $218 Active Properties:  20 Current Active Properties: Attached: 14 homes with 2 bedroom and an average square footage of 1304. Average Listed Price:          $307,000 Average Price Per Sq.Ft.    $232 Detached: 6 homes with the 4 bedrooms and an average square footage of 2562. Average List Price:              $573,000 Average Price Per Sq.Ft.     $224k Portola Hills Best Buy - At the moment the listing at 19321 Sleeping Oak is the best buy.  This home has over 3200 sq. ft, 5 bedrooms,

Did you know the city of Lake Forest has a housing program.... Two of the programs offered support both current homeowners as a way to spruce up their homes and second program allows some help to First Time Home Buyers.  Click on the following links for details. First Time Home Buyer Program - A tax credit offered to First Time Home Buyers, up to 15%. Paint Program - This is a NO CHARGE program for those who may need assistance in sprucing up their home. I like seeing the city keep home ownership as a priority.  Now if we can get them to put some pressure and accountability on the Lenders to help Homeowners keep their homes or even hold lenders accountable to maintain homes that are currently in foreclosure, I would truly be happy.  After all over 56% of Lake Forest homes are in distress and this hurts the community in several aspects.

Have questions, need answers pop into Saddleback Church today for some help! What :  Parking Lot Justice When :  Saturday, October 1, 2011     8:30am – 12:30pm Where :  Tent 3 – Saddleback Church, 1 Saddleback Parkway, Lake Forest, CA The Parking Lot Justice event, hosted by Saddleback Church’s Justice & Trafficking Initiative, features California-licensed attorneys who have offered their time to provide free legal information to the community. Attorneys with expertise in the following areas will be available to meet with you one-on-one to answer your questions. The event is FREE, the information is FREE, and ALL ARE WELCOME to attend! Immigration  Criminal Law Landlord-Tenant   Other areas    Bankruptcy      Family Law     Mortgage Modification  

So I was out taking Pinot for a walk and thought how exciting.... the park is almost complete.  I love the covered shade areas over the play area but I have to say I am also impressed with excersise equipment on the walking path throughout the park. Love it but I might have to change my mind set that parks are for play and relaxation.. With the spirit of Concourse Park in mind we are going to offer any homeowner who list their home or buys a home in Portola Hills utilizing our services, we will donate a tree via the Lake Forest Program to the Park in your honor .   Contact Kelly for Details (terms apply) Ther city of Lake Forest is planning a celebration on Aug 24th....In the mean-time check out these pictures. Get out enjoy the park and the beauty Portola Hills offers you!

Thought those of you who live in Portola Hills II HOA section might be interested in some highlights from the HOA meeting on 8/10. I decided to attend for two reasons: one a presentation from the city of Lake Forest was to address the communities traffic concerns with the upcoming Portola Center Development and two there was to be a discussion about the upcoming Special Assessment coming to homeowners for the hill sliding off of Highridge. I have to say, 1st I was really shocked with the 2 topics at hand how light the attendance was. A total of 11 attendees was there and not all homeowners.   The Lake Forest City spokesperson spoke about recent changes to Saddleback Ranch..... Did you see that little pork chop figure when you come up Saddleback Ranch and make a right onto Malabar, that is it but other than that there was no discussion about the concerns regarding Portola Center. In addition, he spoke about the the Alton completion with a tentative schedule of April 2012.   He a