Lake Forest
Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to a vote of the residents in that year, the community had formerly been known as El Toro since the 1880s. Since being incorporated, Lake Forest has expanded its limits to include the communities of Foothills Ranch and Portola Ranch and Portola Hills. Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills are master planned developments that brought new homes and commercial centers to the Eastern boundary of Lake Forest throughout the 1990s. Lake Forest (along with its neighboring cities Mission Viejo and Irvine) is ranked as one of the safest cities in the country. The private research firm Morgan Quitno ranked Lake Forest as the 15th safest city and another firm later ranked Lake Forest 10th in 2007 in the United States.
The city has two "lakes" from which the city gets its name. The lakes are man-made, and condominiums and custom homes ranging from large to small line their shores. The Lake Forest Beach and Tennis Club and Sun and Sail Club feature tennis courts, gyms, basketball courts, barbecue pits, volleyball courts, multiple swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs and club houses for social events. The "forest" for which the city is also named lies in the area between Ridge Route, Jeronimo, Lake Forest and Serrano roads and consists mostly of Eucalyptus trees. It was born in the first decade of the 1900s when a local landowner, Dwight Whiting, planted 400 acres of Eucalyptus groves in the vicinity of Serrano Creek as part of a lumber operation.
The community was previously known as El Toro since 1863. In 1874 José Serrano and his family occupy eleven thousand hectares of ranch that had been granted to them by the Government of Mexico, and that eventually reached the hands of Dwight Whiting. The Rancho Niguel was granted to Juan B. Alvarado, Juan Avila and his sister Conception, the widow of one Pedro Sánchez. From them it passed to other owners was divided into plots, including Yorba. In 1874 most of it was owned by Cyrus B. Rawson. Jonathan E. Bacon also had a property of 1600 acres of it. In addition to the Serrano’s, established in Aliso Canyon, there was a group of pioneers who lived in the foothills and several miles above El Toro, many of whom were among the first settlers of this neighborhood.
First time homebuyers interested in purchasing in Lake Forest may wish to apply for a Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC). The MCC program is a federal tax credit program that allows you to take a federal income tax credit of up to 15% of the annual interest you pay on your home. Because the MCC reduces your federal income taxes and increases your net earnings, it is helpful in qualifying you for your first home mortgage. The MCC is registered with the IRS, and it continues to decrease your federal income taxes each year for as long as you line in your home.
To qualify, a 1-2 person household my not earn more than $85,300 annually, and a 3 or more person household may not exceed $98,095. The maximum purchase price for a home is $665,088. You may not have owned a principal residence in the last three years, and you must occupy the home, condominium or townhouse. The administrator of this federal program is the County of Orange, and you must apply for the MCC through a participating Lender.
The WISH program is available in the City of Lake Forest.
For additional information and to find out how to qualify for this and other programs, please contact Andres Morales at (949)306-9260. You may also email directly at ThankYou@AndresCanHelp.com.