Residents Protest Developer’s Sales Tactics as Dishonest, Pressuring

About 50 residents of a Tustin Ranch development picketed at the project’s sales office and on nearby corners Saturday to protest what they say are dishonest and high-pressure tactics used by the developer’s sales representatives.

According to the group, which calls itself Block Real Estate Nonsense, sales representatives told prospective home buyers that they should buy immediately because prices in subsequent phases would go up and special deals on carpeting, tile and drapes would soon be discontinued.

Some residents said that, in trying to buy immediately, they lost money on other deals and made other sacrifices. Most of the residents bought their homes during late 1988 and 1989.

Instead, home prices have gone down and incentives on extras have gone up.

Cary Bren, president of Baycrest Development Co. and son of Irvine Co. Chairman Donald L. Bren, said in a statement that it has never been the company’s policy to guarantee future prices or other considerations.

“Like the majority of new residential projects in central and south Orange County, we are currently offering an incentive package to new home buyers which has gradually increased over the recent months, and it has been our intent to remain competitive,” he said in the statement.

Nellie Hennington, a sales agent at Maricopa, said that agents there know not to make such statements because the market could change. At the bottom of the price list--which ranges from $329,990 to $378,990--is a statement that prices are subject to change without notice, she pointed out.

“We all know that real estate goes up and down and we’re in one of the down cycles,” said Mike Altman, one of the resident group’s leaders. “Our primary complaint is that they misled the hell out of us.”

As the real estate market has softened, Altman, one of the group’s leaders, saw the price on the 2,400-square-foot home he bought in April, 1989, drop from $386,000 to $358,000, he said.

Picketers gave flyers to prospective buyers telling them that they like the community and are protesting only the sales tactics. They said they plan to picket on weekends at the Maricopa development and other Bren developments.

“We hope they’ll resolve the issue with some kind of rebate,” said Dan Jackson, one of the picketers.