So I finally visited Baker Ranch yesterday. My thoughts echo most of what has already been posted by other members:
- In the industrial area of Lake Forest, so outside of the village... you have to drive up to Foothill Ranch or down to Lake Forest/El Toro roads for suburban amenities
- On the plus side, if you work in that area, it's very close to your job
- I like the elevated nature of some of the tracts, the only issue is that to the south, the views are the industrial buildings, and to the north, depending on where you are, it's more homes
- No MRs should be a draw for many as the price, HOA ($180/mo) and base tax rate (1.06%) is all you need to worry about financially
- The area is pretty far out if you don't work in the immediate area... even from South County jobs
- From what I can tell, the recreation areas looks pretty nice
- The higher end homes have cul-de-sac streets
I only visited The Highlands and The Heights, and these are my observations:
http://www.tollbrothers.com/CA/The_Highlands_at_Baker_Ranch#homedesignshttp://www.tollbrothers.com/CA/The_Heights_at_Baker_Ranch#homedesigns
1. I find it strange that each model varies only in layout but not really square footage, The Highlands is ~3000sft and The Heights is ~2700sft.
2. They really are pushing that indoor/outdoor space. All models had huge stacking sliding doors that basically opened a large portion of the first floor to the backyard and/or a courtyard. Some models even had outdoor decks off the master or bonus/loft on the second floor.
3. The problem with the indoor/outdoor concept is the backyards aren't that large so actual outdoor space isn't very large.
4. In their brochures, they add the square footage in a Cali Room or Courtyard to the "total" square footage of the home.
5. Very flat front facades on these homes (other people made a similar comment)
6. Every model had a downstairs bedroom and bath, so 1.5 bathrooms on the first floor is a plus.
7. Not a single model had a separate dining or flex area... you walk in and that's what you see, kitchen, family+dining (or great room).
8. At least they made some very well executed foyers... very ps9 with large vaulted 2-story ceilings.
9. Ceilings are very high on both 1st and 2nd floor, probably 10' or higher.
10. Secondary bathrooms are very small.
11. Master bedrooms are also very small... and master closets even smaller. In some models they do have dual master closets but both are the same size and tiny. Some masters have a retreat or that covered deck.
12. Most models had large walk-in pantries
13. Only one model in The Heights (Cascade) had a 3-car tandem garage (it was optioned to a Flex space in the model)
If I had to pick one as my favorite, it would probably be Cascade with the master retreat option (as modeled).
All in all, these aren't too different from the ones in Irvine except Toll Brothers put some interesting variations on their homes considering they were all similar in square footage. These range from the mid/high $900ks to just above $1m. I actually think it's high even when accounting for the absence of MRs. If these were sub $900k, they would probably sell much faster (I don't think their sales pace is all that brisk considering they did have "Quick Inventory" available).
If you like the Lake Forest area, have to have new, work nearby and don't mind the distance from the main freeways, this would be a good option. But to me, if you are going to live that far, I would prefer a more traditional floorplan with a 3CWG up in Foothill Ranch or even south between Lake Forest and El Toro (there are quite a few homes there build in the late 80s, early 90s).
Edit: Typos and clarifications
