Garden Hill and Sage in Portola Springs

[iacrenter]

$1M for a motor court home! I could never understand how this project could sell any homes when next door @ The Field in Lambert Ranch you could a traditional SFR and no MR for the same price.

LR has been sold out for a while now. Yes, they only officially sold out a few weeks ago, but it's been several months where, if you weren't already registered and on the wait list, there was no way you'd be getting a home. So, some people had no choice.

Both projects started around the same time. Garden Hill never had much of chance until LR sold out.

 

[paperboyNC]

Both projects started around the same time. Garden Hill never had much of chance until LR sold out.

If Lambert Ranch started at $1mm and Garden Hill started at $800k you can see why Garden Hill was selling.

 

[jerometl]

Just resurrecting this thread..  I'm been lurking on talking for a while and finally registered (Actually, i thought for a while registration is closed, didn't realized that you have to email admin to register).

Anybody on this forum living in Portola Springs ?  Garden Hill or Sage ?

We recently signed the contract for the last few dirt of at Garden Hill.  Seems like a lot of people hear hates KB Homes, Portola Spring and the motorcourt setup .. but my wife just totally love it compared to all the other places we've seen (her only concern is really KB, she loves PS location and the motorcourt setup)..

So like two days after the contract is signed, we got several calls from KB for an initial design options consultation (it was a weekend and I didn't bother to call back).  We finally did our consultation and two days after, they keep on calling us again for the final design options (we are ignoring them so far).. Seriously ??  Is this normal for a new home development ?  they haven't even broken ground and they want all options finalized ?? I would understand of them asking for the structural options soon, but asking us to finalized the home interiors right away ?

Just getting opinions from experts here as well as tips on handling KB homes people   thanks.

 

[paperboyNC]

Just resurrecting this thread..  I'm been lurking on talking for a while and finally registered (Actually, i thought for a while registration is closed, didn't realized that you have to email admin to register).

Anybody on this forum living in Portola Springs ?  Garden Hill or Sage ?

We recently signed the contract for the last few dirt of at Garden Hill.  Seems like a lot of people hear hates KB Homes, Portola Spring and the motorcourt setup .. but my wife just totally love it compared to all the other places we've seen (her only concern is really KB, she loves PS location and the motorcourt setup)..

So like two days after the contract is signed, we got several calls from KB for an initial design options consultation (it was a weekend and I didn't bother to call back).  We finally did our consultation and two days after, they keep on calling us again for the final design options (we are ignoring them so far).. Seriously ??  Is this normal for a new home development ?  they haven't even broken ground and they want all options finalized ?? I would understand of them asking for the structural options soon, but asking us to finalized the home interiors right away ?

Just getting opinions from experts here as well as tips on handling KB homes people   thanks.

Live in PS but not KB. Did you ask a sales consultant what your deadlines are for options? Most builders will give you a timeline/schedule of deadlines.

 

[bones]

.

 

[jerometl]

Just resurrecting this thread..  I'm been lurking on talking for a while and finally registered (Actually, i thought for a while registration is closed, didn't realized that you have to email admin to register).

Anybody on this forum living in Portola Springs ?  Garden Hill or Sage ?

We recently signed the contract for the last few dirt of at Garden Hill.  Seems like a lot of people hear hates KB Homes, Portola Spring and the motorcourt setup .. but my wife just totally love it compared to all the other places we've seen (her only concern is really KB, she loves PS location and the motorcourt setup)..

So like two days after the contract is signed, we got several calls from KB for an initial design options consultation (it was a weekend and I didn't bother to call back).  We finally did our consultation and two days after, they keep on calling us again for the final design options (we are ignoring them so far).. Seriously ??  Is this normal for a new home development ?  they haven't even broken ground and they want all options finalized ?? I would understand of them asking for the structural options soon, but asking us to finalized the home interiors right away ?

Just getting opinions from experts here as well as tips on handling KB homes people   thanks.

Live in PS but not KB. Did you ask a sales consultant what your deadlines are for options? Most builders will give you a timeline/schedule of deadlines.

The Sales folks are kind of vague with regards to options deadline.  they keep on saying we will have time since they haven't start building yet, but the customer service is just a little annoying calling several times to schedule the appointments (their reason is they have to order the options.. but they haven't broken ground yet!!) .  Am just wondering if this is just normal for other home builders or just KB .. Given their not so good reputation and being already very annoying from the get-go, we might just walk away while we still can ..

How do you like living in PS ?  I read a lot of people here don't like PS ...

 

[jerometl]

Just resurrecting this thread..  I'm been lurking on talking for a while and finally registered (Actually, i thought for a while registration is closed, didn't realized that you have to email admin to register).

Anybody on this forum living in Portola Springs ?  Garden Hill or Sage ?

We recently signed the contract for the last few dirt of at Garden Hill.  Seems like a lot of people hear hates KB Homes, Portola Spring and the motorcourt setup .. but my wife just totally love it compared to all the other places we've seen (her only concern is really KB, she loves PS location and the motorcourt setup)..

So like two days after the contract is signed, we got several calls from KB for an initial design options consultation (it was a weekend and I didn't bother to call back).  We finally did our consultation and two days after, they keep on calling us again for the final design options (we are ignoring them so far).. Seriously ??  Is this normal for a new home development ?  they haven't even broken ground and they want all options finalized ?? I would understand of them asking for the structural options soon, but asking us to finalized the home interiors right away ?

Just getting opinions from experts here as well as tips on handling KB homes people   thanks.

What's your home delivery date?  Most builders have Option A/B/C/D.  Option A usually includes structural things and those usually have to get picked right when you sign the contract or shortly thereafter.  B is usually things like plumbing and a lot of builders will just lump that together with A.  Option C is electrical, appliances, paint, cabinets, countertops, etc.  That is usually 5-6 months prior to closing.  Flooring is the big one in Option D and you choose those about 4-5 months prior to closing.  Each builder does it slightly different but that is my experience with 2 different home builders.

I would definitely watch KB like a hawk and would highly recommend hiring an outside inspector to walk your inspections with you.  I've had friends who had big construction issues with KB that needed to be fixed post closing and it dragged on for months and months.  On the bright side, I do know people that live in Garden Hill.  They like it there a lot and it seems like the neighborhood is very friendly.  I've heard them talk about their "block" hosting block parties and what not.  Which is not typical of your new irvine neighborhoods.

We still don't have a home delivery date yet (their projection is spring).. But I thought it will only take them 4-5 months to build ? so basically you would need all options in before they even start ?

Yes. we plan to hire outside inspector to go with us before drywall is up and before closing.

I do hope the neighboorhood is friendly .. I did walk around the place with my daughter on stroller over the weekend and looks like people are friendly and nice and they do greet us

 

[bones]

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[bones]

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[paperboyNC]

How do you like living in PS ?  I read a lot of people here don't like PS ...

I've lived in PS.  It's fine.  Not as desirable as the other Irvine villages - some would argue one of the least desirable.  It's got a long list of "cons" (landfill, highway, fire risk, far away from things, etc, etc).  So you do worry about resale.  Things do tend to sit on the market longer there and hopefully you're buying at a discount to the other villages.

I live in PS and like it. I generally have music or the TV on inside but I do hear the occasional noisy muffler on the highway when it's silent in our home. It's really not that far from things compare to some of the other areas we considered and we did get a large discount compared to Stonegate / Woodbury on our home.

I like that most other families are also new to the area and are thus more open to meeting new people. There are a lot of professionals like me and a lot of families with young children. The mountain views are nice too.

 

[bones]

[quot.

 

[test]

Just resurrecting this thread..  I'm been lurking on talking for a while and finally registered (Actually, i thought for a while registration is closed, didn't realized that you have to email admin to register).

Anybody on this forum living in Portola Springs ?  Garden Hill or Sage ?

We recently signed the contract for the last few dirt of at Garden Hill.  Seems like a lot of people hear hates KB Homes, Portola Spring and the motorcourt setup .. but my wife just totally love it compared to all the other places we've seen (her only concern is really KB, she loves PS location and the motorcourt setup)..

So like two days after the contract is signed, we got several calls from KB for an initial design options consultation (it was a weekend and I didn't bother to call back).  We finally did our consultation and two days after, they keep on calling us again for the final design options (we are ignoring them so far).. Seriously ??  Is this normal for a new home development ?  they haven't even broken ground and they want all options finalized ?? I would understand of them asking for the structural options soon, but asking us to finalized the home interiors right away ?

Just getting opinions from experts here as well as tips on handling KB homes people   thanks.

Congrats on the new home.  What's the current pricing on Garden Hill?

 

[jerometl]

Just resurrecting this thread..  I'm been lurking on talking for a while and finally registered (Actually, i thought for a while registration is closed, didn't realized that you have to email admin to register).

Anybody on this forum living in Portola Springs ?  Garden Hill or Sage ?

We recently signed the contract for the last few dirt of at Garden Hill.  Seems like a lot of people hear hates KB Homes, Portola Spring and the motorcourt setup .. but my wife just totally love it compared to all the other places we've seen (her only concern is really KB, she loves PS location and the motorcourt setup)..

So like two days after the contract is signed, we got several calls from KB for an initial design options consultation (it was a weekend and I didn't bother to call back).  We finally did our consultation and two days after, they keep on calling us again for the final design options (we are ignoring them so far).. Seriously ??  Is this normal for a new home development ?  they haven't even broken ground and they want all options finalized ?? I would understand of them asking for the structural options soon, but asking us to finalized the home interiors right away ?

Just getting opinions from experts here as well as tips on handling KB homes people   thanks.

Congrats on the new home.  What's the current pricing on Garden Hill?

last I remember, base prices are ~$960K plan 1, ~$980K plan 2, $1.06M plan 3. 

 

[jerometl]

How do you like living in PS ?  I read a lot of people here don't like PS ...

I've lived in PS.  It's fine.  Not as desirable as the other Irvine villages - some would argue one of the least desirable.  It's got a long list of "cons" (landfill, highway, fire risk, far away from things, etc, etc).  So you do worry about resale.  Things do tend to sit on the market longer there and hopefully you're buying at a discount to the other villages.

We plan to live on this house as long as we can so resale value is not really a major consideration now.  My thought is 10+ years down the road, hopefully with Great Park in full development, there would for sure be commercial establishment in the area and there is still the toll road as an escape if traffic is really bad.  And by that time, with all the new homes in all the remaining empty lots in Irvine, hopefully Portola Spring (together with Laguna Altura and maybe Orchard Hills) will still keep its uniqueness being on a hill compared to all the other villages on flat land which would all practically look alike (just rows and rows of houses street block after street block) .... wishful thinking ..

 

[jerometl]

How do you like living in PS ?  I read a lot of people here don't like PS ...

I've lived in PS.  It's fine.  Not as desirable as the other Irvine villages - some would argue one of the least desirable.  It's got a long list of "cons" (landfill, highway, fire risk, far away from things, etc, etc).  So you do worry about resale.  Things do tend to sit on the market longer there and hopefully you're buying at a discount to the other villages.

I live in PS and like it. I generally have music or the TV on inside but I do hear the occasional noisy muffler on the highway when it's silent in our home. It's really not that far from things compare to some of the other areas we considered and we did get a large discount compared to Stonegate / Woodbury on our home.

I like that most other families are also new to the area and are thus more open to meeting new people. There are a lot of professionals like me and a lot of families with young children. The mountain views are nice too.

Before signing the contract, we went to the Garden Hill/Sage area one night and looks like it is very quiet and can't seem to hear any noise from 241.  And it can't be worse that our current home wherein we would have neighbor's visitors/friend parking in front or near the house, and we could practically hear their goodbyes and what they are talking about walking toward their cars when they are about to leave at night.  At least, I hope this won't be an issue on a motorcourt homes

 

[test]

And it can't be worse that our current home wherein we would have neighbor's visitors/friend parking in front or near the house, and we could practically hear their goodbyes and what they are talking about walking toward their cars when they are about to leave at night.  At least, I hope this won't be an issue on a motorcourt homes

Depends if they're talking inside the motor court or outside.  Car noise will be less as long as you're one of the inside units.

 

[gld2]

Me too.  I knew two families bought it, never heard a complaint.

How do you like living in PS ?  I read a lot of people here don't like PS ...

I've lived in PS.  It's fine.  Not as desirable as the other Irvine villages - some would argue one of the least desirable.  It's got a long list of "cons" (landfill, highway, fire risk, far away from things, etc, etc).  So you do worry about resale.  Things do tend to sit on the market longer there and hopefully you're buying at a discount to the other villages.

I live in PS and like it. I generally have music or the TV on inside but I do hear the occasional noisy muffler on the highway when it's silent in our home. It's really not that far from things compare to some of the other areas we considered and we did get a large discount compared to Stonegate / Woodbury on our home.

I like that most other families are also new to the area and are thus more open to meeting new people. There are a lot of professionals like me and a lot of families with young children. The mountain views are nice too.

I should of bought one of those Las Colinas homes when TayMo was practically giving them away.  Nice appreciation on those during the spring bubble.

 

[gld2]

Just a suggestion,  be careful with KB.  They are very pushy regarding closing the house without your interest considered.  The next closing is possible by 05/30/2014 as it is their quarter/semi annaul end.

 

[jerometl]

Just a suggestion,  be careful with KB.  They are very pushy regarding closing the house without your interest considered.  The next closing is possible by 05/30/2014 as it is their quarter/semi annaul end.

thanks gld2.

 

[ps99472]

http://www.kbhome.com/new-homes-orange-county/sage-ii-at-portola-springs

Sage round 2 coming back to Portola.

Any owners from Sage I care to comment?