Las Ventanas by Taylor Morrison at Portola Springs

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irvinehomeowner said:
Aren't there premiums on the Sevillas with driveways? Not sure if a $40k difference is enough for me between a condo and an SFR.
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Sure, and there will also be hefty premiums on the LV lots with yards.  I don't see where $40K is a reasonable cost for a SFR designation that makes no difference in your daily life.  It's also so arbitrary at times.  Montecito in Woodbury is designated SFR, even though they are on motorcourts and have front yards maintained by the HOA.  They apparently look like ducks and walk like ducks, but are not zoned as ducks.
 
Actually... there is a difference. Look at the LV neighborhood and you will see sidewalks with a grass berm in front of every house... do you see that at Sevilla... or Montecito?

Do you drive down a street or a motorcourt to get to your driveway?

I'm not even sure the difference is $40k, no one has chimed in how much more the Sevillas with driveways cost (unless the posters $40k difference is based on a driveway unit).

Again... if they are in the same area with similar features... and I assume we are comparing the LV Plan 2 to the Sevilla Plan 3, I'll take the SFR... because regardless if I sell it or not in the next 10, 15, 20 years... I can do more with an SFR than I can with a condo.

And don't get me wrong... I'll live in a condo if the price difference is greater... in fact, that's what we are looking at in QH because the SFRs there are so expensive.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Actually... there is a difference. Look at the LV neighborhood and you will see sidewalks with a grass berm in front of every house... do you see that at Sevilla... or Montecito?

Do you drive down a street or a motorcourt to get to your driveway?

I'm not even sure the difference is $40k, no one has chimed in how much more the Sevillas with driveways cost (unless the posters $40k difference is based on a driveway unit).

Again... if they are in the same area with similar features... and I assume we are comparing the LV Plan 2 to the Sevilla Plan 3, I'll take the SFR... because regardless if I sell it or not in the next 10, 15, 20 years... I can do more with an SFR than I can with a condo.

And don't get me wrong... I'll live in a condo if the price difference is greater... in fact, that's what we are looking at in QH because the SFRs there are so expensive.
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I went to put in an offer at Sevilla for Plan 1 with driveway.  Due to the lot's larger size (which is why they can put in a driveway) the builder's realtor wanted me to put in a offer of 45k on top of the cost of the home listed on their price sheet.  When I said I didn't want to make an offer including the lot premium, she kept on insisting, so that's when I left.
 
Smart move! I had a similar experience. The saleswoman wanted me to offer list price of home (which they almost never negotiate), plus the lot premium. Unlike yours, I stood my ground and submitted my "low" offer, which when I did my comps and research, was not that low. I see it as they are trying to get your "first offer" as HIGH as possible so then when you meet in the middle AND add in the options, they pretty much get what they wanted in the first place. I got the cash that they want so they'll meet me where I want them to meet me! haha!  8)
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Actually... there is a difference. Look at the LV neighborhood and you will see sidewalks with a grass berm in front of every house... do you see that at Sevilla... or Montecito?

Do you drive down a street or a motorcourt to get to your driveway?

I'm not even sure the difference is $40k, no one has chimed in how much more the Sevillas with driveways cost (unless the posters $40k difference is based on a driveway unit).

Again... if they are in the same area with similar features... and I assume we are comparing the LV Plan 2 to the Sevilla Plan 3, I'll take the SFR... because regardless if I sell it or not in the next 10, 15, 20 years... I can do more with an SFR than I can with a condo.

And don't get me wrong... I'll live in a condo if the price difference is greater... in fact, that's what we are looking at in QH because the SFRs there are so expensive.
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Feom what I remember there were only 3 homes in Sevilla at the time that were offering a driveway. I think the lot premium was between 25K-30K. Those homes had a driveway, backyard and were off a street, not a motorcourt.
 
kinetics said:
irvinehomeowner said:
Actually... there is a difference. Look at the LV neighborhood and you will see sidewalks with a grass berm in front of every house... do you see that at Sevilla... or Montecito?

Do you drive down a street or a motorcourt to get to your driveway?

I'm not even sure the difference is $40k, no one has chimed in how much more the Sevillas with driveways cost (unless the posters $40k difference is based on a driveway unit).

Again... if they are in the same area with similar features... and I assume we are comparing the LV Plan 2 to the Sevilla Plan 3, I'll take the SFR... because regardless if I sell it or not in the next 10, 15, 20 years... I can do more with an SFR than I can with a condo.

And don't get me wrong... I'll live in a condo if the price difference is greater... in fact, that's what we are looking at in QH because the SFRs there are so expensive.
Click to expand...

I went to put in an offer at Sevilla for Plan 1 with driveway.  Due to the lot's larger size (which is why they can put in a driveway) the builder's realtor wanted me to put in a offer of 45k on top of the cost of the home listed on their price sheet.  When I said I didn't want to make an offer including the lot premium, she kept on insisting, so that's when I left.
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Kinetics, just curious, which phase was that Plan 1 in? Was it one of the last phases or for build out?

 
kubert13 said:
Kinetics, just curious, which phase was that Plan 1 in? Was it one of the last phases or for build out?
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Build out phase.  There are only 6 homes (maybe 7) that will have driveways.  3 were sold in phase one and only those face the street with no motorcourt.

The last 3 are at build out.  They are already taking offers on the build out.

There might be one other plan 3 in which the lot is big enough that they're considering moving the house back and adding a driveway (for a total of 7).
 
uciguy said:
irvinehomeowner said:
Aren't there premiums on the Sevillas with driveways? Not sure if a $40k difference is enough for me between a condo and an SFR.
Click to expand...

Sure, and there will also be hefty premiums on the LV lots with yards.  I don't see where $40K is a reasonable cost for a SFR designation that makes no difference in your daily life.  It's also so arbitrary at times.  Montecito in Woodbury is designated SFR, even though they are on motorcourts and have front yards maintained by the HOA.  They apparently look like ducks and walk like ducks, but are not zoned as ducks.
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I might be wrong but zoned as SFR instead of condo is about .25% difference in interest rate.  Which at a loan amount of 600k is over 30k over 30 years.  So in certain circumstances it is only a 10k difference.
 
kinetics said:
I went to put in an offer at Sevilla for Plan 1 with driveway.  Due to the lot's larger size (which is why they can put in a driveway) the builder's realtor wanted me to put in a offer of 45k on top of the cost of the home listed on their price sheet.  When I said I didn't want to make an offer including the lot premium, she kept on insisting, so that's when I left.
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That's just silly.  The highest lot premium they have had was the phase 1 house with a driveway and giant yard that backs to the park, and that was only 50k.  The plan 1 in that set was around 30k.  A reasonable lot premium given other stuff that has sold is probably 25-30k.  They have no idea what value to put on a driveway since they haven't had one since the initial release.  They think they under-priced the phase 1 stuff, and I guess they are over-compensating now.

That being said, they were just trying to get you to put in a big offer.  I can tell you for a fact that they expect some back and forth over price if you are buying in phases that aren't released yet.  If you like the house, just put in an offer with a low but reasonable lot premium, then let the counter-offer games begin.  The way they do their paperwork, the base price of the house is fixed, and you only haggle over the lot premium.

My impression in dealing with them is that they are not taking any lowball offers on the good lots ahead of release because they know they can sell them when the time comes.  They will, however, accept just under reasonable offers to get a contract signed.  If you like the houses and don't care about the lot, you could probably get a really good deal on one of the already-released homes.
 
rimrattler6 said:
Smart move! I had a similar experience. The saleswoman wanted me to offer list price of home (which they almost never negotiate), plus the lot premium. Unlike yours, I stood my ground and submitted my "low" offer, which when I did my comps and research, was not that low. I see it as they are trying to get your "first offer" as HIGH as possible so then when you meet in the middle AND add in the options, they pretty much get what they wanted in the first place. I got the cash that they want so they'll meet me where I want them to meet me! haha!  8)
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My experience exactly.
 
So I'm not sure my question has been answered... is a Sevilla Plan 3 with a driveway $40k less than an LV Plan 2?

Let's compare apples here.

And again, even if it were, I would still buy the LV... that's just my preference. I'm not saying it's the only correct decision, but after owning a few properties and being older with a family... that's my opinion.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
So I'm not sure my question has been answered... is a Sevilla Plan 3 with a driveway $40k less than an LV Plan 2?

Let's compare apples here.

And again, even if it were, I would still buy the LV... that's just my preference. I'm not saying it's the only correct decision, but after owning a few properties and being older with a family... that's my opinion.
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I believe the most expensive Plan 3 in Sevilla was about $659K. It came with a driveway and a huge backyard that was at least 40 feet deep by about 50 feet wide. I have the Phase 1 pricing sheet at home so I will have to double check the price tonight.

Is there a LV plan 2 with a comparable lot size?
 
kubert13 said:
It came with a driveway and a huge backyard that was at least 40 feet deep by about 50 feet wide.
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A backyard that is at least 40x50? So you're saying that the backyard alone is 2000sft? Add in the front area to be about 10ft deep to accommodate the driveway and that's another 500sft. The house footprint itself is probably 40x35 so we're looking at a 4000sft lot for a 2000sf Sevilla condo?

That's remarkable... and I guess we can't confirm it because condos don't have published lot sizes.
 
I was interested in Lot 14 (Plan 1, buildout phase, w/driveway).  They were considering moving the house back on Lot 10 and adding a driveway (Plan 3).  You can get an estimate of lot sizes (in relation to each other, not actual measurements) based on the site plan.  Lots 16-17 are the model homes.

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Has interest in LV died? They have not sold anything in the past month and a half? They have not been able to move the 8 houses remaining in phases 1-3. Will interest pick up once the other phases start to release?
 
My money is on the price is too high for homes right next to and facing the 133.  That close to Portola also is not good.  I think you are right that interest will pick up once they start releasing the other areas that are not adjacent to 2 "major" roads.  My pick would be something in the 20~30 lot range.
 
rickr said:
Has interest in LV died? They have not sold anything in the past month and a half? They have not been able to move the 8 houses remaining in phases 1-3. Will interest pick up once the other phases start to release?
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Not quite, LV released Phase 4 today and called one of my buyers who were at the top of the priority list and they will be purchasing Lot 86 (Plan 2).  I think as they release phases the interest will increase.
 
How is melloroos decided? At first I thought it was a direct correlation with the price, but Montecito and Maricopa both have lower MR than Las Ventanas. Las Ventanas is the highest out of any of the homes I have seen.

Annual melloroos
Las Ventanas- $5066
Montecito- $4592
Sevilla- $3762
 
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