What should a million dollar Irvine home look like?

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garfangle_IHB

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<p>If you had at least a million dollars, what should such a home look like in a non-inflated market? Let us say you had either the income or wealth to put down between $1 mil to $1.5 mil for a single family residence (SFR), where would you like it to be located, what is the minimum lot size, how many bedrooms, and what square footage of the home is needed for you to consider it worthy of being a seven-figure adobe?</p>

<p>My dream home:</p>

<p>Lot size: min. 8,000 sqft</p>

<p>House size: min 3200 sqft</p>

<p>Bed/Bath #: min 5/4.5</p>

<p>Amenities: premium appliances, hardwood floors, outdoor deck/area, luxury master bath/shower, walk-in closets, etc.</p>

<p>See <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1274026">51 Valley Terrace, 92603</a>, <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1107488">1 Whitney, 92620</a>, <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=822371">1 New Dawn, 92620</a>, as representative examples</p>

<p> </p>
 
I don't get it. Maybe, it is because I am an OC native, but I just can't grasp the concept of why someone would want to pay $2mil for a home, that is exactly the same as every other fifth house, built by a builder that had to hit the numbers (crappy ass construction), pay mello roos, pay HOA dues, and actually be proud that you live in Irvine.





Seriously, you could live <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1211867">here</a>, <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1035644">here</a>, <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1271452">here</a>, <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1160496">here</a>, <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=833750">here</a>, <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1163484">here</a>, <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1210463">here</a>, <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=456364">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1210134">here</a> for the same cost. So, while you enjoy the "lifestyle" you pay for in mello roos and HOA dues, I would much rather enjoy the "lifestyle" of grabbing my surfboard, hopping on my bike, and be in the water before you could get out of the gate. Call me crazy, but the schools in Irvine can't be that much better to compensate for that lifestyle.





And, with the lower cost, I will be able to enjoy the expansive ocean view sunset with my Milagro margaritas. You can try to enjoy the sunset with the binoculars, and Cuervo, but I will enjoy my "lifestyle" more.





{rant over}
 
We always discuss the fact that people will pay premiums to live in certain areas, but doesn't the cost of construction remain relatively equal? I understand that different landscapes, gradient , forests, sediment etc. come into play.





Builders must have made buttloads of cash by building these paper mache boxes in SoCal
 
<p>Connecticut shoreline area, 3 acres minimum, house size around 3000 sq ft, 3/3 is fine, post and beam construction....huge deck and front porch (rocking chairs). Some kind of kick ass view, plenty of privacy....like, I can't see my neighbors and they can't see me...or hear me. </p>

<p>This will do nicely, price will be 1 mill in about 7 months <a href="http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?ctid=90407&mnp=33&typ=7&lid=1090634663&fhv=1">Single Family Home - 288 MIDDLESEX AVE, CHESTER, CT, 06412 - Realtor.com</a></p>
 
<p>Ok, now I'm convinced it's mostly a worldwide bubble ... I think were all in for a hard, hard landing ...</p>

<p>In Pictures: What $1 Million Buys In Homes Worldwide</p>

<p>http://www.forbes.com/2007/12/28/worldwide-million-property-forbeslife-cx_mw_0102realestate_slide_2.html?partner=yahoo</p>
 
2 mil will also get you Hope Ranch, as well as (for you surfers out there) "the ranch", as well as Corona del Mar. You might even be able to swing Rincon.
 
<img width="7" height="15" alt="" src="file:///C:/DOCUME~1/achang/LOCALS~1/Temp/moz-screenshot-11.jpg" />one of the houses in the first post is absolutely atrocious, imo. there's lots of reasons why corner lots are undesirable, but especially in tract home developments because the builders dont design the homes with an emphasis on the side profile of the house. with the density of the homes, no one ever sees the side of a house anyway. on corner lots they usually add a window or two, slap on some extra shutters, or if they're feeling extra generous you might find an extra set of french doors and balcony. with this particular house it looks like they didn't bother at all.





i had to do a double-take at first to make sure that was a SFR. i thought it was an apt bldg at first, not a $1.5 M luxury home.





<img width="355" height="266" src="http://i-0.rfimg.us/photo/46/bigphoto/153/S504153_13_0.jpg" alt="" />


<img width="355" height="265" src="http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/7/8/5/xy_7854F2CD-C039-4C7F-9305-255A9E58EBDF__.jpg" alt="" />
 
I'd never buy a corner lot. Every day on the news there is another moron slamming into a house. Why would you want to put your family in jeopardy? There is plenty of other homes...
 
The MLS picture conveniently cuts out the surrounding SFRs with good reason. It's like the seller thinks this is Ebay and people won't be able to check out the property before buying it.



The 1 Whitney House that looks like townhome/apt complex sticks out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood. The neighborhood was built around 1979 in a "craftsman/bungalow" style. The contrast between this house and the surrounding ones is comical. Obviously, the original 1 Whitney was torn down and reincarnated into this monstrosity that you see here today.



I have 2 guesses:

1) Some ambitious flipper bought the house around 2005, tore it down and rebuilt it to sell it to an even bigger idiot/flipper.

2) The homeowner had been there for awhile, didn't want to leave the area for some reason, decided to build his dream home. After being cured of his insanity, he realized he created Frankenhouse and figured that he could still make a killing with it in the evergreen housing market. Doh.
 
I thought a corner lot was a favorable selling point for a house? That you would only have a neighbor on one side? Or is this not the case anymore or corner lots were never better than interior lots? I personally don't like cul-de-sacs, particularly the home(s) that sits right at the very end of a CDS, even though realtors always emphasis CDS location.
 
<p>i live in cul-de-sac, and it is not a good location! children from the entire street always gather in cul-de-sacs and scream all day (and night) long. even though I have a toddler myself, i don't enjoy 24/7 live entertainment. depends on the neighborhood though... I remember studying a case in a property class in law school where the court explained why it is undesirable to live in condominiums or in SFRs near them: no backyards/small backyards lead to the "spillover" effect (when these people come to hang out at the street, and if you live in a SFR within walking distance of them, they will come there as well). There is something about living in a city that bans non-SFR construction and all apartments... I think it is Hillsborough, right? </p>

<p>the best location is not a corner lot (unless the house is really far from both streets). the best one I saw was a house on a street, but due to some hills nearby, there were no neighbors on both sides, just neighbors across the street. </p>
 
<p><a href="http://rentals.realtor.com/rentals/search/searchresults.aspx?ctid=12221&ml=3&mnp=34&mxp=37&typ=40">How about some $800 - 900K homes?</a></p>

<p>http://rentals.realtor.com/rentals/search/searchresults.aspx?ctid=12221&ml=3&mnp=34&mxp=37&typ=40</p>

<p>Couln't find any that "should" be a million.</p>
 
the thing that turned me off cul de sacs was seeing one with 5 portable basketball hoops on both sides of the street all along the length of the CDS, all either blocking the sidewalk or taking up a parking spot in the street, and thinking what a madhouse that street would be with the pounding basketball noise and the parking situation (how can you feel comfortable parking next to a basketball hoop, those basketballs are heavy) and the general unattractiveness of the hoops all down the street (some had sandbags or bricks on top of the base), plus hockey nets on the sidewalk. Since then I've noticed a lot of cul de sacs like that, where a few families kids take over the street. You are almost at the mercy of your neighbors' kids in cul de sacs, it seems to me. Realtors always emphasize CDSs like they are quiet but it just takes one or tow houses to make a CDS a noisy street party day and night. I personally prefer through streets or sloping streets.
 
I just checked out the links from graphix and had NO idea that you could get nice size ocean view lots in laguna beach for 1.5-2m. All this time I thought it was 3-4m. I guess i was watching too much "the oc". Any reason why laguna beach is priced lower than newport? is it bc of freeway access or school system?
 
<p>frebay,</p>

<p> I was impress too with the view. But at the same time shock at the the sq. footage. 932 sq. ft 2 bedrooms for almost 2 millions?....$2000 a sq. ft? Yikes!</p>
 
<p>Just for fun, how about we record what a million buys in Irvine over time (ex. once every few months), to track how much you can get.</p>

<p>Here's one from ioplaya's site</p>

<p><a href="http://redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1397116">http://redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1397116</a></p>



Price: $1,060,000

<a style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/how-you-save?direct-section=buy">Redfin Savings: $21,200*</a>

21 Trovita

Irvine, CA 92620



<p>







Beds:

5





Baths:

3





Sq. Ft.:

3,033





$/Sq. Ft.:

$349





Lot Size:

6,000 sq. ft.





Type:

Single Family Residence





Style:

Contemporary





Year Built:

1980





Stories:

Two Levels





View(s):

Park or Green Belt, Trees/Woods, Has View





Area:

Northwood





County:

Orange





MLS#:

S517764





Status:

Backup Offers Accepted





On Redfin:

9 days







</p>
 
<p>I feel the same way Blackacre does about non SFRs in regard to sidewalks.</p>

<p>If the neighborhood has a sidewalk, god forbid, somebody might want to use it.</p>

<p>Thats why my wife and I have chosen the county island south of Orange, north of Irvine and Tustin, and east of Santa Ana. We're looking starting on 1/1/09. We've been 'peeking' but the market isn't right and frankly neither are we.</p>
 
<p>Is Now the Time to Buy a $1 Million Home?</p>

<p>http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/104483/Is-Now-the-Time-to-Buy-a-1-Million-Home;_ylt=AsHAFAnvz.N2HtO2PawrnVe7YWsA?</p>
 
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