Which reason would you consider NOT to buy the house?

[ZeroLot]

Then I would consider the construction and design details.

Your kidding right? Your talking about tract homes by mass production builders. Prepare to be disappointed

Tract homes were built ever nice after WWII.  The concept worked because of the mass production era, much like the model T. 

Any home construction there will be problems.  However there is a nice uniform look to everything being the same. 

If you really want custom buy a used home somewhere, like in Northpark (no association oversight), tear down the house, and build from scratch.

What? NP will allow you to tear your house down and build a custom home from scratch??!!

Everytime I leave my winter wreath on my door past Jan 6th the HOA sends a letter to my house every week until I take it down. it's not even a xmas wreath - it's a "winter season" themed one! Talk about an anal HOA...

I've never seen a major renovation project like that in my neighborhood and I've been here for several years.

You just have to keep the frames.  I've seen it in Northpark and a couple times in Woodbridge.  All of these must adhere to Irvine permits and in the situation of Woodbridge ... WB HOA permits.

 

[OpenSky]

 

[ZeroLot]

If you really want custom buy a used home somewhere, like in Northpark (no association oversight), tear down the house, and build from scratch.

I think you mean parts of Northwood, not Northpark.

Remember my story of the day we closed escrow? We had a letter in the mail welcoming us to the neighborhood and a formal notice to remove a superfluous tree support post from our front yard.

NP's HOA board to its residents is not dissimilar to ZeroLot to her vendors; we are their collective bitch.

lol you are right ... Northwood.  My bad.  Hey this just proves that I'm still human.

 

[O Hills]

If you really want custom buy a used home somewhere, like in Northpark (no association oversight), tear down the house, and build from scratch.

I think you mean parts of Northwood, not Northpark.

Remember my story of the day we closed escrow? We had a letter in the mail welcoming us to the neighborhood and a formal notice to remove a superfluous tree support post from our front yard.

NP's HOA board to its residents is not dissimilar to ZeroLot to her vendors; we are their collective bitch.

Another reason to love NP.  Hoping for an equally tough HOA at OH.

#takeyourwreathdownitshalloweenforchristssake

 

[paperboyNC]

Location is the most important thing when it comes to real estate.

Agree and disagree. When comparing Irvine to Riverside, the choice is obviously all about location. When comparing Northpark to Orchard Hills, location is more of a moot point. Since this is talkirvine I assumed that all locations we choose are in Irvine.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

Location is the most important thing when it comes to real estate.

Agree and disagree. When comparing Irvine to Riverside, the choice is obviously all about location. When comparing Northpark to Orchard Hills, location is more of a moot point. Since this is talkirvine I assumed that all locations we choose are in Irvine.

That's not true either because you are paying a premium to live in Irvine thus your expectations and views are going to be higher.  You start thinking of it more than just a house.

 

[OpenSky]

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Location is the most important thing when it comes to real estate.

Agree and disagree. When comparing Irvine to Riverside, the choice is obviously all about location. When comparing Northpark to Orchard Hills, location is more of a moot point. Since this is talkirvine I assumed that all locations we choose are in Irvine.

Not necessarily... that's why the RE rule is location, location and location. Once you have it down to a general city/area, you want to make sure that the micro location within that city suits you down to which house on the street. You have more choice in that with new... which is a reason why people will pay the new premium, but if you prefer the non-new areas, you have to have more patience.

In my 3-house example, all of those were in Irvine. But I was only really "satisified" living in the 3rd one. If you have the ability to choose your location, whether it be this village or that one, whether it be the tract closer to the park or with a view, whether it be the house on the corner or on the cul-de-sac, that matters above all.

 

[paperboyNC]

Not necessarily... that's why the RE rule is location, location and location. Once you have it down to a general city/area, you want to make sure that the micro location within that city suits you down to which house on the street. You have more choice in that with new... which is a reason why people will pay the new premium, but if you prefer the non-new areas, you have to have more patience.

In my 3-house example, all of those were in Irvine. But I was only really "satisified" living in the 3rd one. If you have the ability to choose your location, whether it be this village or that one, whether it be the tract closer to the park or with a view, whether it be the house on the corner or on the cul-de-sac, that matters above all.

When I bought my home I wanted a newer home with an open floor plan. My wife picked it literally because of dual master closets. I really wasn't picky about what village as long as it was in Irvine. I preferred the Woodbridge / Westpark area but the homes were older and the updated homes were way too pricey.

So at least for me, once it was narrowed down to Irvine, we cared about other things more than location.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

Not necessarily... that's why the RE rule is location, location and location. Once you have it down to a general city/area, you want to make sure that the micro location within that city suits you down to which house on the street. You have more choice in that with new... which is a reason why people will pay the new premium, but if you prefer the non-new areas, you have to have more patience.

In my 3-house example, all of those were in Irvine. But I was only really "satisified" living in the 3rd one. If you have the ability to choose your location, whether it be this village or that one, whether it be the tract closer to the park or with a view, whether it be the house on the corner or on the cul-de-sac, that matters above all.

When I bought my home I wanted a newer home with an open floor plan. My wife picked it literally because of dual master closets. I really wasn't picky about what village as long as it was in Irvine. I preferred the Woodbridge / Westpark area but the homes were older and the updated homes were way too pricey.

So at least for me, once it was narrowed down to Irvine, we cared about other things more than location.

Can I ask you what your choices of villages were at that time?

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Not necessarily... that's why the RE rule is location, location and location. Once you have it down to a general city/area, you want to make sure that the micro location within that city suits you down to which house on the street. You have more choice in that with new... which is a reason why people will pay the new premium, but if you prefer the non-new areas, you have to have more patience.

In my 3-house example, all of those were in Irvine. But I was only really "satisified" living in the 3rd one. If you have the ability to choose your location, whether it be this village or that one, whether it be the tract closer to the park or with a view, whether it be the house on the corner or on the cul-de-sac, that matters above all.

When I bought my home I wanted a newer home with an open floor plan. My wife picked it literally because of dual master closets. I really wasn't picky about what village as long as it was in Irvine. I preferred the Woodbridge / Westpark area but the homes were older and the updated homes were way too pricey.

So at least for me, once it was narrowed down to Irvine, we cared about other things more than location.

And that's why I said "if you have the ability to choose".

If the "updated homes" were not "too pricey" (and had dual master closets )... you would have chosen the Woodbridge/Westpark location.

Again, some people can/have to compromise on location to get other things they want, but if they didn't have to, they would pick the location they prefer.

 

[paperboyNC]

Can I ask you what your choices of villages were at that time?

To buy in Irvine new we had a choice of:

Laguna Altura
Stonegate
Portola Springs

TIC sales staff was rude so we focused on the village that had a choice of builders (Portola Springs). We also felt that we got a really good deal in Portola Springs. If we hadn't we probably would have rented in Woodbridge.

We also looked at new construction in Anaheim and Mission Viejo but we did not like the schools / neighborhoods / long commute with traffic.

 

[iloveirvineoc]

1. location
2. floor plan and design
3. high MR and HOA

For me, I really can't stand living in a house with bad floor plans considering I spend the majority of the time with my family in the house besides work. High MR and HOA is just my personal dislikes. But I guess people living in million $ homes don't really care?

 

[NewIrvineBee]

1. location
2. floor plan and design
3. high MR and HOA

For me, I really can't stand living in a house with bad floor plans considering I spend the majority of the time with my family in the house besides work. High MR and HOA is just my personal dislikes. But I guess people living in million $ homes don't really care?

This is what I am thinking...

 

[NewIrvineBee]

so far, I can see people do care:

First: Location - pollution, noise etc

Second: Tiny Backyard
Second: Location - Distance to shop and shopping

Third: People love living in NEW House

8) 8)

 

[OCgasman]

If I'm making a list then:

1. Location
2. Location
3. Location
4. Floor plan.  Decent sized 2nd floor loft/bonus room is a must for me.  En suite bathrooms for all secondary bedrooms is nice but not a must.  Indoor/outdoor space that integrates seemlessly is a must.
5. Lot size and lot location within the community.  I take into consideration the direction the the house is facing, not for Feng Shui, cuz I don't care about that stuff, but more about where sun rises/sets in relation to the house cuz I want shade in the backyard in the late afternoon.  Backing into a major street or near a highway/landfill is a deal breaker.
6. Schools.  This is unimportant to me in Irvine as I think all the schools are good.

There is no perfect house.  Even if you built a custom house, after moving in, you would wish you did something different that was unforeseen during blueprints.  It's about compromising as it is in all aspects of life.  With production tract homes (even the $2M+ houses), you just try to minimize the compromises as much as possible and figure out what you can and cannot live with.

 

[NewIrvineBee]

I guess most of the houses in CV come with small backyard, right? PS can get better size, right?

 

[eyephone]

I guess most of the houses in CV come with small backyard, right? PS can get better size, right?

You just noticed that? (re backyard)
Like I said before, if your on a budget and want brand new (for the smell of the new house), look at PS.

 

[MFWIC]

Location is number one.  That will lead up to resale value.