Woodbridge or Racquet Club home?

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Corot_IHB

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Which Irvine home would you purchase: A single-level SF home built in 1979 with 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms in Woodbridge or a 2-story SF home built in 1970 with 4 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms in Racquet Club home? The Woodbridge home has an association fee of $80 & one common wall, but the Racquet Club home requires remodeling due to its age & unkept condition.
 
I'd pick neither.



I say that because the Woodbridge home would be unacceptable because it has an attached wall, and I don't like the Racquet Club area at all. Just my opinion.
 
[quote author="Corot" date=1258021335]Which Irvine home would you purchase: A single-level SF home built in 1979 with 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms in Woodbridge or a 2-story SF home built in 1970 with 4 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms in Racquet Club home? The Woodbridge home has an association fee of $80 & one common wall, but the Racquet Club home requires remodeling due to its age & unkept condition.</blockquote>


I would go with the Raquet club home considering that Woodbridge home has a common wall, so it will be a condo/ townhouse, not a SF? (May be the Realtors can confirm this) But are you ready to go through the remodeling troubles? Most of the times people end up spending more time and money than they originally intended to.
 
I'd also double check on what your association fee may be. In Woodbridge the single family detached homes have one association fee of $78 (this covers the common facilities and pools, parks, etc.) but if this is an attached home or condo it will also has a second association fee. This second fee does cover your fire insurance and the maintenance of the exterior of the home (roof, painting, etc.) but it will also be higher than the $78 main fee.
 
Thanks for the feedback!



The Woodbridge home is definitely a SF & not a condo or townhome. It has $78 HOA & no $55 supplement since it's not lakefront. All Woodbridge SF homes share at least one common wall, that is a neighbor's wall is your wall on one side & your other side wall is another neighbor's wall. I hope I'm making it clear.



Racquet Club home is old & require works on it for sure, but the bright side is remodeling projects should cost less in the current economy.
 
I'd suggest that you call the Woodbridge Village Association and ask them about the particular home you are thinking of buying. You can reach them at (949) 786-1800. Woodbridge is a huge village with lots of different types of housing, and there are a lot of unattached single family homes with no common walls, and there are also a lot of attached homes that share common walls. Perhaps when you are referring to "Woodbridge" you are referring to a particular development within Woodbridge where everyone is attached.......
 
[quote author="Corot" date=1258075548]Thanks for the feedback!



The Woodbridge home is definitely a SF & not a condo or townhome. It has $78 HOA & no $55 supplement since it's not lakefront. All Woodbridge SF homes share at least one common wall, that is a neighbor's wall is your wall on one side & your other side wall is another neighbor's wall. I hope I'm making it clear.



Racquet Club home is old & require works on it for sure, but the bright side is remodeling projects should cost less in the current economy.</blockquote>


I doubt that.. as per my understanding, if there is a shared wall, it is a townhouse/condo.

IR, IR2, USc, any others who can clear this? I remember seeing a few properties in WB with one attached wall that were called SF, but when you put an offer, it came up as townhouse/ condo.
 
I think I'd go with the WB home if I had to choose. I am renting a house in WB and I understand what you are talking about with the "attached walls". It's not really attached- it's more of the "zero-lot" line you are talking about. Or the wall of the neighbor's house is essentially making up a fence around part of the yard. There is no noise heard from the neighbors. I have this in our rental.



Good luck with your decision.
 
Thanks JoonB for clearly identify the terms for me! The Woodbridge home is actually a zero-lot line property in which a neighbor's wall acts as a common wall but the two houses are not attached to one another.
 
I could be wrong, but I think the SFR vs. condo/townhouse distinction has to do with the size of the lot. If it's under a certain square footage, it's legally a condo. At least, this is how my realtor explained it to me.
 
[quote author="Corot" date=1258078488]Thanks JoonB for clearly identify the terms for me! The Woodbridge home is actually a zero-lot line property in which a neighbor's wall acts as a common wall but the two houses are not attached to one another.</blockquote>


I was not aware of that.. good luck to you, and let us know which one you decided on.
 
This also depends on what part of Irvine you like and what kind of neighborhood you want to live in.



Racquet Club is near the 5, Tustin/Irvine Marketplace, Woodbridge is near the 405 and the Irvine Spectrum. WB has many pools and 2 lakes, RC has... uh... tennis courts? RC is a smaller neighborhood, WB is a large neighborhood with pocket neighborhoods the size of RC.



Both have 3-car wide garages (sorry... that's just for my benefit).



I like WB because I prefer the central/southern part of Irvine.
 
I like your name Corot. Is that your last name or you are a great fan of the Barbizon painter Camille.



A single story home sits on a larger lot. The zero lot line is not an issue but do have an access easement for your neighbor someday to paint his blank wall facing your side yard. The property offer a detached dwelling lifestyle. The rear yard is very private because there are no 2 story adjacent neighbors looking down on your property. This is an obvious choice. The age of the home also matter. Single story homes will be in a higher demand as the baby boomers are aging.



The only compromise is the bedrooms are buried to the side yards in order for the active rooms orient toward the backyard.
 
I'm a huge fan of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot & thus my christening of his namesake. Sharp of you to observe that Bkshopr!



The Woodbridge single-story home is 600 sqft & 1100 sqft LESS in living area & lot size than the Racquet Club 2-story home. It also has an HOA of $78, but the neighborhood, walking trails & surroundings are lovely & peaceful as a result of it. The Woodbridge home actually costs more than the Racquet Club home by 10K, but is move-in ready (remodeling is needed with the Racquet Club home). However, the Racquet Club home is near Brywood Elementary --- a blue-ribbon school, Sierra Vista Junior High, & the newest but nationally-featured Northwood High School. I suspect the Woodbridge home will have more retain value than the Racquet Club home due to its "youthfulness" & maintenance upkeep by the Association. I would like my daughter to attend good schools (Woodbridge has fantastic schools as well!) but the ambience of Woodbridge sure is attractive!
 
[quote author="Corot" date=1258110363]I'm a huge fan of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot & thus my christening of his namesake. Sharp of you to observe that Bkshopr!



The Woodbridge single-story home is 600 sqft & 1100 sqft LESS in living area & lot size than the Racquet Club 2-story home. It also has an HOA of $78, but the neighborhood, walking trails & surroundings are lovely & peaceful as a result of it. The Woodbridge home actually costs more than the Racquet Club home by 10K, but is move-in ready (remodeling is needed with the Racquet Club home). However, the Racquet Club home is near Brywood Elementary --- a blue-ribbon school, Sierra Vista Junior High, & the newest but nationally-featured Northwood High School. I suspect the Woodbridge home will have more retain value than the Racquet Club home due to its "youthfulness" & maintenance upkeep by the Association. I would like my daughter to attend good schools (Woodbridge has fantastic schools as well!) but the ambience of Woodbridge sure is attractive!</blockquote>




I only know everything that is wall related including the things that you hang on it. I do have a Corot from the Salon exhibition and the Paris Worlds Fair where the engineer Eiffel assembled his "industrial monstrosity"(at the time of erection it was the most hated structure by the Parisans). The irony is that it is the most loved iconic structure in the world today.



Famed Woodbridge is your best choice. It will retain value much better and it is a single story. Single story homes are rare for today's standard. Premium for a single story is around 20% vs a 2 story home of similar size.
 
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