Woodbury - Stonetree Manor

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It's high time for an update, as promised...





First, we've been through the second round of upgrades, and we ran into a few surprises, both good and bad.





The good surprise: Cat-5e cabling all over the home leading into the master bedroom closet is standard (no charge). The geek in me is thrilled at the prospect of gigabit ethernet. Also, the satellite dish, telco, and data all come into the home to the master closet, meaning my dreams of a rack-mount data system can come true...





The bad surprise: They won't pre-wire the home for ceiling-mounted speakers unless you buy theirs, which are hideously expensive. Also, the price of a 220V outlet in the laundry room (we have an electric dryer from our condo) was $500.





Things we ordered:


1. J-boxes in all the bedrooms and the dining room


2. Reading lights under the bed in the master, as well as additional can lights in the great room.


3. Outdoor electrical outlet


4. "Holiday light package", which is an outlet under the eve of the home for plugging in Christmas lights, as well as a switch in the garage.





Things we declined:


1. Built-in fridge


2. Granite countertops (I know...I know, but we can live with tile for now, and I hate the idea of paying taxes on it for as long as we own the home)


3. Stainless steel appliances...am I the only one who thinks that stainless steel is a pain to keep clean? We ordered the standard black appliances.


4. Media shelving


5. Crown molding: VERY expensive for what it is (~$3K, if memory serves?)...


6. Alarm system: we're willing to put in an aftermarket system considering the builder wants close to $5,000


7. Additional insulation in the interior walls for $5,000: We thought very hard about this (noise abatement), but declined because the master bedroom is not under the garage, and the other bedrooms are on the other side of the house, so we're not really worried about house noise. Yet. This may come back to haunt us later.


8. Central Vac








Other interesting things to note:


1. I'm glad we got a rate-cap at 6%...it appears that interest rates may be on the rise.


2. We're trying desperately to get our mortgage under the conforming rate. We have about $450K ready to go for a down payment...and if we weren't saving and skimping as much as possible, we'd have a $425,000 loan...which is silly considering the 1/4 point discount you get on conforming loans under $417,000...


3. Inventory on the STM homes seem to be moving at a decent clip...at least decent enough that they seem to be holding steady on price, much to my chagrin...
 
<p>Toured these for the first time today. Actually liked a lot. Locations of the current release are great too...Right across the street from the new school and Laurel Square park. They have numerous homes on a year end special for Nov and Dec move in's....too many to list here. All are offered with the pre-selected options included in the base price, plus another $15k in incentive money. The models were packed with people looking around 5pm today. Interesting. </p>

<p>Plan 1 - From $780,880 </p>

<p>Plan 2 - From $827,880 </p>

<p>Plan 3 - From $865,880 </p>

<p>If these were about $200k less, I'd be real interested.</p>
 
<p>CK -</p>

<p>How long have these been selling for? I'm not sure if these are the ones (all the names are sounding the same to me now) ... but if they are, I looked at them last Summer and I thought they were in the low 700's.</p>
 
LL - I think they have been around a long time. It seems these (or very similiar looking) homes are scattered throughout Woodbury. As far as pricing, think they have always been in the 8's and 9's.
 
Interesting, as this represents a $2K drop from when we purchased. I wrote the JLH folks to see if their "John Laing Promise" is really a promise...





In other news, our home is almost ready. If anyone's interested in seeing these homes without the frou-frou decorations, the fence is down on the Plantation side. You could just walk in...but you didn't hear that from me...





-OCR
 
You may both be right, by the way. There are two developments with these floor plans, "Stonetree", and "Stonetree Manor". I think the Stonetree homes capped around the high $700s back in 03-04, but I know the Stonetree Manor homes have come down significantly in the last year.





-OCR
 
Late October/Early November. I believe they're about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I wonder if Laing is trying to speed up the process to get the homes off their books.





I should host an IHB party when we move in. How strange would that be?





BK, if you're out there, did you ever get a chance to see the Stonetree models? I'm a bit afraid to ask your opinion since we already purchased, but...what are your thoughts?





-OCR
 
<p>OCR -</p>

<p>Laing was 3 weeks ahead for me. I think that they're moving faster than predicted because:</p>

<p>(1) they haven't released as many homes as expected/planned because of the market slowdown - the period between phase releases now are much longer.</p>

<p>(2) good weather - so no delay in construction days.</p>

<p>Anyway, you better check up on "the promise." It's only good until you close. </p>
 
<p>I rent in Costa Mesa - close to South Coast Plaza, Metro Point and the 405. </p>

<p>In two weeks, I'll be in San Juan Capistrano - ummm close to the Sundried Tomato and the Mission. </p>
 
also in woodbury...





this might be a little late now but i just looked at this thread for the first time in a few months... regarding the speaker wiring, my boss told me how he would go over to his new house at night while it was under construction and put in wiring himself. he had to hide it very well, sometimes clustering it with existing wiring and hoping no one noticed. one night it just happened the foreman on his job came by and asked what he was doing. my boss fessed up and the foreman said, "here let me help you." he maintained a good relation with the foreman and was even told to simply go through the guy if he had small requests instead of through the builder and they would keep it all hush hush for him. lucky break!
 
<p>"<em>BK, if you're out there, did you ever get a chance to see the Stonetree models? I'm a bit afraid to ask your opinion since we already purchased, but...what are your thoughts</em>?"</p>



<p>I remember liking the Stonetree models as well, particularly plan 3, but that was before I read bkshopr's posts. Maybe Bk can comment on this product *hint hint*. Better yet, can you just write a book of guidelines I can use when the time comes for house hunting? Thanks! </p>



<p>If these home prices drop 20-25% over the next few years, I'd be very interested in buying a resale Stonetree Manor plan. Of course, I might be dreaming and it'll never happen to highly desirable places like Irvine, but we'll see. In any case, congrats to OCR on his purchase. Please continue to update us as you go through the purchasing process. It's great to read about all the ins and outs of it all for someone who's never bought a new home before. </p>
 
Update to the "John Laing Promise"





The reason for the $2,000 drop in plan 2 and 3 was the composition of the lots. In our case, the home we're buying is $865,880 (same as current phase), with a $7,000 lot premium for location and non-zero lot line.





In other words, in our phase, where the advertised starting price was $867,880 the least expensive plan 3 had at least $2,000 worth of "lot premium".





Checking the contract we signed, it indeed confirms that our base price was $865,880. Poor fact-checking on my part, I suppose.





The $15K is standard procedure for homes that have dropped out of escrow, so buyers of new phases don't get the $10k.





Bummer, but at least I don't feel like I got ripped off. At least not from the builder...





-OCR
 
<p>OCR - Is your new home going to be by the school and park? After we toured the models we went over there to look at the actual lots --- very nice. IMO, that is going to turn out to be the most desireable location in Woodbury, with its proximity to the school and commons. Nice choice. I'd never been a big fan of Woodbury in the past, but the STM homes in that location could change my mind. </p>

<p>Of note, one of the December year end specials noted to us was a 3,700 sq ft corner lot. I guess these homes are typically on about a 3,100 sq ft lot? We did not care for the location of that one, however --- as it was right on the corner where all the residents would be turning and driving around your yard on the way to their garages.</p>
 
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