help me choose

meccos12

New member
I know its impossible to answer this question without knowing all the details but I was wondering which you guys would prefer with the basic info provided below.

1.  new development.  4300 sq ft.  AWESOME floor plan,  very small lot - houses seemed packed next to each other, better school district.

2.  older house, 4100 sq ft,  floor plan is just ok,  but bigger lot with AWESOME view.  Needs work however and will likely cost 150k more than first house after all is said and done.  HOA is also about 170 bucks more per month but is guard gated.

 
I would go with the view lot.  You can redo the floorplan to your liking, but you can't add more sq ft to your lot.  And who wants to hear pocket doors opening and grinding every day in your sardine packed neighborhood. 
 
Choice #2 all the way....you can always renovate and even adjust the floor plan slightly but you can't get a bigger lot or view lot for #1.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
But in Irvine, everyone chooses #1. :)

#SmallLots

I agree its really funny because choice #1 is basically irvine, yet everyone on this irvine housing blog says choose #2. 
what if I phrased the question this way.  help me choose between these two homes:

1.  Irvine home, super small lot, new build, awesome floor plan.
2.  non irvine home, larger lot, awesome view house, needs work and will be about 150K more expensive after renovation.

im actually leaning towards choice #1 at this point purely due to costs.  an extra 150K (might be an extra 200K) tips favor to choice #1.  dont get me wrong, I LOVE views and the big lots but at the 150K-200K might just be too much...  had these homes be the same price, then for sure im with choice #2 as with eveyrone else here.  love to hear other thoughts...
 
Non irvine changes things. Depending on where non-irvine it is, I could go either way. If both were irvine homes, then I would lean towards option 2 but $150k-200k is not insignificant.  It would then depend on where both homes fall in the budget range. The other issue at play here is floorplan. Sounds like option 1 is ideal and perfect. What are the shortcomings of option 2?  For me, A house needs to have X,Y, and Z in a floorplan to buy it regardless of view/lot size. But each persons musts vary. So like the first post says, it is really hard to say one way or the other without all the info.
 
I was puzzled where in Irvine #2 can be:  quail hill or turtle ridge but then they're both the same school district as HC.  Now I pick neither, small lot is a deal breaker for me
 
There is no perfect home and people will  compromise. It is a matter of what you prioritize that will drive your choice. IMHO location is important.

I'm willing to give up cheaper/bigger homes with nicer lots for the Irvine location. Within Irvine, I would value a good view lot over new construction.

meccos12 said:
irvinehomeowner said:
But in Irvine, everyone chooses #1. :)

#SmallLots

I agree its really funny because choice #1 is basically irvine, yet everyone on this irvine housing blog says choose #2. 
what if I phrased the question this way.  help me choose between these two homes:

1.  Irvine home, super small lot, new build, awesome floor plan.
2.  non irvine home, larger lot, awesome view house, needs work and will be about 150K more expensive after renovation.

im actually leaning towards choice #1 at this point purely due to costs.  an extra 150K (might be an extra 200K) tips favor to choice #1.  dont get me wrong, I LOVE views and the big lots but at the 150K-200K might just be too much...  had these homes be the same price, then for sure im with choice #2 as with eveyrone else here.  love to hear other thoughts...
 
everyone wants to know what cities these homes are in.  None are in irvine, but i wanted to throw this question on this blog since this is an irvine blog and everyone usually has issues with lot sizes and few homes have views in irvine.

1.  yorba linda.  Brand new construction.  1.5m all in.  perfect floor plan (couldnt be better in my opinion).  better school than house #2.  problem is lot sizes are just like seen in Irvine - TINY.


2.  anaheim hills.  gated.  house listed for 1.5m.  floor plan not that great.  needs work (ive never done a renovation, but im estimating 150-200k).  higher hoa's, but awesome view and much larger lot.
 
meccos12 said:
everyone wants to know what cities these homes are in.  None are in irvine, but i wanted to throw this question on this blog since this is an irvine blog and everyone usually has issues with lot sizes and few homes have views in irvine.

1.  yorba linda.  Brand new construction.  1.5m all in.  perfect floor plan (couldnt be better in my opinion).  better school than house #2.  problem is lot sizes are just like seen in Irvine - TINY.


2.  anaheim hills.  gated.  house listed for 1.5m.  floor plan not that great.  needs work (ive never done a renovation, but im estimating 150-200k).  higher hoa's, but awesome view and much larger lot.


To make it a fair comparison you'd want to compare two homes that are apples to apples (1.7m all-in to 1.7m all-in). With that kind of budget I would not live in Yorba Linda or Anaheim Hills. Here's some quick homes to look at:https://www.redfin.com/CA/Huntington-Beach/6331-Beachview-Dr-92648/home/5846358https://www.redfin.com/CA/Laguna-Beach/795-Bluebird-Canyon-Dr-92651/home/4894363https://www.redfin.com/CA/Newport-Coast/2-Sable-Sands-92657/home/4749272https://www.redfin.com/CA/Huntington-Beach/206-22nd-St-92648/home/3130098
 
there is a lot of high net worth people out in YL and AH.  I suspect many of them live out there because of work as well.  For example drive out to the IE from the newport and your commute becomes 45 minutes longer each way compared to AH... 
 
Back
Top