[IHB] $775k in Northwood or Northwood Pointe - What would you do?

how is this even a question? I would take Northwood Pointe, the only premium Irvine villages east of 405 that is worth buying, every day and twice on Sundays.
 
As I posted on the blog, the Northwood location seems better... the NWP is on the T and backs Yale which is the inlet into NWP.
 
I like the NWP area better but that particular location backing to Yale sucks. So if forced to choose between the two, I would take the NW home. In reality I would choose neither and keep renting and looking  ;)
 
Buyers judge book by its cover too much. The Richmond American Lexington may be A newer home but the opportunity to add on is zero due to all of the followings. The lot size is limited to 3,500 sf. The interior is maxed out when the second floor is stacked over the house ground floor and it's garage. It is a HOA neighborhood. Therefore I would pass on this NWP neighborhood. Even with a better lot away from Yale I would still favor the home in Old NW where the lot size is 5,500 sf . Adding a single story extension to the ample size rear yard is easy and cost effective. Another area of opportunity is blowing out the ski roof over the garage and add 400 sf of space over the garage. The driveway is extra deep and the sideyard is wider also where I can extend a 1/2 to a 3/4 car bay just for frying a turkey or do my manly thing that my wife forbid me to keep or to do in the house.

With this property I can create my ultimate McPandamansion.
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
Buyers judge book by its cover too much. The Richmond American Lexington may be A newer home but the opportunity to add on is zero due to all of the followings. The lot size is limited to 3,500 sf. The interior is maxed out when the second floor is stacked over the house ground floor and it's garage. It is a HOA neighborhood. Therefore I would pass on this NWP neighborhood. Even with a better lot away from Yale I would still favor the home in Old NW where the lot size is 5,500 sf . Adding a single story extension to the ample size rear yard is easy and cost effective. Another area of opportunity is blowing out the ski roof over the garage and add 400 sf of space over the garage. The driveway is extra deep and the sideyard is wider also where I can extend a 1/2 to a 3/4 car bay just for frying a turkey or do my manly thing that my wife forbid me to keep or to do in the house.

With this property I can create my ultimate McPandamansion.

totally agree with you but the problem is that your neighbors houses still look like crap.  sure you can make your property to your liking but the old tracts in irvine look old and look the same.  if more people start changing their houses, these old areas can look great.  my parents street in west LA has some of the original tract homes but also has total remodels, tear down and rebuilds, and a host of variety so you can have an amazing looking house and not feel out of place. 
 
You are precise with your observation. The older tract neighborhood looks like crap. I can fix my ugly house and make it look nicer but I can't modify my neighbors' ugly house. Overtime by peer pressure they will have to step up and do something like your parents neighborhood where a majority made their home unique having that bohemian eclectic flavor. At least for the older NW neigorhood there is opportunity to do a makeover.

Fast forward 20 years todays trendy Tuscan craptacular houses will be an eyesore with no opportunity of a remodel. Small lot, maxed out spaces and HOA prevent these home from getting a second chance. If you are contend with updating only the interior finishes then NWP is for you.

If I have money to spend like indie the only neighbor I Would rather see in Catalina Island across my backyard.


rkp said:
irvinehomeshopper said:
Buyers judge book by its cover too much. The Richmond American Lexington may be A newer home but the opportunity to add on is zero due to all of the followings. The lot size is limited to 3,500 sf. The interior is maxed out when the second floor is stacked over the house ground floor and it's garage. It is a HOA neighborhood. Therefore I would pass on this NWP neighborhood. Even with a better lot away from Yale I would still favor the home in Old NW where the lot size is 5,500 sf . Adding a single story extension to the ample size rear yard is easy and cost effective. Another area of opportunity is blowing out the ski roof over the garage and add 400 sf of space over the garage. The driveway is extra deep and the sideyard is wider also where I can extend a 1/2 to a 3/4 car bay just for frying a turkey or do my manly thing that my wife forbid me to keep or to do in the house.

With this property I can create my ultimate McPandamansion.

totally agree with you but the problem is that your neighbors houses still look like crap.  sure you can make your property to your liking but the old tracts in irvine look old and look the same.  if more people start changing their houses, these old areas can look great.  my parents street in west LA has some of the original tract homes but also has total remodels, tear down and rebuilds, and a host of variety so you can have an amazing looking house and not feel out of place. 
 
That's why I love the CDM community around Marguerite. So much character and style in every house. You can really see the owners architectural preferences shine through.

These Woodbury, and Portola knife catch specials are just horrible. Every home looks the same, it's impossible to drive home and simply identify your house by your personal stylings because the HOA won't let you destroy the monotony of the tan and beige stucco.

I honestly can't believe people choose to live in communities like this. It's a nightmare for anyone with the slightest visual acuity, and a sense of individual style.
 
Would love to join you in CDM in Indie but don't have that kind of coin. 

I am surprised that Turtle Rock gets so much love when it looks so dated and ugly.  Why arent people remodeling their houses and dramatically changing them?  Will it take another 20 years before these old Irvine neighborhoods start looking like CDM or Santa Monica?

This is why I like Village of Columbus - there are quite a few elevations and houses have more character than the typical irvine communities. 
 
There are a lot of older homes in Turtle Rock from the 60s and 70s, but what gives Turtle Rock its appeal from a buyer's perspective are a few things:

1) Location: South of the 405, the cream of the crop when it comes to the San Joaquin Hills. Close to the ocean, the weather really is better in this area than say in Woodbridge or PS because you get an actual ocean breeze, while people north of the 405 get freeway particles. Also the schools in this area are the best in Irvine (if you're into that kind of thing).

2) Space: Just look at Turtle Rock as you drive around the neighborhood. Lots of large green belt spaces, wide roads, lots of parking. It was one of the original five neighborhoods in Irvine, so it wasn't over built like some poor imitation of Kowloon District in Hong Kong. That's one of my biggest gripes against the communities in the slums north of the 405. Too much density.

3) Stability: Turtle Rock has been a high end neighborhood for over 30 years. People who live in this area are generally well off in their careers, and many bought before the bubble, so there aren't as many distressed properties here compared to Woodbury or other bubble knife-catch neighborhoods that were built in the last 10 years. Couple that with a lack of available inventory (maybe around 40 homes month to month), and you get a fairly price resilient area. Just read some of the stories online about people who live in Woodbury and the type of things they put up with (teenagers racing their Civic SI's down the street, people using their condos as asian prostitution lairs, etc). A lot of pretenders faking it until they make it in Woodbury, not-so-much in TR.
 
Found a picture today.

This is what I think of when I think of Irvine North/East of the 405:

051107_arch_suburbSprawl_ex.jpg


 
It may be true that many of the homes that seem to be on sale in TRock look pretty bad in terms of remodeling needs, but quite frankly you'd be surprised how nice many of the homes are remodeled there-  that aren't for sale. 
 
forget TRock houses that are on sale...just drive through the neighborhood and you will feel trapped in 1970s tract hell.  majority of the houses look the same on the outside as when they were built.  it might be because its only 40 years old and not 60-70 like west LA communities but drive down those streets and you will see so much difference and diversity.  if you have a good eye you can spot some of the original tract homes but they vary so much.  i guess i would like TRock to look like Santa Monica, Cheviot Hills, Brentwood, Mar Vista Hills etc.  all those started as tract homes but are so freaking different now.
 
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