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hey Martin, long time no chat.    Dont even know if you remember me.  Anyways, hit me up some time, need to sell the in-laws house soon.  Otherwise, I'm enjoying my quiet Irvine life.  Haven't trolled here for a while since happily settling down.    I think I saw you one time on the street...

I would not worry about designs.  I think I saw that the designer our guy uses is charging like $150 for the drawings.  A drop in the bucket compared to everything else.  Also, there are plenty of landscapers out there who will take your money... believe me.  The hard part is finding...

Overall cost has yet to be determined, because I haven't factored in plants yet.  As of right now, hardscape, demo and irrigation will cost about $13K.  Will post more of my plans later.  My problem is that I keep changing what I want in my own head.  That's in part why we chose Rare Earth...

Overall impressions are good.  West Coast is a close second.  They've also done almost every house (it seems) in our neighborhood.  To be honest, some if it is just doing something different.  You can kind of tell the houses they do - similar plans, designs, etc.  It's not the case, but I'd...

Yes, I will scan the plans in the next day or so.

So I've decided to start landscaping now, and we are going with a company called Rare Earth Systems.  They are friendly guys (Chris Crary) and I'll track my progress and provide some photos along the way.  We also considered other companies such as West Coast Landcare, Go Pavers, and a few...

2 kids later... I am too tired to even contribute to this forum... 

I pay under 400 for $2M.  Generally, you have to bind coverage under that carrier (not always, though).  I use State Farm.  A carrier/agent will let you know what the underlying limits are and its usually priced as a bundle with auto/hoa (at least mine was). 

I would recommend Rebecca Higgs with State Farm.  Awesome service.  Knows her stuff and competitive pricing - not the cheapest, but i'm happy.  949-726-9015.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/chinese-mother-buys-6-5-million-condo-2-181040955.html

Will do, but the to do list is growing much faster than I'd like.    Still deciding on direct tv, and the next thing is going to be an alarm system (was going to start a thread on this anyways)

for that reason, I'd just get quotes on your entire job spec and not just base it on the /sq ft price of pavers.  I could charge you $2/ft less for pavers but then make it up on a retaining wall, or plants, or whatever, than you are not saving money.    We are going through that process now. ...

Tankless  is inconvenient for on demand water.    It's hard enough to convince the young one to get in the bath, and when I get her in, she says, "Water too cold!"  Ugh.    I don't know of any benefit to them except you don't have the huge thing in the garage (the small box looks "cooler")...

I also think you have to look at what you are buying and I'd say that not everything from a specific retailer is good.  For example, in general, I try to stay away from anything veneered from all retailers.  I'd also especially stay away from paying too much for particle board with sticker on...

If our house in Stonegate ever gets to $1.1-1.2, I am selling and running for the hills....

I like seating up against walls, and we opted for deeper sofas vs. recliners.    I will say that the deeper sofa is comfy, but its sometimes hard to get up, and creates a tendency to slouch...    Had leather, its resistant, but not perfect (and will still wear over time).  Microfiber...

funny, recently got a flyer for a church group doing a garage epoxy fund raiser "starting at $495" haha.  what will they think of next... We went with premier garage (~$1200).  Pretty happy with the results. 

We ordered a bunch of furniture and stuck with Restoration Hardware, Room and Board, and Crate and Barrel.  Some people will say that's dumb and you can get stuff at a cheaper cost by going elsewhere.  That's fine, but I'm going to stick with these retailers.    So far, customer service at...

i have a friend who is looking for options on their home (outside of Irvine).  They currently owe about $500K.  The house is worth about the same.  Current on the mortgage, but at a 6.75% rate.    Unfortunately, the loan is NOT owned by freddie or fannie, and thus does not qualify for any...

Stonegate sold WAY more quickly.  We bought in Maricopa which is completely sold out now.  Cousin Cortona is still selling.    Same with the other developments.