irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
$1mil for a driveway-less home better have an awesome location... and well... there aren't that many awesome locations in Irvine (or Tustin).
Garden Hill and Sage in Portola Springs
- Thread starter The Motor Court Company
- Start date
First, don't hold your breath on homes appreciating on 10 years time. To your question, if they are priced well to begin with, then they will move at the same rate and therefor there shouldn't be any difference. If you are asking about 2 places where all other things are equal, then obviously the driveway will be better in the long run.
I understand your point. However, I would like to know what history says about the mortorcourt homes in Bay Area. Comparing to a traditional SFR, motorcourt price might could not hold well. Irvine just started a trend of MC home, we might borrower some histroy from Bay Area to understand here better.
Nous said:
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
I don't think you can compare the Bay Area to Irvine (motorcourt or driveway)... as much as people don't think the premium in Irvine is justified... it's even higher up in NorCal.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding but for the MC homes in Irvine... The detached Cal Pac condos in the Wisteria and Aldea tracts were built over 10 years ago.gld2 said:
Which developments in the Bay Area are you thinking of? I think many of the detached condo projects there were inspired by what was built in Irvine - even had some of the same architects
.I don't know much about SF home pricing really. I would agree on a personal level that SFR should be better than MC. However, I think comparing something registered as a condo vs some that is a SFR is a little flawed as what it is classified with the city as impacts interest rates, and rates impact value.
scubasteve
Active member
The Motor Court Company said:
LOL. I just found out that Sage is identical to Coronado today so I went on the forums to get more info and chuckled a bit when I read this post. Why do budget buyers have to be labeled Vietnamese?! I'm an American that just wanted the cheapest 4/3 plan in Irvine! I had more respect on this forum when everyone thought I was a white guy based on my handle. Just curious if TMCC is BK? Your posts remind of him.
Anyway, I wonder how they are going to price plan 2 considering there is higher MR (Primrose is priced lower than Coronado and is bigger). Does the $261 HOA apply to these homes as well?
ps99472
New member
Looks like my schedule opened up.. gonna stop by and fight over the free food... Strictly lookie loo free food status.. but these would be considered if i wanted a starter home.. anyone else planning to waste time here? If it gets too hectic, I might finally walk thru Lambert Ranch.. still haven't seen it properly...
ps99472
New member
Got there a bit early, not too much traffic yet... fit and finish of the models are so so.. closet door won't open because it's scraping the carpet, openings for fixtures were too big and the gaps were sloppily filled up, etc.
Food was a joke, one lunch truck? And I think you still gotta pay? the $1 truck buck i got i kept as souvenir.. don't know if it would've gotten you a drink or a whole meal. Alot of young couples childless and with small kids. not to sure about the solar panel thing.. looks kinda ugly..
humidity control?
not very smooth
high ceiling entrance in plan 1!
like this shower the best
alot of mosaic tile on verticals.. don't know about having one of these on a backsplash, oil and dust might collect on the uneven surface
Food was a joke, one lunch truck? And I think you still gotta pay? the $1 truck buck i got i kept as souvenir.. don't know if it would've gotten you a drink or a whole meal. Alot of young couples childless and with small kids. not to sure about the solar panel thing.. looks kinda ugly..
humidity control?
not very smooth
high ceiling entrance in plan 1!
like this shower the best
alot of mosaic tile on verticals.. don't know about having one of these on a backsplash, oil and dust might collect on the uneven surface
The Motor Court Company
Well-known member
July is such a busy month for me...moving into new IPAC home and kid going to preschool..
Got some time and checked out Sage (mostly for the free food and the Scubasteve floor plan). First off the price:
$570k for plan 1, $630k for the Scubasteve floor plan, and $620k for plan 3. HOA is $210 per month and the mello-roos is $4655 per year.
I like the Scubasteve floor plan the most, but I am sure some people will avoid homes with first floor master. The model has a really large L shaped yard for a new home, 3 seating areas that can seat 8-10 each, with BBQ and fire place. Plan 2 also has a lot of windows that make the whole place very bright and open. It also is quite separated from the neighbors with plenty of set back all around due to having the biggest lot size. The interior space planning is very efficient as you get 4 BR + 1 LOFT for less than 1900 sqft (and does not feel too cramped for the home in this price range), and it gets also side entrance with some curb appeal to boot. No wonder it is the most pricey.
What I don't like about plan 2 is the down stair powder or shower is very far at the corner of the house. Not very accessible I think. For master bath the toilet and shower are in the same room...imaging one spouse is taking a shower and the other using the toilet...Fengshui wise, there is a straight line between front entrance and the sliding door to the back yard (shall I say side yard?)...not good idea as well.
Did not spend too much time at plan 1 as I was mainly interested in the Scubasteve plan. Plan 1 feels like a typical IPAC small detached condo, with a little bit of high ceiling at entrance and small tech space on 2nd floor. Still quite flexible for young families. Master counter space is really small - for two midgets as the two sinks are very close to each other. Maybe KB profiles Vietnamese as the typical buyer pool and they tend to have smaller body types.
Plan 3 feels awkward. The placement of the den especially. It is too small to be a bedroom and the location does not seem like a good place for study (right next to the great room). Maybe it is the way the furniture are set up in the model, the dining place and great room looks smallish.
Overall the zero lot line layout makes the yard looks more cohesive, connected and feels bigger. The yard is certainly larger than IPAC's offerings; probably because the land is cheaper at Portola Springs.
For the free food, the 1 dollar truck buck actually gets you some grilled toasts, cheese or spicy chicken. Some orders come with fries if they happen to have fries. Water is provided by KB and that's pretty much it. The food is nothing to write home about, certainly not as tasty as KB's old partner the Kalbi food truck. The food truck people are nice though as they lend out umbrellas for those pale-looking Asian ladies as the sun is really blazing as they left the Darth Vader masks at home.
One of the sales ladies is kind of pushy. She keeps asking every visitor "are you going to buy a home today??" People haven't even toured the model or seen the price yet.
Overall I have mixed to negative feelings about this development. It is the furthest of all Portola Spring homes and bears the dreaded KB name. The price is certainly not competitive enough. The scubasteve plan is still the most affordable 4 BR product on the market, but not by much (compared to San Marcos or the soon to be released Saratoga, both in the high $600s), it is about $30k less in total cost (considering mello-roos and HOA..etc). For $30k it is not worth living in a KB home and in the boonies.
Got some time and checked out Sage (mostly for the free food and the Scubasteve floor plan). First off the price:
$570k for plan 1, $630k for the Scubasteve floor plan, and $620k for plan 3. HOA is $210 per month and the mello-roos is $4655 per year.
I like the Scubasteve floor plan the most, but I am sure some people will avoid homes with first floor master. The model has a really large L shaped yard for a new home, 3 seating areas that can seat 8-10 each, with BBQ and fire place. Plan 2 also has a lot of windows that make the whole place very bright and open. It also is quite separated from the neighbors with plenty of set back all around due to having the biggest lot size. The interior space planning is very efficient as you get 4 BR + 1 LOFT for less than 1900 sqft (and does not feel too cramped for the home in this price range), and it gets also side entrance with some curb appeal to boot. No wonder it is the most pricey.
What I don't like about plan 2 is the down stair powder or shower is very far at the corner of the house. Not very accessible I think. For master bath the toilet and shower are in the same room...imaging one spouse is taking a shower and the other using the toilet...Fengshui wise, there is a straight line between front entrance and the sliding door to the back yard (shall I say side yard?)...not good idea as well.
Did not spend too much time at plan 1 as I was mainly interested in the Scubasteve plan. Plan 1 feels like a typical IPAC small detached condo, with a little bit of high ceiling at entrance and small tech space on 2nd floor. Still quite flexible for young families. Master counter space is really small - for two midgets as the two sinks are very close to each other. Maybe KB profiles Vietnamese as the typical buyer pool and they tend to have smaller body types.
Plan 3 feels awkward. The placement of the den especially. It is too small to be a bedroom and the location does not seem like a good place for study (right next to the great room). Maybe it is the way the furniture are set up in the model, the dining place and great room looks smallish.
Overall the zero lot line layout makes the yard looks more cohesive, connected and feels bigger. The yard is certainly larger than IPAC's offerings; probably because the land is cheaper at Portola Springs.
For the free food, the 1 dollar truck buck actually gets you some grilled toasts, cheese or spicy chicken. Some orders come with fries if they happen to have fries. Water is provided by KB and that's pretty much it. The food is nothing to write home about, certainly not as tasty as KB's old partner the Kalbi food truck. The food truck people are nice though as they lend out umbrellas for those pale-looking Asian ladies as the sun is really blazing as they left the Darth Vader masks at home.
One of the sales ladies is kind of pushy. She keeps asking every visitor "are you going to buy a home today??" People haven't even toured the model or seen the price yet.
Overall I have mixed to negative feelings about this development. It is the furthest of all Portola Spring homes and bears the dreaded KB name. The price is certainly not competitive enough. The scubasteve plan is still the most affordable 4 BR product on the market, but not by much (compared to San Marcos or the soon to be released Saratoga, both in the high $600s), it is about $30k less in total cost (considering mello-roos and HOA..etc). For $30k it is not worth living in a KB home and in the boonies.
qwerty
Well-known member
we checked these out there today, the kitchens are all on the smallish side, the yards were quite impressive (relative to all other irvine new construction) and were probably the most impressive thing. there are going to be some homes with driveways and some with really good sized yards. the lady said the ones with the driveway would have a 30-50K premium. not sure if the standard yards will be this big. the 241 is not an issue here, couldnt hear and you actually have to look hard to find it. this may be the boonies for now but once the all of PS gets built out and retail center is built and the great park all gets built out it wont feel as boonie like. and boonie is all relative, IHO prefers the south of the 405 cause that is where they spend more of their time, but for me north of the 5 is preferred since im rarely south of the 405.
Irvine_Dreamer
New member
Which new IPAC home?The Motor Court Company said:
scubasteve
Active member
Isn't Primrose the cheapest 4/3 in Irvine? I thought Primrose plan 2/3 were starting in the high 500Ks and offered larger sqft. Any idea as to why Primrose is cheaper? The floorplan for plan 3 looked pretty nice to me.
Pricing for Plan 2 Coronado started at 619K w/ HOA being $134 and MR being $2840 (due to TIC buying down the bonds) back when I bought (yay for 1.7% appreciation..double that of my online savings!). I agree w/ TMCC about the master bath shower/toilet being in the same room. They really should've switched the tub and the toilet to make the room more functional and efficient. However, I love that the 3rd bathroom is placed where it is. That is the bathroom that all my guests use and I like it being as far away from my room as possible. It's also provides privacy for my guests doing their business away from everyone else hanging out in the great room.
I'm probably going to go check the models out tomorrow before I head out to church/Disneyland with the fams. I'm interested in seeing how much bigger the backyard is since TMCC's review made it sound like they expanded it for Portola.
Pricing for Plan 2 Coronado started at 619K w/ HOA being $134 and MR being $2840 (due to TIC buying down the bonds) back when I bought (yay for 1.7% appreciation..double that of my online savings!). I agree w/ TMCC about the master bath shower/toilet being in the same room. They really should've switched the tub and the toilet to make the room more functional and efficient. However, I love that the 3rd bathroom is placed where it is. That is the bathroom that all my guests use and I like it being as far away from my room as possible. It's also provides privacy for my guests doing their business away from everyone else hanging out in the great room.
I'm probably going to go check the models out tomorrow before I head out to church/Disneyland with the fams. I'm interested in seeing how much bigger the backyard is since TMCC's review made it sound like they expanded it for Portola.
iacrenter
Well-known member
Stopped by the models today. Not much foot traffic. I liked Plan 2 the best but it personally wouldn't work for families with young kids (MB is downstairs). It also seemed to have the largest yard and most separation from the other homes. I also liked the use of large sliding doors and large windows--felt very bright downstairs in all models. The back yards are pretty good for this type of product but there is no curb appeal except for Plan 2--since it actually has a side entrance that faces a real sidewalk and road.
Here is their info/price sheet:
Here is their info/price sheet: