irvinehomeowner said:
@Paris:
C'mon... you were SHOCKED at the design center prices. If you buy a resale you won't even come close to spending that much... and that's not including landscaping.
Factor MRs, etc etc and I still think the best bargain in Irvine right now is resale... but sometimes people gotta have that new home smell.
I understand but if you want an open floor plan and you're breaking walls, completely remodeling the kitchen, all bathrooms etc the costs add up. And if resale is cheaper than new construction then yes I understand. The house across from mine in NP for $1.5mil - I would need to break walls, remodel kitchen bath all of it - that's at least an additional $200k minimum right so that's total $1.7mil for that home after all of it. And the inconvenience of at least 8 weeks of RENO.
Now OH home comparable size (except for backyard is like half the size) - $1.31mil base + 100k design center + $40k landscape for small lot - I get a brand new house with brand new everything for $1.44 mil. And MR is 1.4%, yes a little more than NP but my NP home is 14 years old - this is the stage when things start breaking - roof, appliances, I've got a crack in my outer wall etc etc...Yes HOA is cheaper - $279 vs we pay right now $160 - so $100 difference.
We weighed out this option of buying resale vs new HEAVILY and chose to go with the new construction for that reason - and plus I've got small kids - it's tough to do major reno with them
If the resale prices weren't so ridiculous we may have gone the other way
Sometimes my strength amazes me.
