Portola Spring - Los Colinas

[irvinehomeowner]

plan 1 now has a downstairs bedroom that is not displayed in their model...  i think they pushed the family room out more into the yard and was able to squeeze a bedroom between the garage and family room..

Taylor Morrison has the update floorplan for Plan 1:http://www.taylormorrison.com/237,15-new-homes-US-92618-CA-Irvine-Las-Colinas-Community.aspx

I cobbled one together with cut/paste/Paint:

What I like is that even though they eliminated the full tandem garage, they still kept part of it for storage. They also utilized the extra space upstairs by adding a master retreat. This is now my favorite plan in Los Col (it used to be Plan 4).

I like the separate living room, as it will probably end up being a piano room for us. The family room is just as big as the Great Room executions in Woodbury and you still have a secondary dining area. The courtyard is nice too.

I would have added a deck option off the master that could serve as a downstairs Cali Room.

 

[annabanana]

not too bad for a million dollar home.. too bad it's in Portola..  HOA is $150.

I wonder why PS HOA is 50% higher than WB ($105), even though it has far fewer amenities.  Brush clearing & fire insurance?

Probably because Woodbury is built out.  Portola Springs will decrease as more homes are built.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Probably more infrastructure needed for PS... part of it is on the hillside and only 1/3 has been built out... there's still a whole east conclave to be built.

And WB is more "dense"... so that helps... hehe.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Well... it's a maintenance cost to home ratio.

I actually think WB's should have gone down because I do think they put it more homes than originally planned (Carm/Monte where a school should have been).

The cost for WBE is probably higher per home than WB considering the number of units per sft and since the entire project is common area maintained (whereas Woodbury, the SFRs maintain their own front yards).

For PS... the larger space and fewer homes per sft probably factors into the higher cost (hillside maintenance is much more costlier than flatland maintenance).

 

[Irvine2Irvine]

The HOA is where the density of the Woodbury actually benefits the homeowners.  The fixed cost is divided up by the number of residents. 

 

[oakcreekrenter]

Visited PS for the first time this past weekend.  It really isn't as far as I thought, and it definitely feels more isolated, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preference.

The sales agent at Las Colinas says that they are currently offering $5,000 toward closing costs if you use their in-house lender, and $20,000 in design center credits for upgrades.  They are still on phase 11 which is the original phase for the expansion of Las Colinas, with three homes sold out of six, and still 3 more phases to go!  It doesn't appear that much construction has been done recently either.  Traffic through the models was light but never empty.

USCTrojanCPA already mentioned this in another thread, but I have to believe that incentives and similar tactics are going to be more common in 2011 as home sales continue to slow, especially for the high-end homes.  Can't imagine TIC readjusting their pricing that much.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Las Colinas really needs an SFR project in the $750k to $900k range like Woodbury had.

Maybe that new one, Las Ventanas is that.

 

[Irvine2Irvine]

I am surprised that Las Colinas is offering $20K in upgrades.  Back in April, they were offering $40K for last few houses and with the Woodbury finishing up, I thought they would sell better.  I am not sure why Carmel and Carmel II are selling so much better than Las Colinas. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I am not sure why Carmel and Carmel II are selling so much better than Las Colinas. 

Great Room + Cali Room?

I would imagine part of it is due to being closer to the amenities. Having the school in your 'hood is also better than having to drive down to Stonegate Elementary.

But I do like the Los Colinas homes more... especially now that they redid the Plan 1.

 

[oakcreekrenter]

I agree with IHO, and also toss these out there:

1) Marketing - TIC has really pushed the 2010 Collection in Woodbury and Woodbury East in email, on their website, and in print (i.e. OC Register).  Portola Springs really hasn't had much marketing on it in 2010 as far as I know. 

2) Pricing - Despite similar pricing, Carmel seems like a more premium product.  Things that are upgrades at Las Colinas are standard at Carmel.  Little things like crown molding, choices in cabinet color, granite countertop color, brand of kitchen appliance, soft-close hinges on cabinet drawers - you pay for all of these at Las Colinas, but are included at Carmel.

3) HOA fees - cheaper at Woodbury ($105) vs Portola Springs ($150).

 

[Irvine2Irvine]

Las Colinas has one thing you can't upgrade, bigger lots and 3 car tandem garage.  I guess people don't consider those as important.

I liked the hilly terrain, larger lot and 3 car tandem garage.  My wife did like the floorplan of Carmel and Sonoma better than Las Colinas.  You can probably guess that we did not move to Las Colinas.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Las Colinas has one thing you can't upgrade, bigger lots and 3 car tandem garage.  I guess people don't consider those as important.

I liked the hilly terrain, larger lot and 3 car tandem garage.  My wife did like the floorplan of Carmel and Sonoma better than Las Colinas.  You can probably guess that we did not move to Las Colinas.

I think comparatively, before the Plan 1 Redux, the other plans were more expensive than the Sonoma/Carmels... weren't they all at just above $1m? Where the Sonoma Plan 2 was just over $800k. Even the Sonoma Plan 3 was less than the old Las Colinas Plan 1.

 

[Irvine2Irvine]

Las Colinas has one thing you can't upgrade, bigger lots and 3 car tandem garage.  I guess people don't consider those as important.

I liked the hilly terrain, larger lot and 3 car tandem garage.  My wife did like the floorplan of Carmel and Sonoma better than Las Colinas.  You can probably guess that we did not move to Las Colinas.

I think comparatively, before the Plan 1 Redux, the other plans were more expensive than the Sonoma/Carmels... weren't they all at just above $1m? Where the Sonoma Plan 2 was just over $800k. Even the Sonoma Plan 3 was less than the old Las Colinas Plan 1.

Yes, compared to Sonoma, Las Colinas was more.  But Las Colinas was about same price as Carmel plan 2 and 3.  Las Colinas plan 3 with 3100 sq ft was $1.08M with $40K free upgrade making the final price $970K.