Portola Springs Fall Festival

So I got another promotional email from TIC regarding an Oct 2nd event for PS: Portola Springs Fall Festival. They will be introducing up to 15 model homes (some new, some old). The usual freebies plus free pumpkins for coloring.
http://www2.villagesofirvine.com/mk/get/PS14?_EC=nN_y1iFi_NeOJzt_Kic9QY


I was curious if the Sevilla project by Van Daele homes will be a motor court? The artist renderings of the elevation give the impression it is a detached product with a driveway and real sidewalk. If it is a truly traditional setup with a backyard, driveway, and real sidewalks, I would be pleasantly surprised--especially at the "high $500K" price.

http://www.villagesofirvine.com/Villages-and-Residences/Portola-Springs-Overview.aspx?type=neighborhood&Id=63
 
Patrick Star said:
irvinehomeowner said:
Their latest update:
http://www2.villagesofirvine.com/mk/get/XPS001

Looks like PS is going to become the focus of TIC for the near future.
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We might go check this out, if only for decorating ideas.  Look for the Star's in front of the carmel apple booth. Or the cookie booth.  Or the popcorn booth.  Or the pretzel booth.  Actually, I'll probably be carrying around one of each.
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We went to go look at Casero on saturday for the same reason, to get decorating ideas. My wife forced me to ask the sales ladies who they used to decorate their model homes. It is these guys http://www.meridian-int.com/
if you click on their client list, you will see Stan Pac (builder of Casero) and others as their clients.  She is going to try to use these guys for whenever our time comes, but i think they will likely be too expensive.
 
We will go to let our kids decorate pumpkins and leave the mess behind!!!
We may check out the model homes and get decoration ideas also.

Blueberry East,

I did not realize that there was $500 prize until you just mentioned it.
I will definitely get the stamps now.  Maybe my wife can get stamps separately.  Wonder if they will let my kids get stamps.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention  :D
 
Blueberry East said:
IHO, please delete this post.

My hope is  that I am the only one touring all the models and collecting all the stamps for the $500. As everyone in Irvine will be at the Global Village Festival, this plan might work. So please don't spread the word around!
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That's like asking me to clean the blood out of the water after the sharks have already been circling.

True story: When we were driving away from Casero after their hard-hat/dirty-shoe opening... there was a family of FCBs inside the fenced off lots looking at the cement pads... as if they were marking their territory.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Blueberry East said:
IHO, please delete this post.

My hope is  that I am the only one touring all the models and collecting all the stamps for the $500. As everyone in Irvine will be at the Global Village Festival, this plan might work. So please don't spread the word around!
Click to expand...
That's like asking me to clean the blood out of the water after the sharks have already been circling.

True story: When we were driving away from Casero after their hard-hat/dirty-shoe opening... there was a family of FCBs inside the fenced off lots looking at the cement pads... as if they were marking their territory.
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You caught a glimpse of my FCB family. We were hard at work drilling core samples, looking for toxic waste from the nearby El Toro Base and Bee Canyon Landfill  ;)
 
qwerty said:
We went to go look at Casero on saturday for the same reason, to get decorating ideas. My wife forced me to ask the sales ladies who they used to decorate their model homes. It is these guys http://www.meridian-int.com/
if you click on their client list, you will see Stan Pac (builder of Casero) and others as their clients.  She is going to try to use these guys for whenever our time comes, but i think they will likely be too expensive.
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It's nice to see you were able to find out who they are using. When touring the models, I've noticed they all seem to draw from recent trends of readily-available styles. Here is just one example I noticed from Primrose (Plan 1):

ry%3D400


Like the night stands? I found them at Pier 1:

2426563.jpg

Wycliff Chest for $299.95

If you don't want to pay a designer and you know the basics of what makes good interior design, you can pick and choose certain things you like from the models and find them pretty easily yourself, while saving a bundle.  :)
 
Did anyone go to the Portola Springs Fall Festival?  If so how was it?

I went to the Irvine Global Village Festival but did not go to the Portola Springs Fall Festival.
 
I finally got to look at the Casero models but it was abour 3:30pm... so the Festival was over.

I actually like them better than the Primrose ones... seems more spacious although I think they are the same size or smaller.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I finally got to look at the Casero models but it was abour 3:30pm... so the Festival was over.

I actually like them better than the Primrose ones... seems more spacious although I think they are the same size or smaller.
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Plan 2 looks like the best one.  What was the Mello and HOA on these homes?  One of my buyers is considering one of the Primrose plans, but I'll tell them to check out the Casero models.
 
I agree about Plan 2... it's almost like a mini-Sonoma Plan 2 except it has an upstairs loft (space efficiency).

HOA is high, $160 Casero, $120 Portola. MRs are about $4100 I think so the effective tax rate is like 1.6% give or take.

The master closets are small (except for the Plan 3) but they all have big showers... although the Plan 2 master vanity area is smaller than the other two. And I think only Plan 1 has a CaliRoom.

Salespeople there told me they are detached condos so no land ownership... I wonder if Primrose knows what they are yet.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I agree about Plan 2... it's almost like a mini-Sonoma Plan 2 except it has an upstairs loft (space efficiency).

HOA is high, $160 Casero, $120 Portola. MRs are about $4100 I think so the effective tax rate is like 1.6% give or take.

The master closets are small (except for the Plan 3) but they all have big showers... although the Plan 2 master vanity area is smaller than the other two. And I think only Plan 1 has a CaliRoom.

Salespeople there told me they are detached condos so no land ownership... I wonder if Primrose knows what they are yet.
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The HOA and Mello is a little higher than Primrose.  What was the price tag on the Plan 2 (I saw low $600s on the website)?  $620ish?

Btw, do these homes have a full driveway?
 
$625k was one of the Plan 2s I saw in Phase 1 or 2.

No driveways... these are alley-garage homes like Primrose but in longer lengths. Where Primrose has 4 and 6 clusters... Casero can be more because the streets can curve around creating 5-home runs.

Relooking at the Primrose plans, Casero is bigger but Plan 3 cheats a bit by adding that 3rd floor (those stairs were actually quite a hike).

Other observations:

1. Secondary upstairs tub is small... shallow and narrow.
2. Probably could have fit a sink into the upstairs laundry rooms.
3. Each home had a porch and a foyer/entry.
4. Plan 2 had the best stairs execution, open and vaulted ceiling... the others were closed in (no windows even) and Plan 1 was a long narrow stair path.
5. Fireplaces were shorter so having the TV mounted over them will cause less trips to the chiropractor.
6. Each had a sideyard but the other home was the sidewall.
7. Liked the JackNJill bathroom in Plan 3.
8. While I liked Plan 2 best, seems like there is a demand for Plan 3 because on the sitemap, a Plan 3 replaced a 1 and a 2.

Put something like the Plan 2 in Laguna Crossings and keep it under $700k and I would probably buy it... but I would prefer something like Santa Cruz Plan 3 if they can fit in a loft area above the CaliRoom.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
$625k was one of the Plan 2s I saw in Phase 1 or 2.

No driveways... these are alley-garage homes like Primrose but in longer lengths. Where Primrose has 4 and 6 clusters... Casero can be more because the streets can curve around creating 5-home runs.

Relooking at the Primrose plans, Casero is bigger but Plan 3 cheats a bit by adding that 3rd floor (those stairs were actually quite a hike).

Other observations:

1. Secondary upstairs tub is small... shallow and narrow.
2. Probably could have fit a sink into the upstairs laundry rooms.
3. Each home had a porch and a foyer/entry.
4. Plan 2 had the best stairs execution, open and vaulted ceiling... the others were closed in (no windows even) and Plan 1 was a long narrow stair path.
5. Fireplaces were shorter so having the TV mounted over them will cause less trips to the chiropractor.
6. Each had a sideyard but the other home was the sidewall.
7. Liked the JackNJill bathroom in Plan 3.
8. While I liked Plan 2 best, seems like there is a demand for Plan 3 because on the sitemap, a Plan 3 replaced a 1 and a 2.

Put something like the Plan 2 in Laguna Crossings and keep it under $700k and I would probably buy it... but I would prefer something like Santa Cruz Plan 3 if they can fit in a loft area above the CaliRoom.
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Another thing that these have over Primrose is that the front doors all face an actual street. With primrose, if i remember correctly, you will have a neighbor about 10 feet from your front door facing you. 

Comparing the execution of the plan 2 vs the first two floors of the plan 3, plan 2 is superior, but the third floor loft is pretty cool. One thing i didnt like was that plans 1 and 2 had big showers with sitting bench in the master and the plan 3 master bath did not. A sitting bench would have been nice.
 
The kids liked that 3rd floor too... and I agree on the shower thing.

I do like that they are putting loft space in these units to make up for the missing 1st floor living spaces... you don't have to abandon all your furniture and it is nice to have a family space upstairs too.

 
irvinehomeowner said:
The kids liked that 3rd floor too... and I agree on the shower thing.

I do like that they are putting loft space in these units to make up for the missing 1st floor living spaces... you don't have to abandon all your furniture and it is nice to have a family space upstairs too.
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Second family room is great since it will get a lot of use by the kids and keep the mess away from the downstairs family room.
However, I would rather have a loft on second floor than the third floor.  The 3rd floor adds too much stairs and also may not get used as much since it's kind of all by itself.
 
We toured Primrose/Casero and I have to say that even though I liked Casero more than Primrose, I liked the Santa Cruz layouts more (when you factor in HoA/higher MR the monthly difference is not that much).

One thing about plan 3 - The third floor bonus room could be great for use as an office as well.
 
LAtoOC said:
We toured Primrose/Casero and I have to say that even though I liked Casero more than Primrose, I liked the Santa Cruz layouts more (when you factor in HoA/higher MR the monthly difference is not that much).

One thing about plan 3 - The third floor bonus room could be great for use as an office as well.
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From my numbers Santa Cruz 3 (priced at 730k) is only about 100 bucks more than Casero 3 (priced at 668k) a month with 20% down, HoA, MR, and property tax.  Although the third story loft is a nice touch, the first floor's small dining room and small kids' rooms make Santa Cruz much more attractive to me.

I originally was considering Casero 3 mainly for the loft to be converted into a nice home office, but after doing the numbers, Santa Cruz makes more sense.  However, Casero 2 priced at 630k is decent and its roughly $250 cheaper a month. 
 
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