San Mateo Phase 2++ @ Stonegate

USCTrojanCPA said:
Not with TIC/IP...they don't believe in giving those to buyers.  haha
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100% correct.  No such thing as design credits with Irvine Pacific.  Only perk which started recently is the renter credit program.  Like akim, I don't care if they find who I am.  This assumes they are smart enough to figure it out.

I can afford all the upgrades I want via the Design Center, I am just not willing to be squeezed out of my hard earned money via flaky service.  It's not about time or convenience.  Show me some service and make it worth my while to spend my money at your center.  Otherwise, I will find someone else who will do a better job at a better price.

The savings can be used for an extra payment to pay down the principal and when property tax time comes around, I can sit back and know I didn't get taxed on my upgrades.  The bigger blood sucker than TIC is the Property Tax Collector.
 
My San Mateo cottage is well under way, closing is within a couple of months. Wells Fargo is quoting some rip off rates for the loan, at maybe .25 higher than other lenders. I'm sure TIC will get some sort of kick back if the buyer closes thru WFO.

I been thru the whole "design center" upsell, its basically like talking to car salesmen for 6-8 hours. My advice here is to prevent urself from wasting a bunch of time there, make a decision whether you will do your upgrades before you go... and then set the expectation that you will not be doing many upgrades, they will schedule your meetings to be shorter to upsell other buyers.

With the number of TI buyers here I'm sure we can mutually refer reliable contractors to get flooring, carpeting, paint, etc. I just went with some plumbing and wires which would be a little expensive to do after the fact.
 
buylowsellhigh said:
My San Mateo cottage is well under way, closing is within a couple of months. Wells Fargo is quoting some rip off rates for the loan, at maybe .25 higher than other lenders. I'm sure TIC will get some sort of kick back if the buyer closes thru WFO.
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Do you still plan to go with Wells Fargo or do you plan to go with other lender/broker?
 
irvine123searching said:
buylowsellhigh said:
My San Mateo cottage is well under way, closing is within a couple of months. Wells Fargo is quoting some rip off rates for the loan, at maybe .25 higher than other lenders. I'm sure TIC will get some sort of kick back if the buyer closes thru WFO.
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Do you still plan to go with Wells Fargo or do you plan to go with other lender/broker?
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I'll be doing some due diligence to include a few reputable institutions in the mix and let numbers do the talking... Same goes with the interior upgrades, if they try (or think they can) take that much profit, then the buyer walks.
 
My outside lender had some issues dealing with Irvine Pacific, which I think Wells Fargo will ignore, since they're in bed with them. 

For example, in order for my lender to process my loan, they needed an final sales price from escrow, but First American Title won't/can't provide it until all design center activities have concluded.  Even then, it took a month or so for the final sales price to be available.  My sales person said the final sales price won't be available until they ordered all the materials, even though I remember signing a form at the last design center session stating the final sales price.  Towards closing, Irvine Pacific can't/won't provide a certificate of occupancy.  They would only provide the "job card" or something.  It took some convincing by the loan processor to take the job card instead of the COO.  I was 10 days late to close, and Irvine Pacific did remind me everyday that they "have the right" to charge me 0.05% late fee per day.  Even though they said it in the "wink-wink-we're-not-really-going-to-charge-you-just-using-it-to-scare-you" way, it still added to a lot of stress.  If I could, I would probably have gone with Wells Fargo and then refinance a few months later (I couldn't use Wells Fargo for other reasons).

So I guess the advice here is to make sure your outside lender is familiar with dealing with new constructions, and if possible, have experience in dealing with Irvine Pacific.
 
Off the topic, but can anyone recommend a good lender who has experience with new homes?
Why was I thinking that I had to go with the builder's preferred lender?
 
Anyone heard of builddirect.com ? Their granite/marble slab pricing seems unreal although you would need to purchase around 300-400 square feet, a little more than what the little kitchen and bathrooms can handle. In either case I ordered a bunch of porcelain tiles, some of them that simulate the hard wood effect... Some of their hardwood floors, at $4.00 per sqft it means the whole bottom floor can be covered for $3k in material + labor.
 
buylowsellhigh said:
Anyone heard of builddirect.com ? Their granite/marble slab pricing seems unreal although you would need to purchase around 300-400 square feet, a little more than what the little kitchen and bathrooms can handle. In either case I ordered a bunch of porcelain tiles, some of them that simulate the hard wood effect... Some of their hardwood floors, at $4.00 per sqft it means the whole bottom floor can be covered for $3k in material + labor.
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I got some samples from them and was impressed.  The samples came from Canada, and they shipped it UPS overnight!  All without even asking for my credit card info.  I was going to buy materials from them until I went to check out and saw the shipping cost.  It wipes out all of the savings and maybe costs more than sourcing it locally.
 
gaogi said:
I got some samples from them and was impressed.  The samples came from Canada, and they shipped it UPS overnight!  All without even asking for my credit card info.  I was going to buy materials from them until I went to check out and saw the shipping cost.  It wipes out all of the savings and maybe costs more than sourcing it locally.
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Wow thats crazy.. checked out their site and seems that you have to choose stuff thats in stock over in the LA warehouse. Shipping is a little expensive from out of state warehouses, probable doesnt' make sense unless one was looking for designer pieces.. Hope their sample arrives this week :)
 
Today I asked my engineer at work to put dimensions into the model 2 floor plan... This one will help to get more accurate pricing esp if you are interested in doing price compare with IP's design center.  I'm planning on knocking a few walls down upstairs including master bath and also the closet for BR3 making it more like a den/office. The only reason I kept the closet instead of paying $1500 during contract signing is I didn't want the property to register as a 2 bedroom.... heard that was a possibility so I dont want to risk dropping the value of the home.

I didn't put in any important measurement such as counter top but i figure it needs a separate page with larger diagram... or laundry room (plastic floor should be fine). If anyone is serious about getting quote for counter tops upstairs and downstairs I can see about getting another close up done.

Not all of the measurements are in there but hope this helps ;)
 

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gaogi said:
My outside lender had some issues dealing with Irvine Pacific, which I think Wells Fargo will ignore, since they're in bed with them. 

For example, in order for my lender to process my loan, they needed an final sales price from escrow, but First American Title won't/can't provide it until all design center activities have concluded.  Even then, it took a month or so for the final sales price to be available.  My sales person said the final sales price won't be available until they ordered all the materials, even though I remember signing a form at the last design center session stating the final sales price.  Towards closing, Irvine Pacific can't/won't provide a certificate of occupancy.  They would only provide the "job card" or something.  It took some convincing by the loan processor to take the job card instead of the COO.  I was 10 days late to close, and Irvine Pacific did remind me everyday that they "have the right" to charge me 0.05% late fee per day.  Even though they said it in the "wink-wink-we're-not-really-going-to-charge-you-just-using-it-to-scare-you" way, it still added to a lot of stress.  If I could, I would probably have gone with Wells Fargo and then refinance a few months later (I couldn't use Wells Fargo for other reasons).

So I guess the advice here is to make sure your outside lender is familiar with dealing with new constructions, and if possible, have experience in dealing with Irvine Pacific.
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JOB CARD!?!

crap, the ppl at san remo told me i have to close on a job card too... what did u do to convince ur loan officer? can u tell me details, like they refused to close? and what else happened during those 10 days?

man im concerned... i close late november or early december... n my bank doesnt really like the idea of closing on a job card either... :(... srsly IP, they do everything by "their" book when the rest of the world can crash n burn... pisses me off... its like their subtle way of saying, "cash buyers only please"... those fuckers...
 
Just got done with my final appointment at the design center.  All in all, it wasn't too bad.  The gal (MG) that I was assigned to was very nice and explained everything and took time to help me pick out color schemes.  I wanted to paint the interior but with the color of marble I picked, she told me it would clash so we left it white.  She also spent time giving me the pros and cons of the materials.

Home should be ready by the end of the year.  The standard carpet they use is really nasty and cheap.  Also the flooring for the kitchen, bathroom, and is standard vinyl.  Yuck in my opinion.  If you upgrade to wood flooring, they do give you a small credit toward the upgrade for the materials not used.

Always look down the road for your next appointment.  That's my advice.  Do you homework.  What would it cost a contractor to do it?  Are the savings worth your time?  Is it better to have IP do the work?  Then your appointment can be better spent discussing the option rather than deciding on whether to get it.

My husband is in love with plantation shutters.  He claims that it's a must have.  He asked for the price sheet so he can use it at the next appointment.  Then we went back to the models to decide what window should have it.  He says windows were slightly higher in price than what Lowe's offered.

What they wanted for curtains was out of our budget.  On 3 windows, the cost was higher for the curtain/rod than getting 3 plantation windows. 

We didn't get that many major options other than flooring but my husband insists that we use the preferred lender.  Now we are just 1 month away from doing the rate lock and it's very stressful to watch the rates bounce off the lows.

The pre-qualification was done very quickly and every email I send Crystal is returned very quickly.  She is also very nice and easy to work with.  They key might be a bank that deals in "new construction" loans.

It seems that there were kinks in the Design process and over time, TIC has adjusted to them.  Learning process?  For example, you cannot do a partial upgrade of the back splash unless you pay to pick the slab.  This was based on complaints.

Bamboo flooring is no longer offered.  This was based on complaints.

We have done walk through and my husband wasn't too happy seeing some of the protruding nails in certain areas.  He even wanted to come on Sundays and cut them off.  However, I called the construction supervisor and they did return my call and told me it was cut off and I should go back and check.

 
lilgophee said:
My husband is in love with plantation shutters.  He claims that it's a must have.  He asked for the price sheet so he can use it at the next appointment.  Then we went back to the models to decide what window should have it.  He says windows were slightly higher in price than what Lowe's offered.
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The company below will crush any price you can get from Lowes or Home Depot for plantation shutter:

Express Blinds. The sales rep's name is Tim Lou. His cell # 951-515-1031. They also have a website:http://expressblindsinc.com/

He has done my shutters and over 10 of my buyer's shutter.  His prices are very low but high quality and service is great.  Shutters are made to order and take 4-5 weeks.  Let him know Martin sent you.
 
I chose to do all of my flooring upgrades through my own contractor, and I guess one of the thing that bothers me is the 1/2"~3/4" rise from carpet to tile.  My contractor had to install new cement boards for the wet areas under the tiles to avoid cracks in the upstairs area.  Because of this, my tiled area is higher than the carpet are by the thickness of the cement board + mortar + tile.  My contractor put in a wedge/ramp board under the carpet to bring it up to the height of the tiles, but it still feels very weird.  When I replace the carpet a few years down the road, I'll need to look into how to level the floor between the carpet and tile areas.  I guess this problem can be avoided if I had gotten tiles through the design center.  Just a heads up for people who are thinking of keeping the carpet and upgrading the vinyl to tile through outside contractors.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
lilgophee said:
My husband is in love with plantation shutters.  He claims that it's a must have.  He asked for the price sheet so he can use it at the next appointment.  Then we went back to the models to decide what window should have it.  He says windows were slightly higher in price than what Lowe's offered.
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The company below will crush any price you can get from Lowes or Home Depot for plantation shutter:

Express Blinds. The sales rep's name is Tim Lou. His cell # 951-515-1031. They also have a website:http://expressblindsinc.com/

He has done my shutters and over 10 of my buyer's shutter.  His prices are very low but high quality and service is great.  Shutters are made to order and take 4-5 weeks.  Let him know Martin sent you.
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Thank you for the referral.  I am glad I only allowed him to get 2 shutters for the upstairs bathrooms.  The key to this whole process is that you have to basically "supervise" the building of your home.  No one is going to do it for you.  Also the back yard trellis is just going to be concrete.  Not the brick pavers you see in the models.  IP does not do any landscaping.  Anyone have any experience with fixing their small back yards?
 
I feel you can always do window coverings outside... not only does it save on expense but it's not something crucial that has to be in place like flooring (you can always put up those temp paper blinds you can buy at any big box hardware store).

@gaogi: Would the tile through the design center not have the same issue since cement board is required on second floor hard surface installations? One thing you can do is when you redo the upstairs flooring, is put another level of plywood in the carpet area to even out with the cement board tile area. We will have to probably do that in all upstairs areas anyways because the sub floor is weakening and there are soft spots all over.
 
I didn't notice the difference in the transition to different materials in the model home, so I think if they build it that way to start with, they'll take the cement board into account and keep everything leveled.  Yes, I think a few years (or maybe even a couple of years, since the carpets are so cheap) down the road when I replace the carpet, the plan is to lay down plywood in the carpet areas to level it out.
 
lilgophee said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
lilgophee said:
My husband is in love with plantation shutters.  He claims that it's a must have.  He asked for the price sheet so he can use it at the next appointment.  Then we went back to the models to decide what window should have it.  He says windows were slightly higher in price than what Lowe's offered.
Click to expand...
The company below will crush any price you can get from Lowes or Home Depot for plantation shutter:

Express Blinds. The sales rep's name is Tim Lou. His cell # 951-515-1031. They also have a website:http://expressblindsinc.com/

He has done my shutters and over 10 of my buyer's shutter.  His prices are very low but high quality and service is great.  Shutters are made to order and take 4-5 weeks.  Let him know Martin sent you.
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Thank you for the referral.  I am glad I only allowed him to get 2 shutters for the upstairs bathrooms.  The key to this whole process is that you have to basically "supervise" the building of your home.  No one is going to do it for you.  Also the back yard trellis is just going to be concrete.  Not the brick pavers you see in the models.  IP does not do any landscaping.  Anyone have any experience with fixing their small back yards?
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No problem at all, let me know if you need any referrals.  A few of my buyers have used the following landscaper over at Las Ventanas:

KS Landscape Design - Andy Kang is the main contact and he can be reached at (949) 285-5359 or ks.landscapeanddesign@gmail.com
 
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