Thoughts on casitas...

J

JoonB_IHB

New member
<p>I moved to California one year ago and am currently renting a home- we are on the sidelines until we decide where exactly we want to be and of course for the astronomical prices to come down. We owned a home before we moved to California- so we hope to one day (sooner rather than later) become homeowners again.</p>

<p>That said, my husband and I have been looking at many open homes, both newbuilds and re-sale homes. I don't understand this concept of "casitas". I think having a bedroom with one locked door and for the person in the casita to have to go outside through a courtyard and then open the front door with a key is a silly and not very practical concept. I have seen homes in Quail Hill (the homes built by Standard Pacific) and 2 of the 4 models have casitas. Turtle Ridge homes seem to have lots of casitas with their larger homes. What am I missing here? How many of you actually like this concept? For kicks, my husband and I went to see 50 Cezanne in Turtle Ridge (been on the market FOREVER)- and it has 3 bedrooms in the main house and 2 CASITAS. Who would buy a house with a casita?</p>
 
A friend of mine rents a castita in Quail Hill. Visited him once and I didn't understand what I was seeing. In the past the guest houses I've seen are usually on larger lots and in the back, not at the front of a mcmansion. I recall him saying that his landlords paid somewhere between $3-4million for it back in 2005...... I also remember the last time I was in the neighborhood, there were houses with single garages on either side of the house, not sure if my eyes lied to me then.





The friend now is looking for a new place to stay, as his landlord is trying to sell the place.
 
<p>yeah- that's another thing i just cannot understand- garages on 2 sides of the house. that makes sense to me either.</p>

<p>it is just frustrating that a lot of the larger homes are with casitas- or like in the Quail Hill development I'm referring to- of the 4 models, 2 have casitas, and then of the remaining 2 homes- there's no living room. I know the trend is to go to the Great Room, but their designs totally prevent some buyers from even considering a home there.</p>

<p>Your friend with the casita- these casitas are just bedrooms- there's no living area, kitchen, etc. Does he know the owner of the home so he can actually use the kitchen, or does he just have a mini-fridge like a college student?</p>
 
Ahhh, so my eyes weren't lying and they really designed the home like that with garage doors on either side. Makes absolutely no sense. Architect for that needs to be shot..





As for the friend, he knows the landlord and rents it for $600/month utilities included, but no kitchen usage. He likes to eat out and does that daily, but once in a while he'll try to cook at his girlfriend's apartment.





A year ago I met 2 UCI guys and they rent castitas in quail hill as well, not sure if they get kitchen usage.





I personally do not like Quail Hill's homes, or most homes in Irvine in general. Just too cramped for my tastes and I'm not exactly fond of HOAs.
 
My wife is English, and my mother in law comes over for extended stays. A 4/3 plan with a bedroom downstairs works well, but the guest casita would be ideal. When you have visiting parents, or perhaps a live-in parent later in life, the casita arrangement provides privacy and closeness. It is not for the typical nuclear family, but when you have multi-generational living, it is a great idea.
 
i agree- casitas are good for people who work at home. but if you're the 2-kid family- i think i'd need a casita and then 4 bedrooms in the main house. trust me- i have extended family for 2 months at a time- and they'd be so mad if they wanted a glass of water in the middle of the night and some munchies, and they'd have to go outside in the cold at night, go through the front door for a snack.
 
I also mulled over this idea before purchasing the plan 1 over at Casella in Woodbury. Ultimately, my fiance and I won't be having kids for at least a few years & we decided to turn the room into an office. By the time we have more than one child we will be moving to a bigger house, so it doesn't bother us. I can see the lack of utility if you have a large family but I can also see the usefulness for a home office or guest house. I kind of liked the idea of having an office seperate from the house so I can concentrate when I am working at home. Plus I really liked the courtyard with the fireplace in between the house and the casita, fantastic for entertaining in the summer.
 
Our situations sound similar. We moved here in July and are renting while we watch the market and decide where we want to live. Right now we are renting in Northpark and have a casita in the back. The house has 3 bedrooms and a loft so there is plenty of room for us and the two kids.





My husband works from home, so he uses the casita as an office. Since he is in his own little space, the kids don't bother him (that much).





If my husband didn't work at home, I don't think I'd like the casita. I'd rather my guests be in the house so, like you said, they wouldn't have to come in from outside to get a snack or drink of water.





I don't really like any of the layouts I've seen here so far. We are from the East Coast where there are a lot of center hall colonials (which I love). Does anyone know of any neighborhoods here that have center hall colonials?


We're guessing that they don't build them here because of how small the lots are. The homes I've been in feel like tunnels from the front door to the back door with the rooms off to one side. The hardwood floors throughout also lend to the tunnel feeling by making every sound echo.





Thanks for any info.
 
<p><a href="http://forums.irvinehousingblog.com/account/69/">waitingtill08</a> </p>

<p>i am from Chicago and think the same thing about the silly layouts of the homes (i had a center hall colonial as well).</p>

<p>What really bothers me about a lot of the homes is the lack of a "mud room"- a place where I can put my coat, shoes, etc. I even for kicks look at the $2+ million homes and you'd think they'd place a mud room off the garage entry so you can take off your shoes, but you have to do it in the garage. Poor design. I know it doesn't snow here, doesn't rain much, etc, but my shoes are dirty and I just hate not having a place for my shoes. </p>
 
JoonB





I agree with you about the mudrooms. Although it doesn't snow here and there isn't much rain, it would still be useful. I tried putting a shoe rack in the garage right outside the door, but my kids still end up tracking sand from the playground through the house all the time.





It seems to me that the builders have just been throwing houses up during this boom without any regard to design. I also don't like many of the exterior elevations. Most do look like "stucco boxes", as described by many of the bloggers. The house we are renting seems very poorly constructed ... it seems like there is no insulation (the wind blows right through the house, we can hear through the walls, etc), they used the wrong tools to drill the holes to install the electrical in the island, cracks in the stucco, stucco that is not finished all the way to the ground on some corners near doorways, the surround sound in the ceiling (According to my husband, rear speakers should be behind you, not above you, and front speakers should be in front of you, not 10' up in the air. He says that if they're going to pre-wire for surround sound, the speakers should be wall-mounted, not recessed in the ceiling. I just know it doesn't sound right when we are watching a movie. ) Although most of these are small problems regarding the finish, I think it goes to the quality of the work. I'd expect better for what these homes cost on today's market. I can't believe people are still paying over a million dollars for them. We've been told that this house was built by one of the "better" builders (although that was by a realtor trying to sell the house across the street). It is a local builder (Warmington Homes). Based on our experience in this house, we would never buy from them.





You really don't know how well built the house is until you live in it. Do you know who built your rental? What do you think of the quality? Any problems?





I'd love to hear everyone's experiences with the houses they are currently living in or have lived in in Orange County? What do you think of the builders? Who's good, who's bad, and why? What specific problems? Major problems, or just problems with design and finish?
 
<p><a href="http://forums.irvinehousingblog.com/account/69/">waitingtill08</a>:</p>

<p>Our home is old- I think it's one of the first home tracts in Irvine- so i have no idea who the builder is. We live in Woodbridge. All I know is that i definitely won't be buying in Woodbridge. There is NO insulation- my heating bill is outrageous for a small house. I lived in Chicago in a 4000 sq foot house and my heating bill was less than what I pay in California. My heat is on all the time. I can feel the draft, especially at night. My windows are original to the home, so that doesn't help the draft situation either. My bathrooms suck. If someone is taking a shower, you can't use turn on the sink water because the water in the shower will either turn super hot or totally cold. I even worry about buying a home in Woodbridge that has been "remodeled". Unless they opened the walls to put in insulation, I think the changes are just cosmetic. I would buy a home and rehab, but not in California, because I don't know who's reputable or not.</p>

<p>We have friends who are in Quail Hill and live in a home built by Standard Pacific. They are very satisfied.</p>

<p> </p>
 
Woodbridge is actually not one of the first housing tracts in Irvine. The first ones were built in 1969. Woodbridge was built in the mid 70s (north woodbridge) to the early 80s (south Woodbridge).





Our home in woodbridge was built in 1976. We turn on our heater maybe 10 times a year. Not all homes in Woodbridge are poorly insulated . Remember when buying an older home, you need to really do your research and get a good inspector. They aren't all equal.
 
It's not just the older homes. We are in Northpark. I think the house was built in 2001. It is such a change from where we lived in Maryland. Our home there was built in '86. It was really high quality construction. We had very few problems in 8 years we lived there. It is disappointing how poorly built things are here since they cost more than twice as much as the equivalent back east.
 
<p><a href="http://forums.irvinehousingblog.com/account/27/">irvine_native</a> </p>

<p>I guess i meant to say one of the older tract homes- i do live on the north side- so i guess i'm not too far off :)</p>

<p>You're lucky you don't have to put your heater on- not only is it on all day, but it is SUPER loud!</p>
 
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