What I can afford in Irvine

Trooper_IHB

Trooper_IHB

New member
<p>Hmmmmm, she might be on to something. If you don't like Turtle Rock this week, move to Quail Ridge next week ! Short ad before vid, sorry.</p>

<p><a href="http://tinyurl.com/2mdz3x">http://tinyurl.com/2mdz3x</a></p>

<p> </p>
 
Hi Trooper,





I first read about the tumbleweed homes on issue #92 of Backwood Home Magazine, here's the article if you're interested:


http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/wolfe92.html





Here's the builder's web site:


http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/





Years ago the owner used to offer many custom built units + deliver from out of state, not sure about now. They have some interesting new models on the web site that I haven't seen before.





I was quite fascinated by the idea of a minimalist lifestyle in such a unit, but most cities have minimal sq ft and habitation requirements. It'd be nice if someone could setup a bunch of these somewhere as an alternative to mobile homes or low-cost/affordable housing. I'd love to have one of those B-52 bungalows in the woods.





The builder's house featured on Oprah:


http://www.oprah.com/videochannel/videochannel_player.jhtml?video=289&category=15





If your backyard is big enough, these would also make a great play-house for the kids.
 
<p> </p>

<p>After Katrina the top design firm was asked to design a 400sf cottage and being marketed by Lowe as a kit that one can purchase. The cost is $40,000 and the house has an efficiency kitchen as well as all plumbing fixtures and all the basic amenities. This concept is not new. In fact, many of the craftsman bungalows in Old Town Orange were Sears Roebuck or Montgomery Ward kit houses ordered from a catalog. The kits included all the pre cut lumbers hardwares and appliances arrived by train and homeowner then claimed them by the depot. This is the reason why the cottages were built near the train track because no one can afford to transport the kit very far. One could easily assemble the home in several days. </p>

<p>The homes were perfectly rectangular and boxy. However the tacked-on front porch added all the necessary details for charm. There were over 200 varieties in different sizes and style consumer could choose from. The houses were so well proportioned and graceful even a homeowner with bad taste could not screw up the neighborhood.</p>

<p>I am involved with a new project similar to this consisting of very modest footage and highly efficient layout and extremely clever use of space and storage. Here is a link to see some of these projects done recently.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.rosschapin.com">www.rosschapin.com</a></p>

<p> </p>
 
bkshopr has so much detailed knowledge about so many subjects I am beginning to suspect he/she is more than one person. (insert smiley face here)
 
<p> </p>

<p>Awgee,</p>

<p>I interface with many clients both in the Builder, land development and Retail sectors. Over the years I have learned a lot about good design and history of the past that lead to our present time. We must need to know the past in order to predict the future. I have been often given commissions that I have no knowledge of but pressured to accomplish it relatively quickly. I do a lot of research and back up my thesis with supportive data. I've learned a lot from the dedicated members of this forum. </p>

<p>My strength is predicting which projects will succeed through meticulous analysis encompassing many facets such as curb appeal, room functionality, furnish ability, circulation efficiency, future livability in thermal comfort, solar heat gain and light and ventilation efficiency (very important to know when home shopper never really know when the model home is always air conditioned and windows and doors are shut. Many buyers face with very hot second floor as a result because many builders place the model homes facing the coolest location to avoid heat gain in the afternoon), quality of specification including the longevity of appliances and exterior material and finishes (consumer report research is a good source to check appliance ratings. we research so much when we buy a car but ignore the research for a house which is the most expensive purchase), neighborhood amenity and school evaluation, proper site planning regarding sun angle to avoid heat gain, prevailing breeze and Santa Ana wind, proper Feng Shui positioning, vehicular circulation including parking and safety maneuverability, neighborhood layout, house positioning to avoid neighbor's windows and most impotently honest appearance delivering the authenticity of the architectural style. These are all things that are really important to consider insuring living comfort, good health, safety, and enduring pride of home ownership. All these are facets that retain good resale value. </p>

<p>It is really unfortunate that RE appraisers do not consider and factor in my aforementioned facets. They give false hope to homeowners with bad houses an unrealistic high value based merely on footage. </p>

<p>A note to the moderators: I think it would be good idea to start rating projects on the Ranch based on a numeric scale in several areas. My knowledge could help potential home buyers that do not have the technical and aesthetic observation. This may be tedious but could be a very powerful tool for this site. </p>

<p>What do you all think?</p>
 
<p>BK - </p>

<p>Thanks for the Ross Chapin link. Those are great looking houses, and if I had a piece of land to drop a home on, I would give those plans very serious consideration. I also appreciate that many of the plans have a full bed and bath on the first floor. </p>

<p>When we are ready to go home shopping, I'm dumping the realtor and hiring you for house hunting help. </p>

<p>I really like your ratings idea, if it's not too difficult to implement. </p>

<p>With respect to home placement, it appears that many homes in Orchard Hills will be located in the alluvial plains and swales of the hills. In looking at the EIR for the development where it discusses the geology and pitch of the upper hills, is the placement of some of the hillside homes a concern, or do you think TIC will have sufficiently drained and graded the property in case fires followed by rain (i.e., mudslide), earthquake, and heavy rains? I'm on the side of trusting TIC and their grading engineers, but with ancient landslide issues in Anaheim, San Juan Capistrano, and Laguna in the last 10 years, it's given me pause.</p>

<p>Thanks for letting me pick your brain.</p>
 
<p><em>A note to the moderators: I think it would be good idea to start rating projects on the Ranch based on a numeric scale in several areas. My knowledge could help potential home buyers that do not have the technical and aesthetic observation. This may be tedious but could be a very powerful tool for this site. </em></p>

<p><em>What do you all think?</em></p>

<p>This sounds like a good idea. How would you do it? What format would it take? Do you have a spreadsheet we can work with?</p>

<p>If we can help this blog be an organized information outlet, it will increase its usefulness. We are always open to that.</p>
 
<p>IR,</p>

<p>I have 2 thoughts.</p>

<p>Movie rating is often done through a commentary and a thumb up and down or a 5 star rating. This method may be too vague due to the technical nature of homes. I do like the expression of mood and feeling expressed through the verbiage of the commentary.</p>

<p>Consumer Digest universally adopted the matrix chart with strong visual que for quick glancing and searching. However this method lacks human emotion expressed in rejection and endorsement of the project. </p>

<p> </p>
 
<p>Check out this site :</p>

<p><a href="http://www.designlens.com">www.designlens.com</a></p>

<p>Every good and bad projects listed here has all good commentaries because the moderator can not afford to upset the builders. He provides marketing research for many of the clients listed.</p>
 
bkshopr - That was my backhanded way of trying to compliment you. Your scope of knowledge is overwhelming.<p><p>When I finally do get serious about buying a home, I hope I can take you and a few others in here with me to look and give advice.<p><p>Just when I think there will be no new information forthcoming on this blog, it is again released in torrents.
 
bkshopr,





Email your ideas to Zovall. He is the one with technical expertise in these matters. If the two of you can figure out how to do it, I think it could be interesting.
 
Bk, IR, Zovall-- there are extensions for Vanilla (this platform) that allow for a number of things, like insertions of tables, etc. I hope that rating system gets off the ground!
 
<p>I love the idea!</p>

<p>I know with most discussion boards you can have a poll in which readers can click a button of their choice. Then after it is submitted the poll shows the results. Just like Lansner's blog. I would imagine there is some sort of way to do it here.</p>
 
<p>Wow ! What a little post can do.....</p>

<p>bk, that Chapin link was really neat ! Some of those houses are simply adorable. (note to Realtards, errrr Realtors....look at the beautiful photographs that showcase them). Also, the designlens website requires a log in, so I didn't check it out.</p>

<p>I like the idea of a poll/rating system, you would just have to figure out how to keep the spammers out (ie: if a Lennar employee wants to trash a competitors development, he/she could "thumbs down" it 100 times to make it look bad....perhaps you could figure out a way to only allow one vote per blog name. You might also get more people to sign up for the blog that way). I bet the builders would pay attention to the ratings and subsequent comments why one received either an "up" or "down". Consider it "consumer consulting" for free ! </p>

<p>You could also consider naming the post that.... "Consumer Consulting on Irvine Housing Developments". :)</p>
 
Most testing of products and rating are often performed by a selected group of panel experts who are experienced in the trade. As the builders learn of this rating system they will sabotage and skew the data. We know who are the dedicated members here and have shown a strong interest and often demonstrated positive attribute in their postings. For example, many members living in detached condo have extensive experience in this particular product type and their input is extremely valuable for evaluation of similar products.





We should have an open enrollment for the Irvine Housing Blog addicts to be the selected group of guest panel members for critiques while the moderators with technical expertise could write an impartial commentary about the project. It is extremely crucial to review the members’ previous post contents for membership qualification. We can not allow for future enrollment once the rating and critique program is launched due to company spies and sabotaging.

Are there other thoughts?
 
<p>bkshopr,</p>

<p>I like your idea to keep the sabotaging from happening. I would even entertain the idea of a few of the regular commentors to write an impartial commentary. The reason being I don't think us mods could tackle all the Irvine housing projects. I do hate to exclude people but I have a feeling someone would come in and vote multiple times for their project. I mean what else to new home sales agents have to do these days. You have to kill time somehow.</p>
 
Great idea bkshopr. I'd say keep it application/invite-only. Something like that would require more active moderators though if more and more people register for the forums.
 
Graph. Are you able to set it up in such a way so that you have to "approve" it (ie: verify user) prior to it being posted ? That way you can cross check it against existing IHB blogger names.
 
Trooper - I don't know. I think my moderator skills are limited. I will check with zovall and see what he says. He has been pretty open to letting us mods have more and more freedom. I know with the blog we can screen things but the forum is different.
 
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