Will this Economy affect your home purchase?

[SoCal78_IHB]

^ Now there is an affordable "detached condo"! I like it. How much?

 

[SoCal78_IHB]

Wanting a single story home you pretty much identify yourself in the demographic of an empty nester and mature home buyer.

Am I a freak for preferring a single-story since I'm not a senior citizen? I think they are more kid-friendly because you don't have to worry about the hazard of little guys falling down the stairs and getting hurt and no laundry to drag up and down.

Most young parents quickly learned to compromise when they have to choose between a single story ranch burger in Garden Grove or a 2 story tract home in Irvine. A single story home in Irvine meant double the lot size and that will equate to $500/sf factoring in the land cost. Only 2 single stories were built during the last 15 years in Irvine. Plan one of Camelia in Northwood 2 and Stan Pac's plan one at Northpark Sq. Both are about 1780 sf priced over $820,000. Most younger buyers just don't make $200,000/yr to qualify or equity rich from their current homes to switch over to a single story.

In demographic studies only those that are realistic and likely shoppers are considered into the poll. With that being said the mature demographic is usually the target audience for a single story home. The younger shoppers are mostly window shoppers.

Are you suggesting that either of those two single-stories will remain at $460/sq ft? ($820k for 1,780 sq ft.)

 

[fumbling_IHB]

No, the pocketbook is closed for more house than we need... We've found over many years that we only use a few rooms (MBR, kitchen and home theater room) regularly and it's just more convenient to have them all on one level. I had never seen this type of floorplan until we saw new model homes in Calabasas in 2001/2002. Then we saw Plan 1 Astoria in VOC in 2007, which was 2900 sf two story with MBR down and two or three bedrooms up. We also saw Plan 1 Paloma in Portola Springs also in 2007 which was 2200 sf two story with MBR down and two bedrooms up. I know young families don't like this floorplan due to safety reasons for the young kids, but with all the existing product catering to growing families, we were hoping this type of floorplan was the start of a new trend that targeted empty nesters with grown kids coming back occasionally. Do you know if these plans in VOC and PS sold well or not?

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

Wanting a single story home you pretty much identify yourself in the demographic of an empty nester and mature home buyer.

Am I a freak for preferring a single-story since I'm not a senior citizen? I think they are more kid-friendly because you don't have to worry about the hazard of little guys falling down the stairs and getting hurt and no laundry to drag up and down.

Most young parents quickly learned to compromise when they have to choose between a single story ranch burger in Garden Grove or a 2 story tract home in Irvine. A single story home in Irvine meant double the lot size and that will equate to $500/sf factoring in the land cost. Only 2 single stories were built during the last 15 years in Irvine. Plan one of Camelia in Northwood 2 and Stan Pac's plan one at Northpark Sq. Both are about 1780 sf priced over $820,000. Most younger buyers just don't make $200,000/yr to qualify or equity rich from their current homes to switch over to a single story.

In demographic studies only those that are realistic and likely shoppers are considered into the poll. With that being said the mature demographic is usually the target audience for a single story home. The younger shoppers are mostly window shoppers.

Are you suggesting that either of those two single-stories will remain at $460/sq ft? ($820k for 1,780 sq ft.)

I think the NP Square single story plan is much more expensive than Cal Pac's Camelia.

 

[tmare_IHB]

I don't know how other people feel about master bedroom locations, but we would never buy a house with the MBR on the second level. We had a single story for 16 years, then moved to a two story with the master bedroom downstairs. We've given up on ever finding a new single story model again due to developer economics as explained by BK, but we have a new goal that works out even better for us. Every new tract we go to, we ask if they have any models with the MBR downstairs. We almost never go to the second floor of model homes except for the ones with the MBR downstairs. My dream house is a 2000sf to 2500sf two story with the master bedroom on the first level and a couple of bedrooms above. We like that type of floorplan even better than the single story. We would use the first level and any guests could use the upstairs with privacy for all. We also want no steps on the first level. BK, is this type of floorplan something likely to be offered in future tracts in Irvine?

Personally, I'd rather have everything downstairs and have my own little retreat upstairs. I guess that's what kids do to you.

Buy several playhouses and put them in your yard. Problem solved.

Just tell me how to get electricity, plumbing (and of course, the permit to do it), I've got the space and believe me, I've actually tried. It's actually called an "accessory dwelling unit" and it's more trouble than it's worth! Can the kids just live in the playhouse?

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

No, the pocketbook is closed for more house than we need... We've found over many years that we only use a few rooms (MBR, kitchen and home theater room) regularly and it's just more convenient to have them all on one level. I had never seen this type of floorplan until we saw new model homes in Calabasas in 2001/2002. Then we saw Plan 1 Astoria in VOC in 2007, which was 2900 sf two story with MBR down and two or three bedrooms up. We also saw Plan 1 Paloma in Portola Springs also in 2007 which was 2200 sf two story with MBR down and two bedrooms up. I know young families don't like this floorplan due to safety reasons for the young kids, but with all the existing product catering to growing families, we were hoping this type of floorplan was the start of a new trend that targeted empty nesters with grown kids coming back occasionally. Do you know if these plans in VOC and PS sold well or not?

Like I said this type of plan consumed more land and Paloma attached the units to compensate the extra land consumed for master down. Land economic drives product solutions.

An ideal house is a box fit perfectly on top of another box. 800 sf living space downstairs with 400 sf garage and 1200 sf of bedrooms stacked perfectly on the top to make a 2,000 sf house. Technically the upper floor has more sf than the lower floor. In 800 sf there is not even enough room for a great room and master down is really out of the picture.

Laing Luxury sometime does a plan like that in its 4500 sf program but price tag is at $2.5 mil.

You will find single story french cottages with attic bedrooms like that in Floral Park where the kids bedrooms are hidden in the attic. The best time to see them is now when these cottages are decorated with lights along their steep pitch roofs.

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

I don't know how other people feel about master bedroom locations, but we would never buy a house with the MBR on the second level. We had a single story for 16 years, then moved to a two story with the master bedroom downstairs. We've given up on ever finding a new single story model again due to developer economics as explained by BK, but we have a new goal that works out even better for us. Every new tract we go to, we ask if they have any models with the MBR downstairs. We almost never go to the second floor of model homes except for the ones with the MBR downstairs. My dream house is a 2000sf to 2500sf two story with the master bedroom on the first level and a couple of bedrooms above. We like that type of floorplan even better than the single story. We would use the first level and any guests could use the upstairs with privacy for all. We also want no steps on the first level. BK, is this type of floorplan something likely to be offered in future tracts in Irvine?

Personally, I'd rather have everything downstairs and have my own little retreat upstairs. I guess that's what kids do to you.

Buy several playhouses and put them in your yard. Problem solved.

Just tell me how to get electricity, plumbing (and of course, the permit to do it), I've got the space and believe me, I've actually tried. It's actually called an "accessory dwelling unit" and it's more trouble than it's worth! Can the kids just live in the playhouse?

It is equipped with electrical outlets, plasma TV, kitchenette, stereo surround sound solar panels and a generator. You can preview them at Fashion Island around September.

 

[awgee_IHB]

Wanting a single story home you pretty much identify yourself in the demographic of an empty nester and mature home buyer.

Am I a freak for preferring a single-story since I'm not a senior citizen? I think they are more kid-friendly because you don't have to worry about the hazard of little guys falling down the stairs and getting hurt and no laundry to drag up and down.

Mother in law in Floral Park is now pushing for us to buy the house next door to her own house (yikes!). My answer is: I like single story houses, which is what I have. You are not in the minority, I will always pick a single story house over a two-story house. Some of my favorite houses are ranch style in West Floral Park. Granted, if I could afford to have my master bedroom retreat complete with jacuzzi tub and partial kitchen upstairs, that would be fine with me.

Floral Park is beautiful, but having children, I would not buy there. The schools are scary awful.

 

[SoOCOwner_IHB]

Wanting a single story home you pretty much identify yourself in the demographic of an empty nester and mature home buyer.

Am I a freak for preferring a single-story since I'm not a senior citizen? I think they are more kid-friendly because you don't have to worry about the hazard of little guys falling down the stairs and getting hurt and no laundry to drag up and down.

I don't think so at all. I've wanted a single-story home for quite a while now and I'm not even close to retirement. Maybe it has something to do with the type of home I grew up in, but a single story home just makes more sense to me. It's more convenient and generally cheaper to heat/cool. Plus, but virtue of the fact that it is spread out on one level, you get a bigger lot. I wish they would make more (affordable) single-story new homes, but I think that the land is (was!) just too expensive.

 

[tmare_IHB]

Wanting a single story home you pretty much identify yourself in the demographic of an empty nester and mature home buyer.

Am I a freak for preferring a single-story since I'm not a senior citizen? I think they are more kid-friendly because you don't have to worry about the hazard of little guys falling down the stairs and getting hurt and no laundry to drag up and down.

Mother in law in Floral Park is now pushing for us to buy the house next door to her own house (yikes!). My answer is: I like single story houses, which is what I have. You are not in the minority, I will always pick a single story house over a two-story house. Some of my favorite houses are ranch style in West Floral Park. Granted, if I could afford to have my master bedroom retreat complete with jacuzzi tub and partial kitchen upstairs, that would be fine with me.

Floral Park is beautiful, but having children, I would not buy there. The schools are scary awful.

That's a pretty big generalization. There are, actually, some pretty good schools.

 

[no_vaseline_IHB]

I was planning on catching a knife sometime in early 2010, but given my wife's current employment status, I won't be doing so until much later - if at all. I am going to get my business full equity before I even consider it.

 

[acpme_IHB]

those cottages they sell at FI are more expensive than a detached condo in irvine right now... no joke!

 

[awgee_IHB]

Wanting a single story home you pretty much identify yourself in the demographic of an empty nester and mature home buyer.

Am I a freak for preferring a single-story since I'm not a senior citizen? I think they are more kid-friendly because you don't have to worry about the hazard of little guys falling down the stairs and getting hurt and no laundry to drag up and down.

Mother in law in Floral Park is now pushing for us to buy the house next door to her own house (yikes!). My answer is: I like single story houses, which is what I have. You are not in the minority, I will always pick a single story house over a two-story house. Some of my favorite houses are ranch style in West Floral Park. Granted, if I could afford to have my master bedroom retreat complete with jacuzzi tub and partial kitchen upstairs, that would be fine with me.

Floral Park is beautiful, but having children, I would not buy there. The schools are scary awful.

That's a pretty big generalization. There are, actually, some pretty good schools.

Good luck

 

[tenmagnet_IHB]

Aren’t those sold for charity?

At least the buyer is eligible for the full tax deduction.

 

[awgee_IHB]

Aren’t those sold for charity?

At least the buyer is eligible for the full tax deduction.

The deduction is the donation minus the value of the auctioned item.

 

[tenmagnet_IHB]

Aren’t those sold for charity?

At least the buyer is eligible for the full tax deduction.

The deduction is the donation minus the value of the auctioned item.

Doesn’t the value of the item = donation?

 

[tmare_IHB]

Wanting a single story home you pretty much identify yourself in the demographic of an empty nester and mature home buyer.

Am I a freak for preferring a single-story since I'm not a senior citizen? I think they are more kid-friendly because you don't have to worry about the hazard of little guys falling down the stairs and getting hurt and no laundry to drag up and down.

Mother in law in Floral Park is now pushing for us to buy the house next door to her own house (yikes!). My answer is: I like single story houses, which is what I have. You are not in the minority, I will always pick a single story house over a two-story house. Some of my favorite houses are ranch style in West Floral Park. Granted, if I could afford to have my master bedroom retreat complete with jacuzzi tub and partial kitchen upstairs, that would be fine with me.

Floral Park is beautiful, but having children, I would not buy there. The schools are scary awful.

That's a pretty big generalization. There are, actually, some pretty good schools.

Good luck

El Sol, OCEA, Santiago, Muir, Greenville, MacArthur, just a few.

 

[High Gravity_IHB]

Wanting a single story home you pretty much identify yourself in the demographic of an empty nester and mature home buyer.

Am I a freak for preferring a single-story since I'm not a senior citizen? I think they are more kid-friendly because you don't have to worry about the hazard of little guys falling down the stairs and getting hurt and no laundry to drag up and down.

Most young parents quickly learned to compromise when they have to choose between a single story ranch burger in Garden Grove or a 2 story tract home in Irvine. A single story home in Irvine meant double the lot size and that will equate to $500/sf factoring in the land cost. Only 2 single stories were built during the last 15 years in Irvine. Plan one of Camelia in Northwood 2 and Stan Pac's plan one at Northpark Sq. Both are about 1780 sf priced over $820,000. Most younger buyers just don't make $200,000/yr to qualify or equity rich from their current homes to switch over to a single story.

In demographic studies only those that are realistic and likely shoppers are considered into the poll. With that being said the mature demographic is usually the target audience for a single story home. The younger shoppers are mostly window shoppers.

The facade of Camelia plan one looks like it has a second floor but the "upstairs" windows is in the open tower above the foyer. Come to think of it, you may be able to convert that tower into a small second floor room, but you'll probably need a rope ladder to access it.

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

Wanting a single story home you pretty much identify yourself in the demographic of an empty nester and mature home buyer.

Am I a freak for preferring a single-story since I'm not a senior citizen? I think they are more kid-friendly because you don't have to worry about the hazard of little guys falling down the stairs and getting hurt and no laundry to drag up and down.

I don't think so at all. I've wanted a single-story home for quite a while now and I'm not even close to retirement. Maybe it has something to do with the type of home I grew up in, but a single story home just makes more sense to me. It's more convenient and generally cheaper to heat/cool. Plus, but virtue of the fact that it is spread out on one level, you get a bigger lot. I wish they would make more (affordable) single-story new homes, but I think that the land is (was!) just too expensive.

When the cost of construction per sf exceeds the price of land then you will see the economic model favoring more single stories like out in the desert where land is cheaper than the city. You really should look at older homes.

 

[bkshopr_IHB]

Aren’t those sold for charity?

At least the buyer is eligible for the full tax deduction.

Yes, you can claim a deduction along with the kids.