B2FiNiTY said:
That is the first time I have heard about that. You aren't allowed to get flooring through a third party? That doesn't sound right...
How you like living there by the way?
We were pretty close to considering one since we liked a few things about the floor plan. But ended up picking something else for a little more.
I think you did a good move by not doing the Tri-level (unless you are a serious fitness junkie and walking up & down those stairs is a breeze) , its more like a starter home for me, definitely not something in which i can expand my family or call it a permanent home for more than 3 years, so i would keep it as a rental and will eventually get a single family home in the next couple of years (the lowest price tag i saw last in there was around $900K), but i guess i also need to decide between if i want all my purchases to be just in one city i.e. Irvine or should i look at buying something closer to LA as that's where i used to live (Pasadena), but then there comes the catch of good schools versus a big house trade-off especially when you are on a max budget of a $1m, so there are some tough decisions to be done.
Pros of what i bought:
1. Has rental value
2. Close to Woodbury Town Center (if you don't mind the 1.5 mile walk) lol
3. Brand New built
4. Floor Plan is spacious (especially the 2nd floor): some of my friends with bigger condo's apparently liked the layout of open L shaped kitchen in this layout more than what they paid for in their more expensive condo's. Kitchen pretty much won the hearts of potential tenants (ladies) as well.
5. High Ceilings gives a big spacious feel
6. Plenty of lightning in living area
7. Street parking right outside at your doorstep
Cons:
1. It is tri-level : lots of stairs: a trip from garage to your bedroom is a workout
2. Tandem Garage : is clumsy - too small - parking an SUV in there can be a nightmare and the same goes for any wide-bodied coupes (think SLS AMG or Audi R8)
3. No views
4. THIN Shared Walls: Practically ZERO sound insulation
5. Poor Sound Insulation on floor as well: imagine next door neighbor ringing your bell and asking if you were running in your living room. Lol, because your living room floor is their ceiling and all you were doing was walking.