irvinesinglemom - 06 September 2008 03:32 PM

I stand by my original response.  Your post was ridiculous and deserved ridicule.  Yes, I am a moderator and actually, I can’t recall the last time I was dismissive in this manner on these boards.  I am just callin’ a spade a spade.

I actually think you did this on purpose; or are you actually so obtuse as to not get it, even after all the feedback?  Either way, instead of flagging another one of my posts (!!!) why don’t you just go back to hanging out with all of your McMansion neighbors who agree with you that if a house doesn’t have a butler and a bidet, it’s not worthy of your family?

Jeez.

Edit:  Oh wait, nowwwwww I get it!  By “family”, did you assume a husband and wife and several kids?  That would explain why you think so much living space is a necessity.  So what exactly are you suggesting about me and my little boy - we don’t comprise a “real family” because it’s just the two of us?  Because certainly, MY family does not need five bedrooms.

Actually, one could argue all the new houses are built for you (ex. 3 br/3 ba - 1 br for parent(s), 1 br for kid, 1 br for office.  1 ba for parent(s), 1 ba for kid, 1 ba for visitors.

The number of new houses 3000 sq. ft. + that have 5 bedrooms is very small, as far as I can tell.

I expected the veterans to gang up on the newb which is fine… but instead of getting caught up in who is calling who names let’s back up a bit:

When I say 5-bedroom house as my first item… that should already explain what type of family I’m talking about. No… this does not apply to ISM and her one child… nor even some 4-person families as that may be too big… which is why the title says “I THINK”... which implies… MY OPINION.

Call me obtuse and trollish as much as you like… but at least read what I’m posting. And if any of you read past the first post… I go further to explain the type of houses I’m looking at (which again… if instead of trying to jump on my neck… you would see that “$1mil+“ and “2500-3500sft” is not a bachelor pad).

Hyperbole aside… for those of you who are familar with the particular “family house” I am referring to… is the list really that “ridiculous”? I didn’t ask for a butler or a bidet. Many of the homes built between 1995 and 2000 have these features. I guess what I’m wondering is why the recent homes… especially those in the $1mil range… don’t seem to have many of these items.

Here’s a question, now that we should be standing on the same piece of paper (hopefully)... what about my list is so worthy of ridicule? I didn’t say 10,000sft lot, gold toilets, olympic-sized pool in the backyard or underground bowling alley.

I think I found your dream home here or here

other options:
house#2
house #3
house#4

irvine_home_owner - 06 September 2008 08:21 PM

I expected the veterans to gang up on the newb which is fine… but instead of getting caught up in who is calling who names let’s back up a bit:

When I say 5-bedroom house as my first item… that should already explain what type of family I’m talking about. No… this does not apply to ISM and her one child… nor even some 4-person families as that may be too big… which is why the title says “I THINK”... which implies… MY OPINION.

Call me obtuse and trollish as much as you like… but at least read what I’m posting. And if any of you read past the first post… I go further to explain the type of houses I’m looking at (which again… if instead of trying to jump on my neck… you would see that “$1mil+“ and “2500-3500sft” is not a bachelor pad).

Hyperbole aside… for those of you who are familar with the particular “family house” I am referring to… is the list really that “ridiculous”? I didn’t ask for a butler or a bidet. Many of the homes built between 1995 and 2000 have these features. I guess what I’m wondering is why the recent homes… especially those in the $1mil range… don’t seem to have many of these items.

Here’s a question, now that we should be standing on the same piece of paper (hopefully)... what about my list is so worthy of ridicule? I didn’t say 10,000sft lot, gold toilets, olympic-sized pool in the backyard or underground bowling alley.

irvine_home_owner

You shouldn’t expect the veterans to gang up on you.  Outside the politics forum, you shouldn’t expect anyone to gang up on you here on IHB.  I read some of your older posts and the only thing I’ve seen outside this topic was you doing the work to make a home purchase.

That’s the thing when dealing with strangers, you don’t know when you will hit an unknown sore spot or run into someone in an unreasonable mood.  You aren’t responsible for having the same expectations as someone else, and not everyone has the same needs or means.

SoCal does seem to have more three car garages (real) than in other locals, so you should find that feature fairly easy.  The front courtyard and reasonably sized back yard could be another matter, but is doable.  I’ve never seen five bedrooms in 2500 sq ft with normal living areas, but I have in 3500 sq ft so you may be at the high end of your size range for that fifth bedroom.  In all cases, a house like you want is going to cost you in Irvine.  Good luck in your search.

My next house may have a bidet, heated of course.  I still don’t know what a velodrome is.  I am going to wait for someone to tell or I come across it through random chance.

ABC123 - 06 September 2008 08:46 PM

I think I found your dream home here or here

other options:
house#2
house #3
house#4

Those are all good but they’re missing the key element… location, location, location… as in Irvine.

If I’m going to spend 1.6mil on a Ladera Ranch house, I would probably put that into a Quail Hill residence instead… I may not get the lot size… but I get the area.

The house in San-Marcos is actually reasonable.

I guess to better clarify my original post… why don’t the new communities have houses that are more like the ones built in the late 90s? Villa Rosa is a prime example of poorly executed floorplans (again… in my opinion). Plan 2 has the best functionality but just the way the interior space was designed seem to be less appealing then the similar plan Lennar had done in Columbus Grove (it had basically the same layout and square footage but a separate 3rd car garage (L-style), a kitchen that opened to both family and dining room and the master had a master retreat).

And I don’t want to continue the bad feelings in this thread so let me reboot a bit…

If I were a single parent of one child, my family home wishlist would be:

1. 2 bedroom at least with some optional type den or office:
It would be nice to have 3 bedrooms for the occasional guest (like a relative) but I understand the budget limitations. The other usage for a 3rd space would be a playroom for my child or an office if I do work from home.

2. 2 bathrooms:
Unless you are living by yourself… I don’t think 1 bathroom is enough. The master should have 2 sinks (you never know when that single status will change) and a shower will do fine because the other bathroom should have a tub (for the child and for when I feel like taking a bath)

3. Kitchen that opens to dining/nook area:
It would be nice if the kitchen had an eating bar area since you don’t always want to use your dining/nook for meals but space is limited in that regard

4. 2-car garage:
The other half can be used for storage

5. Small sideyard:
So the kid can play!

6. Laundry area:
Separate would be nice but not expected

7. A single Great Room/Family room area:
No need for a separate living room and it would be nice if the kitchen/dining/great room were to be somewhat connected but again… hard to fit

8. House or condo:
I would prefer house although I understand why others would go condo. Affordability-wise, the condos are sometimes better but houses (even those detached courtyard type) are not that much upkeep when you compare the HOA costs. The condos also have other ammenities but nowadays… most communities have some type of clubhouse area regardless of what type of residence you live in.

9. Resale or new:
Well… something like this new one would be great:
New
But there is no way that falls into the affordability range of a single parent.
Something like this is more like it:
Resale
It saves almost 200k but at $340k… it’s still expensive unless I am making some good money.
In all honesty, currently, the prices in Irvine is not low enough for single parent situations… especially now that all the imaginative financing has dried up.

10. Nice family oriented community:
I imagine it is very hard to raise a child by yourself, so any help you can get from your neighbors would be wonderful. And it’s always nice to know that someone else is looking out for you since you don’t have the presence of another adult in your home.

Is this list outrageous? Maybe for Irvine but if I were a builder… I would think about these things when designing homes for smaller families.

ConsiderAgain - 06 September 2008 09:46 PM

SoCal does seem to have more three car garages (real) than in other locals, so you should find that feature fairly easy.  The front courtyard and reasonably sized back yard could be another matter, but is doable.  I’ve never seen five bedrooms in 2500 sq ft with normal living areas, but I have in 3500 sq ft so you may be at the high end of your size range for that fifth bedroom.  In all cases, a house like you want is going to cost you in Irvine.  Good luck in your search.

Take this mid 1990 house for example:
Link
(I’m not advertising for this particular realtor, but I do like the fact that he provides all for floorplans for the area he specializes in)
Is this type of design unreasonable?

Do people not want these type of houses anymore? Now I understand the width of the flooplan is probably the big problem but let’s say you go long and remove the 3-car wide design and go tandem or L-shape… why are today’s interiors not better layed out.

Here is something that I think is pretty good:
Las Colinas - Plan 4
(you have to click around to it because they don’t have direct links to their floorplans)

I don’t see it too far of a stretch to make sub-3000sft homes have that same kind of living space if they have 2500-2800sft homes that can do it in Westpark.

It just seems like if I want a “big family” type house… I can’t look at the new sub-3000 ones… I have to find it in older Northwood, Woodbridge or Westpark models. I just wonder why builders don’t see this or am I the only one who wants these type of things in a “big family” home (and sub-3000 is not really that big).

ConsiderAgain - 06 September 2008 09:46 PM

I still don’t know what a velodrome is.  I am going to wait for someone to tell or I come across it through random chance.

ConsiderAgain,

Here you go. Definition of Velodrome, per Wikipedia

Here you go for Las Colinas Residence 4 floorplan…
No clicking around necessary.

Hey !  I wasn’t being snarky about the litter box room….I really want that !  If I ever design my own house, it’ll have one.

BethN - 07 September 2008 10:19 AM

Here you go for Las Colinas Residence 4 floorplan…
No clicking around necessary.

I would have used Villages of Irvine’s too but that’s not actually the Plan 4. I think it’s the Plan 2 or 3… the Plan 4 has a circular foyer and an exercise room off the master bath. It also has a casita.

San Juan Capistrano Home

Seal Beach Home

Villa Park Home

2-car garge Tustin Field Home

irvine_home_owner - 05 September 2008 03:05 PM

In no particular order:

1. 5 bedrooms (4 with a den or bonus room will work)

2. All living areas: Living room, dining room, family room and nook

3. Kitchen: Must have huge center island with eat-at bar (usually the sink will be in it) and a walk-in (or really big) pantry

4. Separate laundry room with sink (preferably upstairs)

5. Master bathroom: Separate shower and tub, shower should be sizeable with a seat and separate vanity area (for the ladies)

6. Front courtyard

7. Vaulted or high ceilings

8. 3-car garage (real 3-car… not tandem)

9. Reasonable back/side yard space

10. Cul-de-sac location

I could do without the courtyard or the high ceilings.  Nice to have, but I would trade them in a heartbeat for a light and temperature-controlled room with a serious lock on the door for my collectables.  Children = stuff gets broken.

I haven’t made enough people mad this week.  Here’s my list.

1.  Heat.
2.  Potable water.
3.  A toilet that works.
4.  Two loving parents.
5.  A roof that doesn’t leak.

Everything else is fluff.

no_vaseline - 07 September 2008 08:23 PM

I haven’t made enough people mad this week.  Here’s my list.

1.  Heat.
2.  Potable water.
3.  A toilet that works.
4.  Two loving parents.
5.  A roof that doesn’t leak.

Everything else is fluff.

Agreed.  Except for #4, of course.

Nobody’s perfect.

no_vaseline - 07 September 2008 08:23 PM

I haven’t made enough people mad this week.  Here’s my list.

1.  Heat.
2.  Potable water.
3.  A toilet that works.
4.  Two loving parents.
5.  A roof that doesn’t leak.

Everything else is fluff.

You forgot the velodrome

irvinesinglemom - 07 September 2008 09:26 PM

no_vaseline - 07 September 2008 08:23 PM

I haven’t made enough people mad this week.  Here’s my list.

1.  Heat.
2.  Potable water.
3.  A toilet that works.
4.  Two loving parents.
5.  A roof that doesn’t leak.

Everything else is fluff.

Agreed.  Except for #4, of course.

I think what no_vas really meant is that he wants to live with his parents.

I think we can arrange for him to go back to “living with the parents” status….  psssshhh on the McMansion !

Graph ? 

In trying to rerail this thread… and now that hopefully any misperceptions have been cleared… is my original list uncommon to ask for if you are a family that requires a 2500sft+ home and are looking in the $1mil range?

The new communities in Irvine are great but the floorplans for this range of house is underwhelming. Portola has some nicer models (well… Prado only had 3 homes available) but it’s a bit far for me (I realize some people like the seclusion but I’m not too sold on the Tollroad/Landfill/Brushfire proximity… although that seems to work for Newport Ridge/Coast).

Not being familiar with this forum or the members, do the builders/designers ever lurk to see what people are asking for?

My requirements:

For 3+ bed SFR, detached condos, and town-homes,
—The first floor should be elderly/handicap friendly.  This means, the entrance area should be wheelchair accessible and not have weird stairs going up and down.  The property should have at least 1 bedroom and 1 “full” bathroom on first floor.  The bedroom and bathroom should be large enough for wheelchair access (not one of those tiny office/optional bedroom dens) and preferably with large shower stall in bathroom instead of a tub + handle bars.  Whatever you install on 2nd or 3rd floor is exempt from these requirements.
—All bathrooms should ideally have a window that opens to outside.  Keeps the bathroom nice and dry with fresh air.
—For 3 bed properties, minimum 2 car (side to side) garage + 2 car drive way.  For 4 bedroom properties, minimum 2 car garage + 3 car drive way or 3 car garage + 2 car drive way.  For 5 bedroom properties, minimum 3 car garage + 3 car drive way, or 2 car garage + extended 4 car drive way.
—The yard should have gas, power, and water hook-ups.
—The kitchen should have a ventilation pipe for the range hood.
—Some “empty” space should be optimized for hide-away storage, or in-wall shelves.

I’d also like to see more duplex style homes built.  By duplex style I don’t mean actual duplex with 2 addresses, the home is considered one property and cannot be divided and sold as two.  A 3/2 + 2/2 or 1/1 would be nice.

momopi - 08 September 2008 09:06 AM

—For 3 bed properties, minimum 2 car (side to side) garage + 2 car drive way.  For 4 bedroom properties, minimum 2 car garage + 3 car drive way or 3 car garage + 2 car drive way.  For 5 bedroom properties, minimum 3 car garage + 3 car drive way, or 2 car garage + extended 4 car drive way.

I’m with you here. If the home doesn’t have room for the bigger garage… at least room for an additional spot in the driveway is welcome. For families, once the kids get old enough to drive, you don’t want to continually do the driveway shuffle, if you ever decide to rent your property, it would be good for multiple tenants and for parties… having the space in front of the house is perfect for parking, bounce house, outdoor eating setup… etc etc.

I’d also like to see more duplex style homes built.  By duplex style I don’t mean actual duplex with 2 addresses, the home is considered one property and cannot be divided and sold as two.  A 3/2 + 2/2 or 1/1 would be nice.

I’m not sure any builder in Irvine would do this for future projects. The closest we could get to that is the casita type houses. I would welcome live/work units but those are more suited for young professionals not urban multi-kid families.

irvine_home_owner - 08 September 2008 08:28 AM

Not being familiar with this forum or the members, do the builders/designers ever lurk to see what people are asking for?

Are you sure that you’re not a homebuilder who’s here trying to justify building those ugly over-sized homes where the master bathroom is bigger than most master bedrooms and walk in closets that are the size of a “family home” built in the ‘50s?

ABC123 - 08 September 2008 10:53 AM

irvine_home_owner - 08 September 2008 08:28 AM

Not being familiar with this forum or the members, do the builders/designers ever lurk to see what people are asking for?

Are you sure that you’re not a homebuilder who’s here trying to justify building those ugly over-sized homes where the master bathroom is bigger than most master bedrooms?

I wish… because I would fix that problem.

While I do agree that some masters are undersized compared to the bathrooms… it’s also nice to have a big master bathroom because parents with younger children actually spend a lot of time in that area depending on if that master tub is your primary “clean the dirty kids” area.

I wonder if builders ever do those group research studies like auto companies where they get several people together and ask them about designs. I would join one of those (I’ve done probably half a dozen car ones).

IrvineRealtor - 06 September 2008 04:22 PM

Keanu - 06 September 2008 10:39 AM

Girl In the OC - 05 September 2008 11:43 PM

IrvineRealtor - 05 September 2008 11:32 PM

PeterUK - 05 September 2008 09:22 PM

Trooper - 05 September 2008 08:24 PM

11. Separate room for the cat litter box.

12. Velodrome

13. Moat

14. Speedboat for the Moat

15.  A pair of white swans swimming in the Moat

16. A good recipe should 15 and 14 ever meet.

17. Sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads in the Moat