Hello IHBers, I am Cubic Zirconia.

One day while researching on the house that we wanted to put an offer on, I stumbled upon IHB, and then religiously followed every post by Irvine Renter. It gave me a good insight on the market condition then, and what to expect in the near future. We moved to Irvine in 2008 from Pasadena, and I have two daughters who go to Irvine schools in Tustin Unified. I have a Masters Degree in Architecture, and worked full-time creating cookie cutter retail stores (Longs Drug Stores mostly) while funding the dream of the cookie cutter house. I write also, thanks to the economy, I write more and design less these days. Real Estate for me is more about the location and schools than the floor plan and the size of the backyard.

Maricopa Tract at Stonegate

Location: On Sand Canyon Ave., between Jeffery and Irvine Blvd. is the Village of Stonegate.

Builder: Irvine Pacific Homes by the The Irvine Company.

Village of Stonegate consists of attached and detached neighborhoods. Here are the five neighborhoods offered:

1. Santa Clara – 1129 to 1322 SF

2. Santa Maria – 1386 to 1614 SF

3. San Mateo – 1636 to 1804 SF

4. San Marcos – 1824 to 2011 SF

5. Maricopa – 2262 to 2974 SF

The elementary, middle and high schools are under IUSD, with all API rank 10 schools and API scores above 900. They offer three floor plans, and a choice of three different elevations for each plan. The community is not gated.

Exploring the Homes at Maricopa (Community Overview):

The Homes at Maricopa are housed in Stonegate, and feature the largest floor plans.

None of the houses back to major streets. They offer three floor plans, and three elevation choices to each plan.

Pricing Sheet as of 1/6/12

All three floor plans offered have a bedroom/ den downstairs with an attached full bathroom, and at least three bedrooms upstairs. The ‘great room’ is also a constant, with ample windows to light up the rooms in natural daylight, doing complete justice to the Irvine weather.

Granite countertops and backsplash, stainless steel appliance and Kohler smart divide sinks, under cabinet lighting and recessed lighting are standards for all the kitchens, and they all feature an island. Except for the Plan 1, all of them have a sink in the kitchen island.

All bathrooms have white cultured marble countertops and Kohler sinks. The secondary bathrooms upstairs also have his and her sinks like the Master bathroom, making it easier for two kids to get ready at the same time. All the laundry rooms have a sink and cultured marble countertops with a six inch backsplash.

All the living rooms have crown moldings, recessed lights and multimedia ports. Also, upgrades have fireplaces, which I doubt will be used much in California weather, but nevertheless make lovely additions to the space.

It will be an ideal home for a family of four, with guests that would need the optional fourth bedroom. Teenage children and older parents come to my mind.

The distance to the elementary school is walk-able, but the middle school and high school are a little far, might not be an easy distance for most kids to bike or walk to school. A family with children in different schools might have to do some serious route planning, with the elementary school starting at 8.15am, middle school at 7.57am and high school at 8.00am.

The freeways 5, 405, 133 and 241 are all in close proximity.

Woodbury Town Center that has almost all the essential stores and services, including Hoag Health Center and LA fitness gym are within walking distance. Within five few miles would be Orchard Hills Village Center, Trabuco Grove Shopping Center, Irvine Spectrum Center and The Market Place. You can also bike to these places.

Here is a break up of Taxes and HOA, with Mello-Roos:

Property tax: 1.05% of sales price

AD tax (Mello-Roos): $2346 per yr

CFD tax(Mello-Roos): $1700 per yr

Other taxes: $156 per yr

Overall tax: 1.5% tax.

HOA due are $110 per month.

Fixed cost for any house in this neighborhood per month would be: Mortgage + Approximately $460 in Mello-Roos (Community Facilities Districts- CFD and Assessment Distrcits –AD) and HOA (Home Owners Association) +Property tax/12 (The current tax is 1.05% of the Sales Price).

Here is an overview of the three plans offered, with some pictures:

Plan 1:

Offers three elevations, in three different color palettes.

Area: 2262 Sq ft approximately

3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms

Den/ optional bedroom downstairs, and all the other bedrooms are upstairs.

These houses are offered at $786,400.

Fixed monthly cost of this house assuming the sale price of $786, 400 would be $1148 (Property tax + Mello-Roos + HOA).

As with all the houses, this house has a bedroom with a full size bath downstairs, and three bedrooms upstairs. The entry room is inviting, and uncluttered, with only a coat closet and entrances to the great room and optional den/bedroom. All the rooms are well lit, and the Great room has a wall of windows opening into the backyard.

Pros:

• Bedroom downstairs, with attached bathroom. Useful when parents visit, which most Asian parents do, and also for teenage/adult children needing privacy.
• Home management center is located between kitchen-laundry-garage, which makes it an ideal spot to dump the paperwork /bills/ keys and all the little things that need attention.
• The nice flow of area between living and dining. Even though it’s a Great Room, the plan is such that there is a visual break of spaces.
• Flow of unobstructed daylight throughout the house

Cons:

• Balcony in the secondary bedroom would be a problem if you have young children. (Plan 1C offers a balcony free option)
• Laundry is too far from the bedrooms, have to lug around the basket all the way to the other end of the kitchen. But if flooding occurs, it’s downstairs- wouldn’t damage much!
• Smaller backyard compared to the size of the house.
• Not a good sized closet; in a house this size, there should have been two- his and hers.

Here are a few pictures of the Plan 1 residence, taken from the model home.

Guest Bedroom:

Guest Bath:

This is the secondary bedroom upstairs. It’s a size suitable for one child, and has a balcony!

The kitchen with recessed lights and all stainless steel appliances, and island. The backsplash is lovely!

The living room with wide windows opening to the patio.

Den:

Downstairs Bathroom:

The Master bedroom, just big enough to house a queen bed and two oversized bedside drawers and a reading chair with a lamp on the other side. Ideally I would like to see a small retreat, or some extra space to make a his/her spot for some personal time.

Master Bath:

Plan 2:

Offers three elevations, in similar color palettes.

Area: 2577 Sq ft approximately

3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms

Den/ optional bedroom downstairs, and all the other bedrooms are upstairs.

These houses are offered between $866,400 to $872,927.

Fixed monthly cost of this house assuming the sale price of $866,400 would be $1218 (Property tax + Mello-Roos + HOA).

As you enter, you will see the standard den/optional bedroom on your left. The entry is a cluttered space with den, staircase, full size bathroom, garage and the great room opening into it. The Great room is rectangular, and as with other houses at Maricopa, has a wall of windows for light. The dining space is off the kitchen, and the kitchen island houses the sink and the dishwasher. The island is big enough to seat four people. The Home Management center is a part of the Dining space, and makes it a good place to work on homework. Laundry is upstairs, very conveniently located between the bedrooms. The master bath is very spacious, lot of natural lights, and location of the tub between his and her sinks increases privacy.

Pros:

• A bedroom downstairs is always desirable.
• The size of the Great room is in sync with the rest of the houses.
• The bedrooms upstairs are all close to each other, making it easier for people with young children.
• Laundry upstairs, between the bedrooms.
• Spacious Master bathroom.

Cons:

• Kitchen space planning- the dishwasher, when being loaded will obstruct cooking.
• Optional balconies both open through the secondary bedrooms again, and even though there is a balcony free option, I would love to see a balcony off of Master bedroom.
• Small closets, compared to the size of the bathroom. With some more planning, they could have played around with the space and created bigger closet, or his and her space.

Here are a few pictures of the Plan 2 residence, taken from the model home.

Master bedroom, again with space just enough for a Queen bed and two oversized bedside drawers, and a small reading space.

Walk-in Closet

The secondary bedroom is small, but I like the height of the window on the wall. With a twin bed and two bedside drawers, the lamp wouldn’t be obstructed with the window.

Third Bedroom

View of the Kitchen Island, which leaves me wondering, how would two people work together here, if one is cooking and one is doing the dishes? The dishwasher clearly obstructs the cook’s reach of pantry and refrigerator.

Kitchen Pantry

Well lit living room, and an obstructed view of the backyard.

Den

Plan 3:

Offers three elevations, in three different color palettes.

Area: 2974 Sq ft approximately

3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms

Den/ optional bedroom downstairs, and all the other bedrooms are upstairs.

Bonus Family Room/ Optional bedroom.

These houses are offered between $937,620 to $943,879.

Fixed monthly cost of this house assuming the sale price of $937,620 would be $1280 (Property tax + Mello-Roos + HOA).

This plan adds a bonus room with an option of a bedroom with the den/optional bedroom downstairs. The bonus room turned into another bedroom would clutter the upstairs, with a door to the bedroom facing you as soon as you climb up the stairs.

This model provides the option to turn the second bedroom into a retreat for the Master bedroom. A Master bedroom with a retreat would be a great option to have, giving ample space for the “masters” to have their own private space to make hobby space, or a small personal library, or even an office space to work from home. The Master bedroom planning is a little weird, the closets flank the room on both side as you enter, and the bathroom is on the other side of the room. It is also the first room from the staircase.

Pros:

• Option of the Master bedroom with a retreat will make the master suite spacious and give ample personal space.
• Optional retreat also enlarges “her” closet, bringing it to a desirable size.
• The bonus room serves as a great family room for the family to hang out, or even the kids to do homework, play their musical instruments, play video games and watch TV, or just play with their toys.
• The plan might work well for a couple with older children, with ample privacy to all residents.
• Walk-in pantry has well planned storage.

Cons:

• Optional fifth bedroom instead of the bonus room would cram the bedrooms, and hurt the spacious look of the house.
• Secondary bedroom has the balcony.
• Dishwasher between the stove and refrigerator.
• The huge great room that is one big rectangle, with a smaller rectangle of a dining space jutting out. Somehow not very inviting.
• The distance from entry room to the living room is long, with too many distractions- staircase, den/optional bedroom, bathroom, garage, laundry.

Here are a few pictures of the Plan 3 residence, taken from the model home.

The Secondary bedroom with a desk height window to help do homework in daylight.

The Bonus/ Optional bedroom.

Downstairs Bedroom

Guest Bath

Kitchen

The Living Room

The Master bedroom, again just big enough to house a Queen bed and two bedside drawers, a chair and lamp in the other corner.

Master Bath

Schools:

Here is a brief overview of the schools that will serve Maricopa at Stonegate.

Elementary School:

Stonegate Elementary (K-6)

100 Honors, Irvine CA 92620

API Rank 10, API Score 954

Cultural Diversity: 46% Asian, 31% White (Data from www.greatschools.org)

Median teacher experience is 15 years and the student to teacher ratio is 23:1

Distance from home: Approximately 0.5 miles.

For more information about the school : http://www.iusd.org/sg/

Middle School:

As of now, the Middle School would be Sierra Vista Middle School. But, 2012-2013 academic year will bring the changes. The new middle school, “Jeffery Trails” will open in September 2013, and accept students from the communities of Stonegate. It will be located at the corner of Jeffery and Trabuco. The distance would be approximately 2.5 miles. The “home to school” distance changes, but not greatly to the children in this community. Previously it was roughly 2.8-3.0 miles for Sierra Vista Middle School.

For more information on the new school : (http://www.iusd.org/district_services/facilities_planning_and_construction/documents/PA40MiddleSchoolsite.pdf)

Sierra Vista Middle School (7-8)

2 Liberty, Irvine CA 92620

API Rank 10, API Score 948

Cultural diversity: 47% Asian and 36% White (Data from www.greatschools.org)

Median teacher experience is 17 years and the student to teacher ratio is 29:1

Distance from home: Approximately 3 miles

For more information about the school : http://www.sierravistams.org/

High School:

Northwood High School

4515 Portola Parkway, Irvine CA 92620

API Rank 10, API Score 908

Cultural diversity: 45% Asian and 43% White (Data from www.greatschools.org)

Median teacher experience is 10 years and the student to teacher ratio is 23:1

SAT Scores for 2011: Math: 579 Reading: 640 Writing: 603

Graduation rate: 95%

Distance from home: Approximately 3 miles

For more information about the school : http://www.northwoodhigh.org/

Parks:

Meadowlark Park will be the primary park for the community, and it’s still under construction. It is a decent sized park, which would provide ample space for the children of the community to play, and also make up for the tiny backyard that comes with the house.

Personal observations:

While all three plans are spacious and luxurious, I find them a bit overpriced.

Location is everything. The homes are built such that they don’t back to major streets, and they are walk-able from the shopping center and park. Close proximity to the freeways is also a plus. But as a representative of a typical Irvine family with kids, I don’t think I would go to Trader Joes and come out with a bag light enough to walk with, and I don’t think I will be happy pulling the car out of the driveway, devising a quick route to drop kids to Middle school and High school opening within three minutes of each other (pick up will be another story!). So location doesn’t cut it for me.

My space planning complaints are limited to the remote laundry room in Plan 1, dishwasher disturbance in Plan 2 and Plan 3, “enter the closet” Master bedroom of Plan 3, and of course the balconies of the secondary bedroom. With a young child, I would be scared the curious mind would fall off the balcony. With an older child, I would be worried about uninvited visitors.

Home Management centers are great, away from the television, or even the living space providing private corner in the great room. Backyards are small, but the optional trellis makes it an interesting space to have a small gathering. The entrances are well defined, and not hidden somewhere in the back overpowered by the garage and driveway. There is enough space to personalize, put out some plants, or even a small bench with a few cushions.

My perfect blend would be the Plan 1 great room and living-dining spaces, a plain kitchen island, a small Home Management center close to garage, and the Plan 1 entry room double the size, Plan 2 extra Home Management center for homework purposes, walk in pantry, laundry room location, and the Plan 3 Master Suite with retreat, his and her closets close to the bathrooms, not at the bedroom entrance, with the plan 3 Bonus room.

Construction work is still going on in the neighborhood. There will be noise and dust, and visitors to the new houses. The next phase is planned for release around September. The landscaping work is in progress, so is the park. It might take a couple of years for the landscaping to mature and blend with the neighborhood. But that’s something everyone expects with a new house.

What is your favorite part about the homes at Maricopa, Stonegate?

What “con” did you notice? What would be your ideal blend of the three plans?

Do you agree with the proposed price tag?

Are you assuming that the HOA will remain low in the coming years?

Located off of Irvine Blvd and Groveland, the Village of Stonegate (Stonegate Overview PDF) offers 5 housing tracts: Santa Clara, Santa Maria, San Mateo, San Marcos and Maricopa. Their tagline is “intimate yet connected” and I think that’s an accurate portrayal of the area. It seems to be nestled in its own corner but has close access to Woodbury Town Center, Orchard Hills Village Center and is about 15 minutes from the Irvine Spectrum. The housing development is walking distance to Stonegate Elementary School and not far from Sierra Vista Middle School and Northwood High School. Much like the rest of Irvine, the Village of Stonegate is marked by convenience.

Since Santa Clara (Santa Clara Community Overview PDF) is the smallest of the 5 tracts, it’s ideal for singles and couples. The Santa Clara floor plans are referred to as “flats” which in my opinion is a euphemism for small. However, after viewing the models I think “flats” is an appropriate description and they did a nice job working with the space. The smallest of the 3 floor plans (All floor plans available here) is Residence 1, which is 1,129 square feet. In retrospect it’s not a lot of space, but somehow it feels roomy. I think it can be attributed to the idea of the “great room” which is heavily prominent throughout all three residences. The great room gives you the freedom to define your living space. I can appreciate the benefit of unrestricted design, and I think it’s a selling point.

Estimated property taxes and special assessments:

Base Property Tax: 1.05% of sales price

AD Tax: $1,350 per year

CFD Tax: $1,700 per year

Other Taxes: $156 per year

Overall Effective Tax Rate: Approximately 1.9%

The HOA dues are approximately $306 per month, which is comparable to other new developments. After looking at the well-manicured neighborhood, I think you’ll get your money’s worth.

Residence 1

Number of bedrooms: 1 bedroom + den

Number of bathrooms: 1.5

Square footage: 1,129 sq ft

Garage: 1 car

Base price: $339,300

I immediately liked walking through the door into Residence 1. It has a bit of an apartment ambiance to it, but on the flip side there are no stairs to contend with. It’s my feeling that the great room concept forces your furniture placement between the dining and living room spaces. You could comfortably fit a table that seats 6-8 people in the dining space. What I didn’t like about the dining space was that it was smack dab in the middle of a high foot traffic area. It literally borders the entry way. Some creative thinking might alleviate that quality, but I feel like it downgrades the overall attractiveness and makes it more comparable to apartment style living.

All the residences come with stainless steel appliances as part of the standard kitchen package. The kitchen counter space was workable, but it would’ve been nice to have at least another 1-2 feet of extra countertop. It isn’t a deal breaker. They’ve configured the kitchen countertops to accommodate 2 barstools facing the sink. There’s not a lot of space, but if you’re the grab and go diner, it won’t be an issue for you. I was impressed with the cabinet storage. I think having a designated pantry is a plus. However, the microwave is built into the pantry and sits at waist level. It’s the most awkward spot to put a microwave. It’s like the builders ran out of space and were forced to stick the microwave somewhere, so they built it into the pantry. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a conversation piece at best. Access to the one car garage is off the kitchen as well as a door masking the stackable washer and dryer (available as an upgrade).

The master bedroom is fairly decent sized. If you strategically configure your bedroom furniture, you could make it comfy and cozy. The bedroom has large windows, which limits wall space, but I’m willing to sacrifice the wall space for a little sunlight. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of wall space for your dresser and you can still mount your television.

The walk in closet is standard, but there were only bars and shelves on one side with a bunch of empty wall space. That’s an easy fix.

The master bathroom is unimpressive. It’s functional. It has the typical “hallway” feel. There’s a dual sink vanity, a shower/tub combo and the toilet is not separate from the main bath area. They made a valiant attempt to separate the toilet by pushing it back into a recessed corner. It’s disappointing that the shower isn’t separate from the tub. I’d expect to have that feature in newer developments.

Residence 1 advertises the floor plan as 1 bedroom + den. Do not consider turning the den into a bedroom. It won’t work. The space is too small, the closet isn’t functional, and the second bedroom would share a wall with the master bedroom—a big problem in my book. Here’s the kicker: the den (or second bedroom) is only separated from the dining room by wooden shutters. This made me say the big NO to this floor plan.

The wooden shutters give this space no privacy. Unless you’re living by yourself, there’s always going to be a noise factor. This room is sandwiched between the dining room and the master bedroom. I don’t like the idea of having the dinner table so close to the den. It didn’t feel right and I think it created a chasm in the flow of the house.

The guest bathroom has a very small vanity with no counter space. It’s a shower/tub combo. It’s very cookie cutter. This floor plan is advertised as a 1.5 bathroom flat and you definitely feel the .5 in this bathroom. It’s purely functional and lives up to its purpose.

Sorry Residence 1, but you’re off the list. If I’m going to pay $340,000+ for you, I want to feel like I’m living in more than just an apartment with an oddly placed microwave.

Residence 2

Number of bedrooms: 2 bedrooms

Number of bathrooms: 2

Square footage: 1,305 sq ft

Garage: 2 car

Base price: $415,300

Residence 2 was my favorite floor plan. When I walked through the door I immediately imagined myself coming home from work and walking up the staircase to the comforting view of my home. I LOVED the attractive, bright, open view of the entire space. I almost felt like I was home and upon first glance was ready for move in!

I was really impressed with the kitchen. It’s spacious, plenty of counter and cupboard space, and a nice island with extra storage. The island has a nice stainless steel sink, but you can upgrade to the double wide basin. The model displayed a small built in desk and bookshelf nook. It looks out of place because it feeds off the kitchen countertop. I’d rather nix the desk and have the extra cupboard and counter space. There is no full length pantry, but there’s ample space to store your dry goods.

The oversize windows in the living room are what make Residence 2 so inviting. As much as I enjoy the illuminating open concept look and feel of this floor plan, I didn’t like that there is no distinction between the living room and dining areas. This is the negative side to the great room concept. The buyer will have to get creative and define the space. Area rugs can work wonders, and so can well-placed furniture. If you do it right, you and your guests won’t even notice that it is one blended area.

Off the “dining room” is the patio. You can easily fit a table and four chairs out there with a small grill. I like that the patio is immediately off the dining area simply because if you are entertaining a large group of guests, you can open the sliding glass doors and instantly create a connection between the balcony table and the dining room table.

For me, one of the biggest selling points was the bedroom layouts. The bedrooms are on OPPOSITE sides of the house. This is a huge plus. It’s great for privacy. The second bedroom is not very large, but it’s doable. It’s ideal for a roommate situation, or can be used as a child’s bedroom.

The second bedroom has an ensuite. Granted, it’s a small bathroom, but it’s fully equipped with a shower/tub combo. The vanity has very little counter space, which is a buzz kill for me. If it’s a kid’s room it probably wouldn’t be a problem. On the whole, this bedroom received a passing grade. The only issue with having an ensuite in both bedrooms is the lack of a guest bathroom. Someone in the house will have to keep their bathroom and bedroom clean when guests come over.

The master bedroom is an adequate size and is built to accommodate the typical bedroom furniture setup. The walk in closet is nothing special.

The most depressing and disappointing feature about the master bedroom was that there is no tub in the ensuite. It was nearly perfect: walk-in shower, dual sink vanity, toilet located in a separate room. No tub. Major bummer. I would’ve at least built a shower/tub combo, and the design center might allow the original homeowners to have that option. There is no excuse for not including a tub in the master ensuite.

When looking at the big picture, Residence 2 is a house I’d consider buying. My word of caution is to really determine which upgrades you’d like to invest in. I really loved this house, but the model has the bells and whistles and I had to stop and consider how much extra money I’d have to pump into this place. If all the upgrades are pushing me into the $430s-$450s, I’m going to buy somewhere else. Because this is an open space floor plan, I’d recommend getting hardwood floors. Unless you upgrade the floors, you’ll have a house full of carpet with vinyl in the “wet” areas. I’d also take advantage of the opportunity to upgrade to recessed lighting and crown moulding. Any blinds, shades or shutters in the model are not included in the home, and I think if I was buying the house I’d have them install those features.

Residence 3

Number of bedrooms: 2 bedrooms

Number of bathrooms: 2

Square footage: 1,322 sq ft

Garage: 2 car

Base price: $400,300

Residence 3 was very bland in my opinion. Your living space is upstairs, with access to the garage immediately off the entry way. The top of the stairs brings you immediately into the kitchen with a view of the great room. While it feels like the floor plan is an open concept, there is a wall that sections off the kitchen from the living room. After visiting Residence 2, I wasn’t partial to having an enclosed space. It made the home seem darker to me.

The kitchen is lackluster. Don’t get me wrong—it’s sufficient, but there’s no island and not as much counter space as I’d like to have. There’s definitely enough storage. A couple of the cabinets are high and may require a step stool, but there’s also low storage to help keep frequently used items easy to reach.

The living room and dining room had more of a distinction than Residences 1 and 2. There was a big enough space between the two areas where I could visualize the separation. I didn’t see an issue with the sizes of the living room/dining room areas. I think they both offer enough space. In the model, they built this strange dining room table contraption and I wasn’t quite sure if I liked it. Built into the wall was a set of recessed bookshelves, and jutting out from the bookshelves was a matching table with coordinating bookshelves on the end caps. It was like a Murphy bed—but a dining room table/storage eyesore. It was the most curious piece of furniture I’ve ever seen! That would be the first thing I’d get rid of. Don’t build that in my house!

The second bedroom was cookie cutter tiny. It’s funny how they always showcase the second bedroom as a nursery! The closet follows suit—unsuitable for an adult occupant.

The guest, or 2nd bathroom has the single sink vanity with 1 cabinet and two drawer storage, with modest counter space. It has a tub/shower combo and the toilet is positioned next to the vanity. Honestly, I don’t want to be overly critical with the second bathroom because it serves its purpose and if you upgrade and get the backsplash you could make it look nice.

The master bedroom received a passing grade. It is large enough for a King bed, a couple of nightstands and dressers, and perhaps a chair if you position things well. It was very bright and had small windows flanking each side of the bed. I liked it.

The master bathroom on the other hand has a narrow, “hallway” type of feel. It has a very large stand-alone shower, but no tub. I’m getting used to disappointment. The vanity is the same as the rest of the floor plans—his and her sinks with ample storage. The bathroom has a decent size walk-in closet. I could really do some damage filling it up. In this particular closet I think I would invest in the upgraded organizer and put the optional mirror on the door. I think there’s enough space to merit investing in these features.

There are a couple of other noteworthy features that I’d like to mention.

• The two car garage contains a big cut out under the stairway for designated storage space. It adds a big plus to the functionality of the home. You can also opt to have the overhead cabinet organizer installed.
• The second point is the balcony. The balcony is wonderful. It’s narrow, but spans the length of the great room. You could get several chairs out there, maybe a few bistro tables and a grill. I imagined myself reading a book out there during the summer.

If I had to sum up the space, I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars. It’s big enough for a single gal like me. I’d turn the second bedroom into my office. I’d grin and bear it while taking a bath in the guest bathroom tub. Since I don’t spend too much time in the kitchen, I’d look past its dullness. A few key decorating pieces would spice it up. I’d be happy here.

Happiness aside, I will say that the price tag is fairly hefty for this size property. The average price for this floor plan will start around $403,040 for approximately 1,322 square feet. I’m not willing to part with my pennies for this place.

Pricing Sheet as of December 20, 2011

Standard and Upgrade Options

Calculator for Plan 3

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed touring the Santa Clara tract. It taught me that I could live with an open space flat concept. It also taught me that I would have to compromise on having a tub in the master ensuite. As I think about the homes, and think about the upgrades that I’d have to invest in, I worry that I’m not getting the best bang for my buck. I would definitely live in Residence 2, but it needs the upgrades and that can get expensive. Let’s just say that after reviewing Santa Clara, I’m keeping my options open.