Prior to today, I had never been in the West Irvine community at all. I hadn’t driven down the streets or gone into any of the homes. I decided to take a look and was somewhat surprised by what I found. The biggest surprise was a lack of HOA, since every other new community in Irvine has a community pool and other amenities typical of a homeowner’s association. Also, the area felt a little cramped, like the houses were too close to the street or too close to each other. It just didn’t feel as open as many of the other neighborhoods in Irvine.

On the bright side, I did like the house itself – 9 Carriage Drive.

The basics:

Asking Price: $749,000

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2.5

Square Footage: 2,237

Lot Size: 3,740

$/Sq Ft: $335

Property Type: Single Family Home

Year Built: 1999

Community: West Irvine

There are no HOA dues but there are Mello Roos taxes.

Downstairs, there are dark hardwood floors in the living/dining room and family room. The kitchen has tile floors. The home doesn’t have an entryway or foyer; rather, you enter directly into the living room. It has big windows and crown molding. It flows directly into the dining room without any break between the two. As you walk toward the back of the house, you pass the stairs and a small half bath before entering the family room, which has a fireplace and big windows facing the backyard. The walls are painted mustard yellow, which doesn’t go well with the bricks in the fireplace, but that can easily be changed.

The kitchen has a small eat-in area and an island, plus doors to the backyard. There are tile floor and tile countertops, white appliances, and maple cupboards. There is plenty of counter and cabinet space, plus a huge walk-in pantry just off the kitchen. The laundry room is also off the kitchen; you pass through it to get to the garage. It is a fairly small space without a sink or counters

The backyard is pretty small and mostly hardscaped. There are some plants and flowers but they are currently overgrown and need to be tended. It has the potential to be very attractive if cared for properly.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms. The master is on the right and the other three are on the left. Two of the three secondary bedrooms are a good size with small walk-in closets. The third is a little smaller and has a sliding door closet. None of them have any special features. They share a bathroom with two sinks and a shower/tub combo. There is also a huge walk-in linen/storage closet in the upstairs hallway.

The master is a pretty big room with two windows facing the backyard. It doesn’t have a retreat, but one corner seems big enough to put in a comfy chair or a small desk. The bathroom features two sinks and a separate tub and shower. There is also a very large walk-in closet.

Overall, there is nothing particularly special about this house. However, it is well-maintained and needs very little work (probably just interior paint and tending the backyard). The rooms are well-sized and the layout is nice. The lot is fairly small, but otherwise, it’s a great move-in ready home.

Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

Today I visited 12 Crosskey, a five bedroom home with two bonus rooms, both additions to the original house.

The basics:

Asking Price: $959,000

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 3

Square Footage: 3,100

Lot Size: 4,550

$/Sq Ft: $309

Property Type: Single Family Home

Year Built: 1977

Community: Woodcrest

This home has no HOA dues and no Mello Ross Tax.

The house is in great condition, with many recent upgrades, including new wood floors downstairs and new carpet upstairs, new vinyl windows, and new tile floors and showers in the bathrooms. Other upgrades include new mirrored closet doors, recessed lighting, new fixtures, and a new wood patio.

The first rooms I saw when I walked into the house were the living room and dining room, both on the left. Oddly, the living room still had furniture in it, though the rest of the house is completely vacant. It is nice and bright, with an attractive fireplace and high ceiling. The living room is two steps down from the hallway and one step below the dining room, so there are several different levels within the downstairs of the home.

Continuing down the hallway, I passed a large, wide staircase and entered the great room – a family room and a fully remodeled kitchen. The great room is very spacious, with a fireplace in one corner, a bay window in the breakfast nook and pretty wood floors. It has a walk-in bar and an open storage area under the stairs.

The kitchen has brand new stainless steel appliances (no fridge), new granite countertops, maple cabinets, and a large breakfast bar with bookshelves on one side. It’s a fairly small kitchen in terms of floor space, but it does seem to have ample counter and cabinet space, including a pantry.

A bonus room was added on downstairs, behind the dining room. It’s a triangular shaped room, fairly narrow at one end, with doors to close it off from the dining room if desired. It also has sliding doors to the backyard. This would make a great playroom for little kids and could also be used as an office or exercise room. Its size, shape and lack of closet wouldn’t make it ideal for a bedroom.

There is also a full bedroom downstairs with mirrored closets and a ceiling fan. The full bath downstairs has two sinks and a shower.

Upstairs, I found three more secondary bedrooms. Each has mirrored closets and they share a bathroom featuring two sinks and a tub/shower combo. One has a ceiling fan. They are average size and don’t have any special details.

The master bedroom is a big room with a ceiling fan and high ceilings. Two tall, narrow windows overlook the backyard. It has two cedar-lined walk-in closets, providing ample storage and a nice aroma. Past the closets is a remodeled bathroom, with a separate tub and shower and two sinks. The floors and shower are beautifully retiled and all of the fixtures are new. The cabinets appear to be original but are in good condition.

The other addition to the house is upstairs through the master bedroom. It is approximately the same size as all of the secondary bedrooms but it lacks a closet. Because it is only accessible through the master bedroom, it somewhat limits what you would use it for, but it would make a nice office, exercise room, or private sitting room. It’s a nice extra space to have.

The home’s biggest downfall is a fairly small backyard, partly due to the downstairs bonus room. However, it does still have a grassy area, a patio, and a fenced-in spa.

I like this house a lot. It is at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac and all of the upgrades are attractive and well done. There is plenty of living space for a large family and it has a three car garage. The house has only been on the market for about a week and I imagine it will sell fairly quickly.

Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

For several weeks, I have seen numerous open house signs around Northwood pointing to 7 Windsor. The signs really stood out, so today, I decided to see what all the fuss is about. Nestled at the end of a cul-de-sac in the Northwood Meadows neighborhood (across from Brywood Elementary), I found a move-in ready home.

The basics:

Asking Price: $849,000

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2.5

Square Footage: 2,411

Lot Size: 6,392

$/Sq Ft: $352

Property Type: Single Family Home

Year Built: 1982

Community: Northwood Meadows

This home has no HOA dues and no Mello Roos Tax.

Over the past few years, the owners have made significant upgrades to the home, including new interior and exterior paint, wood floors, carpet, granite countertops, and recessed lights and refurbished cabinetry in the kitchen. The house has a new roof and garage door, the large backyard pool was replastered, and there is new pool equipment. The windows have not been replaced and the bathrooms, while well maintained, have not been remodeled.

I entered the home in the living room and saw the dining room behind it. Both have vaulted ceilings and neutral carpet, and the dining room has space for a very big table.

The refurbished cabinets and granite countertops give the kitchen a more modern look, and the breakfast nook is a nice touch. There is ample counter space and a large pantry. While the kitchen has older, white appliances, the sellers are offering a $5,000 credit towards new appliances or a $5,000 reduction in price.

The family room is next to the kitchen, with hidden mounting for a 60” flat screen TV. Otherwise, it is a pretty generic room. Off a small downstairs hallway, there is a half bath and a laundry room.

The backyard is the highlight of the home. With a large pool and spa, plus a huge patio area, there is plenty of space to entertain or relax. The patio cover creates a great deal of both privacy and shade. A sloped area in the back provides space for a garden.

At the top of the stairs, I found the master bedroom. Like the downstairs, there is nothing special about this room, but it is in good condition and the newer carpet gives it a fresher feel. It has both a 3-door mirrored closet and a walk-in closet. The bathroom features an oval tub and a separate shower, plus a long vanity with separate sinks and a makeup area in the middle.

Two of the secondary bedrooms are pretty small, with the third one being average in size. All three have mirrored closets. They share a bathroom with just one sink and a shower/tub combo.

Outside the master bedroom, there is an open area currently housing an upright piano and a small bench. This area could also be used as an office, with space for a small desk.

Overall, 7 Windsor is a nice home on a larger-than-average lot for the Northwood area. While the house doesn’t have any special features and feels very generic, it is in good condition with many recent upgrades. It has been on the market for about 110 days and they are doing open houses every week, leading me to believe they are very eager to sell. The realtor even suggested an additional $10,000 price reduction for a buyer who isn’t using their own realtor. I felt the house seemed somewhat overpriced and, after finding a lower price per square foot on recent sales and other listings in the area, those feelings were confirmed. The right buyer should be able to negotiate a great deal on this home.

Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

Last week, I reviewed 8 Brena, an older home in Northwood that was converted to a six bedroom house. This week, I saw 22 Maywood, a newer home in Northpark that was also converted to six bedrooms (originally it was five plus a bonus room).

The basics:

Asking Price: $1,150,000

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 4

Square Footage: 3,220

Lot Size: 6,068

$/Sq Ft: $357

Property Type: Single Family Home

Year Built: 2000

Community: Northpark

HOA dues are $156 per month and it has Mello Roos.

22 Maywood has all of the beautiful touches of a new home that older homes lack: crown molding, numerous windows in every room, rounded edges on the walls, arched doorways, higher ceilings, and just generally the feeling of being newer and nicer.

The home has a large entryway with high ceilings and a gorgeous, espresso-colored staircase. To the right is a big room with white built-ins along one wall that really could be used for anything. It would work as a formal living room, an office, a casual sitting room, or a playroom. It doesn’t have doors or a closet, so it can’t be a bedroom. To the left of the entryway is the dining room. The current owners have a fairly narrow table and chairs with seating for six, so it’s a little hard to tell whether or not you could easily fit a table that seats eight to twelve guests.

The kitchen is through the dining room. As in most new homes, it is part of a large great room and features lots of cabinet and counter space, a big island, and stainless steel appliances. The side-by-side refrigerator is huge. The island connects to a built-in granite-topped dining table with seating for four or five. It flows into a family room with one wall covered in white built-in cupboards and another wall featuring a white fireplace. All rooms downstairs have dark hardwood floors that provide a nice contrast to the white cabinets and white wood blinds on the windows.

The backyard features a wooden deck with a built-in bench and a raised area that houses a table and a built-in barbecue. The raised area is partially covered by a pergola. There is also a small grassy portion surrounded by plants and flowers.

The last room downstairs is a small bedroom, currently being used as an office.

The stairs split into two directions at the top, with a bonus room to one side and the rest of the rooms to the other. The bonus has been converted to a bedroom, with the addition of a closet and blinds on the three windows that look to the inside of the home (it also has windows to the outside). Because it was originally a bonus room, it is much larger than the other bedrooms.

There are three additional bedrooms upstairs. Two are connected by a Jack and Jill style bathroom with two sinks and a shower/tub combo. One of these rooms is fairly small, but the other is a good size, as is the last upstairs bedroom. There is an additional full bath upstairs used by the other rooms. All of the bedrooms have standard sliding door closets.

The master has a retreat when you first walk in, with the bedroom area to the left and the bathroom and closet to the right. There is a fireplace between the retreat and the bedroom. Because of its location, I would be more likely to use the retreat as a sitting area than an office or an exercise room, but it is big enough to work as any of these. The current owners actually have a twin bed and large TV in there. The bedroom is on the smaller side, as far as master bedrooms go, and there isn’t really a lot of room for much furniture besides the bed and nightstands. The walk-in closet is big though and has room for a dresser or two.

The master bath features separate sinks, a large tub and separate shower, plus a vanity area. The tub is really pretty, with a dark bamboo-style siding and step. The only thing I dislike about it is how close the shower is to the retreat; I always prefer more separation between the bedroom and the bathroom.

In general, this home is exquisite. There is very little to dislike about it, as everything is superbly maintained, well designed, and really beautiful. When comparing it to 8 Brena, everything about 22 Maywood is newer and nicer. Nothing about this home needs updating or remodeling, and nothing about it felt tired or old. This house is about 200 square feet bigger and the lot is 1000 square feet bigger. Northpark is a gated community whereas Woodside, where 8 Brena is located, is not. For some, this may be a bonus; for others, it might not matter. While 8 Brena has a lower asking price, the quality of the home definitely reflects the difference. 8 Brena does have two things in its favor: a lack of Mello Roos tax and an address in the Irvine Unified School District. Otherwise, 22 Maywood wins hands down.

Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

It is rare to come across a six bedroom home under $1,000,000, but I found one today at 8 Brena. While the house originally had four bedrooms and a bonus room, the bonus was converted into two additional bedrooms. Having been in the original floor plan numerous times, I was excited to see how this one was changed.

The basics:

Asking Price: $949,900

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 4

Square Footage: 2,955

Lot Size: 5,000

$/Sq Ft: $321

Property Type: Single Family Home

Year Built: 1978

Community: Northwood, Woodside

HOA dues are $97 per month and there are no Mello Roos.

Upon entering, the living room is to the right and the dining room to the left. Both are pretty standard for a late 70’s home. They are nice rooms, but don’t really have anything remarkable about them. The kitchen is through the dining room and has been nicely remodeled. There are granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, updated cabinets and a newer tile floor. While the kitchen doesn’t have a built-in island, the current owners have a free standing butcher block in the center of the kitchen to provide extra counter and storage space. It makes a nice addition. The kitchen also has a breakfast nook surrounded by windows that look out to the backyard.

The yard is fully hardscaped, but is a good size and has a gate out to the greenbelt. The home is located just steps from the bridge that connects to the Hicks Canyon trail.

Also downstairs is a pretty family room with hardwood floors. A bar area was converted to an office space, which is much more functional and modern. Beyond the family room is a downstairs bedroom. This one is on the smaller side and rather dark, as it only has one small window facing the house next door. The closet doors have been removed and replaced with large, dark, heavy curtains. There is a full bath across from the room, but it hasn’t been updated.

Upstairs there are five rooms. One room currently doesn’t have a closet or doors to the hallway (curtains separate the room from the hall), but it could easily be converted back to a standard bedroom. While there used to be a full bathroom off the hallway, it has been converted so it’s now inside one of the bedrooms. While it’s nice to have another en suite bathroom, I like to have at least one bathroom accessible from the hallway. Again, this bathroom has not been updated. The room it’s attached to is good size with a ceiling fan and mirrored closet.

As I mentioned earlier, the bonus room was converted into two additional bedrooms with a Jack and Jill bathroom. Both bedrooms are a good size, with mirrored closets, high ceilings, and a lofted storage space. The connecting bathroom has two separate pedestal sinks and, while it’s newer than the other bathrooms in the house, it still seems old and in need of updating.

The last room upstairs is the master bedroom. It has a fireplace and a gorgeous view of the greenbelt and Hicks Canyon trail. It has two large mirrored closets, two sinks, and a separate tub and shower. The bathroom has not been remodeled.

The carpets upstairs had many visible stains and dark spots, with the exception of the master bedroom, where the carpet was newer. That, along with the older bathrooms, gives the house a bit of a tired feel. While the kitchen and family room are both nicely redone, the other rooms don’t match up. However, though it could be nicer, it certainly can be lived in and a family could move in today without making any of the changes.

I don’t think it’s as nice inside as the other two homes of the same model that have recently sold (23 Alegria for $850,000 last month and 31 Abeto for $912,000 in early 2011). The asking price of $949,900 is too high. This home does have one more bathroom than the others, and two additional bedrooms instead of a bonus room, but it needs more work than the others, which both had fully remodeled bathrooms and newer floors and carpet throughout. Overall, it’s a great floor plan and would be a wonderful home for a large family, but the price needs to come down so the extra money can be put into new carpet and remodeling all four bathrooms. I’m very curious to see what this one sells for as compared to the other two.

Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.