Your little piece of Downton Abbey in SoCal....

I need to remember that these houses go for $4M-$5M, so yeah. I'm guessing the owners haven't touched a cleaning rag since, well, maybe never.

Rough-hewn wood, rough masonry surfaces, stuff like that: if you don't keep it clean, you'll never be able to get it clean later on.

Also, in my area, a lot of these so-called luxury homes are a lot of lipstick, but mostly pig. Granite countertops on top of pressboard cabinetry. OSB throughout. And the biggest issue is that they knock down an old house, do all the grading work, then immediately pour the new foundation. Within a year, doors don't close, cupboards don't line up, cracks start appearing between the rooms... the whole thing starts settling unevenly. Then the first earthquake comes....


A friend of mine who used to by the city fire chief said that when one of these catches fire, as soon as they make sure everyone is out, they won't go back in. Once the OSB starts to burn, it turns to mush.

At least these are fire sprinklered - mandated after the fire that swept through here a few years ago.

quote:

And the biggest issue is that they knock down an old house, do all the grading work, then immediately pour the new foundation. Within a year, doors don't close, cupboards don't line up, cracks start appearing between the rooms...

Early in our house-hunting, we considered a place in a develop that is building new houses as people buy the lots. Mr. SK was quite keen on that (partly because of cultural preferences, Japanese people pretty much don't buy previously lived in houses, they buy land and get a house built on it). Before we even got to the point of realizing how much more expensive it would be, I talked about this point that PJ makes here.

With older homes, you can anticipate certain maintenance issues, but you know that the big problems, if there were any, would already have shown themselves. When we've had workers in our new (to us) house, they always mention what a solid house it is, good bones, all that.

Back to the houses SM posted... yes to all the comments about cleaning and impracticality of the design.

And again (like I said in my first post in this thread), the decor means you can't bring in your own style, your own things. And as Nina said, you can't change things up either.

I think this kind of decor is neat and I'd enjoy staying in a hotel like this. But for my own home? No, thank you.

interesting.

Not my thing though. So many beautiful homes but they seem sterile to me. I like more warmth and personality.

I guess that is why I live in old N E.

quote:

Originally posted by LL:
interesting.

Not my thing though. So many beautiful homes but they seem sterile to me. I like more warmth and personality.

I guess that is why I live in old N E.

Where did the rest of my post go? Grr... too tired to try again.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
the decor means you can't bring in your own style, your own things. And as Nina said, you can't change things up either.

One thing to know is the the normal production houses won't look much like these models at all except for the layout. They'll have plain white walls and the whole yard will be dirt - no pools. You'll probably get the countertops and some kind of tile in the bathrooms but not much else unless you buy the options.

quote:

unless you buy the options

Yep, and that's when the expenses really start to kick in!

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

quote:

unless you buy the options

Yep, and that's when the expenses really start to kick in!

Oh... did y'all want the stairs to get the second floor?

Let me price that out for ya...

quote:

Originally posted by LL:
interesting.

Not my thing though. So many beautiful homes but they seem sterile to me. I like more warmth and personality.

I guess that is why I live in old N E.

+1

AND if I had that much money to spend it would NOT be on a tract home but a custom one, just sayin.

quote:

Originally posted by LL:
interesting.

Not my thing though. So many beautiful homes but they seem sterile to me. I like more warmth and personality.

I guess that is why I live in old N E.

You wouldn’t like the floors either. Nearly all laminate with a little carpet and a little stone. No hardwood.

Might be a regional thing.