Fountain hills insanity

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Comparing a 2000 sq ft house to a 3200 sq ft one isn’t really fair. Of course it’s more spacious. The high ceilings are nice though. The house needs a lot of updating and even then will it be anything interesting? I don’t see it. It’s like a big, giant Ford Taurus of a house.

The last house you linked was decent. I looked on Google maps and the neighborhood seems to be well taken care of. But everything about it was basic. That's how they built them back then. I guess I didn't see anything interesting about the interior or exterior. It's a typical Phoenix area older basic rambler. They jazzed up the kitchen and opened up windows so you don't get that typical closed in feeling. That's pretty much it.

Still, the kitchen is isolated from the living room. Their solution was to put a massive glass door to a patio area. With newer layouts, they would never isolate the kitchen from the living room. That would be a show-stopper for me even if I tried talking myself into living in that area. I guess want architects and developers who ratchet it up several levels. It's always about trade-offs.

I assume most homes in the Gilbert hoods at that price point are big box homes. They need to stone around the fireplace (real stone please), swap out the floor with travertine, update the cupboard fronts, and spend a lot more on their lights (including uplighting etc). That alone will take it up a few levels. They could add some faux beams (do it right or don't do it at all).

What bothers me most are all of those wood railings. While the house was built in 2002, it screams 1985. All in, $50K or less would make it livable. But you need to start out with the good looking exterior and a solid floor plan.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

I'm all about character and older. You cannot recreate that feel. IMHO, I've never met a home that I liked from 1950-1975. Here is a decent looking home already dated. It was built in 2002 in Gilbert and I doubt it was touched. See https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-12249#photo27 . Again, not exactly my cup of tea, but it has higher ceilings and a much better flow. To my eye, it beats it by a mile. I'd have to bulldoze down the other two in order to live in it 20 out of 24 hours a day as I work out of the home.

Kind of a bad example considering it's a 2-story which aren't in high demand here and also a much lower price per square foot than Detroit posted. Here's a house in Chandler which is closer to Detroit's $/perSF and is new construction and actually has interesting/unique features. The people buying this TRACT house for $825K could afford many properties in Central Phoenix so it's a more apples to apples comparison. Granted this house is overpriced IMO (smaller lot, tract construction on the edge of SE Chandler, not in the more central part of Chandler).

The house has many unique features such as the disappearing wall of glass, the private entry courtyard and more importantly has things that families look for such as split floorplan, bonus space, etc. IMO this property blows away anything Detroit has posted. It is a bit over the top but there are several floorplans in this subdivision with many of the same options, as I showed another house in this neighborhood to a friend last year. The newer floorplans are certainly more interesting and fuctional than the stuff from 60 years ago.

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Chandler/5.../home/95463461

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by asufan

Kind of a bad example considering it's a 2-story which aren't in high demand here and also a much lower price per square foot than Detroit posted. Here's a house in Chandler which is closer to Detroit's $/perSF and is new construction and actually has interesting/unique features. The people buying this TRACT house for $825K could afford many properties in Central Phoenix so it's a more apples to apples comparison. Granted this house is overpriced IMO (smaller lot, tract construction on the edge of SE Chandler, not in the more central part of Chandler).

The house has many unique features such as the disappearing wall of glass, the private entry courtyard and more importantly has things that families look for such as split floorplan, bonus space, etc. IMO this property blows away anything Detroit has posted. It is a bit over the top but there are several floorplans in this subdivision with many of the same options, as I showed another house in this neighborhood to a friend last year. The newer floorplans are certainly more interesting and fuctional than the stuff from 60 years ago.

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Chandler/5.../home/95463461

That’s a cool house! Some of the finishes are a bit much, but nice nonetheless. The location isn’t great, so the buyer is one that will value square footage and layout over location and charm. There are buyers in each bucket, so these houses will sell. Personally, I’d sacrifice square footage for location. The second one I posted went under contract today, in only a week. Those Coronado add-ons/remodels are red hot right now, despite the old house quirks.

Here are some interesting alternatives but a more ideal location. I’d prefer one of these for that reason alone.

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/41.../home/56303836

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/33.../home/28180486

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/28.../home/27214367

[asufan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

That’s a cool house! Some of the finishes are a bit much, but nice nonetheless. The location isn’t great, so the buyer is one that will value square footage and layout over location and charm. There are buyers in each bucket, so these houses will sell. Personally, I’d sacrifice square footage for location. The second one I posted went under contract today, in only a week. Those Coronado add-ons/remodels are red hot right now, despite the old house quirks.

Here are some interesting alternatives but a more ideal location. I’d prefer one of these for that reason alone.

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/41.../home/56303836

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/33.../home/28180486

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/28.../home/27214367

Yes the location is the reason I think it's overpriced. But it is a quarter mile to a golf course and under a mile from some nice restaurants like the Creole Cajun Bistro, Toscany's Italian/Brick Oven Pizza, Hong Kong Bistro and Wild Vine Uncorked. I figure they are like me and like to cook out a couple times a week and don't eat out all the time (I saw the outdoor kitchen and big green egg )

But you're right, people in this area typically have kids and are more concerned with more space and amenities for the kids and aren't looking for a more minimalistic lifestyle

[raimeiken]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Here's a little bit of a different take on a similar style. You guys may still hate it, but I think they did a great job with the design.

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/13.../home/28289645

pretty nice. I'm a sucker for exposed bricks

[raimeiken]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

I'm all about character and older. You cannot recreate that feel. IMHO, I've never met a home that I liked from 1950-1975. Here is a decent looking home already dated. It was built in 2002 in Gilbert and I doubt it was touched. See https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-12249#photo27 . Again, not exactly my cup of tea, but it has higher ceilings and a much better flow. To my eye, it beats it by a mile. I'd have to bulldoze down the other two in order to live in it 20 out of 24 hours a day as I work out of the home.

the front exterior layout is pretty interesting, but that's where it ends for me. Everything else, stucco, boring drywall inside, with all the nooks and shelves to me says no character. Most homes built here try to be like this and it's boring and stuffy feeling.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by raimeiken

the front exterior layout is pretty interesting, but that's where it ends for me. Everything else, stucco, boring drywall inside, with all the nooks and shelves to me says no character. Most homes built here try to be like this and it's boring and stuffy feeling.

I'm with you on the part of boring. For me, it's the cultured marble and sheet rock knockdown from head to toe. Also, the small builder package lights used in a massive room speaks of buying a house that they could not afford. You can easily change all of that. That's what I had in my place before I took it up a few levels. We stoned the ugly 14 foot tall sheet rock fireplace and added a rugged wood custom mantle. Pulled a lot of carpet out of the rooms and used hand scribed engineered wood floors, etc. But at least they upgraded to the tall raised panel doors and taller baseboards. Those two items make a world of difference in a big open floor plan. We went to the Tile Shop in Scottsdale to get ideas to jazz-up the nooks, switched out some of the cultured marble to granite and the basic bathroom mirrors etc. But the bulk of the $$'s were put in the back yard in an era where people were starving for work. i.e., Labor to repaint the entire interior in 2011 was $1700 ($800 for the best paint). I paid $4 a square foot for labor to stone my fireplace which is a crazy good price; and she was talented. I digress....

I'm not so sure I'd call that open floor plan "stuffy". Some would consider it too cold and not cozy.

One thing I dislike about that house in the link was the 12"x12" granite pieces used for a kitchen their counter top. It seems that is what they did. It's a DIY technique versus using a full slap piece of granite. Not for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i55wemG0qJc.