You are correct, it’s not worth it. I can show you examples of why it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 20% to 25% over what it should be but I also know why people are buying them. Piggington women, please ignore the following sexist comments, this does not apply to you:
This is not an entry level neighborhood and it’s not a neighborhood of single people (I am still the only single person I’ve met in my neighborhood). People don’t buy 3,000 sq foot homes in quiet subdivisions to live alone for the most part. So that means most buyers are couples and most couples contain at least one woman. Model homes do something to most women, it’s somewhere between catnip and heroin. They are wired to not see square feet, they see nice decorations and furnishings and colors. They aren’t buying a home, they are buying someone else’s life. Throw in the fact that most husbands are below average in home repair and projects, so when she sees a screwed up repo, she’s been with him 20 years, she knows he won’t be able to fix those things. Similar thoughts go through peoples heads when buying new cars with a warranty.
regardless of the mud slung so far in the thread and regardless if it’s cheap by San Diego standards, this is one of the most expensive and/or prestigious neighborhoods in the area. The demographic usually is the type that pay other people to do installation and repairs. they are also usually busy and have kids and the guys have jobs. So the women know their man isn’t going to spend a month repainting and repairing and upgrading everything to what they see in the model homes. They want to pick out their flooring and upgrades, move in over a weekend and be done with it. Convenience costs money, people with money don’t mind paying for it.
So who are you, how much do you care and what is your life like, what is your wife like and what is your skill level and what is her skill level. Many couples are great at it, lots of wives can remodel their own house, paint their own house, rebuild the sprinkler system. I just don’t see that being the typical Morgan Hill wife. Not to knock them, they are great, but that’s not who they are for the most part. I took advantage of that, the more screwed up a place is here, the better it is for price because most buyers want turnkey properties. I put in 1200 sq feet of hardwood by myself (took me two months, but I did it). I had to sweat pipes, replace every fixture, light switch, door knob, closet door, replace drywall, appliances, clear water from gaslines, replace toilets, sinks, shower controls, you name it, they stole it. Most women walked out of my house with a look on their face as if there were dead bodies strewn about the house.
So be honest, who are you and who are you married to. If it costs you 75k to make the wife happy, then pay it, that is a bargain compared to a divorce.
But if she’s the type that watches the do it yourself shows instead of the reality or fantasy shows, and you are good at it, but a screwed up repo or a designer disaster of a resale and take on the project. It’s about you and not the numbers at this point. Are you Nordstrom or home depot?
Now here is 4,000 sq feet on a 10,000 sq ft lot for 350k, and it definitely needs a facelift.
here’s a great one, 3100 sq ft on 8,000 sq ft lot for 280k. Doesn’t need much work and its just a tad smaller but it’s almost half the price and the backyard is done (kinda plain, but it’s a start).
I actually dig that one, it will go for over 300, but examples like that make a 450k new one seem kinda silly.
My advice, never, ever, let a woman enter a model home. Think of it as kinda like a strip club or porn for women, it has this weird power over them. Not all of them, but most of them.
