[bluehairdave]

just about all the companies i talk to have it around 7.5 kw system getting me into baseline lowest area and for the lease (the huge fed incentive is no longer active)its about $170 to $200 a month depending on the company. nothing down. 20 year lease. buy out around 20k due to we just moved in and its new construction.

so instead of paying sdge $420 a month I will now pay $167 for the solar and maybe sdge $30 or so for overages on high use days. Just about all the companies have the same product too. Even with the lease buyout they maintain for all 20 years.

payment would have been $43 a month for all of this if the fed program was still active.

[bluehairdave]

im at 1500 kwh when running the AC

tier 2 ends at 437 so I need to knock off 1000kwh and probably get a 2nd setup just for pool heating im guessing?

[bluehairdave]

[quote=sdrealtor]bluehairdave
Any thoughts on what is going on with Old Creek?[/quote]

Which one? the one that says ‘sold’? Or the other one? I think the ‘sold’ one has been ‘sold’ previously only to fall out of escrow when the bank denies the short sale. But I am very curious to see what the situation is. Anyone know?

[bluehairdave]

[quote=sdrealtor]bluehairdave
Any thoughts on what is going on with Old Creek?[/quote]

Which one? the one that says ‘sold’? Or the other one? I think the ‘sold’ one has been ‘sold’ previously only to fall out of escrow when the bank denies the short sale. But I am very curious to see what the situation is. Anyone know?

[bluehairdave]

[quote=sdrealtor]bluehairdave
Any thoughts on what is going on with Old Creek?[/quote]

Which one? the one that says ‘sold’? Or the other one? I think the ‘sold’ one has been ‘sold’ previously only to fall out of escrow when the bank denies the short sale. But I am very curious to see what the situation is. Anyone know?

[bluehairdave]

[quote=sdrealtor]bluehairdave
Any thoughts on what is going on with Old Creek?[/quote]

Which one? the one that says ‘sold’? Or the other one? I think the ‘sold’ one has been ‘sold’ previously only to fall out of escrow when the bank denies the short sale. But I am very curious to see what the situation is. Anyone know?

[bluehairdave]

[quote=sdrealtor]bluehairdave
Any thoughts on what is going on with Old Creek?[/quote]

Which one? the one that says ‘sold’? Or the other one? I think the ‘sold’ one has been ‘sold’ previously only to fall out of escrow when the bank denies the short sale. But I am very curious to see what the situation is. Anyone know?

[bluehairdave]

[quote=ocrenter][quote=kkun]Looking at the brochure at Toll Brothers sales office I thought they are including more stuffs than Serenity (w/o the upgrade fund). Toll Brother lists following as standard:

– 7″ crown moulding
– 4″ baseboards
– Stainless steel appliances
– Granaite countertop with full backsplash behind cooktop
– 12″ X 12″ ceramic tile flooring in kitchen and other areas

Is Toll Brother worse than Serenity and other builders in terms of what they include as “standard”?[/quote]

wow, that’s very nice. They actually include crown molding? That’s a new one. 4″ baseboards, very nice.

I don’t think any builders have ever offered crown molding as a standard feature before. Both of these definitely not at Montoro. As for the baseboards at Serenity, I’m not sure.

ask about the rain gutters, that’s very important. Montoro again skipped on that. but it is quite an important feature that a lot of builders now include as standard.

sounds like Tolls is not as barebones as we thought.[/quote]

Pretty much the same standard as Serenity except for the crown molding. But that is not too expensive on your own for the main rooms where the builder usually puts it. living room. dining room. Powerder room bedroom… probably about 2k total. And you can box windows with a frame for about $80-100 a window. Flooring is what can really kill you with the builder. IF they charge 30k that means you can get it on the street at a local vender for about 18k-20k max right now. Same for built in’s, blinds etc..

[bluehairdave]

[quote=ocrenter][quote=kkun]Looking at the brochure at Toll Brothers sales office I thought they are including more stuffs than Serenity (w/o the upgrade fund). Toll Brother lists following as standard:

– 7″ crown moulding
– 4″ baseboards
– Stainless steel appliances
– Granaite countertop with full backsplash behind cooktop
– 12″ X 12″ ceramic tile flooring in kitchen and other areas

Is Toll Brother worse than Serenity and other builders in terms of what they include as “standard”?[/quote]

wow, that’s very nice. They actually include crown molding? That’s a new one. 4″ baseboards, very nice.

I don’t think any builders have ever offered crown molding as a standard feature before. Both of these definitely not at Montoro. As for the baseboards at Serenity, I’m not sure.

ask about the rain gutters, that’s very important. Montoro again skipped on that. but it is quite an important feature that a lot of builders now include as standard.

sounds like Tolls is not as barebones as we thought.[/quote]

Pretty much the same standard as Serenity except for the crown molding. But that is not too expensive on your own for the main rooms where the builder usually puts it. living room. dining room. Powerder room bedroom… probably about 2k total. And you can box windows with a frame for about $80-100 a window. Flooring is what can really kill you with the builder. IF they charge 30k that means you can get it on the street at a local vender for about 18k-20k max right now. Same for built in’s, blinds etc..

[bluehairdave]

[quote=ocrenter][quote=kkun]Looking at the brochure at Toll Brothers sales office I thought they are including more stuffs than Serenity (w/o the upgrade fund). Toll Brother lists following as standard:

– 7″ crown moulding
– 4″ baseboards
– Stainless steel appliances
– Granaite countertop with full backsplash behind cooktop
– 12″ X 12″ ceramic tile flooring in kitchen and other areas

Is Toll Brother worse than Serenity and other builders in terms of what they include as “standard”?[/quote]

wow, that’s very nice. They actually include crown molding? That’s a new one. 4″ baseboards, very nice.

I don’t think any builders have ever offered crown molding as a standard feature before. Both of these definitely not at Montoro. As for the baseboards at Serenity, I’m not sure.

ask about the rain gutters, that’s very important. Montoro again skipped on that. but it is quite an important feature that a lot of builders now include as standard.

sounds like Tolls is not as barebones as we thought.[/quote]

Pretty much the same standard as Serenity except for the crown molding. But that is not too expensive on your own for the main rooms where the builder usually puts it. living room. dining room. Powerder room bedroom… probably about 2k total. And you can box windows with a frame for about $80-100 a window. Flooring is what can really kill you with the builder. IF they charge 30k that means you can get it on the street at a local vender for about 18k-20k max right now. Same for built in’s, blinds etc..

[bluehairdave]

[quote=ocrenter][quote=kkun]Looking at the brochure at Toll Brothers sales office I thought they are including more stuffs than Serenity (w/o the upgrade fund). Toll Brother lists following as standard:

– 7″ crown moulding
– 4″ baseboards
– Stainless steel appliances
– Granaite countertop with full backsplash behind cooktop
– 12″ X 12″ ceramic tile flooring in kitchen and other areas

Is Toll Brother worse than Serenity and other builders in terms of what they include as “standard”?[/quote]

wow, that’s very nice. They actually include crown molding? That’s a new one. 4″ baseboards, very nice.

I don’t think any builders have ever offered crown molding as a standard feature before. Both of these definitely not at Montoro. As for the baseboards at Serenity, I’m not sure.

ask about the rain gutters, that’s very important. Montoro again skipped on that. but it is quite an important feature that a lot of builders now include as standard.

sounds like Tolls is not as barebones as we thought.[/quote]

Pretty much the same standard as Serenity except for the crown molding. But that is not too expensive on your own for the main rooms where the builder usually puts it. living room. dining room. Powerder room bedroom… probably about 2k total. And you can box windows with a frame for about $80-100 a window. Flooring is what can really kill you with the builder. IF they charge 30k that means you can get it on the street at a local vender for about 18k-20k max right now. Same for built in’s, blinds etc..

[bluehairdave]

[quote=ocrenter][quote=kkun]Looking at the brochure at Toll Brothers sales office I thought they are including more stuffs than Serenity (w/o the upgrade fund). Toll Brother lists following as standard:

– 7″ crown moulding
– 4″ baseboards
– Stainless steel appliances
– Granaite countertop with full backsplash behind cooktop
– 12″ X 12″ ceramic tile flooring in kitchen and other areas

Is Toll Brother worse than Serenity and other builders in terms of what they include as “standard”?[/quote]

wow, that’s very nice. They actually include crown molding? That’s a new one. 4″ baseboards, very nice.

I don’t think any builders have ever offered crown molding as a standard feature before. Both of these definitely not at Montoro. As for the baseboards at Serenity, I’m not sure.

ask about the rain gutters, that’s very important. Montoro again skipped on that. but it is quite an important feature that a lot of builders now include as standard.

sounds like Tolls is not as barebones as we thought.[/quote]

Pretty much the same standard as Serenity except for the crown molding. But that is not too expensive on your own for the main rooms where the builder usually puts it. living room. dining room. Powerder room bedroom… probably about 2k total. And you can box windows with a frame for about $80-100 a window. Flooring is what can really kill you with the builder. IF they charge 30k that means you can get it on the street at a local vender for about 18k-20k max right now. Same for built in’s, blinds etc..

[bluehairdave]

[quote=familyguy]Maybe just buying the basic home and upgrading it later is the way to go. More then likely you can get the built ins, flooring, baseboards, etc. much cheaper from a local business, and probably higher quality. Not to mention you don’t have to mortgage the cost of said upgrades over a 30 year period.

To do it over again i would have definitley done minimum builder upgrades and purchased them later as I had the extra cash as opposed to having them lumped into my mortgage. Live and learn I suppose.

Does anyone else see the logic in this approach, or am I missing something?[/quote]

This totally makes sense unless the builder is including them in your negotiated price like Serenity is doing. Its not adding to the cost of the house so you might as well use it. Toll Bros. on the other hand you would spend another 150k with them or you can fork out another 75k on your own AFTER you move in a have already placed a 200-240k Down payment. I looked at both and the Toll Bros is practically sight unseen with 2 models and is a good deal more expensive. Serenity is a very nice house and is plenty big for anyone. Win Win really for both but 100k+ is no small chump change and you get to live in a finished house.

Maybe in 2 years when the market is still depressed and Toll needs to move some houses they will also be giving away 75k in upgrades included in the negotiated price.

[bluehairdave]

[quote=familyguy]Maybe just buying the basic home and upgrading it later is the way to go. More then likely you can get the built ins, flooring, baseboards, etc. much cheaper from a local business, and probably higher quality. Not to mention you don’t have to mortgage the cost of said upgrades over a 30 year period.

To do it over again i would have definitley done minimum builder upgrades and purchased them later as I had the extra cash as opposed to having them lumped into my mortgage. Live and learn I suppose.

Does anyone else see the logic in this approach, or am I missing something?[/quote]

This totally makes sense unless the builder is including them in your negotiated price like Serenity is doing. Its not adding to the cost of the house so you might as well use it. Toll Bros. on the other hand you would spend another 150k with them or you can fork out another 75k on your own AFTER you move in a have already placed a 200-240k Down payment. I looked at both and the Toll Bros is practically sight unseen with 2 models and is a good deal more expensive. Serenity is a very nice house and is plenty big for anyone. Win Win really for both but 100k+ is no small chump change and you get to live in a finished house.

Maybe in 2 years when the market is still depressed and Toll needs to move some houses they will also be giving away 75k in upgrades included in the negotiated price.

[bluehairdave]

[quote=familyguy]Maybe just buying the basic home and upgrading it later is the way to go. More then likely you can get the built ins, flooring, baseboards, etc. much cheaper from a local business, and probably higher quality. Not to mention you don’t have to mortgage the cost of said upgrades over a 30 year period.

To do it over again i would have definitley done minimum builder upgrades and purchased them later as I had the extra cash as opposed to having them lumped into my mortgage. Live and learn I suppose.

Does anyone else see the logic in this approach, or am I missing something?[/quote]

This totally makes sense unless the builder is including them in your negotiated price like Serenity is doing. Its not adding to the cost of the house so you might as well use it. Toll Bros. on the other hand you would spend another 150k with them or you can fork out another 75k on your own AFTER you move in a have already placed a 200-240k Down payment. I looked at both and the Toll Bros is practically sight unseen with 2 models and is a good deal more expensive. Serenity is a very nice house and is plenty big for anyone. Win Win really for both but 100k+ is no small chump change and you get to live in a finished house.

Maybe in 2 years when the market is still depressed and Toll needs to move some houses they will also be giving away 75k in upgrades included in the negotiated price.

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