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| Ugh... this drives me nuts... (Page 1/4) |
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82-T/A [At Work]
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AUG 15, 09:20 AM
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I know I'll get some flak for posting this... but this is an example of the type of house that's super-common today. These are the kinds of homes that I absolutely abhor and would never be caught dead living in one:
There is nothing I hate more than a home that says... "Welcome to my garage. If you want to come inside, the front door is on the side..."
This is such a common type of home, and while this home is quite decent in size (2,600 square feet), you'd never guess because it's so God-damned ugly. Obviously a 2-car garage is a demand for a middle-class single-family home. And I don't know that anyone really WANTS a home like this, but people have been conditioned not to care. Most people would look at this house and be more concerned about how it looked on the inside. I'd care equally the inside and outside. I don't know what that says about me, but I just can't stand a home where the only thing you see is the garage.
They design these homes like this because the cost of real estate is getting more and more expensive, so... in order for builders to maximize profit in a neighborhood, they make the lots very narrow. In order to still have the garage, it has to be the most front and center, and then everything else is accessible behind it.
First-world-problems, I know... but I also know that almost everywhere you have a home like this, there is also a slightly older neighborhood nearby with normal homes that are more ranch style, or split-level... e.g. garage off to one side, whole house on the other side. In every case, these homes are the same size square footage, have a larger yard, and are usually the same price or a little lower. Many of them already totally renovated.
Sorry, just ranting, got an e-mail from Zillow with homes for sale. The one above is almost $500k, and looks ridiculous.
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Wichita
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AUG 15, 10:07 AM
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That's a $500K home? LOL
I have no idea how people live in areas where home prices are like that for such average houses.
That house would be barely a $150K at best.
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steve308
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AUG 15, 12:59 PM
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And then.....they fill the garage with crap and park outside usually on the street so that they can put up a basketball net and never use it.
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maryjane
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AUG 15, 12:59 PM
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My youngest son (mid 40s) bought a new home last year, in Tomball Tx, which is a suburb of Houston metroplex. Looks a little less 'garagey' than the one in the picture, as the 2 car garage is a bit off to one side but Todd nailed the reasoning 100%. Not $500k in son's case, but between $300k-$325K . Lot size is 0.15 acre..just over 1/10 acre..
Quite a ritzy development, but he can afford it, and having already lived in a nice home with 5 acres, they didn't really want a yard to keep up..both he and wife work. Of course, the picture below is very misleading, as the houses are very close together, tho there are none behind his house as it is a different property and still a ranch. Look at the picture close tho, and you can see how close the neighbor's house is on the left and since the picture was taken, there has been another home built on the right, just as close.
He did opt to make it a large 2 car garage and had the builder use much of the rear 1/3 of the garage as a 3rd bedroom.
Beautiful home for sure, but not something I could live in happily.
Entry with 12-foot ceiling welcomes. Library with French doors and ceramic tile floor off extended entry. Open kitchen offers corner walk-in pantry and generous island with built-in seating space. Dining area flows into open family room with ceramic tile floor, wall of windows and corner cast stone fireplace with wood mantel. Private master suite includes bedroom with wall of windows. Double doors lead to master bath with dual vanities, garden tub, separate glass-enclosed shower and two walk-in closets. Abundant natural light and ample closet space add to this open one-story design. Extended covered backyard patio. Mud room off three two-car garage.
https://www.johnsondevelopment.com/jds_amira
There are issues in this development type that I would normally state, just as I recently did with my county appraisal district's meeting last week, but it probably isn't very relative here in this thread or even at PFF.
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82-T/A [At Work]
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AUG 15, 05:01 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Wichita:
That's a $500K home? LOL
I have no idea how people live in areas where home prices are like that for such average houses.
That house would be barely a $150K at best.
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Well, remember... it all has to do with location. In places where homes are 500k, people generally also make more. Not in every industry / field, but generally speaking. The house I have is one city over (which is why I got it). The homes even newer than this, while they look nice, are outrageously priced. Here's an example of one that's in my city where my old house is:
It's a nice looking home, much better than the original one I posted, but this home is $685k. It's a 4/3 w/ ~3200 square feet. Again, very narrow lot as you can see how close the homes are. I'm not sure why these homes are valued at this price, but I think they actually even sold for more than that when they were built. On the other side of the town (which is a small town), there are homes that are over 1 million. It's a very nice town, but like... it's got a Walmart Market (not a full Walmart), it's near a major university, it's got a Starbucks, lol... and a few other restaurants and stores. It's up and coming... but it's still suburbs. When I bought my home in 2003, it was all farmland. My home, which was built in 87, used to be on farmland also. The biggest reason it's so expensive I think is because of the school district. There are plenty of really good private schools around, but in this neighborhood the schools are all 9s and 10s. It's also close to a major highway (5-95) which intersects with I-95 and the Florida Turnpike. So... it's not a horrible drive to get to work if you work in the city, either Fort Lauderdale or Miami. But it is crazy. These homes were all 1/3rd of what they are now back in 2003.
Biggest thing is that all the wealthy from South American countries were fleeing Socialism. In particular, Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil. When Brazil and Argentina reverted back to Capitalism and a non-Socialist leader... the people never really went back, and stayed in the US. People were paying cash for homes. When you get by the beach... the homes are absolutely insane... like, 3 million for a trailer over by Los Olas.
But... places like Silicon Valley go for even more.
Where I live in San Antonio, it's much more modestly priced like MJ's son. But prices in San Antonio have gone up a lot since I first moved here... maybe 15-20% in the past 3-4 years.
I have a sister-in-law that loves NYC, and everything about it. The only two places she is willing to live is NYC and downtown Miami. She has a good job, but believe it or not, her job is remote. Which means, she could literally move to Missouri, buy a home for 50k, have it paid off in the first year of ownership... and then save her money for several years. If she lived 5 years in Missouri working from home she'd have almost 500k in case, and could then go literally PAY CASH for a home somewhere else. She's been working from home for like the past 15 years... but still insists on spending the majority of her income renting in NYC and Miami. I realize the draw... but damn... if I worked from home, you can guarantee I'd move out to some small town and collect my income and save a ton, and then move (and pay cash) to wherever I wanted to end up.
| quote | Originally posted by steve308:
And then.....they fill the garage with crap and park outside usually on the street so that they can put up a basketball net and never use it. |
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Yeah, I've always had two cars in my garage, but that does always bug me. For homes that don't have basements, people use their garages for storage. What really do you need with storage beyond seasonal things? I dunno... to each their own. But I do shudder a bit when I see a garage door open and it's jam-packed with boxes and stuff that's stacked.
| quote | Originally posted by maryjane:
My youngest son (mid 40s) bought a new home last year, in Tomball Tx, which is a suburb of Houston metroplex. Looks a little less 'garagey' than the one in the picture, as the 2 car garage is a bit off to one side but Todd nailed the reasoning 100%. Not $500k in son's case, but between $300k-$325K . Lot size is 0.15 acre..just over 1/10 acre..
There are issues in this development type that I would normally state, just as I recently did with my county appraisal district's meeting last week, but it probably isn't very relative here in this thread or even at PFF. |
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Yeah, definitely a much better use of space. And this has been a big issue for me. I don't necessarily think the width of your son's lot, and the one I posted are all that much different... maybe they are, but I just feel like there's a better way of doing it. What they did with your son's house is exactly what I would have done if I was a designer. While the garage is 100% part of the home "block" structure, it was designed in such a way that it's not offensively the centerpiece of the home. They did a good job designing the entryway so that it stands proud of everything else on the home, so that becomes the "focus" of the house.
In the home I posted above (original picture), you could literally mistake that house for a storage unit, or some kind of industrial warehouse if you removed the domestic exterior lights and changed the eves / roof.
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rbell2915
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AUG 15, 05:44 PM
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Modern architecture is disgusting. A lot of "affordable" new housing in my area doesn't have a garage. The front door literally opens straight into the driveway and the lots are miniscule.
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maryjane
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AUG 16, 12:41 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
Yeah, definitely a much better use of space. And this has been a big issue for me. I don't necessarily think the width of your son's lot, and the one I posted are all that much different... maybe they are, but I just feel like there's a better way of doing it. What they did with your son's house is exactly what I would have done if I was a designer. While the garage is 100% part of the home "block" structure, it was designed in such a way that it's not offensively the centerpiece of the home. They did a good job designing the entryway so that it stands proud of everything else on the home, so that becomes the "focus" of the house.
In the home I posted above (original picture), you could literally mistake that house for a storage unit, or some kind of industrial warehouse if you removed the domestic exterior lights and changed the eves / roof. |
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Of course, at my son's place, no one ever uses that main entryway.........almost everyone enters thru the garage..the entryway is just an aesthetic issue and serves no real purpose other than that. OTOH, I also very much dislike boxy tickytacky houses. (most here are unfamilar with the song other than from a TV show Weeds but I remember when it first came out in the early 60s and also remember thinking it was applicable to a new part of the little town I grew up in that just went by the name 'the new addition'...Pete Seeger got a lot of play out of this song, but I prefer the Malvina Reynolds original version)
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70 years later, even tho that subdivision is now in poor shape, it is still referred to by the same name.
| quote | About This Group
Description
This Crime Watch page is for people who live in or around the New Addition Subdivision in Highlands, TX.
The streets included in this Subdivision and surrounding area include the following:
Fern Lane
Thorn St
Bluebell St
Begonia Lane
Poinsetta Lane
Greendell St
Del Monte Lane
Inwood Lane
Timberlane Lane
Meadowlake Lane
Piping Rock Drive |
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The hallway at the main entrance of my son's home, imo, is the biggest waste of space in the house. Too wide by at least 2' feet...and for no good reason.
(I abhor the loss of farmland, because it's permanent. It will never come back, but the county governments love that loss of vital farm capacity..even my county)[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 08-16-2020).]
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maryjane
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AUG 16, 12:51 PM
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Blacktree
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AUG 16, 01:10 PM
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A recent trend in my area is to put the garage in the BACK of the house, with a narrow alley connecting all the garages. That allows the use of super-narrow lots, with the houses crowded together like "virtual apartments".
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williegoat
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AUG 16, 01:12 PM
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That was fun to watch! 
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