56 replies to this topic

[Orangetj]

I would imagine that there is a tremendous amount of variability from house to house, regardless of the name of the builder's company. After all, each house is built by individual workers, all of whom will have good and bad days and who have different levels of skill, pride in their work, etc.. There just can't be that much consistency with something as large as a house made out of materials that are measured, cut and nailed in place by humans. Frankly, the speed with which these homes are put together makes it a wonder to me that they actually stand up at all!

[Sammy]

I also forgot to mention that since the house came with Solar, we really enjoy paying $1 to $10 a month for electricity during the winter and $15 to $30 a month in the summer time. Our January bill was $2; our June bill was $25. This is for a 2755 sqft house with temperature control always at about 75.

[Orangetj]

That's good stuff! Solar is a great feature.

[vakr]

I am a resident of Blackstone and I own a Centex home there, we are quite happy with the home and the neighborhood, the people there are really nice and family oriented. We are a little disappointed that things are going a little slow there, the construction on the school stopped 2 months ago not sure why, and no visible construction on the parks. The Club is done but we can not access the Gym for another 2 years I hear, the pools however are open and we have access to them free of charge, currently we are only paying $20 for association until the Gym opens up. We do see that Centex and Lennar are building homes there, I believe about 10 homes are being build right now and just recently they started planting trees and plants on the side of the road. We do see movement but just slow. I also hear that Centex is trying to buy land there but they are not getting the right prices from the development owner. We will see what happens. Also Latrobe road is being widen up to 4 lanes up to the Blackstone entrance that should help a little with the traffic however I have absolutely no issues with traffic in the morning, most of the traffic is seen at the Serrano side.

Hi Sammy, thanks for your input. I did see some new activities in the blackstone when I visited today. They indeed have started planting trees and also I did see a construction board saying model homes being built near the park/school site. Is that the Cambridge homes coming up? I am inclined in getting a home there especially when per sqfootage price is ~170$/sqft. which to me looks very resonable for a new solar home with all the upgrades etc. for that area.

[Sammy]

I did see a lot of activities near the school site this morning, not sure if it is related to the school or model homes. They also added some stop signs and painted the road. They seem committed to the location and eventually it will all come all together. 170$/sqft seems reasonable but I would try and get it a little bit less than that, you should negotiate between $150 - $170 per sqft.

Good Luck

[palango]

Cambridge and Parkland are trying their best to pull out of this project. the land costs are waaaay too high for them and there is no profit margin. Centex pulled out/forced out (depending whose story you believe), so it ONLY leaves lennar.

The name of the game is PROFIT. lennar is losing $$ making crazy deals with all the incentives. As far as schools and parks are concerned, I wouldnt hold my breath on that any time in the near future. My prediction is that it will take a goog 4-5 years before you actually see any school building. Again, if they do not have the projected population and the outrageous HOA/Melloo Roos, and property tax revenues, how can they build schools, parks etc???

They can't even open the clubhouse because they do not have enough people to pay the monthly HOA to maintain the place.

I believe that Blackstone will be a viable community, but it will take 5-7 years. If you can wait, then it may be worth it to negotiate bigtime and get all the incentives, etc., but if you are looking for short term, I would hold off on it.

just my 2 cents.

[Sammy]

While the builders figure that out, I will enjoy my view

Tell me what you think


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[palango]

While the builders figure that out, I will enjoy my view

Tell me what you think
 DSC03481_2_small.JPG   63.91K   58 downloads

 DSC03482_2_small.JPG   70.63K   59 downloads

Nice yeard. That must have cost a fortune. I really like that stamped concrete, but I hate grass. If I had $$, I would do 90% of the backyard with that.

[Sammy]

I saved lots of $$s by not going through a landscape company. I hired a landscape designer to put the plans together, and then basically hired each sub contractor individually to do the work; I also did a lot of the work myself. Its not done completely, I still need to put down landscape fabric and bark. Thanks for looking.

[palango]

I saved lots of $$s by not going through a landscape company. I hired a landscape designer to put the plans together, and then basically hired each sub contractor individually to do the work; I also did a lot of the work myself. Its not done completely, I still need to put down landscape fabric and bark. Thanks for looking.

How much does stamp concrete cost? I may be in the market in about 3 months and I am looking for tips to $ave. Thanks

[Sammy]

I paid $3 per sqft for labor (Mexican guys), and bought concrete and color myself from Folsom ready mix. With everything, the cost came out to $5 per sqft. I hear some landscape companies are doing it for about $6 a sqft and you don’t have to worry about anything.

Also I did seal it my self, the cost was $100 for 5 gallons and 4 hours of my time on a weekend

[palango]

I paid $3 per sqft for labor (Mexican guys), and bought concrete and color myself from Folsom ready mix. With everything, the cost came out to $5 per sqft. I hear some landscape companies are doing it for about $6 a sqft and you don’t have to worry about anything.

Also I did seal it my self, the cost was $100 for 5 gallons and 4 hours of my time on a weekend

You did GREAT because concrete companies charge $8-$13 per sqft. You did the seal yourself. Is that easy?? Can I do it myself too?? What type of eqipment do you need?thanks.

[Sammy]

You should be able to do it yourself, it's like painting. I used a Paint roller to lay the seal on top. Plenty of web sites out there that tell you How to Seal a Concrete.

[gemwood]

You should be able to do it yourself, it's like painting. I used a Paint roller to lay the seal on top. Plenty of web sites out there that tell you How to Seal a Concrete.

I live in the blackstone area as well and I am working on the landcape as well. Just curious how long did it take you to get approval from HOA (Vierra Moore) on yoru design plan? It has been taking them a very long time. Also have they made any changes to your design or is this merely a formality? I would like to chat with you about your concrete sealant as well. Where did you buy it from? It looks awesome.

[palango]

Blackstone, El Dorado??? Are they still inbusiness?? I thought all the builders, except poor lennar pulled out. The Clubhouse never opened. All the promises that the builders made of this clubhouse with the swimming pool, etc. went out the window. No parks. No schools. No trees in the streets. Lots of empty promises. Another failed project and victim of this economy.