That's a Darling home. They are slightly above standard builder grade, so that wall and the kitchen are totally custom, as is that stair railing.

MAS444 said:

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Most of that house, with a few exceptions, looks really nice. That wall is total WTF, obviously. I know almost nothing about that market... but am going to guess that's priced high for the area...?

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Oh, yeah...WAY over-improved for the 'hood. HCAD has the house valued at $555k.

I have no doubt they poured a ton of money into that kitchen and pool, but $360/sq ft is beyond crazy. I'd be willing to bet the high for the development is somewhere around $250.

Here are a couple of neighborhood comps at a similar price point (obviously, they don't have all the interior upgrades).

https://www.har.com/homedetail/31-argosy-bend-pl-tomball-tx-77375/12383859

https://www.har.com/homedetail/59-natures-song-dr-tomball-tx-77375/14445048

https://www.har.com/homedetail/83-birch-canoe-dr-tomball-tx-77375/12380117

And there are plenty of more examples. No way that house would appraise, and I would question the sanity of anyone who paid cash for it.

About exactly what I figured.

That was the overall vibe I got from the front elevation. It looked like any number of mass market plans built in Texas with different trim and that gray stucco instead of brick.

Yep, Darling is mass market. I say slightly above builder-grade because it's not DR Horton, but it's certainly not custom. The people who bought that house paid dearly for all those upgrades.

Also, I just checked - that was a spec home. Whoever bought it paid $552-$627k for a finished home and then had all those "upgrades" put in.

This is what it looked like when they bought it.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/15-Clearview-Terrace-Pl-Tomball-TX-77375/2080999554_zpid/

This is the model home a few doors down, and it's also for sale. Same floor plan but no pool.

https://www.har.com/homedetail/2-clearview-terrace-pl-tomball-tx-77375/14445164

Oof, they all have that look. Don't know why I would've expected the first one posted to be a one-off thing because builders and the HOA would've just loved that.

To be fair the mass market stuff over here isn't great either. It's a sea of vinyl siding in your choice of 4 exciting shades and sort of a coloniawful style. It isn't straight up ugly though.

Of all the builders in my area, Darling has been one of the better ones, at least aesthetically speaking.

They were doing some nice all-brick slightly French country designs. Most of those have aged well, although, they've recently started doing more stucco and painted brick on those designs.

Over the last year or so, they've transitioned out of their stucco and tile roof Mediterranean-style option for this modern version that I don't care for at all. I've actually seen this modern-style house with a tile roof and it is hideous.

Darling seems to put that same stupid door on every one of their homes, which pisses me off for some strange reason. Guess it's their "calling card"?

Haha...they do use it a lot, especially in the modern-style homes.

I was very tempted to buy this house a couple of years ago...it's the French country style I was referring to. It does have a different door (I don't care for this style, either).

https://www.har.com/homedetail/23-madrone-terrace-pl-the-woodlands-tx-77375/14277861

Id love to see everyone's elevation in this thread. Idk if I feel commodore posting something that personal anymore. But it would sure be an interesting thread

This Franken-house is representative of their identity crisis period when they were transitioning from Mediterranean stucco to modern farmhouse stucco.

https://www.har.com/homedetail/103-lily-green-ct-conroe-tx-77304/13792530?sid=5558723

And then they went full-on Soviet-era modern. I've only ever seen this house in this one listing. Hopefully, they realized the mistake and it was a one and done.

https://www.har.com/homedetail/112-westeroak-ct-montgomery-tx-77316/14772452?sid=4865370

Sea Speed said:

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Id love to see everyone's elevation in this thread. Idk if I feel commodore posting something that personal anymore. But it would sure be an interesting thread

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This is not my house, but it's the same floor plan and elevation. There are some minor differences in the interior, too.

https://www.har.com/homedetail/18511-florence-knoll-dr-cypress-tx-77429/13379455

Sea Speed said:

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Id love to see everyone's elevation in this thread. Idk if I feel commodore posting something that personal anymore. But it would sure be an interesting thread

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I can be self loathing about my house at the same time critique other homes as well.

one MEEN Ag said:

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Sea Speed said:

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Id love to see everyone's elevation in this thread. Idk if I feel commodore posting something that personal anymore. But it would sure be an interesting thread

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I can be self loathing about my house at the same time critique other homes as well.

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Yeah, I'm not in love with mine. I never would have agreed to the Hardy-plank bump-outs at the windows (there is a matching one at the rear of the house), the dormer over the garage, or the metal roof accents.

I also can't stand my front door (it's different from the one on the house in the pics).

I also used to HATE front-entry garages. Once I moved to TX and realized it's very difficult to find one (at least at my price-points), I sort of became ok with it.

I can take comfort in the fact that my house isn't the ugliest one on my street. That would be the house two doors down with the orange and brown stone elevation that resembles the pattern found on giraffes.

The Fife said:

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Did the owners do that, or are they building all of them that ugly over there?

I'm sure the drywallers had loads of fun doing this

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I just love the chaise lounge where you can get your ear blasted by the speaker.

In general though, I just felt cramped looking at these pictures. Like the house was squeezing you out into the backyard. That is the most cramped of a 4/3 + game room + theater room you could build.

And it looks cramped in the weirdest way. Probably because how tall the walls are compared to how wide the room is. The house has so many two story sections + open air gameroom that it looks vertically hollowed out. The rooms are just clinging onto the walls for dear life.

Sea Speed said:

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Don't get me wrong, id blast other peoples decisions even if I was a felon living on someone's couch in 5th ward.

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**Sea Speed with three tear tattoos under each eye, ankle monitor on the living room table, smashed to pieces**:

"This home can host so many child kidnappings from Katy."

the bedrooms are all quite small. Consequence of trying to jam all that crap in a 50' lot. I know a million dollars doesn't spend like it did a couple years ago, but nothing about that plan matches the price point. Just way overdone with finishes.

That was one of my big issues when I was looking at new construction last year. The one story plans felt too cramped and nearly all the two story plans threw in a bunch of crap I didn't want and usually had a bunch of throwaway secondary rooms sharing a crappy bathroom.

Diggity said:

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the bedrooms are all quite small. Consequence of trying to jam all that crap in a 50' lot. I know a million dollars doesn't spend like it did a couple years ago, but nothing about that plan matches the price point. Just way overdone with finishes.

That was one of my big issues when I was looking at new construction last year. The one story plans felt too cramped and nearly all the two story plans threw in a bunch of crap I didn't want and usually had a bunch of throwaway secondary rooms sharing a crappy bathroom.

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Ha! That house I posted above that I almost bought - the throwaway secondary bedrooms and crappy bathroom is one of the big reasons why I passed (that and interest rates were above 4%).

But I loved the private backyard (my current house backs up to the main road in our subdivision) and master bathroom.

I took my son to see it. We live in <2300 sq ft right now, but his bathroom has a big walk-in shower. For a 6'2", 230 lb kid, that's important. He took one look at the bathroom in that other house and was like "Mom, you don't really expect me to shower in ~that~?"

Diggity said:

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the bedrooms are all quite small. Consequence of trying to jam all that crap in a 50' lot. I know a million dollars doesn't spend like it did a couple years ago, but nothing about that plan matches the price point. Just way overdone with finishes.

That was one of my big issues when I was looking at new construction last year. The one story plans felt too cramped and nearly all the two story plans threw in a bunch of crap I didn't want and usually had a bunch of throwaway secondary rooms sharing a crappy bathroom.

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Yup. I saw that up close when looking at homes a few years ago. The houses have so many 'features' but it all felt like you could max that house out at two kids. 'Entertainment rooms' were basically the size of a bedroom. If I was going to watch a movie, why would I do it in this oversized closet instead of downstairs?

And everything is just so loud with the open air designs + tiny footprint.

Nothing was worth the price they wanted for builder grade garbage. Just went with an older home and have been updating it since.

smart man. That was going to be my plan but my wife would have wanted the remodel done prior to move in and I didn't have the stomach to gut a 10 year old home.

Quote:

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This Franken-house is representative of their identity crisis period when they were transitioning from Mediterranean stucco to modern farmhouse stucco.

https://www.har.com/homedetail/103-lily-green-ct-conroe-tx-77304/13792530?sid=5558723

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Modern farmhouse stucco??? And I don't see a thing modern or farmhouse about this one.

We can agree to disagree. I think those dark brown bars over the windows and the garage doors plus the really harsh angles on the stone give it a very modern look. IDK what purpose those three circles serve.

To me, the only significant difference between that house and this one is the tile roof, and I think the tile is out of place.

https://www.har.com/homedetail/14-cassena-grv-the-woodlands-tx-77375/14668386?sid=4381896

That's in comparison to these, which was their original Mediterranean design.

https://www.har.com/homedetail/23-lake-voyageur-dr-spring-tx-77389/11471543

https://www.har.com/homedetail/131-w-cresta-bend-pl-spring-tx-77389/3807901

MAS444 said:

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Quote:

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This Franken-house is representative of their identity crisis period when they were transitioning from Mediterranean stucco to modern farmhouse stucco.

https://www.har.com/homedetail/103-lily-green-ct-conroe-tx-77304/13792530?sid=5558723

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Modern farmhouse stucco??? And I don't see a thing modern or farmhouse about this one.

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This is actually considered 'transitional' interior decor. Its follows some of the features of the modern farmhouse movement like white cabinets, big islands, grey walls, and new pendant lighting, but leaves behind other things like shiplap, 2x4 chunky furniture, and barn doors. You usually see nicer, more standard furniture than what you get in farmhouse. Less plants as well. If the house looks generically nice and updated, but you can't quiet put a finger on what the theme is - its transitional.

I can agree to "transitional"...which is sort of a catch all in between thing.

Farmhouse may not have been the right word, but that's immediately where my brain goes when I see straight lines and a contrast between a light color and a dark.

My point remains the same, though.. that Lily Green house is having an identity crisis.

Definitely agree on your last point!

1.6MM and all you get are these ass photos

https://www.har.com/homedetail/6602-s-oak-ave-dickinson-tx-77539/2631996

Wow, thats bad...

It's like a bigger version of this. Same windows going up the turret and everything!

It's appraised at 860,000 - which feels about right for that ugly but huge house. The photos do a great job of showing why it's worth twice its appraisal.

MAS444 said:

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It's appraised at 860,000 - which feels about right for that ugly but huge house. The photos do a great job of showing why it's worth twice its appraisal.

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It must be the furniture that stays with the home.

Why do people build giant houses like that with only a two car garage?

But this view really screams BUY ME to me.

This house just screams $550k

https://www.har.com/homedetail/13345-e-us-hwy-79-franklin-tx-77856/5826521?cid=dgalaviz

I really love the realtor's descriptions on the photos.

Edit- if this is indicative of the market, I got one hell of a deal on our property (400sqft less, 2 acres more, and we have a guest apartment and barn, and we paid less than half this in Brazos County).

Those are some nasty looking cabinets near the kitchen sink!