Boulevard Dublin Homes

PwC
Qwerty4574

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Qwerty4574
Mar 26, 2021 35 Comments

Looked at a few homes in this nearly built-out community by Brookfield and Lennar. Homes look nice on the outside but not sure about construction quality.

If anyone has considered these homes, could you share your thoughts on:

1) anticipated future demand if we buy near the top end of the market here (at first to live and possibly later rent out if we move)

2) seismic hazard / soil quality reports for this area (the entire community sits on a moderately high liquification hazard zone. It was also a chemical dumping zone for the army barracks earlier)

3) Schools: while I don’t know a lot about school districts (we don’t have kids yet), it looks like this is a 7/6/9 district. Where is everyone sending there kids to school ? Our short term concern would be good elementary, but overall, it all would matter.

4) Build quality: having done a lot of reading on this, keen to hear from others on their build experiences, particularly with Brookfield

5) Buying process tips: pls share any tips on things we should definitely ask / push for during the buying / price negotiations.
>>Also, their sales people say, there is NO NEGOTIATION on base price nor any upgrades credits being offered right now.
I know that the market is very tight right now but I would think there’s always some wiggle room. Would love to hear from others on this.

6) Inspections: we’ve learned that some people get their own independent inspectors to check out the new build at various stages (pre-wall, pre closing etc). Is it worth it ?
Do we need to include this in the new home sales contract verbiage ? Any referrals for inspector contracts ?

Given the above considerations , we felt the prices for their neighborhoods that are nearly completed are quite high. But I guess the proximity to BART and the things surrounding it are what’s driving this ?

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  • In terms of price, these new homes compared to the existing ones being sold seem like a cheaper option mainly because of the bidding wars.. so if a new home is cheaper then that would be the better option. The Mello roos is tricky, even some other old communities have mello roos but probably not as high.

    For the elementary schools, I believe you don't have to go the one you are "assigned" to, so you have good options there..

    Inspections.. don't know. I would also love to know more about this. Basically, is it worth it to have an inspector come in. Also once, twice... etc.. not sure

    Build quality.. even older homes with their crazy bidding wars may have bad quality.. just mainly depend on being vigilant with the 1 year warranty

    One thing for sure is that these builders are increasing their price significantly per release and their waiting lists are just getting longer
    Apr 2, 2021 6
  • Amazon
    iAxd86

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    iAxd86
    I closed on with Brookfield. I felt good build quality and nice follow ups. FYI, I entered last year end, but still got a good price. I had even put multiple offers on house and most were overbid by 200-300k. If you tell me which community you are considering I can recommend better. DM for details.
    Mar 27, 2021 3
    • With Brookfield, what are your thoughts on their prices of upgrades? Could you negotiate on these prices? Is it cheaper to get things like appliances from the builder?
      Apr 3, 2021
    • Amazon
      iAxd86

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      iAxd86
      You cannot negotiate on upgrades. It’s never cheaper to get appliances from the builder as they give you MSRP. I bought fridge and washer, dryer myself. DM for details. Also their design center doesn’t recommend to buy appliances from them 😂
      Apr 3, 2021
  • Google
    oWBq67

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    oWBq67
    I passed on all the ones i saw. The models were in terrible shape and the guardrails were extremely wobbly. Lennar is better, but these aren't their best work either. All in all the quality seems extra shitty but there's a lot more to come.
    Mar 26, 2021 17
    • They’re kinda all over the place but many comps in the area are all 1.5-1.9. So I really think the new purchase price is reasonable. Seems steep but it’s because the market is changing very fast
      Mar 28, 2021
    • PwC
      Qwerty4574

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      Qwerty4574
      OP
      Brookfield's SFH is charging the highest PSF in the area now. So on that basis it is more exp than the comps therefore pause worthy. seriously considering tho, but a bit iffy due to the historical soil & ground water chemical contamination of that land...as well as higher earthquake and liquification risks, other than the price.
      Mar 29, 2021
  • I’d like to know what you’ve found about build quality. Major downsides are mello Roos, about $500-600 month which brings overall property tax to around 1.8%. Waitlists are long but there are longer waitlists in San Ramon so....

    Up sides? If you get picked, no bid war, the price is the price. So by today’s standards with 200-500k overbids for similar sfh it’s a good deal. New home is nice too if no major build quality concerns

    It’s not really nearly built out yet btw. Dublin city has approved 5 major phases and they’re only in like phase 3. Houses will get built out all the way to basically Dougherty in the next few years. If you don’t like current options know more are coming
    Mar 26, 2021 3
    • I saw some cracks in the wall paint in the model, idk what that means though. I saw another thread about quality and they say they’re gonna hire an inspector before close. Might be a good idea as otherwise I have no idea what to look for,

      As for schools im not there yet. I have my own view about schools in general so I’m not making finding 10/10 schools a priority. Ratings I saw around dublin are good enough for me

      These prices have always been artificially inflated until the appraisals catch up and they become the new normal. I think largely society has a loss aversion mentality towards home prices dropping and governments and markets tend to work hard to maintain either horizontal or upwards movement. I haven’t seen any real consensus on expert opinions on housing market. I was just listening to a hedge fund guy earlier on a podcast say he’s hypothesizing inflationary scenario post Covid. His conversation partner disagreed. And I think these folks know quite well as they both provided deep justification. So my conclusion is nobody will guess it right consistently.

      My assessment is that the Bay Area is intrinsically attractive due to geography. Coming from really LCOL areas, there’s things about being here that you will miss when you leave. Ppl who have grown up here don’t get that. And proximity to bart will further enable access to major parts of the bay. So I’m a fan of the location. Worth sticking it through. In any case, large drops due to black swan events seem to recover within a short number of years anyway.
      Mar 26, 2021
    • PwC
      Qwerty4574

      Go to company page PwC

      Qwerty4574
      OP
      @Salesforce could you elaborate on your thinking about the schools?
      Mar 27, 2021
  • In addition, the value of homes within walking distance to bart is generally higher. You can find the data from transit studies about how much to expect. Hence this price for a new home is actually very good especially with the bidding wars going on
    Apr 2, 2021 1
    • PwC
      Qwerty4574

      Go to company page PwC

      Qwerty4574
      OP
      Agreed that close proximity to transportation drives up the price but even then the pricing really only makes sense for the earlier phases. With the increases in pricing, in my view the numbers don’t work in favor of those neighborhoods in the later phases
      Apr 3, 2021