Tallahassee Parade of Homes

[poonther]

Personally, I'd much rather pay $750 for a quality craftsman style home by K2 than $2 million for the "Vincent Price House" w/the ugly pool or $1 million for the brick McMansions w/ 32 roof peaks and those ever popular white spindly columns.

[Florida]

I agree with you Poonther. But I still can't see myself spending 3 Quarters of a million dollars on a bungalo-style house.

[MikeMcCall]

Hello all.

My wife and I visited a few of the homes last weekend. My thoughts:

--Real estate prices in Tallahassee are absurd. Honestly, I don't see how so many homes are for sale in the $500k+ range. If these buyers don't lock in on fixed rates, there are going to be a lot of foreclosures in town when rates go back up.

--I lived in a spec rental house several years ago built by Desmond Dodd. He typically does high-end custom jobs, but built a row of small homes in Killearn "for fun". I love his style and tastes. (His wife - Dee does much of the design work, and his brother is a fantasic carpenter.) He had a parade home a few years ago in Rose Hill that was superb. He would be my first choice for a builder.

----Absent builders this year:

--Desmond Dodd did not have an entry.

--Aside from him, I was disappointed to NOT see an Arthur Rutenberg (yes, I know that local builders do the Rutenberg homes, but still - no entry this year.)

--West Custom Homes. Only one entry - in Bull Run back behind the T'Ville Road Wal-Mart. His style reminds me a lot of Dodd Design. I'd strongly consider him too if building a custom home.

--It's a shame that the giant home in Moore Pond - I call it "The Castle" - is not in the parade. Maybe it's still too "incomplete", or the owner just said "no way". If you haven't seen it - it's worth the drive. Maybe someone can get a pic or two of it. Brad Johnson's house is just several houses away, and it's on the market for $4.9 MILLION. "The Castle" MUST cost more than Brad's.

--I was actually a bit disappointed in the K2 homes this year. I loved the one last year over by Leon High School. The two I toured this year were just "O.K.". I'm guessing that they must have been rushed to completion, as it seemed that a lot of small details (like quality painting of the trimwork) was not taken care of. Yeah, I know it's a reach, but I had to wonder what other "details" were not taken care of.

I still love the concept of K2 homes though. They're usually very "livable" and comfortable.

--So far, my favorite entry is the "Florida Environmental Homes" one in Southwood. It's still ludicrously priced ($850k I think), but has a great plan, and actually has a nice lot, with a decent back yard and right across from the lake and big green space. The only flaw I found was a stupid design in the kitchen. The gas range is built into the BAR countertop!! What were they thinking?? It's obviously a "family home"! This is a trip to the emergency room just waiting to happen. If I won lotto I might just buy that house, then immediately move the range, and THEN move my family in!

--And finally, there is NO WAY that the Price Vincent home in Pine Tip Hills should have sold for $2M+. It's a nice home and all, but holy cow. I honestly could "understand" it being $1M or so, but not more than twice that! The lot leaves a lot to be desired. It is not really on Lake Jackson - just an "offshooting pond" of it, and the lot is not very level at all. I know that if I ever spend money like that on a home, it's gonna have a least a couple of acres of quality flat land, then maybe it can slope away on an additional acre or two. And, I didn't really see how that house was 9,000 sq. ft. It just didn't feel that big.

That's all for now.

Later everyone!

Mike

--

[stjoe]

"Florida Environmental Homes" is very good. They built my home.

[Florida]

That was an awesome run down on the parade Mike.

Here's the castle that you refer to in Moore Pond. I wish it were complete also. I wonder who's going to live in it, its the most elaborate home I've ever seen in person... anywhere.

These pictures were taken sometime last year, and the house is still under construction. I know its going to be a wonderful home when complete, and I love the fact that crews aren't rushing thru the job and skipping details.

[cityboy05]

^I wonder who's house that's going to be.

[Florida]

I heard Oprah was moving to town.

[jpl02]

^I wonder who's house that's going to be.

Maybe it'll be TK's house.

[Florida]

If you all get a chance, because I know I won't be able to, try to check out the homes in Bull Run. I think Mike gave the homes high marks and I must agree with him that they are worth looking at. My friends and I had a chance to get over there tonight to just view the exterior of about 5 or 6 homes that are recently complete or almost there and they are were beautiful. 2600 sq. ft. going for $530,000.00. I'm not sure I like the price so much, but the homes were very nice.

[poonther]

Two questions:

Who is Brad Johnson that Mike talks about in his post?

I've often wondered this: Does FL Enviro. Homes build homes that are environmentally friendly and if so how? If not why is it named that?

I remember a home in the first phase of Southwood that I liked built by Fl Enviro. Homes.

I ride past the K2 home at Hillcrest and Tenn (near Leon H.S.) almost everyday. That home is the main reason I like them so much.....well that and they do urban infill.

Finally the castle is NOT big enough for T.K.'s ego!

[bahmo]

Brad Johnson was a Seminole quarterback 15 years ago and is currently the Minnesota Vikings QB. He recently spent several seasons with the Tampa Bay Bucs too.

[MikeMcCall]

Brad Johnson was a Seminole quarterback 15 years ago and is currently the Minnesota Vikings QB. He recently spent several seasons with the Tampa Bay Bucs too.

..and here's the link to the listing for his house:

http://www.donfordrealtor.com/featured.php

Mike

--

p.s. I did a quick mortgage calculation on this. Just put a mere 10% down and it can be yours for approx. $35,000 a month for 30 years!

[Go Gators]

--Aside from him, I was disappointed to NOT see an Arthur Rutenberg (yes, I know that local builders do the Rutenberg homes, but still - no entry this year.)

Thank you Mr McCall! I had stated earlier in these forums that I am a HUGE fan or Arthur Rutenburg. Well, months later, you are the first to agree with me! I visited the Parade in Orlando, and he has some AMAZING homes on display there. Its amazing how he uses open spaces to make smaller homes seem huge inside. And the quality and detail I think is unmatched, which I suppose is why they are so expensive!

[Florida]

I agree with you GG, Ruthenburg homes are the highest quality I've ever been inside on a Parade. In past years there were a good number of homes featured in Bobbin Trace by that group, Southwood featured an author home last year as well.

I'll pull up last years Parade thread so we can compare.

[Glenn]

Mike, Thanks for the run down on the homes you visited. Great to see you back on the boards with us too! I was very disappointed with most of the paraded homes I visited this year. I just didn't see the quality to go with the prices being asked this year. So many of the homes seemed rushed to completion, if they were even completed at all! I hate when I take my time & gas to go find these places & then discover the home isn't even complete! IMO, I think it should be a requirement that a home must be completed in order to participate in the Parade of Homes.

Did anyone else see the 7,200 sq ft behometh in Chemonie Crossing? That thing was huge but there were electricians, carpenters, & all sorts of other workers trying to work on this house amongst the visitors...it was crazy! Anyway, this builder had a 30' spiral slide going from the ground level down to the kids playroom in the basement! He also had a full size basketball court in the backyard. I was disappointed to have driven way out there to find it still under construction though. He'll be lucky to have it finished in time for next year's parade.

I also really liked the Florida Environmental home in SouthWood & the White Oak Consruction Home in Hannon Mill. I was surprised that Mark Rodrigue of Lone Wolf Construction didn't have an Arthur Rutenburg home entered in this years parade. I assume he's still the local AR bulder. I'll have to check that out. I've always loved the floor plans & design features of the AR homes.

Regarding the "Castle House" you all refer to out at Moore Pond...does anyone know the address? What is it's proximity to Brad Johnson's house? Speaking of Brad Johnson's house, is it vacant now? The property appraisers website list an address up in Minnesota for Brad so I assume he's living up there full time now. Thanks for the link to the listing on his house Mike. It was fun to take the virtual tour & just dream for a little bit!

[Go Gators]

I know that the Parade is a showcase of homes and such, but Im not sure how long it will hold, as Tallahassee is repeatedly named a fairly cheap place to lives in terms of home prices.

[Glenn]

..and here's the link to the listing for his house:

http://www.donfordrealtor.com/featured.php

Mike

--

p.s. I did a quick mortgage calculation on this. Just put a mere 10% down and it can be yours for approx. $35,000 a month for 30 years!

Regarding Brad Johnson's house....a friend in the local building industry told me this afternoon that Brad Johnson isn't leaving town when he sells his present home at Moore Pond. He said they're staying in Tallahassee & building an even larger home in the area...must be nice!

[mracca]

Could some one do me a small favor? I quickly saw a local Real-estate commercial this morning that advertised bungalow styles homes in a wooded area around a lake. They were new and were priced in around $150,000. My wife loved the look of these homes. Could some one that is more familiar with this give me some direction were to look at these homes? Thank you.

PS It was around a Lake that started with an "A" like Allen or something, if that helps.