This one is near and dear given it's the model we bought after looking from afar for more than a year. I flew into Phoenix in July of 1999 and had 20 homes to tour. My folks lived here and had set everything up with the Realtor beforehand. My dad actually told the Realtor i probably wouldn't want to see this one because of the odd cupaloa on top of the foyer. When we drove by it, i liked it was on a corner lot, it was in Phase 2 and when she said the square footage was just under 3000 square i said let's look. It was love at first sight. One little problem; my wife wasn't with me and Lord knows buying a place without the spousal stamp of approval would be pure foolishness. My dad shot video of the house, we drove to Vegas and my wife met us there. We always stayed at the Stardust and they let us use a VCR in one of their corporate offices. Long story short, we put in a bid while standing in front of the Stratosphere Casino. In spite of our stupid agent and the crooked listing broker, we got it. It turns out the Castillle was part of the 1972/73 "It's Showtime" series. Now we're talking around the Sundial Rec Center and moving toward Bell Road. It was a popular model because it was 1800+ square feet, had an eat-in kitchen and a nice front patio courtyard. Once agin there were 4 elevations but i'm not sure of the other 3 names right now. The Castille listed for $38,990. Here's a shot from the marketing brochure and the floor plan: Next up is one that is for sale just down the street from us. It has the more vinatge look and feel, but the horrid overgrowth is the classic problem with Sun City homes being sold when there's an absentee owner or an agent isn't caring about curb appeal. This post is becoming quite long so i will show you 2 Castille's in the next post that are interesting comparison's of maintaining the traditional look and the other with a total update.
There has been some controvery in Sun City since the late 90's when people began putting stucco on their homes. I think the worst was from a vent in the paper where they were called "mud huts." The most often heard lament has been from old-timers who simply said if you wanted stucco, buy a home in Sun City West or SC Grand. For the most part though, people like the updates. The only real flap is when owners start putting on second stories or when they get too far out there in design. Frankly i think it all looks good; updated or well maintained vintage, it's what makes Sun City unique. It's when people don't give a crap and they let weeds grow into shrubs or they start parking vehicles all over their rocks. Here's 2 good looks at the Castille; first of my nighbor's house and then of ours. Same model yet different in look but still both fit well in the neighborhood and both are appealing to the eye (at least in my humble opinion. The neighbor: Ours:
Stucco is maintenance free for many years. I prefer the smooth stucco but a small amount of texture is ok. Some periods in stucco history they applied too much texture patterning which I find distracting.
I really love the original brick. I find the original Castille house design quite perfect and unusual as is. I would stucco over wood any day for longevity but never the beautiful ivory brick that is so Sun City. This white/ivory brick is what I think of when I think of Sun City home design. It's both quaint and beautiful at the same time. That brick will never go out of style.
I do really like this floor plan, and if we could roll back the prices to the early 70's that would be fantastic. Real Estate must not be a very exact science - the picture you have of the one for sale hasn't come up on any of the searches
FYI J, Trulia is not the best site to use when planning to buy. They are often behind in what is actually available. I quit using them long ago. Realtor gets info straight from the MLS and is usually right on time. I learned this from my nephew who coded real estate sites. This house you listed B is pending on Realtor.
Good catch Cynthia. I'd only add to watch homes that are pending. We do find them return to the market at times. Potential buyers have a back-out period and of course most want a home inspection that from time to time causes the buyers to walk away. This home was priced over 200k at the beginning of the year, so at $160 or whatever they have offered, it's a pretty good price. I haven't been in it, but my wife stopped at an open a couple of weeks back and said it needed work. That's not at all unusual at this price point. They'd done some remodeling, but we often have DYI'ers who are sometimes less than perfect. The other thing to note is some Realtors actually take reserve bids even after the house is pending...just something to think about.
The Castille elevation is very cool but I haven't looked inside one because it was about 1000 sq ft too big for my needs. I've wondered what is under that copula? Inside patio?
Under the cupola is the foyer which opens to the living room, formal dining room, arizona room and the hallway to the bedrooms. The house has a great flow to it, though some variations aren't as open as others. The original floor plan without the kick-out to the dining room is just under 1850 square feet. Larger than some want, but a nice size overall. Here's a couple of pictures but nothing gives you a good perspective: The patio area out front is pretty cool and the house when it was original had two 8 foot sliding glass doors to the patio. Most of the Castille you see have retained that feature.
Not too large after all. I thought you said almost 3000 ft. I guess you were talking about additions you made. 1500 -2000 is what I'm looking for.
The backroom addition was 800 square feet and with the knockout in the dining room and the laundry room/storage area we put air and heat to we come in at 3000 sq. I think the Castillo and the others in the H76 series all are in that 1800 square. It's why there are so many of them in between the Bell Rec Center and the Sun Dial Rec Center, a good size for less than they had, but more than an average SC home.
My favorite floor plan is H74 & H75. I like the circular flow. And when you open those big double doors you see the backyard immediately through a large window. Prefer the Cordoba elevation with it's two big brick arches. Not sure I will be buying one, but its my favorite all around so far.
