Posted by Chuck, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Feb 18, 2013 at 11:42 am

My comments are in response to the article about Eichlers by Monique. tired listing in the other comments section but could not connect because it listed "Other" and would not accept any Palo Alto input.+++

Posted by Yeccccch, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Feb 18, 2013 at 6:06 pm

They were cheap, they were poorly constructed and fragile. They were just plain cheesy, but they served their immediate purpose. However they were only one step above a mobile home, and in the 50s and 60s, disparaging things were said about people who lived in them.

Posted by Anonymous, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 18, 2013 at 10:08 pm

Post-war housing with a little style. Palo Verde's not going to do well with sea level rise and the occasional floods.

Posted by PV Rez, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Feb 19, 2013 at 11:53 am

What's with the neighborhood snobbery? I agree that on first glance, many homes look like something from "The Jetsons" or the Brady Bunch - at least that's what I thought when I moved here. But, its grown on me and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else! I miss my neighborhood when I'm gone, and its great to see it when I return.

Posted by Unfair meadow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Feb 19, 2013 at 2:25 pm

I grew up in Fairmeadow. The first couple of years were okay, we liked the warm floors. Until the heating units encased in the concrete foundation stopped working and could not be fixed. My folks had to pay a lot of money to have central heating installed, and we had to move out for a long time while it was being done. Another big expense. Then, during the first energy crisis, we found out that the walls could not be insulated, and when the kitchen was remodeled soon after, the wiring had lost all it's insulation because of the single wall construction, and the kitchen had to be completely required. Ditto the bathrooms a few years later.

Most Eichlers are built on flood plains apparently, and due to the moisture they get moldy. The mold will even grow in your shoes. Yes, the initial expense was cheap, but the maintenance was a nightmare, and the repairs never ending. Then the resale value sucks. It would have been cheaper in the long-run if my parents had bought a better house in a better neighborhood. Why anyone would want one now is beyond me. They are a big, big headache. Obviously, Joe Eicler was not thinking long-term!!!!