COMMENT OF THE DAY: READY TO POUNCE ON ANY LIFE FORMS DETECTED IN THE WOODLANDS 
“I live in a neighborhood in The Woodlands that was built out 100% by Lifeforms (Mitchell’s son was an architect there at the time). The finishes can be a bit dated, as the area was built in the ’80s, but the design and layout of the homes in the neighborhood are unique and in high demand. The homes are comfortable and ‘livable.’ Lifeforms architecture has a cult following . . . there is a fairly substantial group of people circling like sharks waiting for a house to come on the market in my neighborhood . . . additionally, I think I have more respect for a billionaire who was content in a modest home designed by his son as opposed to a man who needs to build a ‘gorgeous spread’ just to impress . . .” [Jeff, commenting on A Look at George Mitchell’s Decked-Out Home in The Woodlands, All Cleaned Up and Cleared Out for Sale] Illustration: Lulu
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Maybe LifeForms have some user-friendly layouts, but I’m not so sure that they are quite as sought after as the commenter seems to believe. Remember that scandal around 2000 invovling 70+ homeowners suing LifeForms over defective stucco material producing toxic mold in their homes? (http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Toxic-molds-bring-lawsuit-from-homeowners-2034005.php) YIKES! I think LifeForms eventually went after the stucco manufacturer, but maybe they should’ve done some more due diligence when choosing that particular type of stucco. Not sure I would want to live in a LifeForms home… who knows what other defects managed to slip through the cracks…. I live in a Tommy Bailey custom, but own a few Village Builders rental properties in The Woodlands and would never buy a LifeForms home as an investment – while LifeForms may be appealing cosmetically, they cut a lot of corners and quality along the way. Not for me.
I think this desire for LifeForms homes is more of wishful thinking and quite a bit of self justification for making a poor real estate purchasing choice.
Although I appreciate commonsense’s opinion, it couldn’t be more incorrect. I have lived in (while remodeling) multiple homes during the past decade… I intended to continue that practice indefinitely… That Plan changed when I finished the work on my current home (a great Lifeforms layout)…. I will never move again. The home just feels different than any home I have previously lived in. As for a bad real estate decision, I have never experienced unsolicited requests to purchase my home while living in other houses…. Now I get a few letters every year from real estate agents with clients shopping for Lifeforms homes or neighborhoods (and yes, I know the difference between this and direct mail marketing) …. The early Lifeforms designs are not the homes built by the company in the late 90’s-2000’s …. The style changed along with the company. …. Now if you want to talk self justification for a bad real estate decision, let’s talk about how great my EaDo property is due to its proximity to a metrorail station… Haha
Jeff, could you provide an example of an early Lifeforms house (or street that has them) versus a later one?
Rodrigo, I pulled the below info directly from the HAIF link that was posted by Bridgeland Dude in the comments section of the original George Mitchell article. The thread that it links to is a pretty informative Lifeforms conversation that is worth your time to read if the topic interests you. I’m not sure if the listed streets are 100% accurate, but the locations seem right to me.
Village of Grogan’s Mill
N. Mossrock
S. Mossrock
Village of Indian Springs
Sandpebble Dr.
Reedy Pond
Shallow Pond
Fire Flicker
Breezy Point
Leaf Trace Ct.
Twisting Birch Place Ct.
Sandprint Ct.
Trace Creek
Wilde Yaupon
Leaf Point Ct.
Village of Cochran’s Crossing
Otter Pond
Gannet Hollow
Song Sparrow
Sand Piper Place
Those locations are predominately early designs that are easily recognizable as Lifeforms… I honestly can’t distinguish later Lifeforms designs from other builders.
Additional “classic” Lifeforms streets from the 1970s & 80s:
GROGAN’S MILL:
Slash Pine Place
Slash Pine Park
Cokeberry Court (townhomes)
Sawmill Grove Lane (townhomes)
PANTHER CREEK:
Crimson Clover Circle
Lucky Leaf Court
Lehigh Springs Dr
Split Rock Court
Most of the synthetic stucco (EIFS) homes built by Lifeforms were built in Cochran’s Crossing and Alden Bridge during the 90s. It’s worth nothing that many builders, including Village, got burned in the EIFS debacle.
It’s worth NOTING, I mean. Jeff is correct – Lifeform’s architectural style changed quite a bit in the 90s. I heard they farmed out the designing to other firms. I don’t really know any details. Most of these designs were very “California style,” for lack of a better term. At the very end (they folded in 2004-2005), they did build some great Craftsman-influenced homes in far-west Alden Bridge (Crisp Morning Circle, Flickering Sun Circle) and in Sterling Ridge (Longsford Circle, and some townhomes on Douvaine Court). Their best work was definitely during the 70s and 80s, though.
Just purchased a Life Forms made “The Woodlands Flyer” wagon in almost new condition! Do you have any info on what I believe is a piece of The Woodlands history?