Mid-century and Mobile - The Journey Begins | TMH 001
Well, it’s time to get started on this journey. You can say it starts with a single step, but it also starts with a blog post - this one. I’m taking my steps towards home ownership. I hope this journey ends with the purchase of my dream Manufactured Home, but it may also end with me coming to the realization that it’s not for me. Right now, I have my reasons for why I see Manufactured Home ownership as my best bet in the insane Southern California housing market.
I had been casually looking online at homes for sale, seeing what was offered, and what I might be able to afford in Southern California. I’ll cut right to the chase - there wasn’t anything! There also wasn’t anything worthwhile to rent in my price range. I’m an architect in my mid 30’s, my mother lives with me and I support her, and I am banking 20% of my paycheck towards savings. My monthly output to housing can be about $1400, and I need a two bedroom. For houses to purchase there was nothing bellow $300k that would qualify for a loan (all major fixers - I want that, but the banks don't), and that would require a minimum 20% down payment - it was going to be a long while until I had $60k. There also was not much below $2000 a month to rent. But, there was something that kept coming up as I looked at the homes for sale - Manufactured Homes. They were two bedrooms, 1500sf or more, and they had yards. They were also in a style I liked, Mid-century Modern. The only problem was that the purchase price ($150k-$200k) came with a monthly space rental fee that made it not such a bargain. The space rentals were between $600 and $1800 a month! So manufactured homes were out of the question. Or so I thought...
Then I saw my dream home listed for $87,000. I fell in love. A two bedroom, two bath, 1,500sf home that looked like Richard Neutra had designed it (despite it being from 1980). Floor to ceiling windows - and look at those ceilings! Post and beam, cathedral ceilings.
The kitchen instantly reminded me of Russel Wright’s Manitoga. Yes, I know it’s a fixer, but look at the architecture of that space. If this were a conventional home in would be in the $500k+ range.
A little investigation showed that 10% down was standard for manufactured homes - as opposed to 20% for a conventional home.
So I started crunching the numbers:
$87,000
- $8,700 (10% down)
=$78,300 loan
$500 monthly loan repayment (according to online MH loan calculators)
+$900 for space rental
=$1,400 per month
Was this possible? Could I split the difference between renting and buying, get a 1,500sf, two bedroom home, with a yard, in a gated community with clubhouse and pool, for $1,400 a month in Southern California? Could it also be mid-century modern? Right now, I don’t know, but I plan on finding out. Some mysteries, in no particular order, I’m coming up against are:
Why are space rentals between $600 and $1,800 a month, with no discernible reason for the vast difference? I’ve seen communities that have pools and clubhouses go for $750 a month and ones for $1,000 a month that have very few amenities.
Is there a guarantee that I’m going to move in, and not have my space rental fee go from $900 a month to $1,800? Do rental laws apply to rental spaces in the same way they apply to homes? I’ve heard of Rent Control on Space Rental fees, but isn’t Rent Control broken with a new tenant (me)?
How hard is it to move a Manufactured Home? Can a double-wide even be moved?
Are they money pits? Can I fix up my Manufactured Home and have it increase in value like a conventional home?
Are home loans the same Manufactured Home loans? It seems not if 10% down is standard for Manufactured Homes.
Why is nobody else doing this?! That is a scary question...
So, if you want to know the answers to these questions as well, follow along on my journey…
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