THE PREMIER MANUFACTURED HOME BLOG

So You Think It's To

Expensive To Live At The Beach? 

Think Again.

PART ONE 

With a little imagination and a lot of elbow grease the

average person can still  afford to enjoy all the splendor

the beach & surf culture has to offer.......and afford it.

It's true. Most single family homes West of Coast Highway 101, Leucadia, 92024 zip code are in the 7 to 8 figure range. However, there are still those coveted hidden little gems tucked deep within the enclaves of these choice circa '50's & '60's surf towns. And they still offer the average person an opportunity to live among the so called uber elite 1%. But they're growing  more popular as they are scarce and are more in demand than ever. 

Why? Simply put, with only 5 little Manufactured Home Communities, west of Coast Highway 101, between La Costa and Leucadia Ave, inventory is at all time lows. This is truly the last bastion in all of North San Diego County; possibly the entire Coast of Cali where you'll still afford to OWN & LIVE at the beach. (You own the home and lease the land).

You can still get a deal, or as I always say, "a diamond in the rough", at a fraction of the cost compared to most of your neighbors.  But you have to be  willing to take the time to look or hire someone who will look for you, knows what they are looking for and what to do when they find it.

When you do find that diamond you better be able to pull the trigger or kiss it good by.  Because it won't be there for long. Oh, and by BTW, be ready to spend an average of 100k.

Now why would anyone ever do such a foolish thing? Given Leucadia is in one of the most sought after beach cities in all of San Diego, when all is said and done we could easily put this little gem back on the market for $250,000 and sell it within days if we weren't planning to use it as a very lucrative rental at $2500/mth. in a non rent control area which adjusts according to the CPI annually.

The photos above are a great example. Here is a circa '78 that my son, Scott Arendsen, President of On The Level General & Manufactured Home Contractors Inc. is in the throes of  remodeling now. It will be taken completely down to the steel mainframe and rebuilt from the load bearing perimeter wall up.

Much depends on the year the Home was manufactured. If it's a, "PRE HUD" (built before, June 15, 1976) up to circa '79, there's a big difference in the way they were manufactured and the types of materials used.

In fact many PRE HUD "Mobilehomes" used 2x3 exterior wall stud construction and 2x2 interior walls. On the outside was what they used to call a SKIN; a flimsy painted aluminum siding. On the inside was usually 3/16" photo finished veneer wall paneling.

The floors were generally a 5/8" particleboard and the ceilings could have been a popcorn or acoustic type material. Over the ceiling was usually a very lightweight 1x2 inch wood truss system and on top of that was a rolled metal roofing material. the entire 'MOBILEHOME" weighed about 5 tons and looked like an over sized travel trailer.

That's not to mention the caustic and carcinogenic materials and chemicals i.e. formaldehyde and asbestos used in the particle board sub flooring, counter-tops, cabinets insulation and ceiling materials, etc. In many cases the best place for a PRE HUD-Circa '79 is the nearest bone yard. 

So why not just remove and replace the old "BEATER" as they

say in the auto industry, or as we call it in the MH industry, a

"TOILET"? Because of the existing setbacks.

Presently the home in the photo is what they call legal non conforming. In other words it's "GRANDFATHERED IN". However, should the entire structure, frame and all, be removed from its existing footprint all bets are off. The lot is much too small for the same sized new home. So this is what you have to do if you don't want to end up with a "Park Model" instead of a "Manufactured Home".

Now you're probably wondering why we ever took this project on in the first place right?. Quite simply because it's only 300 feet from the oceanfront and less than a 3 minute walk from to one of San Diego's best beach and surf breaks. Oh, and don't let me forget the best part of the story. We'll end up with a brand new home (albeit it will still be a registered '78 according to HCD and taxed accordingly).

We'll have somewhere between $150-200k in it by the time we're finished. But by being West of Coast Highway 101, the resale value will come in close to $250k. However, we will be renting this home instead for about $2500/mth+utilities+maintenance.  (Disclosure: We will still have a 35 year lease with the Park Community owner which is close to $1k/mth).

Please stay tuned for Part 2 where well show continued progress with new vapor barrier, insulation, load bearing perimeter wall and wall framing.