We spent the day yesterday looking at Mobilehomes for sale in Capitola, California. It was an absolutely gorgeous day over there which isn’t what I expected. Usually when it’s really warm in San Jose, it can be quite chilly and foggy over the hill. I have a girlfriend over there that had a small map ready for us, along with a print out of the different homes for sale, and a little info she knew regarding each park. After looking at most everything, we went back to her place for a delightful dinner. Great finish to a pretty productive day.

While I want out of this hotel pretty badly, I also have to make a decision as to what kind of home and where I want to live. I really enjoy Capitola and it has a much more “laid back, everyone here is on vacation” feel to compared to the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. I’ve also been considering whether to just rent an apartment, a mobile, or a house. There are so many pro’s and con’s to all.

I have always thought you got the most bang for your buck in a mobilehome. They have some beautiful ones that rival many houses. They can be vary spacious and usually have some great “built ins” like a buffet type hutch, etc. One of the drawbacks is there are a lot of “rules” similar to living in an apartment, although if you buy one where you buy the land underneath it the rules aren’t as restricting and at least you have a say in what becomes a rule. The park we’re interested in is super well-kept with a clubhouse that is also in good repair, something that would never be said about our old park.

Apartment living can be nice in the way that if something breaks down or needs repair, it’s the landlord’s responsibility. When I lived in apartment years ago one of the biggest problems was if someone lived above you, you had to deal with their noise. If you live on top, someone’s always complaining about you. Also some rent increases can be crazy! My mother lived in an apartment complex once where they figured out if they transferred the property to another family member every 6 mo. as if they were a legitimate buyer, they could raise the rent every time the property was “bought”.

A house is good in that it allows you to live pretty basically as you want to live, but there is a lot of upkeep that goes with that if you’re buying. If you’re renting you just have to worry about rent raises and evictions. I’ve known several given 30 days notice to move because they’ve decided to sell or give the home to a family member(child).

Advantages of buying is being able to write the payments off on your taxes, and all things considered equal, the place is yours. I do have to say I miss the socialization that comes with apartment living, but that can be both a good and a bad thing.

So today I will call the places we were interested in yesterday. I have already gone out and picked up a paper for today along with one of those “home magazines”, altho I prefer to deal direct with a seller than an agent. If I wasn’t a broker, I probably wouldn’t feel that way looking at how complicated the contracts are these days. LOL.

What do you consider to be an advantage to buying? renting? apartment? house? townhouse? I’d love to read what your thoughts are.