Eva Liland - Realtor Canyon Country CA Used Mobile Homes - Manufactured Homes

Building your own home, is that one of your dreams? Sure is for many. You go on dreaming and dreaming, do some checking with the building department in regards to how much the permits would cost you. You keep on checking, occasionaly, what else it takes. In the meantime, you are looking for that (affordable ) dream lot.

After some time, maybe even years, you have finally found it, a great piece of land! A thousand butterflies in your stomach, close to panicking "What if somebody else bids higher than me"? You already lost out on another 3-4 properties but THIS TIME, it is just right.

Strangely enough, even though you don't think its strange, since you kept such a close eye on the market, you've now fund THIS property within a couple of days since it came on the market. You make an offer and it is low because you know, no matter what you offer, they will counter higher. Finally, you reach an agreement,

You do your inspections, check for buildability etc. and decide to move ahead. Un-fortunately, you did not have enough cash to buy it for cash, out-right. Now, you are making payments on your precious piece of land and soon, soon it will be yours.

Everything changes. It is not a sellers market anymore. Foreclosures due to bad loans, keeps increasing. The market collapses. People are getting laid off due to stores closing and the bad economy. The financial picture of the state of California keeps getting worse. What else could happen?

Well, I spoke to my contractor friend yesterday and what he told me, was not fun. He had talked to a building inspector that in turn, told him, that when it comes to building a new home in the county of Los Angeles, it is no longer going to be enough to do the standard inspections after each phase of the construction of your new home.

It is suggested, and from what I understand, also decided, that when building a new home, an inspector has to be present during the WHOLE building process! Wow! Keep in mind, this is what I heard. I have NOT checked on it yet and if you are planning to build, please check carefully with the appropriate authorities.

Personally, I have no idea how many hours, weeks or months it takes to build a new home, I can only imagine. However, whatever it is, you are going to have to pay for that inspector, being present throughout the whole process. Would it take 300 hours? What do they charge per hour? $40, $60, $75?

$40 an hour times 300 hours will cost you another $12,000. $60 an hour would be $18,000 additional. $75? Add on another whopping $22,500. Without further speculation (and doom and gloom) my first phone call this morning will be, you guessed right, to the building department!

So, if all this is true, home builders are now going to have to pay for (hire) a state employee to watch your construction efforts. Would you also have to supply them with a digital camera with un-limited batteries and or, a high definition video camera, down loaded on a daily basis (and for a fee) to the building department? One can only speculate!

How many new homes are being constructed in the county of Los Angeles on an annual basis? 5,000? 15,000? 30,000 or more? What a clever move! Not only do you have to pay your taxes, you are also required to pay (hire) a state employee! I don't dare to guestimate what else they will come up with next.

Oakridge Mobile home park, Sylmar, who burnt to the ground mid November last year are now getting their insurance money and are out there, looking for another mobile home to purchase. Some where lucky and got their insurance money as early as mid-January, others are still fighting their insurance company.

What amazes me is that the site has not yet been cleaned up and we are now going on 4 months! Rumor has it that as many as 62-63 bids for clean-up, has been submitted. The latest I heard is that it is going to cost 2 million dollars to clean up Oakridge. Clean up does not mean searching for valuables such as gold and silver or other objects that might be salvagable. No, just scrape the whole thing and move on...

Ron, an older gentleman that I've met on several occasions, showing homes, lost his favorite piano valued at $25,000. He was way under-insured but there's nothing anyone can do about that. Another client, besides losing everything else, lost their art collection as well.

Tod and his wife lost their home in Sky Terrace, put an offer on a mobile home in Oakridge and before escrow closed, it burnt to the ground. Now, they are out looking too. Finding a mobile home for sale in San Fernando Valley is not easy. Most of the mobile homes for sale in the San Fernando Valley area are quite pricey, due to its commuter friendliness.

Santa Clarita Valley, however has many mobile homes for sale at an affordable price. There are currently 116 mobile homes for sale in Santa Clarita, Canyon Country, Saugus, Castaic and Newhall. Best of all, they are much more affordable.

For example:

Hasley Canyon Mobile Home Park, Castaic, 1998, 3 br, 2 bath, 1104 sq. ft $64,900, space rent $775

Lakehills Estates, Castaic, 1981, 2 br, 2 bath, 1440 sq. ft $30,000, needs paint & carpet, space rent $875

Parklane Estates, Canyon Country, 1978 2 br, 2 bath, 1248 sq. ft $49,900, nice, space rent $830

Greenbrier East, Canyon Country, 1993, Senior, 3 br, 2 ba, aprox. 1200 sq. ft excellent, space rent $743

Greenbrier West, Saugus, 1979, 2 br, 2 bath, 1540 sq. ft, could be 3 br, $79,000, space rent $743

Greenbrier West, bank repo, remodelled, 2 br, 2 ba, 2108 sq. ft, $85,900, space rent $743

Canyon Country Mobile Estates, Canyon Country, 1990, 3 br, 2 ba, 1344 sq. ft, $89,900, space rent $700

I could keep going but you get the picture. The Santa Clarita Valley is a great place to live with excellent school districts and a clean environment. The drawback is getting through the bottleneck of Interstate 405 merging with Interstate 5 and Interstate 210, all three at more or less the same time. Anybody going out to Palmdale and Lancaster on Interstate 14, has to pass through that bottleneck as well.

When will the new Oakridge Mobile Home Park be completed and what would it actually take to be able to afford to live there again? Nobody has an exact figure but taking a wild guess, my own personal guestimate would be somewhere, on the lower end, around $175,000.

Keep in mind, Oakridge originally said that only 2009 manufactured home models be allowed. Well, at the speed they are going (not), 2010 models seems more like it. The whole thing has to be built from the ground up. The infra structure is gone as well. They are going to need to build everything from scratch, including utility lines, streets, park amenities, club house, etc.

Since they have not even begun clean up, re-building in 2009 seems impossible. Something else. Lets say Oakridge will settle for a clean up company (hopefully soon). Once that is done, Re-builds the utilities, the streets and everything else. Now what? How many of the people that lived in Oakridge can actually afford to move back?

If your home was paid for, you got $75,000 from your insurance company and your new manufactured home is going to cost you a minimum of $175,000. You are now looking at a mortgage of $100,000. Will you qualify or put it another way, would you like to have payments for the next 20 years when all you had to pay before was your space rent of $850? I have not yet heard anything of what the new space rent will be but I am guessing it will go up, at least some.

When the fire struck Oakridge Mobile Home Park, everybody had alredy been evacuated, thank godness. I wish I had som photos to show you the devastation but nobody is allowed in and the only way you can see it is driving by on the Interstate 210, going 65 miles an hour. Let me tell you, it looks like ground zero.All my best for those who lost their homes in the Oakridge fire.

I LOVE where I live, going on 8 years now. No, it is not an easy place to live and my gas bill proves it! Not to talk about the time I spend, driving back and forth to work. However, this is my choice of living and if I decided to move out, it would cost me MORE!

Lake Hughes, California, a place most locals have not even heard of! A bunch of "stay away" residents and what kind hearts they have! A few years ago, my neighbor bought another home in Lake Hughes and decided to rent out her former residence. In the meantime, her husband got sick and they could not afford to pay two mortgages.

So, what did she do? Well, picked the first renter that came along, did not bother with credit check (or background) and happily took the money. At the time, I was pulling 10-14 hours a day, being at the height of the market so I really did not pay attention or realize the problem.

One day I REALLY did though. My neighbors were on my little dirt road cul-de-sac, fighting like there was no tomorrow! Cops came, took care of the problem. End of story? No, this is just the beginning. It showed that they were dealing drugs, had out-standing warranties, and on their trips to a nearby town big enough to support their selling habits, brought their 2 pitbulls along.

For protection. Got a gun? Kill my dog, not me! Un-speakable. So, here I am, starting to get SERIOUSLY worried about coming home (at all) and one night, I heard it, dogs fighting. It was a Tuesday evening and I never forget it.

I was scared so I jumped up on the fence, up to the roof of the art gallery and looking down, THEY WERE RIPPING MY CHARLIE BLUE APART! The two pit bulls had gotten a hold of Charlie, one at the neck, the second one at the back leg, and they were pulling like crazy!

I did not know what to do but I knew I had to do something. I found a piece of wood that I threw down (hoping not to hit Charlie Blue) and then started to scream "HELP!" After a few minutes people started to show up. One guy with a truck pulled it all up to the fight, turned on his headlights and revved the engine.

That got one pit bull off of Charlie Blue. Another guy came with a can of gasoline and through it all on them. That got the second pit bull off of my friend.

My friend Charlie Blue? How did we become friends?

Some 8 years ago, after my dog told me to look at the map to find another lake to swim in. we took a trip and I LOVED the place. She, being a golden retreiver, loved to swim. A day off? Where's a lake? Let's go!For almost 15 years, she was my best friend.

After separating from my husband, getting out, starting a new life and living somewhere else, things were finally starting to come together. Signed the lease of my new place and a few days later, returned to un-load my belongings. There was this dog, laying on the wayside of the country road and for sure, I thought it was dead.

Coming back, I saw it walking down the road! I later learned he was a local stray that had walked the road for years and several locals where feeding him. Poor thing, being stray and relying on table scraps, I could do better! He got my royal treat daily after that and shortly he began to "speak" to me. As in outbursts of cries. Cry, cry, cry, tail wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

That was as far as his social skills went. I could not touch him but he listened when I spoke to him. He was at-tentative but on a safe distance.

Long story short, the day after the attack I did not go to work. I was ansciously awaiting for my phone to ring with news about him. In the meantime, a local fire broke out and to be able to get out of my rural area, I had to do a round-about.

Yes, somebody did call and me and some local friends went to see what we could do. His leg was ripped, his body had wounds all over it and he was soaked in gasoline. At first, he did not want to come near me but all of a sudden, he just laid down.

We carried him to my car where I had my dog crate set up with comforting blankets. Getting to the vet and leaving him there with strangers was not easy but I had no choice. All in all, he went through three surgeries and almost $5000 and I paid for it all. Someone suggested to put a collection can at the local market and lo and behold, I collected almost $2400!

The local press had several articles about Charlie Blue and he was the topic of the town for a long time. A retired neighbor adopted him and he was like a newborn puppy, happy about the love he was receiving. When she moved out of the area, another lady and her husband took him over and he is even happier now.

What reminded me of Charlie Blue was that a couple of days ago, he came to my gate. Talking, crying, wiggling, obviously happy to see me and so was I. I did not give a hoot of the financial burden, paying for his surgeries, all I wanted was for Charlie Blue to be ok. Now, he lives down the street from me and obviously, he does remember and is grateful. So am I.