Ready to Provide a Stable Home for Your Family?

Once a young couple has started a family, you start to seek out more stable living situations. Maybe you’re…

  • Tired of dealing with rent increasing every year at your apartment complex
  • Searching for a place where your neighbor doesn’t live in your front yard
  • Looking for floor plans that can fit your growing family

Whether you’re experiencing one of these challenges or simply are ready for a place to call home, you have several options for moving forward when trying to find a place for your growing family.

Purchase a Traditional Home

The route most families first try to follow for purchasing a new home is to buy an already existing home in the area they wish to live and raise their children.

Compared to renting, owning a home allows your family more privacy, customization after purchase, and you will no longer have to make monthly payments once it’s completely paid off. Plus, once you purchase a home the value of your property will increase overtime at a rate above inflation. Yes, a manufactured home permanently affixed to real property will appreciate like any site-built home, but the initial costs will most likely be less.

However, housing costs in Southern California are higher than ever, causing numerous buyers to spend much more than they wish in order to find a floor plan in a location they like. Plus, finding a house that already exists that has a floor plan, amenities and price range in your desired city is a hassle, and sometimes impossible for your budget.

Invest in a Condo or Townhouse

Townhouses and condos are growing in popularity among the SoCal residents. Due to their generally lower price and increased availability, many first-time home buyers are choosing these as their desired choice for their new families.

These two options are usually cheaper than purchasing a traditional standalone house, which is great if your budget is rather limited in the expensive Southern California housing market. Plus, some developments provide maintenance, especially for shared areas.

Something to consider, however, is the size of the condo or townhouse that you purchase. If you’re considering having more children, your family might quickly outgrow one of these options and run out of space. Plus, these two options are usually clustered with other homes, leaving little to no space for a yard or extra privacy that a standard home can provide. Additionally if you have pets, there may be restrictions to what kinds of pets you can have depending on community guidelines.

Rent a House

If you cannot qualify for a mortgage or down payment right now but need the extra space that an apartment does not provide, renting a house might be in your realm of possibilities for your growing family.

An advantage for renting instead of buying includes added flexibility. If for some reason you or someone in your family needs to relocate for a new job or any other scenario, it’s much easier to handle ending a lease instead of going through the selling process. Plus, the landlord is in charge of paying for property taxes, maintenance and repairs instead of you.

Unfortunately, if you decide to rent you won’t have any control over potential rent fluctuations, which may suddenly peak above your budget when it’s time to renew your lease. You are not allowed to make any changes to decoration without the landlord’s consent, and have to pay for any damages that you, your children, or pets may inflict on the property if not repaired before you end your lease. Worst of all, the landlord may decide to sell and you have to move to another rental, which could be out of the school district that you like.

Own a Manufactured Home

An alternative option you may not have considered yet for your growing family is a manufactured home. Manufactured homes are customized houses built in factories, then transported and installed with a permanent foundation on your desired property, which you either previously own or purchase in a package with your new manufactured home. These are not mobile homes, which actually haven’t been constructed since the 70s. These homes are built to a pre-emptive HUD code, which allows placement almost anywhere in California.

Manufactured homes allow your family to customize available floor-plans to what fits best for you, all within a price that is much more affordable than a traditional stick-built home. If you’d like to see which option is best for your budget, take a look at our cost comparison between manufactured and traditional homes.

Do you know which option is best for your growing family’s first home? If you’re still unsure, contact our team and we’d be more than happy to find the best option for your unique family.

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