When my husband Brian first advised me he is from Laguna Seashore, it took the whole lot in me to play it cool. “Oh, is that near Los Angeles?” I requested.
Like most elder millennials, I knew precisely the place Laguna Seashore was. I might seen each episode of the truth present (I used to be an LC with a Kristin haircut) and was a superfan of “The OC” in addition. (Seth and Summer time perpetually!)
I do not know why I pretended. Seems, Brian’s a Seth-and-Summer time stan, too.
I by no means imagined we might find yourself residing within the land of beachside cottages and sun-drenched ocean coves I might seen on TV. However in 2021, we determined to go away the Bay Space and spend a pair months in Brian’s hometown. We each work remotely — I am a author and he is in tech gross sales — so why not?
We have been right here ever since. At this time, we reside in an old-school, 940-square-foot, aluminum-sided trailer throughout the road from the seaside.
Deciding we wished to remain in Laguna Seashore wasn’t arduous — I imply, it is stunning, sunny, laid again, and has a thriving artwork scene. However determining a long-term residing state of affairs in such an expensive space required us to get inventive.
Discovering a inventive method to reside in Laguna Seashore
The median house value in Laguna Seashore hovers round $3 million and the median month-to-month lease is over $8,000. Brian and I had been paying $6,200 a month for our short-term rental, a steep value we may abdomen for a few months however not one thing we may maintain.
Fortunately, we found a unusual little neighborhood tucked away in a picturesque canyon throughout the road from the ritziest resort on the town. It is crammed with cellular properties that promote for as little as $150,000.
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Brian and I aren’t any strangers to different abodes — we might beforehand lived aboard a 46-foot motor yacht for 3 years — so the idea of a home on wheels did not intimidate us.
Once you buy a trailer on this cellular house group, the construction is yours however you lease the land it sits on. We determined to have a look at buying a cellular house as a hybrid resolution — half proudly owning, half renting — all for lower than what both conventional possibility would value.
After residing aboard a 46-foot motor yacht for 3 years, the 940-square-foot “feels like a mansion to us,” Brian says. “We’ve always loved an unconventional place.”
Courtesy of Jaclyn Westlake
We paid $212,500 for the trailer utilizing cash we might saved up after negotiating a $5,000 credit score from the sellers when the house inspection uncovered some needed repairs.
After residing on a ship, we did not have way more than a TV and a mattress to begin off with. So as to rebuild the unstable again deck, fence the yard, re-do the landscaping, renovate the kitchen, and furnish the house, we took out a $150,000 house fairness mortgage in opposition to the trailer.
All advised, we’re at present paying about $5,148 a month, together with:
- Land lease: $3,424
- Utilities: $394 (these fluctuate a bit each month, however that is what we paid in April 2024 for electrical energy, gasoline, water, sewer, and web)
- Mortgage reimbursement: $1,330
We’re desirous to repay the house fairness mortgage to carry our month-to-month value of residing down much more and hope to take action inside the subsequent two years.
Have a look inside our ‘classic’ Laguna Seashore trailer
Our two-bedroom, two-bathroom house was constructed within the Nineteen Sixties. The outside is unique and we love the classic look.
There isn’t any storage, only a carport, so we constructed a storage shed within the facet yard for tenting gear and vacation decorations.
Jaclyn and Brian’s old-school, 940-square-foot trailer has wheels (although they are not seen) and could be moved. You possibly can see the carport on the suitable and the storage shed peeking over the fence on the left.
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In our carport, you will discover a golf cart, which is our favourite method to get across the neighborhood, decide up groceries or zip throughout the road to the seaside. When it is not sensible to make use of the golf cart, we’ve a daily automobile and a van for transporting Brian’s surfboards round city.
We put our personal stamp on the kitchen, including butcher block counters, a tiled backsplash, a dishwasher, and a wine fridge.
Once they purchased the trailer, Jaclyn and Brian knew they wished to replace the kitchen. “It was fine, but it didn’t have a lot of warmth or character to it,” Brian says. Jaclyn provides that it was “very white.”
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There aren’t any closets — not one! — on this home, so we needed to get inventive with storage: My wardrobe is in the lounge, our towels are saved in a buffet in my workplace space, and pots and pans go within the leisure middle.
It is unconventional, however we make it work.
Jaclyn and Brian did not change something structurally in the lounge and eating space (to the left behind the sofa), however they did have to determine the suitable format in what they name a “weird space.”
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Although I’ve an actual desk, I typically write on the sofa with our our 15-year-old dachshund combine Indy (brief for Indiana Jones).
Brian normally works within the second bedroom-turned-office so he can shut the door whereas he is on calls. Typically he’ll head outdoors.
Jaclyn is a recruiter turned profession recommendation columnist turned novelist whose first e book, “Dear Dotty,” was launched in June. She has a second novel popping out subsequent summer season and is at present engaged on her third, normally at her desk or on the sofa.
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We went somewhat wild with our wallpaper (tropical the whole lot!), together with within the main bed room.
There’s one thing so enjoyable about realizing that this place is ours to brighten nonetheless we please.
Jaclyn and Brian have a king-sized mattress, “which is important when you have a little dog that likes to take up a lot of space,” Jaclyn says. Throughout from the mattress is a dresser with a TV hidden behind it that rises up on a carry after they wish to watch.
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The yard is what offered us on this place. It has an outside bathe and a eating space, and will get a great deal of solar. We added some tropical landscaping, a scorching tub, Ping-Pong desk, pizza oven, and a projector display.
I really like sitting outdoors and watching the hummingbirds dance round our crops.
Jaclyn and Brian spend lots of their time outdoors within the yard, working, studying, stress-free, and internet hosting.
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A ‘much less tense’ model of the California dream
Dwelling in a home on wheels would not exempt us from the everyday house owner complications. Since shifting in, we have handled an ant infestation, tented for termites, and evicted a household of mice, and we’re at present grappling with a gopher drawback.
However protecting our month-to-month housing prices low (for the world) makes tackling these points much less tense.
We regularly take pleasure in our morning espresso on the deck, take walks right down to the seaside, and unwind with a night dip within the scorching tub.
The trailer is throughout the road from the seaside and Jaclyn and Brian usually head over a pair days per week.
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We love watching Indy sunbathe on his favourite lounge chair, having associates over for out of doors pizza events, taking the golf cart into city to seize dinner or hit up the annual Sawdust Artwork Pageant, and turning on the fireplace pit whereas we watch a film beneath the celebrities.
In brief, we could not be happier right here. We have been on this house for 2 years now and we do not plan on shifting anytime quickly.
Jaclyn Westlake writes books about humorous, flawed girls looking for their method on the planet. Her debut novel, “Expensive Dotty,” is out there wherever books are offered. A recruiter turned profession recommendation columnist, her work has appeared on The Muse, Enterprise Insider, and Inc. You possibly can comply with her adventures in writing, seaside residing, and past on Instagram @jaclyn_writing or at jaclynwestlake.com.
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