Earl Girbovan

I would advise against buying a manufactured home, unless that is all you really can afford. Manufactured homes depreciate in price over time. When determining the cost of living in one, there is also space rental from the mobile home park. The nicer parks typically have space rental fees approaching $1000 per month. Additionally, manufactured homes typically take much longer to sell than a conventional home. And there are very few lenders willing to provide loans for them.

I would advise looking at condos or townhouses. There are nice complexes in Sunnyvale and Mountain View. Many lenders have FHA loans now requiring as little as 3% down. The condo will appreciate over time, and you will be much better off inthe long run. - Mon Oct 6 2008, 08:03

Hi Brian,

Splits like this are common in San Francisco, and the result is a tenants-in-common ownership of the property. It is less common in Mountain View. I suggest that you go to City Hall, and see if they will let you do the split, and what the requirements are. Some properties lend themselves to splitting better than others.

Doing a 'legal' split is critical, because when you go to sell, the lender and the appraiser are going to look closely at the property. Doing you due diligience here before spliting is critical. Since there are probably not a large number of comparables nearby, you would need to be in a positon to arm them with data substantiating the value.

Another problem you may have is your current lender. If you are splitting the property, and therefore changing the legal description, your existing lender may call the loan. Getting a new loan shouldn't be a problem after the split, but it will add to your expenses. I own a rental property down the street from you, and would be happy to discuss ideas with you. - Mon Sep 15 2008, 17:30

Most all of the western side of Mountain View has good schools. You can get a reasonable home in a good school district for ~ $900K. The more desirable homes are those on the border with Los Altos, that have Los Altos schools. But, homes in this area are closer to the $1.4 - $1.6M range. The good areas of Mountain View have not really been hit by the housing crisis, and well priced homes typically sell for about asking price within a couple of weeks. You may see homes that have been on the market longer, but generally they are on the eastern side, close to Highway 101, where the schools and neighborhood are less desirable. My wife and I currently have a listing in the Monta Loma are of Mountain View on Whitney Court you may want to take a look at on MLSListings.com. It's a good neighborhood, and is representative of the better homes in that neighborhood. We can help you with other areas as well. - Fri Sep 12 2008, 09:54

Hi Ajit,

Mountain View duplexes, assuming you pick the right area, continue to appreciate. If you're buying it with a friend or relative, be sure you both have the same goals, and decide up front what happens when one of you want to get out of the property. Most problems happen when one person wants to sell, and the other one doesn't.

A duplex is a great first step into the housing market. The next step would be to keep it as a rental, and then buy a single family home for you to live in. There are a couple of good duplexes on the market in Mountain View right now. Please contact me, and I can give you additional information. - Sat Jul 26 2008, 15:24

Hi Jilka,

Another site you might try is Fogster. The problem right now in the Palo Alto area is that Stanford University is always short of housing, and now is the time that the grad students are out looking, and grabbing anything they find. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a house, however. $3000 a month can get you a nice rental in Mountain View. Craig's List is still the best place to be looking. Very few agents deal with rentals any more. - Sat Jul 19 2008, 18:07