by Mindy Laughton

Sometime after you discover you’re pregnant, you begin to feel the urge to nest. Nesting is a nurturing mechanism that inexplicably manifests itself in pregnant women. It’s what prompts you to paint the walls pink and collect onesies. For me, the desire to nest was instantaneous because I lived in a small one-bedroom apartment with my husband.

I couldn’t imagine bringing a baby into the apartment – especially considering the bathroom, which was so small when you sat down to use the toilet your knees had to be wedged against the wall. I didn’t even have a bathtub; just a standup shower.

Should I buy or just keep renting?

I had the urge to nest, just not in my cramped apartment. We needed a bigger nest, but we live in southern California and it is really expensive here. Expensive or not, we knew we had to make a decision because our family would be increasing by one in just seven months.

Ultimately, it was the investment opportunity that sold us on buying a house. The equity was simply too compelling of an argument to even consider moving into a larger apartment or renting a house. We determined that a price increase of just 3% would increase our equity by 15%, if we made a 20% down payment. Plus, we were sick of renting, so we quickly determined that we would buy a house.

Not all real estate agents are created equal.

Our first real estate agent was a real jerk. He thought our $150,000 budget was laughable for the area. When we told him we were hoping to move in six months, he started laughing so hard tears fell from his beady little eyes. It was frustrating, especially when he and my husband began butting heads over location. The agent insisted we wouldn’t be able to find anything in our price range nearby, and my husband refused to consider moving out of the area.

Our next real estate agent was much better. She was willing to work with our budget, and even suggested we consider purchasing land instead of a house, and then building there. This would significantly reduce her commission, but she was intent on helping us achieve our dreams of owning our own home. When it comes to real estate agents, she’s a winner because she actually cares about her customers.

We moved into our dream home five months later…How did we do it?

Ultimately, it was our real estate agent who helped us discover Palm Harbor. We considered her idea of purchasing land, but neither of us believed we were capable of building our own home or supervising a contractor. She suggested Modular and Manufactured Homes by Palm Harbor, a company that has built manufactured homes for over 35 years and specializes in “high-end” models.

I almost laughed, just like our beady eyed former real estate agent. In southern California, our budget does not get you high-end, but I took the card anyway and contacted Palm Harbor. From there, we were introduced to incredible floor plans and affordable factory-built homes. We were amazed by some of the features we could afford, including an enormous bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and plenty of room for our growing family.

Believe me, nothing about our house says “manufactured home,” but it is one. The most amazing thing is how fast they built it. It took just two weeks in the factory and another three months on our land before our home was completed. We were all moved in and decorated before our daughter was born, and for that we owe big thanks to our realtor because she put aside her own needs for the greater good of our family.

[Editor’s Note: Manufactured or modular homes have come a long way over the years.  There is a wide range of quality, but it is very possible to get a house built with the exact same materials you’d use if you built your home on-site.  They just reduce the time and expense by building most of it indoors, then “assembling” in on-site.  Do be aware, though, that this typically requires a construction loan rather than a home loan, so be sure to check out what options are available to you before deciding on a course of action.]