PREPARING FOR EL NIÑO

It does rain here, you know

by bryAn henson

The news is full of stories about our impending El Niño winter. Though we are all looking forward to some rain, severe storms can have major impacts on our homes. So what can you do to prepare for torrential rains, flooding, and possible mud slides? Prevention is key to keeping your home safe. Allen Construction has helped clients survive three El Niño winters: in the mid-1980’s, the winter of ‘97/’98 and again in 2005. Below are typical “problem areas” during a major storm event in Southern California. Be sure to check these items sooner rather than later. If there’s a problem after the rain begins, local contractors may be overwhelmed and not be able to get to you for several days.

Allen Vice President, Ian Cronshaw, remembers receiving a staggering six emergency phone calls from local residents desperate for our help within one 30 minute period during the 1997/98 El Niño.

In 1997, rain came down so intensely in Mission Canyon that all street drains were blocked. At a two-story house below Foothill Road, the parking area in front of the garage filled up with five feet of muddy water. Company founder, Dennis Allen, had to dive under water to find the drain and unclog debris in order to prevent water from entering the home.

Allen also recalls a neighbor who had so much mud coming down the steep hill behind his house he was afraid he would lose his home. He ultimately opened his front and back doors to allow the mud to channel through the house. While it was a mess, it was better than losing the house completely.

PROBLEM AREA #1: SITE DRAINAGE

To reduce the potential for rainwater pooling next to exterior walls or even entering your home, make sure the ground slopes AWAY from all structures. Ideally, soil levels should be 6” below the top of concrete footings. This is a code requirement for new homes and remodels, but may not be the case if your home was built before the 1980’s.

If you have French drains, downspout drains, or area drains, have them tested to make sure they’re functional before the rains. Perforations in French drains can get clogged with thirsty plant roots and downspout drains can get clogged from leaves.

If you live in a low-lying area or on a hillside and have a sump pump, make sure it’s serviced before the rains come. Otherwise, you may end up with a plumber snorkeling through your crawlspace to find the problem. Randy Corbin did this at an Allen Construction client’s house in ’04! Your trusted plumber can provide inspection service or repairs.

If you do end up with water under the house, it’s important to get it removed as quickly as possible following the storm because it will breed mold and mildew.

PROBLEM AREA #2: ROOFS AND GUTTERS

Spot-check your roof from the ground for signs of damage, sagging, or aging. If you have a wood roof, there is a possibility that the drought has caused the wood to dry out and shrink, creating the potential for leaks when it starts to rain. Once the rains come, it will be more difficult to trace the leak source because the wood will expand again. We strongly recommend hiring a roofer to conduct a “preventative maintenance” inspection. Then, you can find and fix problem spots before the rains begin.

With respect to gutters—clean them out as soon as possible. Flat roofs are notorious for getting debris stuck in drain heads, gutters, and downspout elbows. When the roofer comes out to do a preventive maintenance inspection on your roof, have him clean out the gutters at the same time. Adding a screen over roof drains to keep debris from going into them in the first place is also a good idea.

PROBLEM AREA #3: HOME EXTERIOR

Check for any cracks or holes in your home’s exterior. Be sure to look where pipes, wires or cables enter your home and reseal them, if necessary. Is the exterior of your home stucco? If so, the weep screed (building material used along the base of the stucco wall) must be exposed to release excess water in the wall structure. Stucco is not waterproof. It’s like a dry sponge. Where there is earth-tostructure contact above the weep screed, water absorbed through a stucco wall could become trapped, leading to potential rot and mold problems. If you have balconies or decks, check the slope with a ball or marble to ensure water will drain properly and not flow towards the house. If there are deck drains, be sure to check for good drainage.

PROBLEM AREA #4: HOME FOOTINGS

Some soils in Santa Barbara are extremely expansive. When intense rains come, especially after a dry period, the first two to four feet of soil quickly soaks up the maximum amount of water they can hold. This saturation expands the soil, putting enormous pressure on your home’s footings. If you don’t have footings that are designed to take care of this, they can be damaged. Once footings begin cracking and foundations start moving, your home is at risk for water seepage under the house. Installing French drains or having a good site drainage plan are preventative measures you can take to reduce problems with your home’s footings.

PROBLEM AREA #5: SLOPE STABILITY

With more bare ground in California than normal due to the drought, rain in the forecast also means there could be mud in our future. Mudslides can be a real issue—especially in areas with unstable soil. Purchasing or setting aside sandbags, swales, waddles, and 6mm rolls of plastic sheeting now will ensure you don’t have to scramble to track them down in the event your home needs extra protection this winter. During the storm, be ready to place sandbags where problems appear, particularly if the landscape slopes toward your house.

Spread 1” of mulch or compost over your garden area and around your house. This will help your property absorb an enormous amount of rainwater safely, in addition to cutting down on erosion/ immediate runoff. It will also buy (continued on page 80)

by LesLIe A. westbrook

Whether you are a young family hoping to enter the Santa Barbara housing market, a working professional, or a homeowner looking to downsize with low overhead for retirement, manufactured housing in Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Goleta or the Santa Ynez Valley wine country is definitely a great option.

Longtime homeowners who sell their home can use equity to buy a manufactured home and possibly put some money in the bank. If you are just starting out, it’s a great way to break into homeownership.

Mobile homes are actually manufactured housing—they are mobilized when they are delivered in large sections and set in place, but they don’t move once situated.

Some 19–20 million Americans live in mobile or “manufactured homes”. Half of them are over 50 — but that means half are under 50, so this type of living is clearly not just for “old folks.”

Clay Dickens, of Community West Bank, has been focusing on mobile home financing for the past 20 years of his 30 years in banking and lends on units throughout the state of California—he has even financed units selling for as high as $2,000,000 in Malibu.

“In the past, everyone stereotyped MH buyers as seniors and also the downtrodden, but in California, people have come to realize that this is the last bastion of affordable housing,” said Dickens. “Demographics are now all ages. Young couples securing first property and seniors buying what could be their last property. In most situations, the mortgage and space rent works out to be cheaper than renting a comparable size apartment or house. With 1970 tract housing selling for $800,000, more and more people are realizing it is a super alternative to being buried in a huge monthly mortgage payment. We also allow 100 percent gift funds for the down payment on MH home loans, which is a huge plus since most lenders require a minimum down payment of 20 percent.”

Prices: to purchase, dues, and taxes

There are several options when buying a manufactured house. You can purchase an existing unit that’s brand new, a remodeled unit or one in a space that you might want to remodel or replace with a new unit.

Prices for existing units tend to range from $225,000 to just over $500,000. Most run in the $200,000 - $300,000 price range.

“Last year we broke a record in San Vicente. A 3 bedroom, two bath 1,800 square foot unit sold for $525,000 and a brand new 1540 sq. ft. sold for $499,000 with space rent under $600,” noted Jeff Oien, of Village Properties, who has been selling manufactured housing in our area for 33 years. Lower prices for fixer uppers or singlewides do pop up from time-to-time.

Owned or leased land

In most “parks” you lease the land and pay a monthly fee for use of the land as well as sewer and utility fees. Space rents vary from park to park and unit to unit. Leases are lower in Santa Barbara County ($490-$620 due to rent control) than Carpinteria (which can run as high as $875).

There are currently three share/co-op parks in the surrounding area where you own a share in the entire park and pay monthly HOA dues.

Pros and cons

If you purchase a “vintage” mobile home, you will be thrilled with your “property taxes”—which are actually vehicle registration taxes. The owner of a 1970s model would pay less than $100 annually. How’s that for property tax relief? Newer homes are taxed accordingly.

The homes are often more spacious that you would imagine.

This is a pro and a con: you do live close to your neighbors. If you live alone, you might like the notion of having neighbors close. If they are quiet, then you will be happy. Most good parks have strict rules, so people tend to behave—or they can get kicked out!

All age vs. senior parks

There are 17 very nice parks in our area, both senior (over 55) and family parks. The majority of homes have pools and other amenities. Some senior parks have small golf courses, tennis courts, and resort-like recre- ation areas. Others with minimal amenities have lower space rents. Most parks have a clubhouse, pool and other amenities. Rancho Goleta has it’s own beautiful lake.

“The two best all-age parks are Rancho Goleta and Sandpiper Village,” says realtor Jeff Oien, adding, “Rancho Santa Barbara and San Vicente continue to be two of the most sought after 55+ communities in California. Both are gated communities, with mature landscaping, year-round heated pools, spas, and large clubhouses with billiards and libraries, golf courses and tennis courts. Monthly space rents range from $490 to $710 per month.”

Sandpiper Village in Carpinteria is a terrific all-age community of 281 homes, with a nearly 10,000 sq. ft. clubhouse. Amenities include greenbelts; tennis courts, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, fitness room, Ping-Pong tables, a billiards room, dog run and more. Some homes have ocean views. Young families with babies, elementary school children and teenagers live happily side by side with retirees.

Rancho Goleta, with 200 homeowners, is the only resident-owned community in the Goleta/Santa Barbara (Carpinteria also has a resident owned community). A large lake centers the park and the clubhouse features a library, swimming pool and spa. The Given Farms on one side and the Goleta estuary on the other surround the park. A short 8-10 minute walk and you are on the sand at Goleta Beach.

“Inventory is scarce, and this has caused prices to rise over 30 percent in four years,” notes Jeff Oien.

The clubhouse and pool at Rancho Santa Ynez Mobile Estates in Solvang has an Old West feel and prices are quite low (under $100,000, but leases are higher; around $900 monthly) when units come on the market for those desiring a wine country escape.

Customizing And Installing A New MH Unit

Savvy Don Zurlinden is the only combination new manufactured home sales agent and broker in town. He strongly recommends buyers work with a dealer familiar with the process before making a purchase of an older home they may want to replace. A former mechanical engineer, Zurlinden utilizes a CAD system to custom design and sees the project through from start to finish, including helping with selection of finishing touches sourced from local companies as well as hidden costs that can include flood zone determinations (which can add $5,000 to the cost of a project). The entire process takes about four months from start to finish. If you are living in a unit and need to move for a new installation Don says to plan on being out for about two and a half months.

The cost?

“Most new units run between $130,000— $140,000 total, including a new driveway, carport, eaves and other considerations, but they can go to $180,000 depending on finishing touches,” says Zurlinden, “Property taxes run about $1,400—$1,500, but decrease annually.”

Looking forward, this type of affordable, community living could actually be the wave of the future for people looking to downsize economically and have a built-in community — something that’s increasingly important as people age.

A modern manufactured home from Hallmark-Southwest Corp., who are on the forefront of creating modern designs that meet the desires of a hipper generation of buyers, young and old, who may want to upgrade or purchase in mobile home communities. The new contemporary home line (Solo 4 pictured) can be designed, customized and built to owner specs. as either a Manufactured HUF Title 24 home for mobile home park living or as a California Modular Title 24 home.

Custom interior of a Hallmark-Southwest Corporation manufactured home with a view (opposite). Homes can range from 700 to 1600 square feet for single story park community homes to multi-story homes exceeding 4,000 square feet on private land. www.hallmarksouthwest.com.

The cabinets have many layers starting with the wood that is walnut. They are then painted and rubbed through, then distressed and finished with a brush glaze. It is a change from the earlier mindset that if you have a Mediterranean style home you put in a wood stain cabinet. Other elements include: Chiseled edge honed granite top, handmade and hand painted fired tile, large main window providing abundant natural light and upper glass transom cabinets with lights.

Design by Santa Barbara Design & Build, www.santabarbaradesignandbuild. com 805-453-0518. Photo by Erin Feinblatt