A couple bought a bargain for less than $500,000 in Malibu, where their neighbors spend up to $5 million for the same Pacific Ocean view.
Emily Mills, 46, and her partner Barclay Neel, 48, bought the luxury mobile home from Dvele in 2019 for $495,000 and had it trucked to the posh Point Dume Club mobile trailer park.
The three-bedroom, 2.5-bath home is as eye-catching as any of the luxury homes along the Malibu coastline, but the couple paid less than one-fifth of the median home price in the area.
Within the Malibu zip code, home prices hover around $5 million, leaving the glamorous coastal area for the rich and famous.
The locals of Point Dume Club themselves pay about $2 million for their homes, but that doesn’t include land rent.
Emily Mills, 46, and her partner Barclay Neel, 48, bought Dvele’s luxury mobile home (pictured) for $495,000 in 2019 and had it trucked to the posh Point Dume Club mobile trailer park
The three-bedroom, 2.5-bath home is as eye-catching as any of the luxury homes along the Malibu coastline, but the couple paid less than one-fifth of the average home price in the area
Point Dume Club (pictured) is a 24-hour gated mobile home community and is one of the most expensive trailer parks in the US. Within the Malibu zip code, home prices hover around $5 million, leaving the glamorous coastal area for the rich and famous. The locals of Point Dume Club themselves pay about $2 million for their homes, but that doesn’t include land rent
Emily and Barclay said their new home was born out of tragedy following their original ownership in Point Dume Club was knocked out by the Woolsey Fire that burned through 100,000 acres of Malibu and Southern California.
“We went from this really high high of having this brand new house that burned down,” Mills shared Insider.
“We were going to live in it, and then it was just ashes.”
Their newly built house burned to the core, but the couple decided to use their insurance money to buy another Dvele house.
“In the end, we really got our dream home.”
When purchasing a mobile home, buyers must also lease the land on which their home is parked in Point Dume Club – a 24-hour gated mobile home community.
The club is one of the most expensive trailer parks in the US with land rent ranging from $400 to $4,000 per month.
To make their beautiful home a reality, Mills told Insider she turned to Dvele — a San Diego-based startup that sells prefab and modular homes that are energy-efficient and climate-resilient.
Dvele mostly builds houses in a giant factory before shipping them in bulk to the homeowner’s lot for installation.
Emily Mills, 46, and her partner Barclay Neel, 48, bought a luxury mobile home from Dvele for $495,000 in 2019
The living room is filled with nice amounts of natural light and has enough space for a large sofa and some storage
The spacious master bedroom has a view of the hill and an attached bathroom with a freestanding bath
It also has a home office built between two sliding wooden doors that can be opened to create a walkway
Their 1,840-square-foot home took four months to build, which the company says is about half the time a typical house takes to be built.
But installation took longer for Emily and Barclay as the pandemic raged and work crews were hit by supply shortages and closures.
The house came with all major appliances, so all they had to do was furnish it once installed on a bluff off Route 1.
The house has exterior wood paneling, giving the property a modern feel, and large windows to let in plenty of California sunshine.
It has a small back patio for entertaining and soft lighting to give a calm and relaxing effect.
The back terrace is connected to the living area with two sliding glass doors that act as windows.
Their 1,840-square-foot home took four months to build, which the company says is about half the time a typical house takes to build
The house came with all major appliances so all they had to do was furnish it once it was installed on a bluff off Route 1
Off the living room, in an open concept, is a large dining table that seats six and a bar lamp to keep it well lit – though Mills and Neels won’t need it with the amount of natural light pouring in.
Behind the table is a kitchen with additional seating at the bar, plenty of quartz counter space, and stainless steel appliances.
It also has a home office built between two sliding wooden doors that can be opened to create a walkway.
The spacious master bedroom has a view of the hill and an attached bathroom with a freestanding bath.
The home also features an outdoor shower for homeowners and guests to rinse off after a dip in the ocean.
On the other side of the house, the two other bedrooms function as Jack-and-Jill rooms connected through the bathroom.