[Jammie]

http://mobilehome.net/fl/index.htm

I really agree with some of the things already posted here. It will probably be many years before land spikes back up in Fla., but it'd be so easy for the owner of a trailer park to sell the property out from under you when values do go up again. But who knows? That could be 20 years down the road.

If a mobile home is newer then 1992 (I believe that's the year), they are supposed to be built much sturdier then in the past. But even older ones have 2X6 walls so they're not the tin cans the original ones were.

One of the things I disagree with is the fact that they lose value. If you check out the above site and newspaper listings, you'll see that they're trying to sell very old mobiles for quite a high price. Take a 1970 for example~I've seen them listed at 20,000 and I doubt they were half that much when they were new. But asking price and selling price are two different things, too.

We've driven through 55 plus mobile home parks down there and I thought they were so quaint and cute. They're so well kept and so neat.

The biggest downfalls would be the cost of lot rent and insurance. It doesn't look like mobile home park owners have heard that values have dropped and still seem to be charging huge prices for lots. The other thing to check in to is if you could get any kind of insurance for them. It sounds like you aren't thinking of insuring it, but wouldn't you be trying to get some sort of personal property insurance or liability insurance? I'm not sure how that would work to just get a few portions of insurance and not insure the home itself. Just something to consider and check in to.

Actually, I often read about the extremely high cost of apartments. It's definitely true if you have a family and need quite a bit of space. But if it's just you or two of you, there are apartments out there that aren't astronomical in price. From what the cost of lot rent is in many parks, you could pay for well over half the rent for some apartments. Check out apartments.com or move.com or rent.com or apartmentguide. Craigslist also has some bargains. You may be surprised to see that if all you're looking for is a smaller 1/1, it may be more affordable then you think.

[htlong]

thats a great idea and I am looking for ideas, I would prefer the solitude of a separate trailer than a apt building ,maybe I will look into small houses to rent. craigslist is a good lead thank you

[grandmallie]

morning all,
dh and I just bought a doublewide, in this mobile home park.
ours is 1985, furnished, and the park is very well kept, we spend the extra money so that we do own the land underneath the home, and also own a share of the park.
we have done alot of research to find this, but there are alot of extra's that u have to add on
we are not ready for retirement yet, dh still has 10 years to go, but we wanted something that we would be able to have , when we did
The people in this park volunteer to take you around to look at the properties, it is a gated community with a security guard, so you cant just drive through, feel a little more secure that way.And alot of activities,2 pools and it is about 13 miles from the gulf, so not so bad for a day at the beach. With owning your own land, we only pay an association fee of 100.00 a month and thats for trash, and lawn mowing etc.. thats why we payed the extra to own the land, if not fees can be anywhere from 400.00 to 600.00 a month,geesh we are still paying down a mortgage here, that would throw a wrench into the monkey works
North Port is growing ,I dont know if that is a help or hinderence, but we are happy with our purchase, good luck to all of you

[faithfulFrank]

My home is in Leesburg, in a gated 55+ community. A good friend of mine lives a few miles up Hwy 27, in a gated double-wide community called "Hawthorne"

They love it there. Strong sense of community. Very nice place....they have a large community center with many activities, a pool and two nice BIG hot tubs, a sauna, etc....a place to wash your car with vaccuums, a gardening area, softball field, etc,etc....

They also have their own fire dept, and a sheriff dept station right on the premises....It is a gated place, with 24 hour guardgate. Every place there has a emergency button that if pressed, insures help will be there within a minute or two.

they are very happy there, and did not have to pay what others are paying for an expensive house. It may not be for everyone, but this friend could buy and sell me many times over, and he choose to live there......he has an HOA, but that includes lawn mowing, etc, and it is not that much. He also has his own boat dock, and it goes to Lake Harris...very nice perk.

He has liability insurance.....I do not believe he has insurance for the place itself, because if he lost it tomorrow, it would not put a dent in his wallet, although it IS a very nice place......He is living the Florida life, plays golf everyday, still has a fat wallet, loves his neighbors, etc, ....living the good life.

just wanted to show another side of the picture.....

Frank D.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

My home is in Leesburg, in a gated 55+ community. A good friend of mine lives a few miles up Hwy 27, in a gated double-wide community called "Hawthorne"

They love it there. Strong sense of community. Very nice place....they have a large community center with many activities, a pool and two nice BIG hot tubs, a sauna, etc....a place to wash your car with vaccuums, a gardening area, softball field, etc,etc....

They also have their own fire dept, and a sheriff dept station right on the premises....It is a gated place, with 24 hour guardgate. Every place there has a emergency button that if pressed, insures help will be there within a minute or two.

they are very happy there, and did not have to pay what others are paying for an expensive house. It may not be for everyone, but this friend could buy and sell me many times over, and he choose to live there......he has an HOA, but that includes lawn mowing, etc, and it is not that much. He also has his own boat dock, and it goes to Lake Harris...very nice perk.

He has liability insurance.....I do not believe he has insurance for the place itself, because if he lost it tomorrow, it would not put a dent in his wallet, although it IS a very nice place......He is living the Florida life, plays golf everyday, still has a fat wallet, loves his neighbors, etc, ....living the good life.

just wanted to show another side of the picture.....

Frank D.

That is the way you have to look at it, it is a disposable home. They don't go up in value and at a point are not worth much of anything so your entire investment is lost. You have to justify them in the same way you do with rent. I would prefer renting myself and not have all the headaches of owning before I would live in a trailer park, even a nice one. It has all the bureaucratic BS as condos, I just don't deal well with that stuff.

My biggest fear is they are fire traps, people die in those things all the time. The whole place is gone in minutes in a fire and the materials they are made of produce smoke that will overcome you in one breath. If I had one I would put fire exits in it especially the bedrooms. Just google "trailer fire" and hit the news link. It is like an everyday thing and a lot of people don't get out, they are death traps in a fire.
Mod deleted

[faithfulFrank]

mac guy....

Can't argue with you there.....there is no saving a trailer in a fire.

Frank D.

[12paws42]

I think there is a stereo type to a "trailer park" and I find several people get offended if you call their home a trailer. We live in mobile home community just south of Lakeland and LOVE it! we paid cash for the house, so no mortgage and we pay rent for the land. Great ammenities in the park - pool, club house with tons of activities, billiards, golf, tennis courts - your only problem is figuring out what to do and choose there is so much.

Will I be safe in a hurricane? probably not and will evacuate to a shelter. Will my mobile home depreciate in value - most definitely. Are there pro's and con's to everything in life - absolutely. Do what makes you happy. We are thrilled to be down here, mortgage free and enjoying the florida lifestyle.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by 12paws42

I think there is a stereo type to a "trailer park" and I find several people get offended if you call their home a trailer. We live in mobile home community just south of Lakeland and LOVE it! we paid cash for the house, so no mortgage and we pay rent for the land. Great ammenities in the park - pool, club house with tons of activities, billiards, golf, tennis courts - your only problem is figuring out what to do and choose there is so much.

Will I be safe in a hurricane? probably not and will evacuate to a shelter. Will my mobile home depreciate in value - most definitely. Are there pro's and con's to everything in life - absolutely. Do what makes you happy. We are thrilled to be down here, mortgage free and enjoying the florida lifestyle.

You said in another post you work from home. Do you have an occupational license and are you allowed to run a business from your trailer in your park? What would happen if someone knew, would they rat you out? I just find them too much like a condo with too many rules as well as busy bodies. I work from home as well and have a city and county home office license in Fort Lauderdale. I know I could not do what I do in a condo, it would be against the rules.

[htlong]

This post is really interesting to me, it is doing what I intended it to do, and that is bring out the pros and the cons of 55+ "mobile home parks".
so far I feel that the pros out weigh the cons of trailer park living ,for what I want out of life, not much just an inexpensive way to enjoy Florida's climate, good and bad.
I would like to learn more about the cost of purchasing the trailer and land vs. renting the land?

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

The other thing I am not sure anyone has mentioned, lets say a hurricane is coming, they do mandatory evacuations for trailor parks and manufactured homes.

Its not a place I would feel safe personally.