Senior Mobile Home Parks....Where are the Best? (spouse, community, retirees)

[Jammie]

Ksharley, you may be surprised and end up finding a retirement area where others share your interest in riding. Our generation is different from retired people of the past.

I wish your trip wasn't so far away because I'm anxious to know what you find and what you chose for an area.

AND welcome to the forum.

[jeff_j]

If you're thinking about buying a mobile home for retirement purposes, I recommend doing research re: a disturbing trend. Corporate investors are buying up mobile home parks and either converting them to a condo-type situation, tripling the rent, or closing them so they can develop condo complexes. If they close a park, you have 60 days to move your home somewhere else, if you can afford to, and if you can find a (affordable) place to move it to. They are also suing small cities that have legislated rent control for senior parks for enormous amounts of money..25-50k, which they know small cities can't afford. In California there are quite a few parks that have more than quadrupled rents in a period as short as a year. And if a park converts to condo while you own a mobile there, any rent protections offered by state government only apply if you qualify for "low income" status.

Its an ugly situation. There are citizen action committees trying to fight this ugly trend...google "mobile home conversion" and "mobile home condo conversion" and "mobile home rent control" to get more info. And add your location to those search strings to look for local info.

And complain loudly to your local and state government officials. One prominent lawyer here in California who represents mobile home park owners who are converting their parks to condos was quoted as saying like "mobile home parks are a thing of the past...in ten years they will all be converted". This isn't a good thing for seniors. Not good at all.

[StealthRabbit]

There are also quite a few co-ops forming that are joining the occupants together to buy their parks. But yes, the consolidation is a pretty devastating trend.

[nancy thereader]

if you're thinking about buying a mobile home for retirement purposes, I recommend doing research re: a disturbing trend. Corporate investors are buying up mobile home parks and either converting them to a condo-type situation, tripling the rent, or closing them so they can develop condo complexes

So far today I have read that I am not wanted in Tennessee unless I have $2,000,000 in assets &
that a mobile home park is likely to be expropriated by our charming corporate friends from Wall Street.

What is an average person who has just retired to do?

[Keeper]

In Tampa, FL this has happened several times. The owner of the park sells the land and the tenants have to find a new place to move their MH.
The bad thing is MHs get old and are often not up to the new code and can't be moved.

I had a member on the Tampa forum, who just bought a MH in a park recently. She just found out the park is for sale and they will probably have to move their MH. In FL they now have a law that requires park owners to pay $6,000 to each of their tenants to help with the cost of moving the MH.

I would never buy a MH in a park unless the residents owned it.

[ConeyIsBabe]

There are some very beautiful mobile home parks in the Rogue Valley, one (maybe more) that I know of are on properties that border the Rogue River. They are very, very well kept, clean, housed by friendly people who seem to all know each other. It is not my lifestyle of choice, but I admire those communities for the economic lifestyle they offer.

[Keeper]

Originally Posted by nancy thereader

So far today I have read that I am not wanted in Tennessee unless I have $2,000,000 in assets &
that a mobile home park is likely to be expropriated by our charming corporate friends from Wall Street.

What is an average person who has just retired to do?

Where were you looking to move to in TN where you needed that much money? Most folks in TN are lucky to have $200K in assets. Come just a little further south to N. AL. We have 4 seasons just like TN and even a little snow during the winter.

They are starting to build condos here for retirees even in my little town.

[carmac]

Originally Posted by Keeper

Where were you looking to move to in TN where you needed that much money? Most folks in TN are lucky to have $200K in assets. Come just a little further south to N. AL. We have 4 seasons just like TN and even a little snow during the winter.

They are starting to build condos here for retirees even in my little town.

Have never given AL a thought, but will now check it out...thanks. Where are these condos located??

[SoCalTwinkie]

How does one find these Resident Owned, not Co-op, but Condo, manufactured home parks..I've been searching the internet and have not found one specific website that is exclusively RESIDENT OWNED.

[Keeper]

Originally Posted by SoCalTwinkie

How does one find these Resident Owned, not Co-op, but Condo, manufactured home parks..I've been searching the internet and have not found one specific website that is exclusively RESIDENT OWNED.

I know there are some resident owned parks in FL for MHs. Condos are owned by residents, although I have seen builders rent condos out when sales were slow.