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I would never base my decision on where to live out of fear of a one in 10,000 chance that my life would be altered by a tornado or hurricane.
I had about $20k in damage to the house from Fran in 96, over 100 miles inland. As others have noted, you know when they are coming. We were warned about that over 24 hours in advance but nearly everyone thought the weather forecasters were sensationalizing about worst case this far from the coast. Most tornados that have been near me were not total surprises either.
But I agree; I would not live where I would not be nearly as happy for only a very slight safety gain. If all other things were equal, I aould probably go with the safe choice.
When we first started out after graduating college, back during sky high interest rates we could not afford to buy a house so we moved into a mobile home that was more like a retirement community. The people who lived there had owned their own house but sold to simplify.
They kept their mobile homes and yards very nice and although we were much younger we got along very well with them. We were workers and never really home. They started passing away and as they did their kids wanted to dump the places so they sold quick. We started to notice the place was turning into trailer trash type people who didn't take care of their places and we started looking for a house. The last straw was when right next door passed and his son and grandson moved in, both alcoholics. I won't go into detail but we moved thank god.
My point is while a mobile home park may start out as a retirement community, it's what happens after they pass on.
What Petch mentions is one of the few positives about the for profit communities where you rent the lot. They can and often do prevent that from happening. OTOH, many co-ops are able to enforce their covenants (double edged sword; many put limits on it). I hate to generalize just on price, but when I browse communities and find a lot of listings below $60k for manufactured homes (I am not looking at mobiles; many of the parks have been doing rolling conversions to manufactured homes by limiting the allowable age of mobiles and not allowing new ones in; only manufactured homes) I worry about the quality and upkeep of park features. If the prices are too low, there will be a lot of residents who move there solely for the price.
I had about $20k in damage to the house from Fran in 96, over 100 miles inland. As others have noted, you know when they are coming. We were warned about that over 24 hours in advance but nearly everyone thought the weather forecasters were sensationalizing about worst case this far from the coast. Most tornados that have been near me were not total surprises either.
But I agree; I would not live where I would not be nearly as happy for only a very slight safety gain. If all other things were equal, I aould probably go with the safe choice.
A qualification to this...
There is a difference between the concern of the unlikely outcome of the loss of life or property and the more likely outcome of having to change plans more often and having to evacuate a few times. Earlier I mentioned the space coast has appeal to me as the odds of storms making landfall nearby go up sharply as you go further down the coast. There are some other factors also in the mix (space coast is a long day's drive from a lot of family, but not a doable day drive; it's also closer to attractions that family would like to visit) but in an odd way the more likely outcome of somewhat frequent inconvience from bad weather is a bigger factor than the far less likely outcome of devistation.
What Petch mentions is one of the few positives about the for profit communities where you rent the lot. They can and often do prevent that from happening. OTOH, many co-ops are able to enforce their covenants (double edged sword; many put limits on it). I hate to generalize just on price, but when I browse communities and find a lot of listings below $60k for manufactured homes (I am not looking at mobiles; many of the parks have been doing rolling conversions to manufactured homes by limiting the allowable age of mobiles and not allowing new ones in; only manufactured homes) I worry about the quality and upkeep of park features. If the prices are too low, there will be a lot of residents who move there solely for the price.
Very good point on the for profit communities. Our fee is high but the park is beautiful and very well maintained with lots of amenities and activities. One of the things that attracted us the most is how well kept the houses were and with garages. No cars or junk sitting around. You pay for what you get. We visited about 15 before we bought and seen lots of cheaper ones for a reason. I understand if you cannot afford a better park but if you can it is worth it.
I rent ours out during the winter until we retire. We have no restrictions. We do you use a rental agency but our park has no regulation other then the renters have to pass a credit and background check. There also is 55+ age restriction.
How much is the home owners insurance? These aren't going to survive a hurricane and Riviera Beach is subject to them. Also, it is a very high crime area
I think that place is cute and would suit me fine...except I like to sit outside and like a screened in porch, bit of deck and bit of yard for bird feeders which a lot of places probably don't even allow !
Yes they allow screened porches. Some of these places with traditional "trailers" actually have built on additions and all kinds of stuff including screened porches. Some have a porch that you only need to screen.
I've even seen them put up on cement block so it looks like more of a "normal" house. Although I guess you have to watch because it changes it from a MOBILE home. (even though they're not really mobile per se).
The tax treatment and licensing is different in FL for those.
There are also "park homes" in addition to "trailers"; not sure how they differ, or if one is just a euphemism for the other. Whether or not you can rent it out is up to the individual park.
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Whether or not you can rent it out is up to the individual park.
