Pros and Cons of Mobile Home living (Los Angeles, San Diego: 2013, apartment)

[steel7]

There are pros & cons to mh park living. My rent has increased every single yr i have been here & i also pay rent control (3.56 mo). I do think its much better then living in a apt/condo but not a house. We have our share of rude & nosey neighbors but you can have that no matter where you live. Years back when i lived in a few apt complexes in redlands my rent increased every 6 months & after a few years it really added up. I will never ever live in a apartment again mainly for privacy reasons. I hate it when my rent goes up but thats the way it is.

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Given $100K cash, I'd get a land loan and toss an old mobile onto it from wherever. It would still be a better use of the money.

That would be the ideal way to go, but there s extremely little, if any, land available and zoned for that in the immediate Bay Area, and if that land does have water and electricity rights it will cost a lot more than $100k. Land-only loans are almost impossible to get unless you already have more cash for collateral than the land itself costs.

To echo what Eagle said, mobile homes are a good option for some people, especially couples or families with children, who strongly desire (or flat-out need) the benefits of a multi-room dwelling and detached living... no shared walls, your own car port/shed and some semblance of a yard/patio space... but who still need to keep the cost around $2k a month instead of the $3-4k or more it would cost to get into a single family home. Sure, the rent was annoying, but to me that was just the cost of living very close to work in the Bay Area moreso than the cost of living in that particular park.

Of course, I'm speaking from my own experience which was throughout the 00's and things are different now and maybe you CAN get into a decent starter home for about what it would cost to have a mobile home, but I kind of doubt it. To me MH life was somewhere in between apartment renting and home ownership and it served that purpose well until I had the chance to move out of state and get what I really wanted. At any rate, the OP started this thread a year ago and apparently he's moved on to other options so we're really just discussing it amongst ourselves at this point.

[eriann123]

thanks every one comenting on this MH subjet, it was very helpful to me. I see it can be a good option for me. A park owner has 2 MHs for sale . I have a foreclosure and chapter 7 BK. So I asked if they will carry the note and sell a MH to me, they review my case and said ok. Then I said But but.. $600 for just the space.but as ALVISOROCKS puts it.the lone one to chime in and say that buying a MH might be a good option .
A) You don't like living in apartments or condominiums and sharing walls.
B) You can't afford a stick built house in the neighborhood(s) of your choice
C) You still need a tax write off - mortgage interest on a mobile home is tax deductible, as are the property taxes if your home has been converted to real property vs. a titled vehicle through the dmv
D) You want to paint your walls whatever color you want
E) You want the opportunity to pay off something sooner than 30 long years
F) You want to own but not be buried over your head in a huge mortgage, if buying a stick built house would bury you that way.
G) You recognize that you may lose some of your money upon selling if your mobile has not been kept in tip top shape. Even so, if you're willing to lose some money vs. 100% by continuing to rent, then a mobile might be good.
H) You want some amenities like a pool, clubhouse, workout room etc. Many parks include amenities for residents.

AND as TREEDONKEY very well LISTED it ( Thank you) pros and cons:

CONS
High Interest Loans
High Rent Spaces
Poor Appreciation
Oppressive Management this one simce to be the worse one.

Thanks again. I'm going for it. it's better than renting.

[eriann123]

Thanks your post helped me a lot.

[AlvisoRocks]

Eriann, best of luck with your purchase. I would absolutely suggest that you get a thorough inspection of whatever you are purchasing - even if the owner is going to provide owner financing to you. Outside financing always requires an inspection, but owner financed dwellings likely don't (nor would they really be interested in you "discovering" any hidden shortcomings).

You definitely do not want to end up with headaches later on, and a thorough inspection can help avoid that.

Another great forum with lots of advice can be found at Mobile Home Repair | Manufactured Home Repair

Let us know how things work out for you!

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by eriann123

A) You don't like living in apartments or condominiums and sharing walls.
B) You can't afford a stick built house in the neighborhood(s) of your choice
C) You still need a tax write off - mortgage interest on a mobile home is tax deductible, as are the property taxes if your home has been converted to real property vs. a titled vehicle through the dmv
D) You want to paint your walls whatever color you want
E) You want the opportunity to pay off something sooner than 30 long years
F) You want to own but not be buried over your head in a huge mortgage, if buying a stick built house would bury you that way.
G) You recognize that you may lose some of your money upon selling if your mobile has not been kept in tip top shape. Even so, if you're willing to lose some money vs. 100% by continuing to rent, then a mobile might be good.
H) You want some amenities like a pool, clubhouse, workout room etc. Many parks include amenities for residents.

That pretty much sums up why I lived in a MH for many years and had no regrets. I was glad to get out when I did, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't still be a good option for some.

[steel7]

Mh park living has its good & bad points. If your neighbor is outside you will know it & lets hope you dont have kids on either side of you or in the front or back. My rent does increase every single yr but apts do usually as well. The mgrs here leave me alone even though my tiny back yard needs mowed & weeds are everywhere. In the past 10 yrs my rent has increased 100.00 & i do pay rent control which is high. The city says they need that amount to run rent control. They are full of it & i have told them that. I pay 3.56 mo plus the landlord pays 3.56 mo per space. My rent control went from 50 cents to 1.00 to 1.50, etc. I dont trust the city of yucaipa & im not the only one. Fighter1 has had issues with them in the past & so have others.

[HDL]

I'm interested again, but I haven't seen anyone address my questions 1-5 . And I'm curious how big of a HIT this market has taken and if buying now there might be some good deals??? Also, what are the BEST websites for info on MH parks and homes for sale in them?

Originally Posted by HDL

I'm considering buying a Mobile Home in this area (SJ, Mtn View, Sunnyvale, etc.) and am concerned about being able to sell in the future and also about space rents, etc. I'm hoping to get some feedback from posters who are currently living in a MH park or who have recently sold and to get your perspective on the issues that you have.

Here is the type of info that I'm looking for:

1) Names of safe, clean parks and web links
2) Any rent controlled parks
3) Laws that limit space rent increases
4) How to find out if the park is a candidate for sale or foreclosure
5) Parks that have garages

TIA

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by HDL

I'm interested again, but I haven't seen anyone address my questions 1-5 . And I'm curious how big of a HIT this market has taken and if buying now there might be some good deals??? Also, what are the BEST websites for info on MH parks and homes for sale in them?

I don't know anything about the current market since I got out over 1.5 years ago. Like I said before, I was glad to get out when I did, but that doesn't mean it's completely ruined now, there are probably some good deals out there. There are no good one-stop-shop sites for MH as they're kind of a weird niche market and not unified at all. Here is my best shot at answering you questions...
1) Names of safe, clean parks and web links
Sunnyvale: Casa de Amigos (be wary of that one, that was my park and while it is very clean the management was pure evil, as any resident), Adobe Wells, Plaza Del Rey, all very large and clean. I don;t think ny of them have weblinks but just google their names to get their location and office locations. There are several others, best to have a realtor show you around. (see item 2 below)
2) Any rent controlled parks: Some are rent-controlled, some are psuedo-controlled, some are not controlled at all, and it's too complicated to explain. If you DM me I can give you my realtor's name and #. He specializes in MH sales and can explain everything you want to know about that.
3) Laws that limit space rent increases: Isn;t that the same as question #2, you'll have to research city/county laws for that, try contacting the mobile home ombudsman to, they may have more info.
4) How to find out if the park is a candidate for sale or foreclosure: Word of mouth or an inside contact??? I'm sure they would be pretty secretive about that until the sale was actually happening.
5) Parks that have garages: Of the ones I listed, I think Plaza Del Rey has a few units with garages. The rest all have covered car ports.

[Wisteria]

Hey, Pal! How are you doing, HDL?? So you're thinking of coming back to the Bay Area?? We still have to go to Marianne's Ice Cream Shop in Santa Cruz!!!!!! Peanut butter chocolate cones, as I recall!!

Well, you already know that I moved from 2/3 of an acre in the redwoods of Santa Cruz to a mobile home next to the ocean. Yes, folks, one block from the beach and two blocks from the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor!

But....I have a feeling you don't yet qualify for our 55+ community....

However, I actually drove my daughter around last weekend to look at all-age parks -- either to rent or buy -- for her and her fiance. As you all know, in this area it is very expensive to either own or rent.... And I did expect to relocate to New Mexico, however, I could not get enough in this market for my house after I paid off my mortgage to relocate. But then again, my daughter is in San Jose, and I'm glad she's nearby. That Hwy. 17 Express is a God-send! The All-Age parks were not as nice as the 55+ ones. The all-age have the kids, and it can be messy, but my daughter liked them because they had a "young vibe." She and her fiance want to come back to Santa Cruz, and owning a cheap mobile would be an option (they're looking at really cheap -- like $50,000) and then saving money for later. So, each to their own.

Anyway, everything is a mixed bag. As you know, I had a little problem with a non-disclosure issue -- an extra addition flooded as a result of me not knowing there had been a previous problem -- even though I DID have it inspected! Short story is that all the realtors, brokers and the inspector chipped in to pay for the removal of the old wall, replacement of the floor, moving the roof and adding gutters because the insurance company would not cover it because it was a previous problem. I now have a very beautiful sun room, with loads of windows, beautiful floors, very Zen-like and I'm (and the kitties are) very happy with it.

I could no longer care for all the property I had, and low-maintenance is nice. I have a very nice patio I built out back with pavers, and loaded it up with beautiful plants and flowers. It's a lucious garden patio now, and I love sitting outside in the sun and smelling the lemon blossoms.

In a lot of the parks I've noticed there are "part-timers," and that is what I have on either side of me. They both live in other parts of California, but come to Santa Cruz for holidays (their kids are here), or for the summer beaches. There is a clubhouse and a pool. I have a carport and front deck, in addition to the garden patio I built out back.

The cost of the mortgage is higher because it's a mobile, but I put a lot down, and I know lots of people who were able to pay cash for theirs because they're so much cheaper than stick houses. Our space fee includes water and sewer, and our electric and gas are metered, and they are much cheaper than what I was paying in the mountains.

There are some restrictions, but not awful. One of them I actually like -- and that is that the outside of your home has to be "pretty." So most of them have flower boxes, or plants on their decks, lemon bushes or climbing flowering vines, wind chimes, and things of that sort.

It was a compromise for me because I couldn't afford a stick home in town, and I couldn't physically manage the property I had in the mountains, plus it was more expensive up there. Not having all that property to manage has been good, and the park is very, very quiet. I'm within walking distance of the beach (one block away), and an easy drive back up to Felton where I lived before. I was thinking of renting, originally, but the rents here are ridiculous, and I realized that I might as well pay less in a mobile, but still have the mortgage, but also able to decorate as I please, and, quite frankly, the location is better than most apartments here. (My theory is that this was originally a retirement town before UCSC came, and that's why there are so many mobile homes by the beaches.)

It's a toss-up. For me, being close to my daughter is a good thing. In Santa Cruz there are loads of mobile home parks for some reason. It seems odd to see so many around here. And most of them are near bus routes, too, for those who don't like driving. I also live within walking distance of a good taqueria, a Farmers' Market, and a variety of small stores and restaurants.

I still miss the woods, although my daughter thinks I'm crazy for that because I live next to the beach! But I do miss those beautiful redwoods and the mountains.... It just depends on what you have to spend. If you have enough to pay off the entire mobile, then it's really worth it because it's just rent space and utilities. But if you have enough to pay for a stick house outright, I'd do that first, because of the equity. For me, it was a compromise, and it's turned out to be a good decision, although I did have the room problem, but it was a blessing in disguise and now I have a much nicer space.

Contact me if you get back to the area. We really DO need to get to Marianne's! Good luck, HDL!