Buying Condo vs. Mobile Home in Sarasota area? (short sales, foreclosures)

[silo]

Looking to buy a winter getaway in the Sarasota area that will take me and my two dogs. I'm looking in the $35-50K range. The dogs seem to rule out condos and I'm not sure that a mobile home is a good investment, particularly with high lot rentals. Since I'm only going to be using it a few weeks at a time for the next 2-3 years, I'm not comfortable getting a single family home and leaving it unoccupied for most of the year. Any thoughts or ideas on viable options?

[TamRE]

In the price range you are looking in, you should look at villas, townhouses, condos and mobile homes. Your choices would then be narrowed down by which ones allow two dogs. Then you should compare the HOA fees and other fees asscoiated with the home. Of course location and desirable area are also factors. You will be very limited in your choices.

You could try mobile home parks that are not land leased. There are land-lease parks which are more economical and there are resident-owned parks for a more permanent home. Land-leased communities often sell out to developers as land becomes more valuable. You still own your home and can move it to a new park if this happens, but the cost of transporting the home can be too much for some and they are forced to sell. Be aware and ask the park about this and what your rights are if the park is sold. You should check your agreement.

A condo offers a lifestyle free of the responsibility of maintaining the exterior of the property. Condo developments also quite frequently have other amenities such as pool, club house, tennis, and golf.

Condos, timeshares and mobile homes in the state of Florida are regulated by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes within the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. You can get detailed information or answers to your questions by visiting their web site at: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/lsc/statutes.html

Make sure you read the rules and regulations as well as the bylaws and covenances for any community that you are buying in. You should also get a copy of the budget or financial records to see how stable the community is. Many areas have foreclosures and short sales and often the HOA fees go up for current owners to help defray costs.

Good luck in the process. Just take it step by step, review your choices and I am sure you will be able to find something to meet your needs.

[nphomeowner]

Have you considered renting for the few weeks at a time that you are here? There are a LOT of pet friendly rentals on VRBO. Just another option you may want to consider.

[Sunshine Rules]

Finding a condo that allows dogs in your price range is difficult but not impossible. The big question is what size are your dogs? Some condos allow the unit owners to have 2 dogs but most do restrict the size/weight. Also, some breeds are not allowed.

As to mobile homes, buying one in a park where you do not own the land has 2 main potential issues: (1) owner selling the park to a developer and everyone having to move or (2) lot rent may be reasonable now but park owner can increase the lot rents with little notice, sometimes substantially.

There are a couple of mobile home parks in our area that are resident owned - in one the people individually own the lot with their mobile home, the other is a co-operative where the residents as a group own the park and you have use of your personal lot. Both of these communities are age restricted to 55 and over.

Since you are only going to be here for a few weeks per year, once you factor in things like maintenance fees, insurance, utilities, taxes, etc you may find a seasonal rental makes more financial sense for you at this time. If you take a seasonal rental, you can then explore Sarasota's various neighborhoods and condo communities at your leisure to see if those in your target price range will work for you.