55+ communities (Venice: real estate, leasing, mobile home)

[katchad17]

Hello,
We are interested in the 55+ mobile communities around sarasota and venice areas. Anyone have any experience with these communities and what their likes and dislikes are. We aren't quite 55 yet so still doing lots of research. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Kathi

[Nightengale212]

Originally Posted by katchad17

Hello,
We are interested in the 55+ mobile communities around sarasota and venice areas. Anyone have any experience with these communities and what their likes and dislikes are. We aren't quite 55 yet so still doing lots of research. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Kathi

I have a cousin and her husband that permanently relocated to the Venice Isles MH community about 7 years ago permanently and the 3 years prior they were snowbirds. Although I don't speak to her often she and her husband seem to be very happy with their decision as the lower COL in this this area and community compared to where they lived in MA allowed her to retire much earlier than she would have been able to do living in MA. Her older sister purchased a home in this community last year to snowbird, and she is a very successful real estate agent in my area and if she did not think buying into this community as a real estate agent was a good idea believe me she would not have.

I think for my cousin and her husband that permanently relocated to this community a big drawing card for purchasing was that many of their friends from R.I. and MA had already relocated there, and having a large existing base of long term friends made their relocation much easier.

There are many MH communities in this area to choose from, and aside from the friends aspect I think my cousins chose this one because it is owned and managed by the residents which both bought into when their purchased their home which includes owning the lot it is on. Many of the MH communities are owned by one owner and you lease the land your home is on and for this reason have very little say or control over land lease cost increases and other community expenses because you are a renter and not an owner. For some the lease option works better if they are snowbirds and don't want to make the investment of buying in as an owner. And in some cases leasing parks provide more flexible options to rent out your home if you snowbird to cover the year rounds costs than resident owned communities because for many this is their permanent home and they don't want a large volume of short term renters coming in an out that don't have a vested interest in the upkeep of the park or the home they rent.

It would probably greatly help you in deciding whether this type of living is for you by renting a mobile home for a week or two which will give you a much better idea of what living in a MH park is like than reading here or elsewhere other's experiences because what another likes or dislikes about MH park living can be very different than what you will experience.