Mobiles in Florida

[PatrioticStabilist]

I was just looking through trulia.com at places for sale in Florida.

I came across near Orlando a lot of nice older mobiles in a park near Orlando.  They are mostly like 1984's and such but you can tell have been well cared for.  Most have a roof over and a nice screened room and have been redone inside over the years.  I can see very nice ones from $20k down to $9k.  I can hardly believe that, a very pretty area too.  I sent the realtor a question, no answer yet.  But I'm guessing they do not own the land underneath but are renting it.  None of them say but I remember when the inlaws were down there that is how theirs worked.  Also asked if motorhome parking were available.

I wouldn't mind to have a cheap place we could go to a month at a time here and there especially in January or so though I think I would want to be further south then Orlando.  But Sue Anne loves to go to Disney and Universal so that would be very nice.

Anyone know how they do those?

 

[Jim Dick]

Carolyn,

Many parks like that require you to rent the land. Not the best situation. The land owner can raise the rates anytime they want. You have no say and trying to sell one with such a restriction may be difficult. Could be why so many are fairly cheap.

There may be a monthly fee for maintenance as well. You will have to pay it whether or not you are there. Be sure to do a lot of homework on any place you find appealing.

 

[PatrioticStabilist]

That's what I'm thinking that they have raised the rents and a lot of folks have had to move because it looks really nice in there.

My inlaws had a place and the owners decided instead of renting they were selling the lots.  That hurt some folks there if I remember correctly, but the inlaws bought theirs.

I think that may be a problem.

Tom keeps saying look for an rv lot in different places so we can go and stay for awhile.  But everything is so restricted and I don't really feel like paying $80k for one we will only use once in awhile.  Probably will just use campgrounds off and on and forget it.  He has 2 more years to go anyway and a lot of things could change healthwise for us in 2 years.

 

[path]

We have 3 lots in a private park.  Boy has it changed over the years. Ours is ran by an elected "board of directors".  We just one one voting right per membership per lot and don't own land under it.  Which is a real blessing when you want to sell.  If they put on a newsletter and have them on line read them, you'll get a idea of what the problems are in park, if any.  If police have crime stats on line, see  how often that address comes up.  Look for theft and domestic fights not 911 calls for EMT.  Our park seems to go good for a couple of years, then something will start a cat fight.  Sort of fun sometimes to sit back on your lot and watch.  Example: One faction is involved in a long term plan for upgrading electric, having several planning meetings with Electric Company and County Planners putting in a lot of work and time.  The other faction is splitting hairs over what color the cup cake holders should be. But still great to get away too and free entrainment sometimes. And once a year all I do is cut back the forest, no lawn to mow, and it saves a lot of fuel.  Matter of fact park is getting more use since economy fell apart, and you'll always have a place to go to.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Here in the Ocala area (west of Orlando) there are nice neighborhoods where you own your own lot as well as the house or manufactured home. Prices run well above $20k, though. A 1/4 acre lot alone is worth $15-$20k. But you can get a nice place for $40k-$90k, depending on size, age and location. We have lived in one since 1994 and many of our forum friends have camped in our side yard (we have a half acre).

 

[Hfx_Cdn]

    Carolyn, there are miriads of mobile homes in 55+ parks all across Florida.  There is everything from owning the land, to owning a share in the land, even owning a share in a long term lease, to a standard rental.  The park we used to stay at in St Petes, is a rental park, where they charge about $450 per month, but that's 12 months a year.  Single wide 1975 to 1985 units were selling for $1,000 to $5,000 depending on condition.  We had several friends who bought at $1,000 but then had to invest $5 to 10,000 to bring it up to snuff.  We looked hard but decided to spend a bit more and buy a house in a seniors park, which should increase in value if the economy ever turns.
    Be very cautious, there are lots of mobiles that need too much work, and make sure it doesn't have a termite problem.

Ed

 

[odie1234]

We own a few mobile homes in retirement communities near Orlando that we use for rentals. They are all on leased land. While there are always potential issues with leased lots being sold out from under the tenants, that risk is probably minimal now that the real estate market has tanked and developers are not paying bubble prices for land anymore. There are a lot of this type of property for sale now at what, to me, are at or near bottom prices. As others have said, be especially careful with older mobile homes. They can have termites, and water leaks can be a huge issue and many are really shoddy construction. We are satisfied with those we bought, but we did our due diligence. Good luck.

 

[PatrioticStabilist]

Probably won't do anything, just saw some of those cheap unbelieveable prices.

We can't go to over 55 our daugher lives with us and she is only 42, so issues with that.  She will be with us until we can't care for her anymore I guess.

Just looking around as we can't really move, we have 9 renters here, so can only go on limited occasions.

 

[Hfx_Cdn]

    A lot of those parks will allow her to live with you as long as the owner is over 55.  You need to check with each park as they differ slightly.  Our sub-division will allow it as long as one of the owners is over 55.

Ed

 

[Jim Dick]

I believe most 55+ parks are required to allow a small percentage of under 55 to live there. The numbers will vary according to the size of the park.

 

[PatrioticStabilist]

She is 42 and I'm 66 so if they don't in 13 years she will be 55 anyway.  At 79 not sure how I will be, but hoping I'm still going strong, just have to wait and see.

 

[BernieD]

In our development, 80% of the units must be owned by residents over 54. The rest have to have owners at least 40. All permanent residents must be over age 18. Individual developments may have some modifications but I believe that these are the standard requirements for the discrimination exemptions.