Would you buy a manufactured home in a mobile home park?

[catherine]

That’s where one set of our friends live, Palm Desert! And they have a house cleaning business. That dust is good for business.

yes it is my idea of hell.

Doesn't sound appealing to me, either! As I get older, one of my "must haves" in a place to live is, I do not want to be dependent on air conditioning--for many reasons. And it sounds like SoCal desert towns like Palm Springs would definitely fit into that category.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Hot and not getting any cooler. But the price does make me consider for one moment, it's affordable, but yea maybe for a reason.

[JaneV2.0]

If I had a spare lot somewhere, I would definitely consider a manufactured house; I've seen some impressive ones. (Also, I'm fond of places that look like vacation homes.)

[jp1]

Yes, one of the model homes we looked at had a laundry room that was also passage to the car port. I commented that it was cool that the house had a mud room. SO said, "actually, here it'd be more of a dirt room."

[Teacher Terry]

Being dependent on A/C is no different than needing heat. Since I hate heat and have asthma it wouldn’t be for me.

[mschrisgo2]

Interesting... I watched the video in its entirety. I have been keeping an eye on this market for about 15 years, and lots of factors changed it about 8 years ago.

My first reaction is that these homes are way over-priced. Yes, Silvercrest is a quality builder, but so are several others. In fact, the industry standards are so high now that when you line up several from different manufacturers side by side, anyone is hard put to tell the differences. California has enthusiastically embraced the HUD building standards for the last ten years or so, and it really shows. These are $100K homes being sold for $200K.

As for being in Palm Springs, I know several people who have vacation/party homes there. None of them would want to be there year round. The heat and dust in the summer can be brutal, but so is the cold in the winter. Yes, it’s generally sunny, but that area also contains California’s largest WIND farm...

As for the homes themselves, I actually felt myself wince at seeing the flat carport roofs. A flat roof is Never a good idea, needs to be able to drain rain and snow. The “shed” roof on the home is very practical and an interesting architectural feature. Floor plans seem very livable.

Homeowners insurance in California is a big question for everyone right now, with our 3 years of terrible wildfires.

Leased land... oh my. There are so many variables and so many different ways to look at it. I live in a smallish family owned park on the Sacramento River. All 5 of the principals grew up here and still live here. And it’s on the river and use is controlled by the coastal commission. They have not been allowed to expand, though there is land to expand upon. No other development would be allowed, so they are not going to sell it to some developer to build million dollar homes, as what is happening at a crazy rate in Washington state.

Individual units actually increase in price here, i.e. a 44 year old single wide with an attached sun porch just sold in 2 days, all cash, for $210K. The new owners had insulation put in and sheet rocked all the exterior walls, and vinyl plank floor installed throughout before they moved in, another $15K.

[mschrisgo2]

Oops! I see I lost the rest of my post. I’ll be back...

[jp1]

This park in Palm Desert might not be to your taste, but it is a co-op where you co-own the land:

http://palmspringsmobilehomesforsale.com/mobile-homes-for-sale/desert-hot-springs/dillon-estates/

We went to a conference once in Palm Desert and I did get sun poisoning and almost died from an asthma attack from the dust. If you have any kind of respiratory problems, be aware that it may be problematic.

THanks. I will look into it. We're not wedded to living in a mobile home park, let alone this one, per se. Although having visited one now, I do like the neighborhood feel and this one appeared to be well maintained and generally like it might be a nice place to live. My main interest in looking at those homes was that the video I'd seen showed houses that I found attractive. As someone else mentions further downthread, they seemed to be overpriced. I'm guessing that's because the company selling them at the mobile home park has some fairly high expenses that need to be factored in. If nothing else they are renting five lots and have money tied up in five units that are the model homes and sales office, not to mention the lots that they are currently building homes on but haven't yet sold. THey've only sold 100 or so units, so this is a pretty big overhead for them. It might make more sense financially to buy a space in the Palm Desert location and then approach Silver Crest or one of the other manufactured home companies and buy direct.

[mschrisgo2]

So the rest of what I was going to say...

I love where I live. I can have 3 dogs here, and no one fusses about an occasional foster. I have plenty of outdoor space for my potted succulents, and roses and hibiscus. Love being on the river, and all the birds and wildlife, good walking and exploring.

I see myself living here for another 12-15 years, but probably not too far into my 80s. But then, life and the world changes, and there are new options. The concept of “ final home” is not one I’ve ever entertained.

[Tybee]

That sounds so nice, mschris. I also like the original poster's original development. My dream version of this would be a co-op park in Florida on the water, well landscaped and old with a community pool and maybe a tennis court. But only if I lived alone, and had a smaller dog.