queenteree

Saturday I knew AH was meeting with the court ordered private evaluator so I decided to just go to my sisters and look for mobile homes that I could afford to buy in order to get out of my situation. We had a good day, she went w/me. We looked at several, one of which was OK, not my dream home, but I guess do-able. The plus is the owner may hold the title and finance. The real estate woman is supposed to let me know this week. Another I looked at was higher in price in a different park, but I really liked it (even tho the LR was small). At least now I have options, which is good. But, if I could have your opinions please as this is all new to me. 1) These are mobile homes in mobile home parks. The first mobile home you buy but you get a yearly lease on the lot and pay lot rent. That makes me a little nervous (please help me out here!!!) cause I've owned my own home for so long and I keep thinking that what if I buy this mobile home and the landlord decides not to renew my lease. What do I do w/it then? 2) The second one that I really like, the owner lives out of state and told me that he is very negotiable and before I make an offer on any other one, to please call him. That sounds promising, right? But, it is in a co-operative mobile home park, which means you own shares in the park and you don't have a lease (therefore, no one could decide to kick you out). I heard financing is harder for this type of mobile home than one that is in a park where you rent the lot. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could possibly make this work? I've called a few financing places I found on the internet, but they didn't return my calls yet, and I'd kinda like to look like I know somewhat of what I'm talking about. Thanks all.

ARealLady

QT....I knew zilch about buying property in this part of the world when it came time to buy a house so I asked around for the name of a good realtor. I let my realtor guide me after explaining to him what I wanted. He was there from start to finish. Of course, I had to sign an exclusive with him but I always felt it was better to have one informed person watching out for me. With the buyer's market in the US right now, a realtor should always be working WITH you.

My realtor explained very clearly at all stages exactly what my costs would be in order to close on any deal. And you want to beware of all hidden costs and responsibilities. My realtor was also able to direct me towards alternative (legitimate!) financing so that I was able to make informed decisions by comparing.

The second option you mention about the "co-operative" sounds much like what we call condominium/strata. You own your "unit" (I live in a townhouse complex) but all the common area is owned in common in proportion to the size of each unit share. This means that you pay a monthly assessment fee which covers common area maintenance (gardening, snow removal, fence painting, garbage,recycling, roofs, gutters), administration and insurance. Any decisions about how "common money" is spent is put to the "council" (made up of unit owners). The condo/strata is "governed" by statutes in law so the rules are spelled out for all to see. In other words, there are no loophole clauses which could remove your rights from one day to the next.

The first situation you described sounds like big business looking for quick sales.

Please proceed slowly and also talk to a lawyer before you make any big decision because what you do might affect your rights in a divorce.

ARL

hadenoughnow

I have never heard of a park not renewing a lot lease unless the person was in violation of the lease terms somehow. The coop place probably has tougher requirements for residence (criminal background check, reference check etc).

queenteree

I know, with the park w/the lease, I am playing "what ifs" I do know that, but coming from working for lawfirms for over 20 years, I tend to think like that. I would feel more comfortable living in a place that I am not at any discretion of any landlord. I do have a little time to think about it, I just want to be out real soon, so I don't want to lose anything.

KarenMarie1

When I got divorced I got a 6 month lease on an efficiency apartment while I looked around. Just remember with a mobile home they can be very hard to sell if you decide you want to move. The lot rent can increase and the money spent on that is not tax deductible. Make sure you check out the park thoroughly. Where I live you can pull up registered sex offenders based on their zip code.

Fairview

For what it's worth, my parents retired and moved into a senior's mobile home park. My Dad asked specifically about the lot rent and future rent hikes as they lived on a fixed income.

The landlord told him that the lot rent hadn't changed in years. Well... after they bought the mobile home (already parked there), the lot rent started going up every year. It started at $170 per month and when my folks left about 4 years later it had more than doubled, at $350 per month. (This was several years ago...)

queenteree

See that's why I'm thinking the cooperative one is better. It may not be that easy to sell in the long run, but I may still be able to walk away w/something. Ideally I would like to be out of my house within a month, but I know realistically I'm giving it till February 1, 2008.

GiveLove

Terri,
Have you looked at small condos as well? I know the downsides of attached housing, but also the upsides (no lawn to mow, lower utility bills, and a real big glut of them in our market anyway, making them super cheap) Not familiar with mobile homes but I know there are lots of variables, so they've always worried me a bit. Hope others here can help more... Renting short-term while you figure out what to do is a great idea. Also the book by Robert Allen called "Nothing Down" was really helpful to me when I was starting over....about how to buy a place to live with alternative financing of all kinds. Inspirational and hopeful, even when I didn't have two dimes to rub together.
Luck and hugs.
GL

luvmyfurbabies

Just my 2 cents. I am a licensed Realtor in Delaware and here's my opinion. I would definitely not buy a home in a park. If you did and had to move it, in Delaware you have to own at least 5 acres to put a singlewide on it. A doublewide is ok as long as the restrictions allow it. Not that familiar with co-ops but one agent in our office does own a trailer in a co-op and it seems to work fine. They do have more restrictions, such as, she was not allowed to let her son rent it from her. No rentals were allowed. If it were me.........I would seriously consider looking at a smaller house, maybe that needs minor repairs, but structurally sound. A home inspection is a must!!!! You don't want any surprises. Trailers generally do not appreciate in value, stick builts and modulars do. The way the real estate market is now it's a buyers market. Contact a reputable Realtor. They can give you all the facts about the market in your area. If you see something you like and it's too expensive, make a lower offer. You never know the owners' situation, they may be anxious. Another of our agents worked in manufactured housing for 6 years and she said the worse thing you can do is tell them you have alot of money to put down from a settlement, divorce, etc. It's harder to back out with the chance of losing a big down payment. Hope this helps and good luck.

Barbara52

Are you sure buying anything right is away is the right choice for you?

I do not plan to buy right away simply to give myself to figure what I might want, where I might want to buy, etc. There is no harm in renting for awhile.

Zoey

Get an apt, so you have lots of time to think. Put extra things in a storage shed.

I took a loss on my house, but lucky to get it sold. Then took a loss on a Mobil home. Then gave the last Mobil away, because if you don't own the land under it, no one can get a loan, and realitor will not handle those.

If you don't like the neighbors you are stuck. In apt you can move to better place as soon as lease up. Just my opinion.