regrets

[sandy]

Boy! I wish I had known about this site before we purchased our home in a 'park'. The park is, for the most part, beautiful but there are management issues that we are constantly dealing with such as maintenance of the common areas. And the salesman assured me that the home would indeed appreciate in value because of its location in this park. Reading some of the comments on this site has made me wonder if he lied to me. My problem was I reacted emotionally to the home rather than logically. I just had to have this home. Linda, we gave up a fine home on the lake because we wanted one level living and more room for the grandchildren. I had it made at the lake and gave it up for this. What a fool I was. Anyway, our home was manufactured by Fuqua and we have had many problems with it. I am currently in discussion with the state manufactured home standards division and have had great success with them. But I am with you. It's time to get out. But my goal is to force the park out of business with ad campaigns and publications I plan on giving to prospective buyers at this park. I may lose my shirt but it may be worth it to see this place go under.

[rmurray]

Whew...

There are many parks in the US that do not have any problems...Resale problems in some of the parks is mostly the times...
Because of Market conditions many new homes are selling for less than they did 5 years ago..thus those sold in the recent past have lost value for the time being (this is the cause of many dealer failures in the last months..they also could not sell their inventory at a profit)..Also..in many parts of the country..,.many parks are overloaded with repossessions that banks are selling at a lose...This means current sellers are competing with the deep pockets of the financial institutions..These market conditions are temporary...All of this will work through the system and normal times will return...Patience is the key..

When all returns to normal..resales will too..and homes in well maintained, desireable parks do very well indeed...The sales relates directly to the park...not the home..

Sounds like you are in a corporate owned park...have you talked to the corporate management...Often local managers in an effort to show a profit in these tough times..cut a little too deep on normal maintenence...Often upper management has no knowledge of the problems...

Does your park have a homeowners organization?...Most good parks do..this gives a vehicle for the residents to talk to the management in an organized manor...If there is none..maybe you should organize one...It is to everyones benefit to work the issues out..the owners and the park...

If you persist in your efforts to knock them out of business and are successful..You will be driving a stake into the heart of your neighbors as well..Maybe you can afford the losses...but I will bet many in the park cannot...

Maybe you made a mistake when you bought...but solving that mistake by bankrupting all your neighbors does not seem right..I doubt I could sleep at night if I did...Remember..if it is a corporate park..upper management will not be hurt..They will still get their bonus and raise every year..Only your neighbors will suffer badly..

The best approach would be for the residents to band togather and make the park the home of your dreams you were looking for in the first place..

[sandy]

Thank you for your input, Murray. You are, indeed, right about forcing the park to close. I hadn't considered the homeowners organization. Excellent suggestion. I will try to approach this in a practical way rather than emotional. Thanks again for your reply.

[Tracey]

What state are you located in? Many states have various laws that deal with what the park is responsible to maintain.