The Manufactured Housing Forums

Hello everyone,

My husband and I have made the decision to buy a mobile home. We have never lived in one before. We live in Portland, Or and are 57 and 61 years old. Our reason is that we want to live in a 55+ community, want to live on one level and need to decrease our expenses.

We have looked at many communities and have settled on one that we both like very much. It's Royal Villa in Tigard which is run by CalCam Company out of California. We like how well the community is kept up, that it has a lot of activities, that it is established and doesn't appear to be going away any time soon and it's close to my husbands work.

1. The one thing that we DON'T like is that they seem to split families. My son can only stay overnight at our home for 14 days in a calendar year. With times being what they are, we all need help from time to time. My son lives alone and is fiercly independent but what if he loses his job and can't pay rent and needs our help? We are all the family that he has. He's 36. The manager at the park will not make allowances! This is one BIG worry. Any info about this will be so very helpful.

2. We have looked at many homes within the community. They are way too small. There is one that both of us really, really like the size and layout of. It's a 1969 doublewide. It is being sold by the park itself for $35,000. I have always heard that mobile homes depreciate and I know that we are in a down economy where houses are losing their value by the day. How can we find out the true value of this home? It has many issues that need repairing one of them being a sagging roof - the rafters are sagging. It does has one of those forever roofs on it. She gave us a copy of the home inspection that they had done. The manager said that she is standing by her inspection. Can we get another inspection that we hire and does she have to fix things according to that one? Is there such a thing as getting the home appraised? We are paying cash so a bank won't be involved.

3. Can a MH of this age be insured?

I know this is a long post but we are really worried as to what to do. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Sally

I am sorry about your concerns for your son. The park is a +55 adult community and to keep that status the federal government will require they enforce age requirements diligently and strictly. There are exceptions to the discrimination laws that allow the park to discriminate by age and this must be closely enforced with everyone. This way others cannot make age discrimination cases with the government..It could be worse, one of you could well be under 55 and be bound by the same rules.

The best way to tell if the park is well run and maintained is to talk to the current residents. Walk down the streets and ask them..Look for abandoned and/or an excessive amount of home for sale.

A home inspection does NOT obligate the seller to do anything. It is only a report as to the soundness and safety so the purchaser can make an informed decision to buy. You should hire your own inspector and then before you contract discuss any deficiencies with the seller. If promises are made to make corrections they should be specific and included in your contract to purchase. Remember to put a time frame in the contract too..This house is 40 years old and like any other 40 year old home it will have numerous upgrqade needs. This home was built prior to the HUD code. This means itr was built at a time in the industry that there was little if any regulation and NO inspection. I would especially be concerned about the electrical wiring. Aluminum wireing was popular in this time frame. Your home inspection will cover this. In 1969 energy bills probably were not much more than $20/ mo and no one spent much money on energy efficiency. Windows, tight construction,efficient heating and cooling, efficient appliances and insulation were not priorities at the time for both the buyers and the builders.

Only you can decide if the value is there. Housing prices in your area make no sense to most who read these posts. In my area a 1969 home would not bring much unless the location itself was very valuable. Of course you can hire a local appraiser who will be knowledgeable in your market area and will develop a value report for you to add to your information list. These valuations will incorporate the value of the structure and its location as a package All this information should make you be able to make an informed intelligent decision about this home.. A proper appraiser will charge from $300 to $400. A home inspection will run abvout 1/2 this amount. This cost plus the cost a of a local real estate attorney (another 3 to 5 hundred) will be well spent to protect your large investment. You should check with insurance agents in your area for potential coverage and costs. It is good you do not need a bank because most federally insured banks will NOT finance a home of this age. Most will only go back to the 1st year of the HUD code which was 1976. Of course from your standpoint this means when you need to sell the home you will be ONLY able to sell to those with all cash. If you do your due diligence and you still feel this is the best alternative for you GO FOR IT..