Scared New Buyer - Several Questions

[Maria]

Hi all,

Firstly, thanks for the great FREE info available at this site. This is awesome.

Questions:

Hubby and I (and our 2 little ones) are relocating to the West Palm Beach area (work forces relocation) and we know that there is no way we can afford homes there (even townhomes in suburbs 30 miles away are $50k more than we can afford!!) and so MH are our only option.

We are not sure what is the best option to go for if we are thinking of selling the MH within 2 years (if hubby is able to find a better job since current employer will not give us a salary upgrade to live in FL! *growl*) --- should we purchase a new home in a land lease or a resident-owned community? We know about depreciation values and want to retain the most value possible since we will only live in the home for a short period of time.

Also, how are Wells Fargo folks in terms of MH loans? We are hoping to use a FHA loan since we have exc. credit but no money for a down payment. What should I be worried about?

Finally, since no PH owned sales center is nearby, are there a lot of risks going through local dealers? I think the local one there is "Real McCoy" in Riviera Beach. We need to get into our home asap since we are relocating in mid-June 2004 and I'm not sure that we can afford to wait for a home to be built and delivered from the closes PH factory.

Many thanks!!! God bless America for the great MH homes this country has to offer.

Maria

[Tom]

In your situation I would strongly recommend you find a rental in a nice MH park.

Buying a MH for placement on a rental lot with no money down, your interest rate will be be 8% plus. Not sure FHA will loan on homes on rental lots. Freddie Mac has some programs which may help, ask your lender, if you should decide to buy.

Renting will provide you several options. You will not be tied to long term loan; You can move when needed without penalty (unless you are leasing, then you will want to complete the lease and then relocate.) All maintenance is on the landlord, unless otherwise stipulated in your lease. Landlord pays annual MH fees and/or personal property taxes on the home.

Any equity you gain by buying vs renting will probably be lost in depreciation (which you are aware of) and in the higher interest you will pay for your MH loan.

It is difficult to sell a MH on a rented lot, especially if you cannot discount the price. (with no money down, you probably could not afford to lower the price of the MH without hurting yourselves financially.)

Again, look into renting for the one or two year period and save for a larger down payment in the future.

[rmurray]

I much agree with the other post here...buying with very low downpayment in a park will be VERY hard to sell in such a short time..

Consider renting... or buying a used home...

There are 2 FHA programs...FHA with land...requires 3% down...but down cann be paid by a non-profit....AND...FHA for homes in parks...It will require about 5% down..and no gifts are allowed..

Home only FHA will do either new or used homes...5% down would be less money than a rental would require in up front cash..Generally this FHA is used for those with limited credit...only a few lenders offer this finance..21st Century Finance in TN offers nationwide service..

Wells Fargo does not do home only loans..Good Luck

[Maria]

Thanks to both of you for your posts and as always the valuable advice.

Sorry, 1 more question.

I actually have no idea how to find rentals since I have been doing most of my legwork via the internet (good ole technolgy, eh?) and thus want your input on how to find a decent rental. I have never stepped foot into a MH or a MH dealer so I'm pretty "green." *LOL*

In short, should I just go into local land-lease communities and just ask about rentals and go from there? Is there a good possibility of finding a 3 bdrm 2 bath home in the $700-$800 per month rental range in the suburbs of West Palm Beach (again we don't miind to live 30+ miles away from city center even since we know that real estate is pricey down there)?

Any advice is appreciated since internet searches have come up with a lot of resales info but don't see any rental only info.

Have a great week by the way..... your advice has put me at ease that renting is a viable option for us (perhaps the smartest one for now) and has certainly made MY week!

Cheers,

Maria

[rmurray]

You can do a lot of rental research on the net as well....Be sure not to rent without first going there and checking them out...

I watch the "COPS' tv show...there are some pretty rough areas of West Palm Beach..

Good Luck

[Maria]

Dear RMurray,

I am concerned about the crime down there and thus will be going in person to check things out prior to our official relocation date.

When you say rental research, do you have a web site in mind because I've been doing Google searches and I keep getting 55+ communities coming up but not too many all age communities.

Please advise. Thanks again for your help.

Maria

[CHUCK]

HI there, NEW TO YOUR PROGRAM AND AM LOOKING FOR ADVISE AS TO BUYING A USED 2 BEDROOM MOBILE HOME IN AND AROUND MILFORD ,NEW NAMPSHIRE AREA.
AM LOOKING FOR SOMETHING JUST FOR MY SELF THAT I CAN AFFORD ON MY OWN WITH A PRICE RANGE OF BETWEEN $550.00 TO 650.00
PER MONTH. I,M REALLY GREEN AS FAR AS HOW TO ASK CERTAIN QUESTION CONCERNING THE CONDITION,S OF HOMES AND CERTAIN THING,S THAT NEED FIXING.

ANY INFORMATION YOU CAN SEND ME I WOULD APPRECIATE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME,

CHARLES M,.LAWRENCE 05/23/04

[Marla]

Have you researched the local West Palm Beach Newspapers? If so, did you call?
They will be able to either send you a link to their website and or tell you of the safer neighborhoods to live in. IF all else fails, they can send you (probably for the
price of the paper and postage) the most recent copy of their paper so you can look
at ads for yourself.

Hope this helps, even if only a little.

Marla