Newbie Needs Help!

[Gary]

I haven't found too many user groups on the internet. But I am glad I found
this one! I have a bunch of questions, because I am looking at purchasing a
manufactured home. Now, from what I understand, mobile & manufactured homes
are a little different in large metro areas, than say the midwest. For
example, I live in the Bay Area - California, specifically Silicon Valley.

And I have been wanting to get my first home (so I can start building equity). But when I saw the big manufactured homes that were available, it knocked my socks off. So, maybe someone out there can help me answer one, some or all of these questions. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

***If you have any experience in the Bay Area, or have owner or currently own a place in the Bay Area, CA PLEASE RESPOND. I would like to talk with you. Ideally, I would like a large lot with a backyard, and something that would be able to fit a 2,000 sq ft house.***

Just FYI, I am looking at a $200,000 manufactured home w/ garage....with a
ton of upgrades (granite countertops, etc).

The model I am looking at is this one:
http://www.advantagehomes.com/silvercrest_M-07.htm its about 2600 sq ft.
What would rent be like for something that size?

Do manufactured homes see appreciation? Or if they depreciate like a used
car, how fast?

Does mobile home lot rent include utilities?

I hear there is no rent control on lots. What is the typical % increase
each year?

Has anyone in this group had a POSITIVE EXPERIENCE with a new, LARGE manufactured home?

If I bought a lot of land, what would it take to make it ready to put my
mobile home on it? I know I need to drill a well and get a septic tank system. But how much would it take (on average) to ready a vacant lot never used for a manufactured/mobile home before?

Does anyone have any experience in the Bay Area?

Also, I have driven through a few mobile home parks here in the area, and
they have ABSOLUTELY NO YARDS. I have a dog and would like somewhat of a
backyard. How feasible is that?

Thanks again, and I appreciate any help you can provide.



Gary
Jose

[Teri]

If you get a leased lot you will get no equity off of your investment. I am having to move my mfr house off of a leased lot because the banks won't recognized the house's equity for refinancing or 2nd mortgage. I have a yard in the park I am in, but that is very, very rare. From my research it is better to buy a lot for the mfr house even if you have to get a smaller home to do it. Then if you need more living space you can build an addition because now you will have equity and you own the land to build it on. No, I don't live in North California, but I will warn people away from leasing/renting lots because the only one who makes money is the owner of the park.

[rmurray]

I have seen you post here and on usenets alt.mobilehome group..

I am not familier with CA much...but from what I read..take what the rest of us spend and multiply it by 4 or 5 for CA...I cannot even begin to imagine how anyone lives there...

Park rent usually does not include utilities..some parks include water, sewer and garbage pick up...but others do not..

Rent contol...this is something for the "left coast" and most of us have no idea what it covers..

Appreciation...depreciation...is totally location dependent..Your manufactured home and land will react to the general local market in the same way any other type of home will...If it is a good market..you will do well...conversely if they discover the "love canal" in your back yard...all homes will lose value...

Homes in parks are very park dependent...a small used double section sold to Wynona Rider (the actress) recently for $600,000..all because of its beach front location in Southern CA..That same home here in Augusta, Ga might have sold for $40K in a nice park...$20K in a rough park...

I am glad you have discovered the value of factory built homes...The process is a lot of work and information in important...Ask questions..there are plenty of folks willing to help...Good Luck

[rmurray]

Go to this URL to see what I mean about CA and prices..This is for the 90% of us not in CA...How about a nice new 1 bedroom 1 bath for only $85,000......Or maybe a regular 3 bedroom 2 bath double section...for only $209,000...All wonderfully located in manufactured home parks with god knows how much rent..and no trees I see....Ouch..

http://www.advantagehomes.com/February_ ... _month.htm

[SM from Torrance, CA]

I have said it before and I will say it here again.....We bought a brand new 2001 Golden West 3 bedroom/2 bath-1456 sq. ft. for $93,500 and put it in a park. We just received notice that our space rent is being increased to $808 from $729 starting in June. BUT even with space rent and mortgage our MH is cheaper (and nicer) than renting an apt. Regular site built homes in this area are approx. $400,000 to $600,000. And 2 bedroom/1 bath homes are almost $300,000. I DO NOT want to pay that much money for a tiny little house when I could live in a nice MH. Plus we do have a little bit of a yard which is more than I can say for the apt. we had.

[jerry lenhard]

Rent increases w/o rent control is Hazardous to Your Wallet. An owner can
legally double (or more) your rent & you can't do anything. It'll cost t0-15K to
move the home & the next rental park has a similar owner. You should not
even consider a rental park. You should be looking for a Resident Owned Park.
Most of them are down here in the San Diego area, I believe. Investing over
$200,000 in someone elses property makes little sense. As your rent goes up,
the equity goes down. Putting a nice home in a rental park increases the
park value, not yours. Long-term lease in rental parks are even worse, just
read one. Homes in resident-owned parks sell for double what they sell in
rental parks; check it out. Jerry Lenhard, 760-745-3734. Contact a local
GSMOL rep in your area.

[Pat]

Gary, I'm doing the same thing. Go over to Manteca (Hwy 120 & Hwy 99) towards Yosemite, and there are 3 manufactured home distributors within 1/4 mile. And they all specialize in setting up a home for you on your property (or park if you wanted).

Manteca Homes 209.239.1150

Accent Homes of Manteca 209.823.1751 (I think they carry the Silvercrest)

Madison Mobile Home Sales 209.823.1795

You can finance the home, land, improvements and permit fees with a construction loan. When it's all completed per code and ready to move in you get a regular mortgage loan.

You can figure about 50k for improvements and permit fees. Well, septic, utilities, foundation, grading/roads, etc.

Add everything up and compare to similar homes in your area. Location will be the main factor in appreciation. I wouldn't want to live in a park plus all that space rental fees could be going towards paying off your mortgage.

Get a realtor and start looking at land/lots and see if that is what you want. Here are a couple of places to look on the internet: www.mlslistings.com
www.realtor.com

Good luck!!

[judy]

Hi,
We live in a very very nice MH park in San Jose. It is 2br, 2ba, 1536 sq ft. rent is 548.82 and it increases 3% a year. The only problem that we have now is, we want to sell and can't find a buyer. If I had it to do over, I would save until we could have affored a house, or bought land to put a MH on. We already have another house in the Trinity Mts, but we will lose this one unless we find a buyer NOW. Good Luck. How about buying our lot? and you can put your own house on it.