Originally published on Mobile Home Living.
When it comes to mobile home community living you can expect to receive benefits you won’t find on private land or in other multi-family housing. Let’s go through some basics of mobile home community living.
The Basics of Mobile Home Community Living
Mobile home communities first and foremost rent lots. The homes on the lots within a community can be owned by the community and rented out to the resident or owned by the resident. If a resident owns their home, they just rent the lot from the community. The resident could have either purchased a pre-existing home within the community or they may have purchased a home from a dealership or other 3rd party and brought the home into the community to be placed on a vacant lot.
Promotions, Specials, Deals & Steals
One advantage of mobile home communities is they often offer promotions to customers. Promotions for renters can include reduced rent for a period of time, lower than usual security deposits, and free applications. For customers interested in bringing their own home into a community, many communities offer to pay for some {or all} of the transportation costs to move the home into the community – that’s a huge savings!
Perks of Renting
If you aren’t quite ready to dive into homeownership, renting in a mobile home community does have its’ advantages. One advantage is the professional on-site management and maintenance teams that are there to address any issues that arise. Leaking sink? Don’t worry about it! Call the community office, they’ll get a work order started and maintenance will be out to fix it for you.
You may be thinking this advantage is something you get when renting an apartment, you’d be right; but, keep in mind when you are renting in a mobile home community you get this advantage, PLUS you are in your own single-family home and you do not have to share your walls with your neighbors!
Homeownership Opportunities
If renting is something you want to leave in the past and you are ready to own your own home, a mobile home community still has great things to offer. Many mobile home communities offer programs that make homeownership a possibility for everyone, even those with poor credit and little savings for a down payment. A common program offered is Rent-To-Own; essentially, you are just paying rent each month, BUT that rent money is going toward paying off the house. If a community doesn’t offer a standard Rent-to-Own program, they likely offer something similar or maybe something even better!
Community Amenities
With most mobile home communities you can expect to receive the added value of amenities. Amenities are an extra convenience for residents; you can forget about public pools when your community has a private pool for residents! Basic amenities can include: swimming pools, clubhouses, and playgrounds. Some communities will offer more elaborate amenities such as splash parks, Wi-Fi centers, and Frisbee golf courses.
Resident Relations
In a mobile home community, you can expect to form a relationship with not only the community staff, but also with your fellow community members. An amazing thing happens when a group of people come together with the same goal; the goal to make their community a beautiful place they can all be proud to call home.
Most mobile home communities host several resident events throughout the year to give back to the residents, help build strong relationships with the residents, and of course just to keep things FUN!
Community Guidelines
Mobile home communities differ from private land in that the lot, or land, is leased to resident, but owned by the community. Because the lot is leased, the community will have a set of guidelines that a resident must read and agree to follow for as long as they live within the community. Guidelines can include items such as: maintain the yard so the grass is an appropriate length, pet policies, parking instructions, and things of that nature. The purpose of community guidelines is to protect the property and to ensure that all residents are living in a community they are proud to call home.
Mobile home communities are a unique multi-family housing option. They offer residents an affordable place to call home, while providing residents with their own, single-family home and no shared walls with their neighbors. Mobile home communities also provide residents their own piece of land where they can plant a garden, play a game of catch with their children, or sit on their front porch and watch the sunset.
Mobile home communities won’t be a fit for everyone, but for many they are a great place to get a head start on life.
