Mobile Home Lifestyle FAQ

A: We hope so! It is a different and wonderful lifestyle choice that is important to understand before purchasing a home. People of all ages and income levels live in manufactured housing communities. Note that some communities are age restricted for seniors.

A: In a recent poll of manufactured housing community residents, the top two reasons are location and affordability.

A: Mobile home owners who live in manufactured housing communities enjoy single or multi-story, private detached homes located on a rental lot/space. Parking is typically located adjacent to the home. and there are amenities like a clubhouse and pool in most parks. The owner of the mobile home/manufactured home is responsible for all maintenance of the home and the site the home is sitting on.

A: The owner of the mobile home rents the land the home sits on. There is a monthly rental fee paid for the land, services, and facilities provided as a resident of the park. Like apartment rentals, renting a space in a mobile home park will increase typically on an annual basis. Also like apartments, there are rules and regulations that all residents must comply with. Be sure to read and understand them before you purchase a home in the park.

A: Owning a home on private property means you own the home and the land. There is one mortgage payment for the home and the land. In a mobile home park, you may have two payments — a mortgage if you take out a loan to purchase the mobile home and the monthly space rental payment. In both cases, whether you live in a mobile home park and rent the last, of if you own the home and land, you are responsible for maintaining the home and the lot the home sits on.

Just like other homes, location is a prime factor.  The same home located near the ocean will sell for more than one located inland, and the rent will typically be higher. The age and condition of the home is also a factor.

A: Mobile homes, trailers, and manufactured homes are all built in a factory. Homes built after 1976 are built to a higher Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) standard. Older homes, or pre-HUD homes, will typically need significantly more maintenance and will not have the same insulation, windows, etc. as a HUD built home. New manufactured homes not only look much better but are higher quality than older mobile homes.

A: Yes. All prospective mobile home park residents have to provide proof of income and ability to afford living in the community—just like purchasing a site-built home or renting other properties.

A: Rent rates in mobile home parks are determined the same as other rental housing—by comparable market rents. As the costs to maintain and operate the community increases, so do rents.

A: Month to month, 12 month, or longer rental agreements are generally available.

A: The location, the affordability, the overall sense of community, and private home with small yards/patios and adjacent parking.

A: Older mobile homes sell for more than the Blue Book value of the home because it is being sold "in place," and the new buyer is paying for the value of the location of the home as well as the value of the land and services that come with the purchase of a mobile home located in a community.

A: Whether purchasing a site built home, a condominium, or manufactured home, it is wise to have the home inspected by a qualified inspector. In California, there are licensed manufactured housing contractors that hold a C-47 license and are qualified to inspect a manufactured home.

A: No. They are generally more affordable than some other forms of housing, but it depends on location. Affordable housing developments have income limit requirements that mandate residents meet low-income requirements to move in.  That is not the case in a mobile home park. Homeowners of all income levels enjoy the manufactured housing community lifestyle.

A: California's Proposition 13 mandates that property taxes increase upon resale. This results in increasing the costs of operating a mobile home park, and this cost may be passed on to the owners of mobile homes living in the community.

A: The typical rule of thumb for apartment occupancy and mobile home occupancy is two persons per bedroom plus one. A three-bedroom home could have a maximum occupancy of seven, as an example.