I had some stigma against trailer parks, but due to housing costs, I got serious about them once. I could actually afford a home on my single salary! That got my hopes up. There was even a trailer park near me, close to transit, close to a grocery store, close to some nice parks, it even had some vacancies! Awesome.
But then I looked at the terms. The trailer park is on a 99 year lease, coming up in about 5 years. The homes are the property of their owners, the land is not. Most of the homes are functionally immobile. A new build is more expensive than buying used, so to get an actually mobile home doubles the cost -- add disposal fees to that.
Trailer park residents are living on the edge, a ticking timebomb where they might get evicted without the ability to move their homes, or if they're lucky, they can move their homes but they'll still be forced out of their neighborhood at a time when all their neighbors are also trying to move under duress to the same closest trailer parks they can find. And if they can't find a place, they lose the home and pay for its disposal.
The stigma is real, but it's not the greatest challenge. The soaring land prices are.
Obviously the answer would be to let the owner of the mobile home buy the land the mobile home is sitting on or to let the government manage the land lease directly and only charge property tax.
Around here, the lease-land mobile-like homes are retirement communities. It is admittedly getting close to the time when we’ll see community-wide leasing agreements come up for renegotiation. The concept really works out well for the Boomer-aged. Good luck if you’re a Gen Z.
Freehold land prices are up ten-fold. Lease rates? TBD.
But then I looked at the terms. The trailer park is on a 99 year lease, coming up in about 5 years. The homes are the property of their owners, the land is not. Most of the homes are functionally immobile. A new build is more expensive than buying used, so to get an actually mobile home doubles the cost -- add disposal fees to that.
Trailer park residents are living on the edge, a ticking timebomb where they might get evicted without the ability to move their homes, or if they're lucky, they can move their homes but they'll still be forced out of their neighborhood at a time when all their neighbors are also trying to move under duress to the same closest trailer parks they can find. And if they can't find a place, they lose the home and pay for its disposal.
The stigma is real, but it's not the greatest challenge. The soaring land prices are.