Yes, there are many housing options out there, but living in a manufactured home community comes with its own special set of perks. It doesn’t have to live up to the stigma associated with mobile home parks and trailers, and it’s certainly worth considering as a viable housing option.
Benefits of living in a manufactured home community
If you’re skeptical about the whole idea of relocating to a manufactured or mobile home community, we hope the following provides you with some food for thought on the matter.
Affordable
Compared to a stick built home, a manufactured home is far less costly per square foot. This means you get more floor space at the fraction of the cost of a site-built home, or even apartment.
The average cost of a house is about $188,900. This makes owning a home unfeasible or exceptionally challenging for many Americans.
The bright side is that manufactured housing has come a long way from the dingy trailer homes of days gone by. Today’s mobile home is roomier, sturdier, and more energy efficient than its predecessors.
A world of opportunity
Living in a manufactured home community gives you a greater sense of freedom to save and set aside funds for traveling. There’s a world to see. With more affordable housing, you’ll have more freedom to chase after those travel dreams you’ve held on to.
It’s not an apartment complex
There’s more than a ceiling or wall between you and your neighbors. This makes for happy neighbors and a happy you. In an apartment complex, you live in fear of disturbing the neighbors. Late night games, a loud TV, and hospitality in numbers are not a nuisance to your fellow residents.
You get your own outdoor space
Another perk of living in a manufactured home community is having a yard. With your own yard, you can grow a garden, let the kids or dog run around and enjoy some fresh air, plant flowers, and host a cookout. All this, right outside your front and back doors!
Pets allowed
If you have furry friends in your home, a mobile home community may be just the right place for you to live. Pets are often welcomed and it’s a much better living arrangement than an apartment complex. Your pet will be able to enjoy your lot’s yard space rather than find itself cooped up in an apartment or constantly tied to a leash.
Amenities
The amenities that can come with a mobile home community vary from place to place. Pool, park, and recreational rooms are some of the extra amenities that may come with your mobile home community. Limited to community members, there’s an advantage in using these amenities whether it’s for yourself or the kids.
Community
There’s beauty in community. And the manufactured home community delivers. When you move into this type of neighborhood, you’re moving into a neighborhood with a shared interest in making the area a better place.
These parks often have events throughout the year to encourage neighborly networking and a greater sense of unity among residents.
You don’t have to embrace the stigma
Thankfully, dingy and dilapidated mobile home communities are history. HUD codes, developed a few decades ago, significantly changed the mobile home design game. Gone are the days of poorly built mobile manufactured home structures, thin walls, and energy inefficient designs.
More and more people from all walks of life are seeing the manufactured housing community as an excellent alternative to stick-built housing. Students in college love the idea of having their own home away from home with more space than a dorm room. Retirees love the idea of downsizing and being part of a community with other people who share in their season of life. Families are seeing the economic benefits of embracing what the manufactured home community has to offer.
No property tax
If your mobile home is sitting in a mobile home park, there are no property tax fees involved. That’s something to look forward to if you chose to move into one.
Still not convinced…
Why not visit a few communities in your area and check them out in person? Call the park manager and ask if they’d provide you with a tour and provide more information. Talk to residents you meet along the way and don’t be afraid to make inquiries regarding life in that community. Remember to visit more than one place and you’ll discover that each community differs in one way or another.
What’s next?
As you can see, choosing to live in a manufactured home community comes with its own set of benefits. Regardless of your economic status or season in life, you’re bound to find these benefits alluring. Considering a family mobile home park? Here’s what to look for.
About Dan Paton
