An urban mobile home park could be a great opportunity for a mobile home investor. Urban areas are developed regions — they surround cities and large towns. This means they are very developed with commercial buildings, roads, and housing. Towns and cities that surround greater cities can also define the term “urban.”
Urban living is popular due to its convenience to the amenities that city dwellers take for granted. For example, in urban dwellings, the grocery stores, hospital, banking, and other services are a mere short drive away.
In many households, an urban housing situation is ideal. This means many conveniences are nearby and less fuel is spent on the commute to and from work.
Key features of a distinctly urban mobile home park
According to Richard Foster, the urban mobile home park is often an overlooked feature of the modern American landscape.
He writes in a 1981 article that mobile homes accounted “for nearly 25 percent of new single-family houses in the United States. The growing popularity of mobile homes as permanent residences has occurred largely because of the widening gap between prices of mobile homes and conventional single-family houses that are the traditional idea of most Americans.”
So what are some of the characteristics that make up a distinctly urban mobile home park? Knowing the answer to this question will aid in developing your plan or continued research on mobile home investing.
Affordable housing for urban dwellers
For certain, living in an urban area can be costly. But an urban mobile home park is an affordable housing option for urban dwellers.
One of the greatest benefits of a mobile home park is the affordability of the housing. And it’s not just affordable for both those renting or owning the home on the lot, it’s also a quality. Mobile home quality has increased exponentially in the last several decades.
So don’t feel like you’re trading out quality for affordability. Today’s mobile home is more like a stick built home than its original version.
Day to day living with groceries, fuel, and extras can pile up and put a dent in one’s bank account. Mobile home living allows more financial freedom.
Shops and services are closeby
Another stark characteristic of urban mobile home park living is the distance between the park and the community’s shops and services. Everything is usually within walking distance or a short drive away.
This is highly convenient for the urban individual — young, old, single or family.
There is variety in services and retail goods
On that note, there’s variety in the services and retail goods available to your mobile home park community. That’s the benefit of urban living.
Forget having to settle with the choices available at one grocery store. If you don’t like one grocery store, there’s another.
This is great because it allows for competitive pricing too.
Public gathering places
Generally speaking, an urban mobile home park will provide a public gathering place for their community. If the park doesn’t, there is probably one within a short travel distance.
Public gathering places are a huge benefit to unifying the park community through events and celebrations.
City services within reach
One of the benefits of an urban mobile home park is its closeness to public services such as schools, libraries, parks and the like. To a mobile home park community, these public amenities provide value to them in their search for the right home.
In the event that you’re planning to invest in an urban mobile home park, it is smart to look for this characteristic.
They’re part of the larger community
Finally, a key feature of a distinctly urban mobile home park is its place in the larger community. It is its own little island in the middle of a heavily populated area.
Your mobile home park community members will be very active in the larger community. Whether it is through shopping, education or work — they have a large active presence in the urban setting.
So a mobile home park manager in the urban setting will understand this bad encourage the great community mindset rather than stifle it.
A practical opportunity
In a nutshell, the urban mobile home park offers affordability and accessibility to its tenants. The practicality in such a dwelling situation is a winning match for many who prefer to live in urban areas.
For those interested in cultivating a stronger and better mobile home park, we have some helpful ideas for mobile home park management. Encouraging your park residents to be involved in the day to day life of the community is going to give you a stronger and better park.
About Dan Paton
