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This manufactured home, at 2850 1/2 Hall Ave., was built before 1974 and is not HUD approved, which will make it almost impossible to finance. Jan Garber with Metro Brokers is listing the property, which has three bedrooms and two baths, and also includes the lot, for $59,900.
When buyers purchase homes like this one pictured above in Pioneer Village near 32 and F Roads, they’re purchasing the home and the land on which it sits. This mobile home has two bedrooms and one bath and is listed by Ric Gaines with Century 21 Homestead Realty for $88,000.
This home, at 3781 Granada Drive in Palisade, has two bedrooms and two baths and a covered front porch. Jan Garber with Metro Brokers is listing the property, which is in a 55-plus community, for $58,000.
At Midlands Village, residents can enjoy a plot in the community garden for free, where some gardeners have been growing summertime produce for years.
Buyers are also purchasing the lot when they buy this home in Pioneer Village, a 55-plus community at 3195 F Road in Grand Junction. Jan Garber with Metro Brokers is listing this two-bedroom, one-bath home for $75,000.
In Picture Ranch, a 55-plus community off E near 32 1/2 Roads, residents don’t own the lots on which their homes sit. This home was built in 2010, has two bedrooms and two baths in 920 square feet. Ric Gaines with Century 21 Homestead Realty is listing the property for $47,900.
Although real estate prices for traditional, stick-built homes have fallen, they would have to fall a long way to match the prices for manufactured housing or mobile homes.
It’s possible to buy a new mobile home for less than $50,000, and those new homes don’t need repairs, extensive yard work or paint.
“They serve a purpose because not everybody can afford a $200,000 home,” said Jan Garber with Metro Brokers.
In addition to the affordability factor, mobile home parks, with small lots and minimal maintenance, give flexibility to those who live in them.
“A lot of seniors like to travel and have a place to hang their hat when they come home,” Garber said.
Many mobile home parks also have free RV storage, so snowbirds who want to hit the road during the winter have a place to park their motorhomes when they come to the Grand Valley for the summer.
With manufactured housing and mobile homes, there are essentially two ways to purchase the home. Some people prefer to buy the home and also want to buy the land on which it sits. There are several parks and areas where it’s possible to do that, including Cottonwood Park and Centennial Park — which are both west of 30 Road between Orchard and North Avenue — and Pioneer Village I and II, which are near F and 32 Roads.
Pioneer Village is a 55-plus community, as are Long Park, Rio Vista (both in Palisade) and Picture Ranch (off E Road in Grand Junction). Residents don’t own their lots in Long Park, Rio Vista or Picture Ranch, but most of the seniors in those parks don’t mind paying the lot rent.
Residents in senior communities enjoy the security, the aesthetics and the sense of community in the parks — especially in parks like Picture Ranch, where residents gather in the clubhouse for potlucks, poker games or breakfast. They can also use the clubhouse, which has a full kitchen and a big dining area, for social or family gatherings.
When residents don’t own the lot, they don’t pay real estate tax. They are, however, subject to a personal property tax on the value of their home, but it’s a minimal tax, usually between $200 to $300 per year, which adds to the affordability factor.
At most of the other mobile home parks around town, residents do not own their own lots. At Western Hills Mobile Home Park on B 1/2 Road in Orchard Mesa, the majority of residents rent both their lots and their mobile homes. Rent for the one-, two- and three-bedroom mobile homes ranges from $400 to $600 a month, and the park owns all the rentals.
Most parks do not allow the owners of the mobile homes to rent out their homes — they must be owner-occupied.
There are several issues to keep in mind when considering the purchase of a mobile home. In 1974, Congress designated the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with overseeing the Federal Manufactured Housing Program to ensure that manufactured housing met certain safety standards. Mobile or manufactured homes built prior to 1974 are referred to as pre-HUD homes and are difficult to finance. It’s possible to get financing for manufactured housing built after 1974, but buyers may pay a higher interest rate and need a higher credit score for manufactured housing than for traditional, stick-built housing.
Some lenders will not make loans for manufactured housing. Many buyers, especially those who are retired and looking to downsize, prefer to pay cash rather than finance.
Midlands Village, a manufactured housing park off 32 Road with more than 300 lots, began in-house financing in 2011 to help buyers.
“Not everybody gets qualified,” said Pete Newman, the finance director with Leadership Circle, the real estate development company that owns Midlands Village. Because Leadership Circle does not sell loans to a secondary market, it can be a bit more flexible with regard to credit scores and down payment. The lender may also be able to make loans to people who have lost a home due to bankruptcy or who had to walk away from a loan but still have a good job history and a down payment.
Everything, however, comes at a cost. Bankruptcies, walk-aways and low credit scores mean buyers may have to pay a higher interest rate. Generally, interest rates for manufactured housing are higher than for traditional, stick-built homes.
Midlands Village is an example of a well-tended mobile home community. It’s visually appealing, with newer homes in good condition, and rules are strictly enforced to cultivate a sense of security for residents.
Lot rents are higher, but it has clean, well-lit streets, walkways, a community garden, a community center and a golf driving range.
There are no one-size-fits-all rules of manufactured housing. Sometimes, a manufactured home will depreciate. Under the right conditions, it will appreciate.
Usually, manufactured housing is more affordable than stick-built housing, although adding lot rent to the payment may make it comparable to entry-level or fixer-upper homes.
Maintenance costs are generally low on a newer manufactured home, however, and unlike fixer-uppers, they don’t require a homeowner to spend time working on the house or the yard.
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