BS: Park homes

Subject: BS: Park homes
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 04:07 PM

Anybody ever lived in one. Know anything about them. Know someone who lived in one......

Are they to be trusted, are they expensive to run - that sort of stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Sorcha
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 04:14 PM

What are they? Euclidate please. We lived in a Holly Park (brand) mobile home/trailer once.

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Zany Mouse
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 04:41 PM

Park Homes is the posh name for mobile homes. I have known people living in them and they were very comfortable, but compact, of course. It is simply like living in a very small flat. The only complaints I heard were about the site charges and high heating costs.

Rhiannon

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Penny S.
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 04:57 PM

I have a friend who was living in one at the time of the 87 hurricane, which blew the roof off. His site would not let him replace the porch which he had on the old home with the replacement. It also restricts visitor parking and seems very - well, restrictive beyond what could be expected for people showing consideration for others.

I was impressed with the features and could imagine living in one, but not on a leasehold park.

I saw a very attractive site in Cornwall, but I wouldn't have been able to afford to purchase the smallest size with the proceeds of the sale of my Thames Gateway two bedroom spacious split level maisonette.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Sorcha
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 05:05 PM

I am in US but most of them are in 'mobile home parks'. All depends on the size. We lived in a 12'x 30' one...horrid. Had to move boxes off the bed to get in bed.

Later we lived in a 18'x80' top of the line. 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, quite nice. HOWEVER, nearly all of them, top of the line included, are not well built. They have insulation problems if it's cold, and are NOT safe in high winds. I would think twice about living in one in Cornwall, for example.

People here put old used tires/tyres on the roof (exterior) to help the weight. Even when they are permanantly anchored and skirted, they tend to blow over. They are also not at all resisitant to cars crashing into them. Sounds silly, but that happens more than you would think.

The decor looks nice, but is often cheap. The wallboard panelling is the cheap chip board covered with pretty paper. Draw guides tend to break often, etc.

People in US do buy them to own and live in but most often they are entry level rentals.

Also, in US there seems to be a difference between a 'modular' and a mobile home. Or, even a double wide mobile home. Some think the modulars are better built and they certainly are not always inexpensive. Friends paid $80,000 for a 3 bedroom and set it on land in the country. Looks nice, and does NOT look like a 'mobile home', nor does it have wheels/axles under it to move later. It's on a permanent foundation.

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 05:23 PM

I know a couple who live on a park home near the south coast in uk, very near unfortunately. It is easy to decorate but prone to damp.

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: number 6
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 05:24 PM

They call them garden homes here in Saint John (New Brunswick, Canada). They are a good affordable housing, allowing people from handing over rent to greedy landlords and they are good starting homes for young families, allowing them to accumulate some equity to springboard to a regular home.

In Toronto (Ontario, Canada) and the surrounding burroughs there were zoning bi-laws preventing them ... rather unfortunate due to the reasons I explained above.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 05:24 PM

One of the big problems with mobile home parks in windstorms is that if one home is breeched and begins blowing apart, its walls, windows and contents become shrapnel that can damage other homes, resulting in a domino-effect of damage. Meanwhile, a well-anchored home on a single-home private lot may do just fine.

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Metchosin
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 05:29 PM

Sorcha pretty much covered the waterfront as far as Canada is concerned too. Mostly they are crap built, although they can be quite comfortable depending on how you live.

We recently renovated and sold my departed father-in-law's mobile. Unlike most, It had tons of storage, was originally built in Alberta and was very well insulated, with an excellent floor plan. I was forbidden to call it a trailer when we had finished the work on it and had to refer to it as the "aluminum cottage". It didn't have the feel of a mobile home at all.

Parks vary, so if your considering living in one, check them out thoroughly first and if you are considering a used unit, have a competent, qualified (sometimes hard to find) building inspector go over it first.

There are some pics of the renovated interior of the "cottage" on my flickr site on the "Do you have Flickr?" thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: number 6
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 05:31 PM

"Parks vary, so if your considering living in one, check them out thoroughly first"

Very much like neighbourhoods/condos .... when investing in a home, it's always best to research.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 06:18 PM

well I was driving up the M5 today, and there was a big placard.

Luxury Park Homes £80,00 to £120, 000 and i thought to myself. They can't be complete crap. Probably.......Just wondered what they were like . Is the site manager a swine? Making you use his gas meter, and acting like little hitler. Or could it be nice....

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Zany Mouse
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 06:52 PM

I think if I had £120k I'd buy a proper house!

Rhiannon

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: LilyFestre
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 07:47 PM

My family lived in a mobile home for years. It was a nice home and was incredibly heat efficient. Like any home, a lot depends on how you take care of it. We lived in a mobile home park which means we had to pay lot rent. There were restrictions about what you could have on the property and there were maintenance levels that had to be met. In my opinion, this is a good thing. The owners were quite reasonable and it has kept the park looking nice for over 30 years. We had a nice porch, planted some trees, had a carport, a shed out in the back yard and even a garden. Some parks don't allow you to do those things, especially planting trees or if they do allow tree planting, the tree must always be pruned to remain shorter than the roof of the mobile home.

Where I live, single and double-wide mobile homes are quite common. Many are set on permanent foundations. My mother-in-law recently purchased a mobile home to set on her own property. By law, she was required to put in concrete piers, 16 of them for a single-wide mobile home that are 50 inches deep (the piers). There are also tie-downs for each pier that are attached to the concrete pad and go over the frame of the mobile home. I'm sure wind could still be an issue but the state regulations help to make things a bit more sturdy.

In the US, some folks think that those who live in mobile homes or "trailers" are trash. The fact of the matter is that mobile homes provide affordable living for many people. Many of them are very nice and well taken care of. The newer mobile homes are very energy efficient (I wish my old farm house was as tight as the mobile homes on the market!)too! Another plus of the mobile home is for the elderly or anyone who has difficulty getting around as (generally) everything is located on one floor. Some of the downfalls include a decrease in property value (mobile homes do not increase in value as a stick built house does unless a basement, garage or significant landscaping or acreage is involved).

The difference between a modular home and a double-wide are as follows:

Modular homes:
1. Must be put on a foundation
2. Better built (better materials/quality materials)
3. Are sold without any type of furnace system/hot water tanks, etc.
4. Higher pitched roof

Mobile homes:
1. May stand independently
2. Quality varies greatly
3. Generally sold with furnace and hot water tanks
4. Lower pitched roof

I'm sure there are more differences but that is all that I can come up with at the moment.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: LilyFestre
Date: 30 Dec 06 - 07:51 PM

Here's more information on the differences: Mobile Homes and Modulars


Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Rasener
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 01:47 AM

Here is a link that will give you a lot of info Al.

http://www.britanniaparks.com/park-life/bh-hpa

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Cats
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 07:36 AM

My sister lives in one in Sussex as she could afford that but not a house. It is on a beatifully kept site which has its own groundstaff, each home is surrounded by trees and has its own garden etc. You have to be over 55 to live there so there are few children about unless grandchildren visiting. It has its own surgery, shops, and communal pool etc. All in all, it's brilliant and affordable.

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Cats
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 07:43 AM

Zany Mouse - Where can you buy a house for £120k nowadays? Definitley not in the West country or the home counties...

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: kendall
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 07:54 AM

I lived in a double wide for 6 months. One step above a cave.

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Rasener
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 08:17 AM

>>Zany Mouse - Where can you buy a house for £120k nowadays? Definitley not in the West country or the home counties... <<

Depends how many bedrooms.

Lincolnshire offers new 1 & 2 bedroom properties for around £120K

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Zany Mouse
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 08:46 AM

In our area (Worksop) you can still buy a house for £70k.

Rhiannon

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: GUEST,riverboat annie
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 09:15 AM

How about a....

katrina cottage

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: Rasener
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 09:51 AM

70K I am just getting my coat on :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 12:22 PM

Here we call them trailer parks and they do not seem to enjoy a great reputation, but frinds who have them as cottages seem to think they are fine for summer but very cold in winter.

Subject: RE: BS: Park homes
From: GUEST,LilyFestre
Date: 31 Dec 06 - 02:01 PM

The older mobile homes aren't as tight as the newer ones (say after 1985). They are insulated quite well but again, this can vary by brand. If the mobile home is freestanding (not on a foundation), skirting can help keep the inside temperatures MUCH warmer.   My mom's small double wide mobile home (approximately 900 sq. feet) was heated with natural gas and ran $49.00/month on the budget plan. She often received a refund at the end of the year for over-payment. The mobile home was located in the northeast part of the United States where winter weather runs from November to March. I think I pay that much for heat in 3 days (ok...kidding but HOLY COW...that's a REALLY inexpensive heat bill)!

I personally don't like mobile homes in the summer. They are heat magnets and unbearable without multiple fans or AC.

Michelle