patrick.net

My father purchased a mobile home in coastal California 3 years back in a non-senior park. Built in 2005, totally turn key, over 1,500 square feet, fully insulated and modern HVAC system. Paid $170,000 cash where an equivalent home that size would be around $500,000. He pays $600 a month in rent, $250/year in property tax (it's a "trailer" after all) and that includes trash and water. The value has increased to around $200,000 since then. I pay $2600 a month mortgage on what's essentially the same size dwelling and it's 50 years older.

Even the park bargains are disappearing in places like Santa Cruz, where the county still enforces rent control.

I saw one single wide trailer wreck @ 650 sq. ft. (including roofed porch) in a bottom tier owned park go for $220,000 recently. Since the wretched trailer actually has 'negative' value, the cost is for the lot.

Hauling out the trailer and putting in a manufactured home would run from $130 a sq. ft for rudimentary to up to 250 a sq ft for deluxe. That would wind up around $300k to 380k total or more for a 650 sq. ft. manufactured home with over 3600-4500 dollars a year in taxes. If he managed to get a larger sq. ftage, it would increase the cost and taxes proportionately.

That still ain't cheap.