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What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

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Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#151

Post by bagpuss »

klipt wrote: post #104
diggernet wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it is confusing. My brother in law works in that industry, and explained the differences to me this way: Mobile home: Factory built before a certain date in the 1970's (which I've forgotten), with no particular quality standards in place. Manufactured home: The new name for mobile homes, indicating that they have been factory built to clearly defined standards. Considered depreciating personal property by insura…

All buildings depreciate though. It's only land that appreciates.

That assertion doesn't always hold for castles, buildings of aesthetic appeal or those designed by architects long departed.

Were that the case, buildings like Fallingwater and the palace at Versailles would only be worth the site value.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#152

Post by chadcmulligan »

CalRobert wrote: post #150
chadcmulligan wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If nothing else, can you actually imagine a politician celebrating houses going down in price This is a big part of the problem imho - its a treadmill that you can't get off. With an ageing population that all own houses and getting generally more conservative, I can't see it changing any time soon. It strikes me as odd that everything is getting cheaper except houses - and you may say its land, but if thats the ca…

everything else getting cheaper is part of _why_ houses are getting more expensive. The savings get poured in to outbidding each other.

Thats an interesting thought.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#153

Post by dave333 »

Some parks are resident owned meaning they own the land in common so have control of their future. Some cities have rent control e.g. San Jose where it's about 3% max increase per year. The space rent is roughly the same as real estate taxes for regular homes and the price per sq ft is about a quarter. For seniors on limited fixed income a rent controlled mobile home park makes a lot more sense than paying rent or moving into the boonies. Some parks are horror stories e.g. the one next to Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz where the space rents went through the roof (like $5k/month) when a billionaire investor (one of John Oliver's "assholes") bought it. Admittedly they are on the ocean.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#155

Post by CalRobert »

chadcmulligan wrote: post #152
CalRobert wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

everything else getting cheaper is part of _why_ houses are getting more expensive. The savings get poured in to outbidding each other.

Thats an interesting thought.

Googler couple: "if we go for the cheap Tesla we can bid 3.1 instead of 3.2"

Facebook couple: "If we go for the cheap round-the-world holiday we can bid 3.3 instead of 3.2"

and on it goes.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#156

Post by dave333 »

keiferski wrote: post #145
RC_ITR wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This may literally be the first time in history someone recommended San Francisco be more like Dubai. Genuine question - when you're in the bay, do you spend time in any of the following: Pac Heights / Presidio Heights / Seacliff / Woodside / St. Helena / West Palo Alto / Stanford's Campus / Saratoga? I think the reason you have the perception that you do is that the bay area is one of the least tourist-friendly loca…

Of course there are nice neighborhoods in the Bay, but I'm referring more to the area as a whole. There is a gigantic amount of wealth concentrated in such a small place, yet you almost wouldn't know.

Most of the housing was built in the 1960s and your average 3 bed 2 bath 1500 sq ft ranch is worth $1-2 million depending on school district. Most other places in the country these houses would be worth $100k-$300k which is why it all looks a bit shabby.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#157

Post by phkahler »

mike_d wrote: post #56
phkahler wrote: post #18

Housing can not be both affordable AND an investment. Interest rates need to rise, and soon.

Many countries have solved this problem by providing near zero interest loans to individuals purchasing a primary residence, while maintaining higher interest rates for investment properties and corporate purchases.

That artificially drives up housing costs.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#158

Post by bobyrne »

ctdonath wrote: post #76

Table Mound Mobile Home Park https://goo.gl/maps/8h7fxu7WjWsYzTSj9 The Park is about 90 acres. Article claims about 400 homes on site. Much laments the living conditions and abusive corporate ownership. Why do the concerned not facilitate affordable ownership, instead leaving it up to investment firms to provide the service (badly)? Under 2 miles away is a >150 acre parcel available for $6,000,000. Divided by 600, th…

You forget subdivision regulations which will require roads, curbs, a drainage system (lines, catch basins, retention ponds). You'll need an engineer.

You may need a sewer system or, if you install septic tanks, you'll have to go to half-acre lots. You'll have to file a plat in the Recorder's Office, so you can sell lots. You can't do that without planning commission approval.You'll need a surveyor.

Whether the roads are public or private, they still require the same public standards, because fire trucks have to drive on them and, because the county may have to acquire them to maintain so they'll want them to meet a certain standard.

All of these costs have to be paid upfront.

There's more but you soon begin to realize that you can't get 600 lots on 150 acres nor will your costs be limited to $6MM.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#159

Post by ctdonath »

bobyrne wrote: post #158
ctdonath wrote: post #76

Table Mound Mobile Home Park https://goo.gl/maps/8h7fxu7WjWsYzTSj9 The Park is about 90 acres. Article claims about 400 homes on site. Much laments the living conditions and abusive corporate ownership. Why do the concerned not facilitate affordable ownership, instead leaving it up to investment firms to provide the service (badly)? Under 2 miles away is a >150 acre parcel available for $6,000,000. Divided by 600, th…

You forget subdivision regulations which will require roads, curbs, a drainage system (lines, catch basins, retention ponds). You'll need an engineer. You may need a sewer system or, if you install septic tanks, you'll have to go to half-acre lots. You'll have to file a plat in the Recorder's Office, so you can sell lots. You can't do that without planning commission approval.You'll need a surveyor. Whether the roads…

Of course there are more details and costs. Question is whether those lamenting the abuse by profiteers are willing to solve the problems (as they lament) by purchasing & developing a comparable & competitive property just 1.75 miles away ... or, by failing to, demonstrate that at least the abusing profiteers are in fact providing a competitive service vs merely lamenting.

Your reasonable complaints do raise the point that zoning laws drive the cost of housing out of reach of the poor. Having infrastructure beyond mere sewage, electric, and a gravel road is of course desirable, yet what is gained if residents can’t afford it? At what point, and how, does reality collide with objective costs of good intentions?

And yes, 150 acres divided by 600 lots is 0.25 acres per lot - plenty of room for a single-wide and share of infrastructure.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#160

Post by xnx »

hprotagonist wrote: post #143
brudgers wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The technical difference is a mobile home has a license plate, is registered with the DMV, and taxed like a vehicle. A manufactured home (or modular home) is built to the building code and taxed as real property at the same rates (typically) as a site built house. But in ordinary usage people use the terms interchangeably.

> and taxed like a vehicle. and, critically, depreciates like one. Which is kind of the opposite of what you want in a house.

Buildings depreciate. Land appreciates.
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