New Home Planning Kit

STEP ONE: SELECTING A MOBILE HOME COMMUNITY

Many times customers select a mobile home community because they have friends or relatives who live in the park or somewhere nearby. There are over 450 mobile home communities in Pinellas County. About 70 of these are listed as real property, and are mostly composed of resident-owned parks. In this type of park, the park is cooperative-owned, with each owner given a "share" of ownership in the park. Thus, share park is a common term. To elaborate, if there are 300 lots, there are 300 owners, each given 1/300 share of ownership in the park and a proprietary lease giving the owner the right to place a mobile home on the lot. A "share" of a resident-owned park is considered real estate, and thus qualifies the owner for the homestead exemption, if applicable. There are a few condominium parks and they are deeded properties, individually owned within the association.

The resident-owned communities and condominium parks charge a maintenance fee which averages $120 per month, and typically includes water, sewerage, garbage pickup, and lawn care. Rental communities, to date, generally range between $300 and $400 per month, depending on the park's amenities and services included. Many rental parks have individual water meters and do not include this feature in the lot rent.