Recordpub.com - New American dream? Mobile homes an option in rough housing market

MobilePark101608DEE_LS01 SHARON WEINGART AND HER DOG DUSTIN STAND IN THE SIDE WALK OF ONE OF THE MOBILE HOMES IN THE PARK SHE MANAGES IN DEERFIELD, OHIO.

By Colin McEwen
Record-Courier staff writer
While the U.S. housing market is taking a nap, one place the "American Dream" can still be found is in the smaller " and more cost efficient " manufactured and mobile homes.
That's exactly how managers of mobile home parks are promoting their product to prospective homeowners, who are wary of getting involved in the troubled housing market.
With vacant spaces available, many believe mobile homes are a viable alternative to buying larger homes.
Carol Foster of Modern Management Solutions in Ravenna runs four mobile home parks " in Ravenna, Garrettsville, Deerfield and Willoughby.
"I think we've forgotten there's an alternative to homes or apartments," she said. "About seven years ago, people were getting loans for $140,000, and they became buried with mortgages and felt no hope."
"You can still own your own home," she said.
Sharon Weingart of All Season Lake Park in Deerfield has lived in her mobile home for two years. She and her husband purchased their home shortly after they both lost their jobs.
But the couple soon got back on their feet. She took a job managing the park one year later and has never looked back.
Weingart believes more people will begin turning to mobile home parks as they attempt to live more within their means.
"This was the smartest move for us," she said.
In addition to an obvious price advantage, Weingart said the park has plenty of perks, including trick-or-treat each year, a large community center, sewing groups and a private lake for fishing.
"We love it," she said. "It's not like living in a mobile home park. It's like living in a community."
Foster said mobile home parks offer residents the joys of owning a home " such as building home equity and having private yards " but without the price tag.
Her company sells new and used mobile homes and rents lots for about $250 per month. The homes range from about $10,000 for a pre-owned mobile home to about $40,000 for new ones.
There are dozens of mobile and manufactured homes parks in the area. Ravenna Township alone accounts for 16 of the 43 manufactured and mobile home parks in Portage County.
And most of those still have plenty of vacancies.
Foster said sales were expected to increase in the midst of the recent housing failure, but as of yet, it hasn't happened.
"The reality is that not everyone can afford a $200,000 home and yet we've had banks pushing that," she said. "Portage County doesn't need anymore displaced people. We're trying to get the point across that there is still is an opportunity for people."
According to a report by the Ford Foundation, about 19 million Americans live in more than seven million mobile homes as primary residences. An additional million mobile homes are owned for seasonal or recreational use. In the 1990s, about one-sixth of all new homeowners bought mobile homes " they now comprise 7.6 percent of the housing stock in America, the report found.
Manufactured housing has come a long way since the "trailer" days.
The U.S. Department of Urban Housing and Development oversees the construction standards for mobile homes " something that Foster said ensures the quality of the homes.
She said when people come in to purchase a home, she sits down with them to match their income and family needs with the appropriate mobile home.
"We want to have happy people in our parks," she said.