I bought my most recent MH from a guy who lives in Windsor. His health was OK but his “wallet” had begun to hurt. It seems that Canadian money is only worth about 50 cents to the American dollar.
So,yes, we are loosing many of our Canadian Snow Birds for health reasons but a lot more for economic reasons.
Having said that, don’t expect to see a huge exodus of Canuks fleeing the “sunny south” just yet. There are quite a number of well-funded Canadians that are unwilling to give up seventy degree temps in January and February and return to the FROZEN NORTH. Also, in Florida, there are always seniors getting sick and having to sell their winter homes.
Dirk mentioned that some over-55 parks are a pain in the a** to deal with and that is true here, too. But we also have many parks that look like “mid-grade family parks” in other states(& countries) but cater to only those over that golden age of 55.
I guess its time to get to a point. Yes there are deals to be had in Florida due to a number of reasons, but there are deals to be had in Toronto as well for many of the same reasons. Your buying in Florida would present the same problems that I would have buying in Toronto. Also, if you found a MH here for $6000, it would cost you $12,000 Canadian and would probably be too expensive.
If you think you would like to live here and enjoy our “endless summer” then that would be a different story.
Hope I’ve helped…JEFF
HI, I was just wandering if in a adult park (not retired yet and years to go)I could buy a MH and sell back to an elderly couple without having problems with managers or how would you go about it?
In My market and experience… - Posted by Dirk Roach
Posted by Dirk Roach on March 15, 2001 at 10:29:59:
Hi Alain,
In my market and experience I have not had the best experience in dealing with senior/adult parks. A short list of the reasons I avoid these parks are as follows:
~ Limited market. I have found that dealing in family parks I have a much wider target market on the sell side.
~ Quicker turn around. Since I have a larger target market to sell to, my holding time (insert lot rent, potential damage from sitting, vacant mobile home here) is considerably less.
~ Less hassle. Most of the Adult parks in my market have some sort of park association, (like a condo scenario) and they can be a pain to deal with.
~ Less competion! That’s right, I have found that I have less competion in dealing with mid-grade family parks than pristine senior parks. I thing that the general snobbiness of new investor contributes to this. Most folks simply turn up their nose at the mid-grade parks, and want the nice manicured lawns of the pristine parks. Also you will find motivated sellers EASIER (with less digging) in the senior parks. However, remember buying is only half the deal. You also have to sell the thing. So don’t get zapped in just because something is a good buy. It also has to be a good sell, too.
~ Adult Parks tend to be more stringent on appearance etc. of the mobile home and lot.
Anyhow those are the major things, off the top of my head, that I don’t like to do business in adult/senior parks, hope that helps.
Dirk
Thanks for the informative response. Your experience is well appreciated.
One thing I noticed, is that a lot of Canadians buy Mh in Florida and due to sickness or other things, they decide to let go their residence in the sunny south and sometimes at a cheap price.
I have found that I don’t have much choice, there are very few family parks in my area ( Bradenton/Sarasota) of Florida. The “good news” is that there are MANY seniors.
A friend who has been doing this longer than I tells me that her favorite buyer is a single man between 55 and 60. My favorite type of park is mid-grade with about half permanent residents and half “snow-birds”.
BTW Alain, what part of Florida are you in???
I am not in Florida, but a lot of snowbirds have mobile homes and some are willing to get out of them(motivated sellers).
I have been search on the web for mobile homes for sale and found a few snowbirds wanted due to illness or other things that want to get out of their temporary winter haven.
BTW I live in Toronto.