[icelandicgirl13]

I am considering moving to the TV as soon as this year. I visited TV a few weeks ago and looked at Patio Homes and manufactured homes. I was told the insurance on the mobile homes is very high. Any opinions about patio homes vs manufactured homes ? the pros and cons ? Price is an issue , I am trying to keep the costs down as much as possible in order to have more fun money in retirement. Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Midvale]

If your backyard view is important to you there is a much greater chance of having a golf course view or even a water view for less money than a patio villa in the historic area. The yards are also larger than a patio. There is no bond on manufactured homes in this area.

However the homes will be generally older; most seem to have been built in the mid to late 80's which could mean repairs/upgrades will be needed. They are more susceptible to some storm damage.
I got an insurance quote of $850/yr.

[asianthree]

if you are only going to move and not planning on reselling than go with what your budget affords you...but i would go with a home first that is less than 10 years old than a manufactured home over 20 years old

[janmcn]

Stay away from any patio villa that has a bond. When you start adding up taxes, insurance, the bond payment, amenities fee, utilities, etc., it all adds up very quickly. The bond payment is the only fee you can eliminate. Also, try to find a house with low taxes.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I have seen manufactured homes sell for anywhere between $39,000 and $130,000. Patio Villas seem to start at around $130,000.
Insurance for a manufactured home runs about $800-$900. I don't know what insurance is for a patio Villa is, but it's really only a factor if the price of the two homes is about the same. If the difference in the price of the houses is $30,000, it would take 80 years or so to make up the difference in insurance. If you're looking at a Patio Villa at $130,000 and a manufactured home at $130,000 it would make a difference unless the PV has a bond.
I live in a manufactured home in Silver Lake and would have preferred to have bought a Patio Villa, but would rather have kept and extra $50,000-$60,000 in my retirement account.
Don't get me wrong, I love my little manufactured home, and many of them are well maintained and won't need any more maintenance than a newer home.
It's a personal choice, but I think that unless the homes are of the same value, the insurance should make a difference.

[mulligan]

Also, it appears that you are confusing manufactured homes with mobile homes. There is a HUGE difference.

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by mulligan

Also, it appears that you are confusing manufactured homes with mobile homes. There is a HUGE difference.

Actually according to HUD, they are the same thing.


HUD- Manufactured Housing and Standards


A manufactured home (formerly known as a mobile home) is built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code) and displays a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section. Manufactured homes are built in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and are transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis.

[mulligan]

I have assembled sections of manufactured homes which were removed from the chassis, and placed on a concrete foundation.

[gocubsgo]

I live in a manufactured home and want to move out of it to get into a REAL home with good walls and floors. My house has alot of floor rot from moisture and it's hard to keep up with the mold growing on these things. I would go for a villa but go for a corner one or one that backs into a privacy wall or bushes. These manufactured houses offer no privacy.

[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by icelandicgirl13

I am considering moving to the TV as soon as this year. I visited TV a few weeks ago and looked at Patio Homes and manufactured homes. I was told the insurance on the mobile homes is very high. Any opinions about patio homes vs manufactured homes ? the pros and cons ? Price is an issue , I am trying to keep the costs down as much as possible in order to have more fun money in retirement. Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

who are you listening to when they tell you that the cost of ins is very high on a mobile home? if they used the term mobile home - that's your first sign that they don't know what they are talking about. the historic side is probably 99% populated by manufactured homes with very few original mobile homes remaining on their lots.

then I question who is the source of info re the cost of ins on a mobile home. is it a real estate sales person trying to upsell you to a patio villa? we know it isn't an insurance agent with experience in obtaining coverage for manufactured homes because they would not have used the incorrect term of mobile home.

our little 1,000 sq ft snowbird nest runs us approx. $650/yr for a homeowner ins policy. the most important/costly part of ins covg is to make sure that a home inspector or the homeowner can provide you with proof that the manufactured home meets the current requirements re 'tie-downs'.

the best advice you can get on totv re purchasing in the villages is to buy what you can afford and what you like - when you can get those two points to intersect, you have found the house for you! and if someone scoffs at the possibility of owning a manufactured house on the historic side - well, you can just guess at what all of us living there think about a potential friendship with them!

[njbchbum]

Originally Posted by gocubsgo

I live in a manufactured home and want to move out of it to get into a REAL home with good walls and floors. My house has alot of floor rot from moisture and it's hard to keep up with the mold growing on these things. I would go for a villa but go for a corner one or one that backs into a privacy wall or bushes. These manufactured houses offer no privacy.

cubs - when was your house built? ours went in around '87 and we have no mold problems much less spongy floors! is there a problem with the water table or other drainage problem in your area? and how come you have no privacy? the historic side does not have homes with kissing lanais that I can recall and our lots are bigger there than in most of the newer villages - not to mention how the landscaping has matured into buffer areas between homes.

[schmitty]

Njbchbum - your last paragraph regarding someone scoffing at the possibility of owning a home on the historic side is spot on and so correct about looking for a potential friendship with that poster isn't going to happen. Obviously, that poster is unhappy and rather than belittle, move on to your patio villa if that is going to make you happy. Something tells me they will never be happy and finding fault with everything is part of their makeup. So sad for them.

[gocubsgo]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

cubs - when was your house built? ours went in around '87 and we have no mold problems much less spongy floors! is there a problem with the water table or other drainage problem in your area? and how come you have no privacy? the historic side does not have homes with kissing lanais that I can recall and our lots are bigger there than in most of the newer villages - not to mention how the landscaping has matured into buffer areas between homes.

Hey njb! Ours was built in 85 and the floors are very spongy. We are high up on a rise, actually have to climb the driveway to pull in so it's not the water table. It's a very leaky house and I think it's the gutters. The privacy thing is a problem because we have older neighbors who like to wander the neighborhood and "peek" inside houses. Also, the noise level is odd. Under these carports, we think it actually amplifies sound. We can hear everything.

[justjim]

We had a manufacture home when we first retired here in Florida. Although, not in TV, it wasnt new (1992 Palm Harbor) and it was great. It worked good for as we were snowbirds and it was very affordable for four winter months. Our first home in TV was a neighborhood Villa. The front lanai was like having a front porch---almost. We actually had more square feet in the manufacture home. Insurance was about the same. It's all about personal preference. Good luck in your search. A good salesperson will be a great help to you.

REMEMBER, we are not supposed to answer questions posted to Ask An Expert. If the OP wants our input she should have posted to Villages Discussion.