People of all ages are coming down to Florida to enjoy their summer holiday, but one may ask, what type of mobile home is suited for myself or my family?
As real estate prices continue to surge higher along with the rents for rental homes and apartments continue to increase the need for affordable housing is at an all-time high throughout the greater Sarasota Florida area.
While there are over 400 mobile home parks in Sarasota County alone, the question, however, is; where are all the all-aged mobile home parks?
The direct answer is simple, there aren’t many.
In fact, less than 10% of all mobile home parks in the greater Sarasota Florida area are all aged!
The vast majority of these parks are for age-qualified residents which are usually regulated at 45 or 55 years of age and older.
For many, Sarasota Florida is a destination location with its beautiful beaches, lively downtown area, and close proximity to everything that larger cities such as Tampa and Fort Myers have to offer.
The majority of the mobile home parks within the Sarasota Florida County area were built in the 1960s and 1970s as vacation-style retirement communities where many of the homeowners would come down during the winter months to live and then return up North the rest of the year.
As years went on, these folks were cleverly referred to as “snowbirds”.
Snowbirds continue to own and operate a large portion of the mobile home parks that we see here today throughout Sarasota.
Within these age-qualified parks, there is usually a strong restriction to those who are under the age of 45 living in the home full time. The hardest restriction set is of those of school-aged children living in the home on a regular basis.
While these children are certainly welcome for a few weeks a year, they are not allowed to be living in the homes on a regular basis.
This then begs the question, well then where are the all-aged mobile home parks in Sarasota Florida?
All aged mobile home parks, more commonly referred to as family parks, are mobile home parks where there are no age limits for any of the folks who call this their home.
These types of parks offer affordable housing for families and younger people who are in need of this type of residence while offering modern amenities to the residents such as play areas for the kids, pools, and clubhouses where they can do their school work and participate in park-sponsored social activities.
While the greater Sarasota area does not have many all-aged parks to choose from if the Buyer looks more into the central Florida area such as near Orlando, Lakeland, Riverview, or even further north to Jacksonville these types of parks are plentiful in nature.
But, why does Sarasota have so few?
While it is hard to nail down a single reason why there are so few, one can certainly look at the history of the mobile home parks in the Sarasota Florida area and who the intended residents were when the parks were built.
Most of the parks in the greater Sarasota Florida area were built in the 1960s and 1970s during a time when Sarasota was a fraction of the size it is today. Here, these parks were built primarily for snowbird retired folks looking for either a second home to come to in the winter months or for their permanent residence once they decided to retire.
During this time that the parks were built, there was far less of a need for affordable housing for young families simply because the area as a whole was mostly for and inhabited by folks who were 55 years of age or older.
As the times have changed since then most of these parks still continue to provide affordable housing for seniors by offering them a safe, secure, and reasonably priced home for them to call their own.
While it is frustrating to many, if the need for a family park is in your family’s needs you may want to look to other areas nearby if at all possible as these areas have newer parks with modern amenities created for the family in mind.
All hope is not lost, however!
Just this year, two Bradenton Florida mobile home parks that were age-qualified have changed to all-aged mobile home parks!
While this is a new trend that started just as recently a few months ago, we believe that it will be something that will continue to grow in popularity as the need for affordable housing continues to increase throughout the greater Sarasota Florida area!
Why do most Sarasota mobile home parks allow only 45-year-old and older people?
Although there is no law that says mobile home parks are created just for older people, most parks are occupied by older and senior people for many good reasons.
For senior citizens, who are usually retired and have very little or no source of income, living in a mobile home can provide them with a perfect place to live in, and that too in a very affordable range. Buying Mobile homes is comparatively easier than constructing regular homes, requiring more investment and more hassle.
Perhaps the main reason why younger people like teens and children are not allowed to stay longer in mobile homes is because of noise and other things young people could do that could disturb the peaceful senior living community.
This is Mark Kaiser with The Mobile Home Dealer and we help mobile home Buyers and Sellers get to a better place in life.
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