Want To Be My Neighbor

"Won't you be my neighbor?" Thank you, Mr. Rogers, for that line in your show's song. Singing that for and from a normal house is the center of American conventional living. Qualify for a loan, buy the house, become part of the neighborhood. My neighborhood is a mobile home park (and I'm sure they have some other name for it). It is a neighborhood, but the term 'mobile' is at least one thing that's different enough to find an excuse for a pause before buying. Maybe that's why these houses have been on the market for so long.

Realtor.com - 98368

The good news is that affording a tiny house can be much easier because the price is much lower. In my neighborhood of about a hundred homes, about six are for sale for under $160,000. For a place so close to a tourist town, that can be considered affordable. 

That would make it seem that houses would be snatched up within a few days, even less time on the market than conventional houses. As much as we tiny house fans may consider 400 square feet luxurious, much of America probably has a tough time imagining squeezing into anything less than one bedroom and one bathroom per resident, with a buffer of an extra bedroom and bathroom just in case. 

And yet, as I mowed a lawn that sprung up during the winter storms and before I could mow it, the two houses beside mine and one behind my place were for sale. As an ex-realtor, I enjoy getting to watch someone else go through the process. Remember your booties!

One possible hurdle is the land. In this park, we own our homes but rent our land. That's a controversy for some because land rents aren't regulated like house rents. In a few months, my land rent may go from ~$600 to ~$800. That's onerous for some. 

For me, the park's requirements caused anxieties. I knew I could afford the house and the rent, but the management could deny my residency based on income and possibly other criteria. The fact that the land is leased is why I see this as an intermediate situation. I would like the security of owning my home and my land.

My house had been on the market for over 500 days when I bought it. The price had dropped from $115,500 to $76,500. Deal! 

The house next door is new, well, newish. I don't think it has ever been lived in, but it has been on the market since I bought mine. It has had a Price Reduced sign up for a while. Maybe today's activity, especially one long visit are a sign that someone may actually move in. Maybe I'll get a new neighbor.

If not, I won't be surprised. Hurdles that I've found include two conflicting mis-placed notions. 

1) I own my house. Cool. I can just hook up a rig and tow it to someplace better, or at least different. Nah. That word 'just' covers a lot of problems. Before this house hits the road, it has to be disconnected from lots of utilities, and the eventual site has to have those utilities ready to be hooked up again. Money.

Then, making it road-worthy means disconnecting loose ends like decks and sheds. The previous owner decorated it nicely, but those have to come off before they fall off. More money.

Then, there are the logistics and the permits to move it. More money.

None of the tasks are impossible, but they add to something far from simple - but doable.

2) Moving the house is undoable. That's what I've heard. The list of tasks, the time and cost involved intimidate so many that I've been told it can't be done.

Maybe they're right, but I also know that houses that are much bigger, older, and more fragile are moved often enough that some businesses keep busy with the moves. And this house comes with wheels (or at least axles), and has already been driven at highway speeds. It wasn't built here. It was moved here.

Another issue with this park is that it is for sale. There’s very little information about who is buying it, and uncertainties can cause hesitation and a desire for simpler options.

Considering the weirdness in the world, I suspect cashing out of a conventional house to move mortgage-free into a tiny house may become more popular. Cute is fine, but debt-free can be a fun motivator.

Of course, many people won't see past the stigma of a mobile home park stereotype, or can't imagine living somewhere tiny; but weird times create creative solutions. I wonder if my new neighbors will be creative types. I also wonder if I'll find the money to buy the right land and move this house onto it. 

2025 will be defined by change, at the global level, and at the personal.