Florida is one of the hottest markets in the entire country for manufactured homes. They’re great for retirees, residents can take advantage of year-round warm weather, and are a shining example of lower-cost homes with luxury quality.
If you’re looking to buy a mobile home in Florida, you’ve come to the right place. Here, we’ll go over the entire buying process so you can spend your days in the Sunshine State.
List Your Priorities
The first step during any mobile home search is to determine what you want most out of your Florida mobile home lifestyle.
Many homeowners choose to move to Florida because it’s a prime destination for retirement, thanks to the warm weather and large number of mobile home retirement communities. If you’re looking to retire in the near future, consider that level of need when searching for mobile homes in Florida.
Beyond that, you should also consider the other “must-haves” you want for your Florida mobile home. These could include access to neighborhood fixtures, such as a salon or a library, as well as a double-wide mobile home if you need extra space for you and your belongings.
At the same time, you don’t want to forget your nice-to-haves, either. Have you longed for a home with a back deck? Mobile homes in Florida make that possible, so don’t be afraid to add that to your list if you want to search for a home that comes with one.
Community or Private Land?
Earlier, we mentioned mobile home retirement communities. In this type of mobile home living scenario, you own your mobile home while leasing the land that it sits on.
In a retirement community, you can take advantage of that community’s amenities, which can range from on-site athletic facilities like pickleball and shuffleboard courts to walking trails and clubhouses and lounges. The exact amenities available will vary from community to community, but if you’d like to have those at your disposal while getting to know your neighbors, consider searching for mobile homes in communities.
On the other hand, you may prefer to own your land alongside your home. If this sounds like you, you can search for homes on their own land, too.
MHVillage makes it easy to search for homes that are on private land as well as in a community. When searching for mobile homes for sale in Florida, simply select “Private Property” under the Location Type dropdown menu if you’d like to search for mobile homes on land, and the “Parks” tab above the search bar to look for mobile home communities in Florida.
Figure Out Your Budget
As you begin searching for manufactured homes, you’ll also want to have your budget figured out beforehand. What’s the most you’re willing to spend on a new or pre-owned mobile home in Florida?
Keep in mind that, based on 2021 Datacomp sales data, new mobile homes in Florida sell for $101,139 on average, and pre-owned mobile homes in Florida go for around $47,522 on average. It may be a good idea to base your budget around these figures, but you should also keep the next step in mind when sorting out your budget:
Look Around In Your Market
If there’s a specific part of Florida you’d like to move to, research mobile homes in that area to determine what price they’re usually listed for. This will give you a great idea of what your budget will need to be if you’d like to move to that particular area.
And, doing some pre-buying research into the city of your dreams will give you a better idea of what kinds of homes are available, and which homes are on private land or in a community.
Once you’ve found the manufactured home that you’re ready to call yours, you’ll usually place an offer after you’ve contacted the seller and toured the home. If your offer is accepted – congratulations! You’re now the owner of a manufactured home alongside 22 million other Americans living the manufactured home lifestyle. But, the process doesn’t stop there.
Florida-Specific Considerations
From a paperwork standpoint, the biggest consideration to keep in mind is moving title ownership from the seller into your name. The two main documents you’ll need to complete this process are a title and a bill of sale. While some states require a notary to be present to complete the title transfer, Florida does not have that requirement.
In regards to titles, Florida mandates that one title exist for each section of the manufactured home being sold. So, if you’re buying a double-wide manufactured home, you’ll need to verify that two titles exist and that you receive both titles when buying the home.
If you’re already dreaming of soaking up the Florida sunshine, don’t wait. Visit MHVillage today to view manufactured homes for sale in the Sunshine State today.
