What We Bought

Daphne’s entry:

Katrina wrecked havoc on our plans. Shopping for repos was frustrating. What seemed plentiful during due diligence now seemed elusive. The singlewides in good condition we were searching for, commanded prices only a few $k less than comparable doublewides. Reluctantly, we decided to expand our search to include them also.

While the initial cost of doublewides may be only a bit more than singlewides, the transportation and setup costs are much higher. In our county, building code requirements are more stringent. Doublewides are required to have poured concrete footings and masonry underpinning. These requirements increase the overall cost of the home significantly.

We thought the market would be receptive to doublewides and allow us to attract higher quality residents. After crunching the numbers, we decided doublewides could be feasible. If we could keep our basis at ~$20k, we would sell them for $30k. Based on market research, we’re trying to keep the note payment around $375/mo. The biggest change would be the term of the note: singlewides have a term of 4-7 years, doublewides would require a 15 year term.

The biggest problem we faced with bringing in doublewides was space. Although Madison Woods sits on ~22 acres, much of it is common area not divided into lots. When the park was developed and filled some 30 years ago, homes were much smaller. The lots were not engineered for doublewides. If we wanted to bring them in, everything would have to be reconfigured to accommodate them.

We looked at the county’s minimum setback requirements on distances between homes. We thought these standards were below optimal quality of life. One of the salient advantages MH communities can have over apartments is lower density and a larger amount of open space. In Madison Woods, the lots are deep but fairly narrow. We came up with a configuration that optimizes available space and promotes neighbor relations. The design we developed allows us to place doublewides in lots created for singlewides without losing any lots. It also allows for more open space than singlewides in the traditional layout would provide.

In our design, the homes are grouped in pods. A pod consists of three homes placed in a U configuration. The two homes nearest the street are placed perpendicular to the road about 50’ apart, while the third home is set back about 75’ and placed parallel to the road. The space between the homes becomes a courtyard. The parking area for each pod is at front of the courtyard, creating a car free common space shared amongst the three homes. This is an ideal space for young kids to play within easy supervision, or to have family BBQs, and it encourages families to bond with their immediate neighbors. The design is also space efficient: parallel homes sit a minimum of one home width (>48’) across from the next home.

For the first phase of this project, we picked an area of the park with an uninterrupted sequence of 9 vacant lots with ~300’ of frontage. We purchased three doublewides to establish the first pod. The next step is changing the infrastructure, which includes rerouting all the underground utilities (electrical, water, and sewer) to accommodate this reconfiguration.

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