Living frugal in a park model mobile home is a great way to retire on less. And it sure beats continuing to work.

Has your retirement portfolio taken a tumble in the last 2 years?  Mine sure has. The retirement plans of many are being rethought. That’s not all bad.

I reside in the Phoenix area, park model heaven for a lot of frugal retirees. Retiring to Arizona can be done very cheaply when you consider this life style.

The term mobile is misleading. They usually make only one trip in their life…factory to PM community. That’s usually the last trip.

Living frugal in a park model mobile home is not about cutting back. The parks in our area…some with over 2000 units, including golf courses…remind me of summer camps for retirees. In Arizona they are more like winter camps. You have a constant buzz of activity in these parks. If you can’t find other residents with your preferred activity I suggest you are not trying very hard.

Park model mobile homes can be thought of as non mobile RVs. Indeed a lot of folks are first exposed to park models while they are RVing. The longer you RV the more you identify favorite places to stay. If an RV seems like too much trouble,  these “mobile” homes makes for a smooth segue from the more nomadic lifestyle of RVing.

These units can be bought for $20,000 to $50,000 new. This  is in the financial reach of many. $10,000 to $20,000 will buy a nice used unit including the land. Why not have 2 park model mobile homes? One at home and one with a warm winter…Florida or Arizona.

Living frugal in a park model mobile home brings owning 2 homes into the realm of possibility for a lot of folks that may have thought they can’t retire due to the bad current economy. There are silver linings in the darkest of clouds. Enjoy.

Living in a Mobile Home Community has many advantages over apartments and regular neighborhoods, as they are generally more affordable and more secure. They also have a strong sense of “community” that is all too often lacking in our society.

Cost: In a Mobile Home Community, you own your own home and pay for the space. Space rents can start in the low $300’s for Homes; even less for Park Models. You can purchase a nice home for less than the cost of a car.

A lot of folks are hurting in this bad economy; Many communities understand that and offer affordable in-house financing to help you buy a home and rebuild your credit. You can save money every month and get out of debt. Plus, as a homeowner you may be eligible to deduct expenses on your taxes.

Background Checks: In a regular neighborhood, you never know who your neighbors are. They could be a danger to your children or yourself, and you wouldn’t know it. In many respectable Mobile Home Communities, all permanent residents have passed a background check.

Community: It used to be that you knew who your neighbors were, and they knew you. People looked after their neighbors. That feeling still exists in Mobile Home Communities. You’ll find people who share your interests, who wave and smile when they see you.

Privacy: Mobile Homes are more private than apartments and condos. Your neighbors are nearby for comfort, but not on top of you or underfoot. No one is walking overhead or pounding on your walls.

Pride of Home Ownership: In a Mobile Home Community you own your own home! Stop wasting money on your apartment, and start investing in yourself. Find out more today!

Park model mobile homes offer a means to retire that is cheaper and is filled with more fun than a living in a regular stick built home. Whoa…what are you saying!

Park model mobile homes are much, much cheaper than stick built homes. You can buy a used park model home, 1,000 square feet, furnished for $20,000 to $30,000 all day long in Arizona, where we live. A stick built home would be 5 to 7 times that and would probably not be furnished.

OK, I’ll buy that but how is living in a park model community more fun than a “regular house”. Easy, there is more of a sense of community in these conclaves. Many are filled with winter visitors and they demand and get the amenities they want. Clubhouses, community pools, and more activities than you can imagine.

For those that say, I have a pool in my back yard and really like it. Hmm, do you enjoy the maintenance and up keep? Do you have to pay for pool service? How many new friends do you meet in an afternoon in your backyard? These mobile home community pools offer a social center that many residents enjoy on a daily basis. No one has to skim off the leaves when they leave.

It is the level of activities that make these communities so much fun. It is very much like a summer camp for 55 year olds and up.

Park model mobile homes offer a great lifestyle very inexpensively. If the economy has got you down and you think you cannot afford to retire now…think again, you may just discover a fun way of life you did not know existed until now.

Enjoy the process of discovery.