Mobile Home Condo Pioneers Mark 1st Anniversary

"In a traditional mobile home park, each resident owns his mobile home but rents the property on which it sits. But Malibu Village is owned by the residents. A year ago, they bought their 6.25-acre park from their landlord, Standard Investment Co."

"Residents paid between $60,000 and $90,000 for their condos. For Weintraub, that means his monthly payments rose from $365 for rent to $595 for the mortgage and his maintenance fees. But now he has tax advantages he did not have before."

"A tenant purchase of a mobile home park is a rare occurrence. Less than a half-dozen of the hundreds of parks in Los Angeles County are owned by the residents. And Malibu Village can apparently claim another distinction: It is the first mobile home park in the county to be converted to a condominium."

Malibu Village Mobile Home Estates in Pacific Palisades completed a historic conversion to resident ownership in December 1984 after five years of negotiations. The 29-unit park's residents purchased their 6.25-acre property from Standard Investment Co. for over $2 million, with individual residents paying between $60,000 and $90,000 for their condos. While monthly costs increased from $365 rent to $595 mortgage plus maintenance fees, residents gained tax advantages and property control. This condominium conversion represents the first of its kind in Los Angeles County and is exceptionally rare, with fewer than half a dozen resident-owned parks among hundreds countywide. Experts predict condominium conversion will become increasingly popular for mobile home park tenant ownership.

Read at Los Angeles Times