More Affordable Places to Retire – A Reading List

keep the info coming i'm getting closer to moving and enjoy your reports.

Does anyone have information on Las Palmas Grand in Mesa, AZ?

I have gone to their website and I couldn't find any information on whether there is a land lease, HOA or membership fees. Maybe I missed it. Too me it is annoying that these places don't tell you up front what the costs are. I guess they don't want to scare you away.

I also wonder if there are land lease's does it cover garbage, water and lawn care or do you pay extra for that stuff?

http://www.topretirements.com/reviews/Arizona/Mesa/Las%20Palmas%20Grand.html

The only thing I could find out on LPG is from a for sale listing. The lot rent is $590.

http://www.senior-retirement-living.com/ManufacturedHomeForSale.php?Listing=1243045

Of course you know it will go up. Lot rents always go up. And then add the lot rent to the cost/monthly payment you have for a mortgage on a manufactured home.

Just My Opinion... If I were looking in AZ for a less expensive residence, I would look at Sun City (the original). Like LPG, you will buy a place, but it will be a standard residence and not a manufactured home. The cost for similar sized homes seems comparable, somewhere between 80 to 100k. Mfg homes will *generally* depreciate in value over time, while SC homes have remained stable over time. All other expenses (insurance, utilities, cable) should generally be comparable between a SC home and LPG mfg home.

On top of what you pay for the residence at either SC or LPG you will be paying for amenities. LPG appears nice, but SC has very nice amenities also. Then there is the cost... At LPG that will be at least the lot rent at around 600 per month, or 7,200 year. I don't know if there are any other fees or not. At SC the cost will be less than 500 per year, or an annual savings of 6,700. What can you do with an extra 500 per month?

http://suncityaz.org/annual-fees/

Or lets put it this way... you can buy a small house in SC for 100,000, pay on a 100k mortgage (~475 PI), taxes (~70) AND the yearly SC amenity fee (~40), for less than the cost of ONLY the lot rent at LPG (590).

Again, JMO. I would never buy into a place that has lot rents unless they were giving away the home.

Wow Art, Thank you for your very informative and interesting comments. I have only read it one time but you have so many good points that I want to read it again several more times so it all sinks in. I will visit the SC website too. Plus, finding out that monthly lot rent was very good investigative work! That is horrendous rent and as you said it will only go up and up. Good example of costs of buying in SC with the tax and amenity fees compared to just lot rent at LPG! Thank you so much for taking the time to present such good advice!

Regarding the lot rent discussion - if the lot rent includes property taxes, which also always rise, and lawn maintenance, and costs for security staff, and most amenities and their upkeep, then lot rent might be a good deal! My parents lived in a gated community in Florida, paid lot rent, and it saved them money compared to similar homes that paid for all of the above on their own. Just something to consider before ruling out that fee. As a negative however, the time came for my mom to move to assisted living, and the lot rent definitely turned off some buyers.

Sandy, thanks for the great comment, totally correct, you have to take all factors into consideration and do the math.

In this case it was fairly easy to see where the bang for the buck was, as even if one has to pay for lawn upkeep on their own in SC it should not cost as much per month as a home would cost in LPG.