Buyer Protection
A well-run park answers these requests happily — they have nothing to hide and they know a prepared buyer is a good neighbor. Hesitation is itself a warning sign.
You own the home; they own the land. Almost every document below is something the park already has in a drawer — the only question is whether they’ll hand it over before you’re committed. Send the request letter at the bottom of this page by email, so the response (or the silence) is on the record.
Ask for: The current lot lease and the complete, current community rulebook — every page.
Florida and Arizona both require parks to provide the rules. Read every line about home appearance, skirting, colors, and sale approval — those are the rules that can cost you money later.
Red flag: “We’ll give you the rules after you move in.” The rules bind you either way; refusing to hand them over first is itself a warning.
Ask for: The lot rent for this exact lot, each of the last five years, with dates.
The trajectory tells you more than today’s number. A park that went from $480 to $790 in four years is telling you what year five looks like.
Red flag: Vagueness (“it’s gone up a little”). A recent sale to an investment group is the strongest predictor of big increases — and a park that won’t show history usually has a reason.
Ask for: A written schedule of every recurring charge: trash, water, sewer, amenity, pet, storage, guest, and anything else.
Base rent is only the floor. Parks differ by $150+/month in add-ons, and only the itemized list lets you compute your true number.
Red flag: “It’s all included” with nothing in writing. Fees that aren’t on paper can appear — or rise — at any renewal.
Ask for: For resident-owned communities: the recorded covenants, the bylaws, and the last twelve months of board meeting minutes.
Minutes reveal what brochures never mention: planned assessments, ongoing disputes, and which repairs keep getting deferred.
Red flag: Minutes “unavailable” or only a summary offered. Boards keep minutes; reluctance to share them hides something.
Ask for: The current reserve study and recent financial statements for the cooperative.
The question that matters: can the co-op absorb a roof or road repair without a surprise bill to members?
Red flag: No reserve study, or reserves far below the listed repair needs. That gap is your future special assessment.
Ask for: The written criteria the park uses to approve buyers — and written confirmation that your application is approved, before you buy the home.
This defuses the bought-then-denied trap: you own a home in a park that won’t approve you to live in it.
Red flag: “Apply after you buy.” If approval criteria can’t be shown in writing, that’s exactly when they get invented.
Ask for: If utilities are submetered: how the markup is calculated, in writing. If park-billed: copies of actual recent bills.
Submetering is legal in most states, but the markup method varies wildly. An actual bill beats any verbal assurance.
Red flag: Refusal to show a real resident bill. That usually means the markup is embarrassing.
Ask for: A signed statement of any pending special assessments, planned capital projects, or upcoming rule changes.
Road paving, water-line replacement, or a new pet policy may already be decided. You want it disclosed before you’re bound, not announced after.
Red flag: “Nothing planned that I know of” — with nothing signed. Verbal nothings are worth nothing.
Email this to the park office before you put down a deposit. Fill in the lot number, your name, and the date — a written request deserves a written answer.
Before I commit to purchasing a home at lot [__], please provide: the lot lease and complete current park rules; the last five years of lot rent for this lot; an itemized schedule of all recurring charges; written buyer-approval criteria and written confirmation that my application is approved; utility billing terms and, if submetered, how charges are calculated; and written disclosure of any pending special assessments or planned rule changes. — [Name], [Date]