I purchased a 2 bedroom mobile home in Golden Hills Mobile home park last year. I know that there are a couple other mobile home parks in the area but the 3 that I looked at homes in were Golden Hills, Campus Vista, and Skyline Estates. Golden Hills and Skyline Estates are both up on the hill coming into Pullman from Colfax. They are a little more removed from campus and look more "traditional neighborhoody" than Campus VIsta that looks more like a traditional mobile home park where the houses are right up next each other. I personally decided to narrow my choices down to Golden Hills and Skyline Estates because I liked the idea of having my own fence yard and driveway. They're just felt a little more "homey" to me. Campus Vista is located closer to campus sort of behind a strip mall just off a major road. Price wise, lot rent at Golden Hills is $300 a month, and when I looked last year (they might have changed), Skyline Estate's was $460 and Campus Vista's was $290. My lot rent includes garbage (which is collected in a series of dumpsters down the street), water, and sewer.
I purchased my mobile home from a 4th year vet student. I found out about the house on craigslist. I basically stalked the "for sale" portion of craigslist and all other real estate sites from the time I got accepted until I found the house I eventually bought in May. Most of the houses didn't go up on the market until late March or even later. I think that if you are looking to buy in the summer, it is beneficial to start looking early as there is a lot of interest in the summer and you often can get a contact with a real estate agent that is selling the house so if any future houses come on the market they will let you know right away. Also, in your entrance packet you will get a list of houses for sale from vet students. I bought my house straight from the owner for $39,000. I originally was looking into buying a cheaper house myself (the cheapest one I found in Campus Vista was going for $9000), but my parents didn't want me to have to fix it up (I know, I have amazing parents) . They loaned me the money to buy this house and I am paying them back when I sell it. I know that most mobile homes in Pullman either retain there value or actually gain value because of the market here. I know that if you are looking for a bank loan, that mobile homes generally come with loans more comparable to a car loan than a home loan.
As far as resale value, my observation has been that the 2 bedroom houses seem to have a lot more perspective buyers than the 3 bedrooms. I think some of this is just because they are cheaper, but it may also be because the market is mainly vet students that don't need a 3 bedroom, I'm not sure. If you can find one, I think that the 2 bedroom 2 baths in particular have a lot of interest because the owner can rent out a bedroom and the renter will have their own bathroom.
The site belowis particularly helpful when looking into home prices or what homes around you sold for. It is the Whitman County Assessor. If you type the address of a house you are looking at into the search bar it will give you information on what the previous owner bought the home for. It can also give you an idea of when and for how much houses in your neighborhood are going for.
http://terrascan.whitmancounty.net/Taxsifter/Disclaimer.aspx
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Also! I almost forgot. Even though you don't own the property, there are property taxes you must pay. For my house it comes to about $200 twice a year.
