A home in a manufactured home park is the least expensive way to own a house in the Rogue Valley, and the buying process works differently from a regular home sale. You buy the home, you rent the ground beneath the home, and the park has to approve you before the sale can close.

You Own the House, the Park Owns the Land

In a park, you pay the seller for the home, then pay the park a monthly space rent for every month of your stay. Because the land isn’t yours, Oregon treats the home as personal property, closer to a vehicle than to a house on its own lot. Park homes move through the state’s Manufactured Home Ownership Document System instead of a recorded deed, most regular mortgages can’t be used, and your right to stay comes from a rental agreement with the park.

A manufactured home on land the buyer owns is a different purchase. Once the home sits on a permanent foundation and its ownership document is retired into the land, it counts as real estate, and ordinary mortgages apply.

The Monthly Cost

Add up the loan payment, space rent, property taxes (Josephine and Jackson County tax park homes too), homeowners insurance, and the utilities the park doesn’t cover. Ask each park what its space rent includes; water, sewer and trash are often part of the rent.

Oregon caps yearly space rent increases. For parks with more than 30 spaces, the cap is 6% for 2026 and again for 2027 (ORS 90.324). Parks with 30 or fewer spaces fall under the general cap, the lesser of 10% or 7% plus inflation. Every increase requires 90 days’ written notice. Before you sign, the park must give you a Statement of Policy with a five-year rent history for the space, your best guide to the rent ahead.

Financing a Park Home

Most buyers pay cash or use a loan made for manufactured homes on rented land, often called a chattel loan. These usually carry higher rates and shorter terms than a mortgage, and many lenders ask for 10% or more down. Some local programs do better: Lifetime Home Loans in Grants Pass offers a park-home program with as little as 5% down, no monthly mortgage insurance, and credit scores down to 550 (as of September 2026). FHA’s Title I program also finances homes on rented land, though few lenders carry the program.

Lenders and insurers check the home’s age. Homes built after June 15, 1976 carry a red HUD certification label; older homes without the label often sell for cash. Oregon law bars a park from rejecting a buyer because of the home’s age, size or style.

Getting the Park’s Approval

Every sale in a park needs the park owner’s approval of the buyer as a new tenant (ORS 90.680). The seller gives the park notice, usually 10 days. You apply in writing and pay the screening fee, and the park has seven days from a complete application to decide. If it says no, it owes you and the seller the reasons in writing. Screening weighs whether you can pay the rent and whether you’re likely to follow the park rules, and move-in waits for the park’s acceptance.

Before any money changes hands, get the park’s approval in writing. A buyer who pays first and then gets turned down owns a house on land they have no right to occupy.

Read the Papers, Inspect the Home

The park must give you its rental agreement and rules, the Statement of Policy, and its rules for screening buyers. Most parks use month-to-month agreements that end only for cause; term leases must run at least two years. Your agreement can carry different rent and rules than the seller had, so read your own copy.

A licensed inspection is optional and worth the cost: roof, plumbing under the home, skirting, tie-downs, decks and the electrical panel. Ask the seller and the park for any repair notices. The park can require a buyer to finish open repairs as a condition of approval (ORS 90.632).

55-and-Older Parks and Pets

Many Grants Pass parks are 55 and older, which under federal law means at least 80% of occupied homes have a resident 55 or older. Pet rules trip up many local buyers: several parks cap dogs at 20 to 25 pounds or allow one small pet, and breed lists often come from the park’s insurance carrier. Ask about weight and breed by name before you fall for a home.

Transferring Ownership

Property taxes on the home must be paid first, and the county issues a tax certificate: the Josephine County Assessor at 500 NW 6th St, Grants Pass, (541) 474-5260, or the Jackson County Assessor at 10 S Oakdale Ave, Medford, (541) 774-6061. Buyer, seller and any lender then sign the state’s ownership document application, filed through the assessor, a title company or a dealer. A bill of sale alone leaves the transfer undone.

Protections Once You Live There

You can end your tenancy with 30 days’ notice. If a park closes, Oregon requires at least 365 days’ notice and a payment to each resident, starting from $6,000 for a single-wide, $8,000 for a double-wide and $10,000 for a triple-wide, adjusted for inflation (ORS 90.645). The state’s Manufactured and Marina Communities Resource Center offers free information and mediation: 1-800-453-5511.

My free guide, Buying a Home in a Manufactured Home Park, sorts out each step and lists the 55-and-older parks in Josephine County with phone numbers. Download the guide, or call or text me at (971) 303-2253.

Laws, rent caps and loan terms change; figures were checked in October 2026. This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.