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#GTAHomeHunt is a weekly series from the Star that gets into the details of real estate listings in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. Have a tip? Email us at social@torstar.ca

X-factor: Advertised as a “great investment,” the two-bedroom, one-bathroom mobile home at 3233 Derry Rd. E offers a price point that prospective homebuyers won’t find anywhere else on the market.

But is it worth it? We spoke with realtor Othneil Litchmore and sales representative Sheetal Verma for more insight into the property.

Why is it priced this way?

Unit 23 is among 23 other units in the Malton Mobile Homes Park. According to the listing, maintenance fees, which include water and taxes, are $150 per month.

The unit has forced air and gas, is insulated, and is connected to sewers, Litchmore pointed out, which means that the water flows out from the trailer.

“This is actually pretty good because the fees aren’t even high,” Litchmore said, explaining that a home listed for such a low price is usually paired with fees upwards of $700. “It’s one of a kind.”

The maintenance fees are essentially the “land lease,” in which the homeowner is leasing the land from a corporation, explained Verma, the sales representative for the listing. When someone buys a mobile home at the park, they enter an agreement with the corporation and become a shareholder of the land, she said.

If an owner wishes to make any major changes to their lot, for example, buying a new trailer, they have to get approval from the corporation’s board of directors, she added.

Despite the apparent affordability, however, for at least the past two years, not a single mobile home in Peel Region on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) — where homes are listed publicly — has been sold, Litchmore noted.

“The listings were either terminated or expired,” he said.

Five mobile homes from the park at 3233 Derry were listed, some of them twice, and nothing sold, he added. The homes sat on the market for varying amounts of time — one for 69 days, another for 76, and another for 137, he said. Listing prices ranged from $249,000 to $590,000, he added.

This unit has been listed for 75 days.

One mobile home, unit 21 in the park, is currently on sale for about $480,000. It has been listed five times since 2021, with each listing being terminated or expiring thus far.

While the lack of sales suggests that the price of unit 23 could be negotiated down even further, Litchmore said he doesn’t believe it would make much of a difference. Through “hot markets (and) through not-so-hot markets,” nobody in recent years purchased any of these homes, he explained.

“The pool of buyers is just way too small,” he said.

According to Verma, there has been interest in unit 23, but there’s another factor that has stopped prospective buyers from sealing the deal: getting a mortgage.

“We had many people that were interested because it’s listed so low,” she said. “But they weren’t able to get financing for it.

“Whoever wants to buy would have to go through their bank and see what kind of loan options they have,” she said. “It’s not like a traditional mortgage.”

Verma recalled that one mobile homeowner she spoke with had been approved for a chattel mortgage, which is a loan specific to a piece of movable property that is not tied to land.

The alternative to buying the home with financing would be to pay in cash, she added.

Although mobile homes have not been selling on the MLS, it’s not to say that they’re not at all desired. Litchmore pointed out that one home in the Malton Mobile Homes Park, unit 24, was leased out for $1,550 per month in 2020. The two-bedroom, one bathroom trailer is completely renovated, with a new kitchen and floors.

“People that want to live there will be more ready to rent there than they are to buy there,” Litchmore said.

Any other tips for those looking at places like this?

Other options at this price point would likely be modular homes and prefabricated homes, Litchmore said.

Noting that the City of Toronto this year began allowing garden suites to be on properties in most residential zones across the city, Litchmore pointed out that the small, backyard homes could also be more affordable alternatives for those whose family members own land.

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