This is the most common concern I hear from prospective buyers — but it’s based on a misunderstanding of what “owning the land” actually means.
When you own land, you’re responsible for:
1. Property taxes
2. Insurance on the entire property
3. All repairs and maintenance for the land and utilities
And in Oregon and Washington, these costs haven’t just risen — they’ve far outpaced CPI over the last decade. Ask any property owner.
By contrast, when you own a manufactured home in a park, state regulations strictly limit how much your rent can increase each year. Meanwhile, property taxes and insurance (the largest cost burdens of land ownership) are not tied to CPI and can spike unpredictably.
For many working families, the regulated rent environment of manufactured housing provides greater cost stability than traditional homeownership — and dramatically lower barriers to entry.
If we’re serious about expanding homeownership opportunities for low-income households, we need to stop discouraging them with misleading narratives about “not owning the land” and start acknowledging the real math of land ownership.
Manufactured homeownership remains one of the most effective, accessible tools for building long-term financial stability — and misinformation only keeps people from opportunities they could genuinely benefit from.