Rancho Granada Mobile Home Park

My Dad’s lady friend, Dorothy Schlatter, bought a place here on Via Rubio, c.1992. Smart, kind lady, Dorothy was. My Dad moved off my Santa Barbara ranch in 1999 to share Dorothy’s place after the drive to ranch proved too challenging for his failing eyesight. This is how I became familiar with RGMHP. Well, Dorothy passed on in 2001 and my Dad passed in 2002, and we sold that unit. When I retired and sold my cado ranch in 2004, I checked a number of mobile home parks in the area, and decided RG had them all beat. Tom, the manager, is outstanding. There are rules which everyone mostly abides, but there is no up-​tight reaction for every minor infraction. Oh, this is a senior court, for 55+, but they allow a small percentage of exceptions. There are no children allowed, but they visit parents and grandparents here. Dog are allowed, limit one small dog, but here again, exceptions are made. There is some barking, at times annoying, but never intolerable. I had a feud with a neighbor over prolonged construction noise, but that has passed. This is a rent controlled park, and that is respected by the owner, so rents range between 4−500/month, including water and sewer charges, which are 80−90/month (absurd), but that’s not the owner’s fault, and 4 – 500 is still very reasonable. RG is approximately ½ mile from the ocean and the weather is lovely, year round. A few bums are seen now and then under the freeway, but not really a big deal. Shopping about a ½ mile away via the bike path under the freeway, and some people here take their electric scooters to go shopping. I ride my bike to Starbucks or the bank in 5 minutes. My lot is about 50 X 70, big enough for 52X24 mobile + large patio/​yard and parking for 3 vehicles and my motorcycle. Some courts prohibit motorcycles and won’t allow dogs to be walked inside the park. That would be unacceptable to me. BTW, I paid 200K for my unit in 2004, but it’s probably wouldn’t sell for that much now, since RE bubble popped. Price now run from the low 100K to over 200K on average. You might find a pull out for less than 100K and put in a brand new one. Residents are nice and friendly. There is a clubhouse and jacuzzi and a few other nice amentities. Most people have nice yards, but there a few (like mine), not so manicured, but OK. I feel very secure here, about ¾ of the way in, over a quarter mile from the entrance (estimate), with no other access. Every once in a great while a car has been broken into, but to my knowledge no homes have been entered. Oh yes, a transient stole an old bike of mine, but I caught him a few days later. As a precaution, I now lock the cars and the bike, but I’m not at all worried about it. Well that’s all for now.