Many people struggle with the buy or lease decision when choosing where to live. In an effort to help our customers make an informative decision we have outlined the advantages of a land lease below:

• "Nest Egg” Retention - Retirees desiring to preserve capital appreciate the safety net that the land lease provides. The resident is free to invest his/her capital in other ventures and is able to have a more flexible savings program.  We have seen many clients change their estate, purchase additional life insurance or to free up assets and be able to spend on more enjoyable things in life! 

• Transaction Costs - The lessee’s time horizon for living in a particular community is often unpredictable, making leasing advisable. The cost of buying and selling a piece of land can take a significant time period to recover. Here are just a few of the traditional costs; architectural and engineering fees, commissions, title policies, transfer fees, recording fees, preparing a deed and transfer, loan fees, lenders policies, closing costs, title searches, surveys, building permits, erosion control permits and driveway permits. These items alone represent thousands of dollars of expense.  When buying your own land, the cost of building and site preparation need to be factored into your decision making process. Your time horizon may not permit you to recoup your costs.  At The Courtyards, we take care of all the fees and fuss!

• Value – Affordable living at its best.  Living in a manufactured community allows residents to live within their means while still enjoying the benefits of ownership.

• Cost to own vs. Leasing – By the time you calculate the costs associated with owning a new home, it costs you less to lease the land than it would to actually own the land.  Some people may find this hard to understand and are not yet comfortable with the idea of leasing the land.  They want to own it!  If you think about it, you actually lease things that you don’t even think would be considered leasing.  When you borrow money to purchase a car, home or land you are actually “leasing” the money to pay for the property over time.  We lease everything from automobiles, vacation villas, and mini-storage, to even a seat on an airplane.  This way you only pay for what you are actually using and don’t pay for any waste or depreciation. 

• Additional Costs/Exposure to Market Volatility – Land ownership brings exposure to real estate taxes and volatility in the land market. It’s no secret that  the real estate market has both it’s ups and downs.  Historically, the tax you pay on the home, because you own it, has gone down each year.  Compare that to where your conventional real estate taxes have gone!  While the real estate tax The Courtyards pays on the land has increased, we rarely change our monthly fee structure. 

• Ease of Sale - Owning a home in a community owned by a local company with a professional management team can also increase the liquidity of your home. We know the market, replacement values and financing. 

• Pride of Ownership - The partnership between the landowner and the lessee ensures that the interests of both the lessor and lessee will be met. The community owner has a vested interest in maintaining the grounds and the desirability of the community. This provides built-in protection for the lessee for their investment in the home.  

• Sense of Security – You may also have future travel plans that take you away from your primary residence for extended periods of time and you may welcome the sense of security that exists in a land lease community.   We’ve always been proud to see the care and concern that is evident in The Courtyards.  If something doesn’t seem right, a neighbor usually calls another neighbor or our office to make sure things are as they should be.

• Professional Management - The Courtyards is a family owned business.  We are and have been members of the Wisconsin Housing Alliance since 1970.   We have been in the community business since 1962.  We actively manage all of our properties as we are virtually on the property every day!