Mini Lakes officially registered a plan of subdivision in 2018. Residents have freehold title to their property, tied to a common elements condominium corporation that manages the operations and maintenance of all common use assets and areas within the community.

A lot of the people visiting Mini Lakes wonder if there are lease fees, and if it’s a year round mobile home park. As a home owner here, you own the deed to your land so there are no lease fees. There are however, condo fees associated to the common elements. And yes, Mini Lakes is zoned for year round occupancy and every home is built to Ontario building code, just like every other home meant for year-round occupancy in our region.

I firmly believe that owning the land you live on significantly out weighs leasehold ownership. Here are 3 main benefits to owning the land, like you would at Mini Lakes, as opposed to leasing land from a corporation at a mobile home park.

1. Owners and prospective buyers will have more options to finance a purchase, or refinance the existing home. With leased land there are strict limits to the terms and conditions of loans and mortgages. There are very few banks and lenders that will consider loaning money for homes on leased land. In fact, I’m not aware of any mortgage insurance companies in Canada that will insure a mortgage on a modular or mobile home on leased land. When you own the land, that gives you and the banks more security. God forbid you loose your house, but for a bank, if you own the land they will be able to recover their losses. If you lease the land, the banks can only sell the structure that sits on it. Owning the land will open up the door to a lot more lenders, which in turn will give owners and prospective buyers more options and effectively better interest rates and terms.
2. There is an increased demand for Mini Lakes homes due to ownership of the land.
   • More mortgage options with better interest rates and terms, means more potential buyers.
   • More buyers combined with better interest rates is the catalyst for higher demand.
   • Higher demand means higher property values at Mini Lakes.
3. When a buyer is considering a purchase, they will evaluate all aspects of the home compared to others that have recently sold and that are currently for sale. They will certainly consider leased land as a negative for all the financial restrictions and potential risk that comes with it. A good example would be how buyers view a home with natural gas heat versus propane fueled heat. Mini Lakes has few, if any, homes with propane heat at this point.

In a nut shell, it all comes down to this – a lease can be financially restrictive, and those restrictions significantly reduce the liquidity of the money you have in your home. The banks know this, and so do buyers. These factors suppress demand. If you own the land, restrictions are loosened and demand goes up. A home at Mini Lakes will certainly present more value than other similar communities because you own the land.

If you’re considering a move in the near future, take a look at some of the homes for sale in Mini Lakes.