Alta Vista questions, answered.

No. You own the home and lease the homesite under it from Alta Vista. Site rent for new buyers is $650 a month as of October 2026. There’s no land to buy and no mortgage on dirt.

The homesite, the Lodge (great room, event hall, kitchen and fitness room), the outdoor pool, the pickleball court and future amenities, plus the community side of things: utilities for the common areas, upkeep of the streets, sewer system and grounds, streetlights, landscaping and snow removal in common areas, community events, the management and maintenance staff, and insurance and real estate taxes on the community itself. You pay your own gas, electric, phone and garbage pickup, plus the $70 a month Spectrum cable and internet package billed through Alta Vista. You also mow your lawn and clear your own porch, deck, sidewalk and driveway, or pay the community’s contractor to handle it.

The homesite lease runs a year at a time, so rent can change at renewal under the lease terms. Site rent for new buyers is $650 a month as of October 2026. Ask us for the lease and we’ll walk through exactly what it says.

Homes in a licensed manufactured housing community in Michigan pay a $3 a month specific tax instead of the regular property tax on the home itself, and at Alta Vista it’s already included in the $650 site rent, so there’s no separate bill for it. A garage, deck or other addition is assessed separately by East Bay Township as real property, so homes with a garage have a small tax bill too. (MCL 125.1041) Confirm current amounts with the township assessor.

Not on the homes we list for Alta Vista. The sales tax is paid by the seller and already built into the list price, and our purchase agreement says so in writing. On a resale between two owners, Michigan charges a 6% use tax when the title transfers (Michigan Secretary of State), so ask us how it’s being handled on that sale.

Most buyers use a chattel loan, which is a loan on the home as personal property rather than a mortgage on land. Rates, down payments and terms differ from a regular mortgage, and some lenders hold back part of the loan funds after closing, anywhere from a couple of days to as long as 90 days, so ask each lender. Several lenders have closed loans here, and we’re happy to connect you. See the participating lenders. Paying cash is fine too.

On the community side: a $90 title transfer, a $150 closing fee, a $50 background check and a $200 homesite security deposit that stays on your account and comes back when you sell. Site rent is prorated to the day you close. If you finance, add your lender’s fees.

Yes. The homesite rental application is also the residency application, and Alta Vista runs a credit and background check with it. That check can take up to seven days, so we start it as soon as you have an accepted offer.

A manufactured home in Michigan is titled like a vehicle, through the Secretary of State, not recorded with a deed. There’s no title company. The state title fee is $90. Real Estate One is a licensed Michigan mobile home dealer (license No. 1103710) and handles the title application at closing.

Yes. Any Michigan real estate agent can show these homes and represent you. Agents don’t need a dealer license to sell here, because Real Estate One’s license covers the sale. How your agent is paid is set out in your written buyer agreement with them.

Your agent’s brokerage holds it in its trust account, the same as on any other home sale.

Each home has a manufacturer’s warranty, and it transfers to you. On homes built ahead of time and set on a site, the manufacturer starts the warranty when the home was delivered, not when you move in, so on some older homes it has already run out. Ask us for the warranty certificate on the home you’re looking at and we’ll show you the start date.

You mow your own lawn and clear your own driveway and walk, or you can pay the community’s contractor to do it for you.

Not under the current covenants. Alta Vista is updating its covenants this fall, and we’ll update this answer if the rental rules change.

Yes, under the Alta Vista pet agreement, which sets the limits and rules. Ask us for a copy; it will be on the documents page soon.

You can sell through any agent you like, or on your own. Your buyer has to be approved by Alta Vista and sign a homesite lease, the same as you did. Michigan law also bars a community from stopping you from selling your home on site, at your price, to a buyer who qualifies (MCL 125.2328).

Yes. Phase 1 still has open homesites. Tell us which lot and what size home you have in mind and we’ll get you plans, pricing and a timeline.

Homes built after June 15, 1976 to the federal HUD code are called manufactured homes. They’re built in a factory to a national construction and safety standard, inspected during construction, and set on a foundation on site. (HUD)

No. The homes at Alta Vista are manufactured homes, built to the federal HUD code. A modular home is also built in a factory, but to Michigan’s residential building code, and it goes on land you own and is taxed and financed like any other house. Here the home is titled through the Secretary of State and sits on a leased homesite. If you’ve been looking at modular or prefab homes in Traverse City because you want a new factory-built home for less than a stick-built one, it’s the same idea, with the land leased instead of bought.

Legally it’s a licensed manufactured housing community, the category a lot of people still call a mobile home park. In practice it’s a neighborhood of new homes on paved streets with a lodge, an outdoor pool, a pickleball court and a fitness room, and the homes are set on foundations, not moved in and out.

Alta Vista’s owner runs it, with an on-site community office managed by Clinton Herigstad, the community manager. There’s no owners’ association or board.

A manufactured home policy on the home and your belongings, plus liability coverage. The homesite lease sets what’s required, and we’ll show it to you. Get a quote from an insurance agent before you write an offer.