By Paris Goodnight

Salisbury Post

KANNAPOLIS — A Cary company paid $4 million to be the newest owner of Cottage Cove Mobile Home Park.

Value Family Properties-Cottage Cove LLC of Tulsa, Okla., sold the property to Carolina Parks LLC, a Cary outfit that was incorporated Oct. 10, 2006.

Mike Conlon is president of Carolina Parks, which has about 400 mobile homes in two other Raleigh area parks. He said he has one more park in mind to buy, which would put Carolina Parks up to about 750 total mobile homes.

He said Cottage Cove has 108 mobile homes now and plans to add about 107 more in the Kimball Street neighborhood just off North Main Street in the area between Woodrow Wilson Elementary School and Blackwelder Park Baptist Church.

He said rent won't change for current tenants.

A former property manager told the Post last year that Clayton Homes paid about $3.5 million for the Kannapolis property a couple years ago.

Then last fall Patrick McKee bought 12 mobile home parks from Berkshire Hathaway and the Kannapolis purchase was listed on a deed for $5.5 million. Conlon said McKee didn't plan to hold all of them.

Conlon's partner, Chris Berry, added that he imagined the $4 million purchase price allowed McKee to break even on that part of the larger transaction.

In the Post story in November, McKee said his plan involved bringing in new three-bedroom, two-bathroom manufactured homes to sell for a $1,500 down payment and seven years of monthly payments. After that, the tenant would own the property outright.

Conlon said his plan is to bring in three-bedroom, two-bathroom Clayton Homes products that will rent for $575 a month. The 950-square-foot homes will be rent-to-own, and Conlon said after seven years, the tenants will get the title and then pay just a small lot rental fee.

Conlon said he and Barry had been involved in apartment rentals in Florida before moving to Raleigh to focus on mobile homes.

"People like them for a couple reasons: their neighbors aren't right on top of them and they have a yard for gardening or whatever," Conlon said. "Plus with renting an apartment, you never get a chance to own it."

The park opened in 1997 and has room for 300 units if all the land at the park is fully developed.

Barry will manage Cottage Cove to start, with another part-time manager helping out.

One quick addition will be a playground, which was something residents had been requesting for awhile.

"Three semis full of equipment just showed up and we have a full crew of guys putting it together," Barry said Friday. "It'll be like one at an elementary school."

That work should be completed by Monday.

Barry also said five new homes arrived Friday and seven more are scheduled to come in Monday.

If you're interested in one of the new properties, contact Barry at 919-924-8907.

The company Website is www.carolinaparksllc.com.