I did a search and came up with this link , but it is several years old.
I am living in a small town that has one or two houses for sell, at best. I started to consider buying a mobile home. I realize they depreciate, but the price of traditional homes here can do the same.
Has anybody ever bought one? If so, what should I expect?
Like anything you buy, you get what you pay for. I would rule out mobile homes (trailers) simply because they are not built well, nor insulated well (high energy costs), you can’t get a loan easily, and you’ll never get your equity out of them. If you’re not in a trailer park, your neighbors will probably hate you, and zoning laws may keep you out of any other areas.
Modular homes, on the other hand, can be as complex or as simple as you wish. The ones I looked at locked together with cams, and came from the factory with R-42 insulation throughout. The disadvantage to them was that if you ever want to add electrical circuits inside the walls, you’re probably out of luck, so put plenty of thought into outlets and lighting. They go together quickly, so you don’t have long waits for materials, etc. The factory that makes them will usually erect them for you also.
The newest manufactured homes (manufacturers don’t like “mobile home” or “mini home”, as it draws comparisons to mobiles from 20+ years ago, which are crap quality) being built now are, in my opinion, as high-quality as stick-built homes. They use 2x6 exterior walls, and 2x4 interiors. Unfortunately, lenders are still reluctant to revise their views of the quality of manufactured homes. That, and of course the lack of a basement, are the biggest drawbacks involved. And that’s the point where you decide what is important in a home.
if you check out the photo galleries, you’ll see that many of these places are at least as nice as a stick-built home.
S^G
It is possible to get a basement put under a manufactured home - and cheapest when said home is being installed.
In my area of the country there is concern about homes without basements because we get tornadoes. On the other hand, in my immediate area there are also a lot of site-built homes that don’t have basements because we have an insanely high water table. Mobile home parks around here will have “storm shelters” where one can go and, presumably, be safe, but with a stand-alone home you likely will not have that. “Safe rooms” can be built for these sorts of homes (they are very firmly anchored and usually function as storage closets/rooms when not in use for shelter) and while they do cost money they are typically cheaper than a full basement.
We live in a mobile home. It think it was built, or screwed together, in 1974 or 1975. Yep, it’s crap quality, as Satellite^Guy said. The walls feel and sound very hollow, even if lightly tap against them. The bathtub is smaller and narrower than standard, as are the interior doors. The kitchen cupboards are pretty much pressboard, and not closed in all the way (i.e. open to the stove on each side, and the space below the sink.) I’m not sure about carpeting and lino–it was still the original 70s of both when we bought it, and was promptly ripped out. We’ve upgraded and painted as we’ve lived here, simply because we want to have a place we like, but I’m not putting a bunch of money into it (neighbours in the park have put laminate flooring and stuff into their units) because it’s a mobile, and I know it will never appreciate in value.
Well, actually, I’m curious if it has appreciated–if so, it would just be because the housing market here is insane. We bought the place for $53,000—similar units in our park are selling for $80,000 and up now.
This sure isn’t my first choice, but we were renting, and the units kept getting sold on us, and I was tired of moving. I don’t want to be here forever.
My brother had a trailer early 1970s and it was nothing great. My sister got one around 1980 and it was nicer…though she sold it, I know it’s still in use. My folks got one in 1995, then outgrew it somehow and upgraded to a doublewide in 2000 or so. Better still.
In all of the above cases, there were no children to tear it up on a daily basis. I notice even on my folks’ place, the hardware (e.g. door hinges) are often cheesy. And they have resisted the urge to nail anything to a wall. I noticed in their 1995, the wood was particle board with the thinnest film of “grain” veneer that wore off with time.
But I think the homes have improved a lot in terms of energy efficiency and if you take care of them, they can last.
A good double wide modular home is not cheap because they are bult much better than they used to be. If you own you own land and take care of it, it will appreciate in value, maybe not as much as a regular home but some.
I have lived in mobile homes and been around them my whole life. My personal theory of why they depreciate is that the people living in them don’t respect them and most of them would let any house depreciate around them. I have friends that have been living in the same one for 20 years and they are very happy with them, but they do take care of it.
True, but compare square footage to stick-built. I don’t know what my folks paid for the double wide…the 95, IIRC was under $20K for about 1000 square feet. In new housing, in most places, I’d think $50/square foot would be minimum, usually higher. In all fairness, that figure would include the land a stick-built sits on.
My home is a modular, delivered to the site in two sections, installed above the block foundation/full walkout basement. Full dimension walls and insulation, normal appliances, 200 Amp electrical service, site septic and well.
Modulars offer many options, including the ability to have SIP walls/roof assemblies manufactured, shipped to site and assembled by your GC. Modulars don’t necessarily mean a partial house, any more. With SIP walls/roofs, you can go from foundation to dried-in in less than three days.