Mobile home on land - guidance.

[ChrisBarnes]

jjohnisme I own a modular double wide home. It is now going on 14 years old and I have not replaced the water heater or the furnace. Yes the plumbing SUCKS if it leaks or goes out but with the PEX plumbing parts they used I can find and replace just about anything. My house was placed over a 30x60 10foot tall concrete basement/garage. It is on 1.5 a of land in Hancock co. If I had to do it over I would still purchase a modular home. They are insulated much better than stick homes. Built indoors so the builders are not in a hurry due to heat or cold. Never rained on prior to roof being put on. They give you the best bang for your buck. I was not looking for resale value but let me tell you the 3 bedroom 2 full bath master bath with Jacuzzi is awesome. I was in a stick house before this and they too have their issues especially older cooker cutter ones that are falling apart (watch the local news they show them weekly). So with that said I understand why you want to purchase one. Good luck and stick to your guns you know what makes you and yours happy.

 

[Tactical Dave]

I am in mobile home parks a lot with work... No matter how nice they look they never hold value and over time fall apart (long term).. Not to mention the risk in high winds and tornados.

They way they are built there is no easy fix for anything...

RUN AWAY!

 

[rhart]

Well I will offer my 2 cents.
I am a RE Broker (small time now) but I have bought and sold a pretty good amount over the last 8 years. In that time I bought, re-habbed and sold 2 mobile homes. I will never buy another one. As mentioned earlier, they depreciate, they do not appreciate. They have a MUCH shorter life span. The lending institutions hate them and very few will loan on them at all. The resale value just isnt near what a typical house is. Insurance is usually higher because they can be hooked up and dragged away. Now I understand there are some very nice double wides and 20 years ago the depreciation wasnt nearly as bad, but times have changed.
We bought 15 acres 2 miles west/north of danville and pretty secluded. Boy was I surprised when I found out about the building codes. I wanted to build a barn and finish one end to live in for now until we built our permanent house. No way. They actually laughed at me at the court house. We have been looking at a lot of house plans. You can buy some really nice 3 bed/2 ba complete home kits for 45 to 80K. Obviously, you still need the lot, water, elec and septic, labor and foundation. Y.ou cant build a house with free labor for what you can buy a foreclosure. But, to me its about getting out in the country
Also, building aside, for the past 3 years I have always advised people to only look at foreclosures and short sales. There are thousands in Indiana. Ask your agent to search ( In disclosures) only BANK OWNED, CORPORATE OWNED, HUD AND SHORT SALES. Dont even look at anything else. There is no reason you cant find a house that sold for 200K 5 years ago (with an acre) for around 100K.
Oh and I am not trying to get business here, Im not looking for any, I have a house to build and a new business to start but if you PM me I will help however I can.

 

[churchmouse]

The manufacturer we visited (actually toured the factory on a Saturday they weren't making anything) and that was a question we had. There are regulations now that didn't exist back in the early 90's. I wouldn't buy an older mobile home at all, it would basically be a manufactured home built in two segments.
I would almost rather have a mfg home,due to the more things you an customize.

The manf. homes available today are not bad investments. They are well built and so tight that the HVAC systems (on some I have seen) bring in a small amount of fresh air. If they are set properly they can outlive some of the Vinyl
village crap being built these days.
I have friends that live in these homes in settings you are looking for and they are very happy with them.

 

[churchmouse]

jjohnisme I own a modular double wide home. It is now going on 14 years old and I have not replaced the water heater or the furnace. Yes the plumbing SUCKS if it leaks or goes out but with the PEX plumbing parts they used I can find and replace just about anything. My house was placed over a 30x60 10foot tall concrete basement/garage. It is on 1.5 a of land in Hancock co. If I had to do it over I would still purchase a modular home. They are insulated much better than stick homes. Built indoors so the builders are not in a hurry due to heat or cold. Never rained on prior to roof being put on. They give you the best bang for your buck. I was not looking for resale value but let me tell you the 3 bedroom 2 full bath master bath with Jacuzzi is awesome. I was in a stick house before this and they too have their issues especially older cooker cutter ones that are falling apart (watch the local news they show them weekly). So with that said I understand why you want to purchase one. Good luck and stick to your guns you know what makes you and yours happy.

I did not realize your home was one of these. It is not something that jumped out at me when I came by.

 

[tradertator]

I would steer clear of any sort of manufactured housing. Regardless how they are built, the stigma is there and that will transfer into lower resale value down the road.

 

[upalot]

I will point out that there is a BIG differance in Mobile and Modular homes. A modular home is built much better than a mobile home. They usually have 2 x 4 interior walls, a mobile home has 1 x 2 interior walls. On a modular home they will be delivered on a flatbed truck and a crane sets them in place on a foundation just like any other home. Once constructed they are hard to tell from a stickbuilt home and qualify for loans like a stickbuilt home.
Just educate yourself on what is available prior to making a 30 year loan and get what will still be a good home when you have lived in it for that 30 years.
Again good luck with your choice.

 

[ChrisBarnes]

I did not realize your home was one of these. It is not something that jumped out at me when I came by.

shhhhhhhhh I like to hide everything...lol