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Thread: manufactured homes

  1. #1
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    manufactured homes

    Hello everyone A newby here. I have been browsing this site for a few weeks now. I have got alot of useful information from here. You all do a excellent job here. Now I have a few questions I would like to throw out there. First of all I bought A few acres of land about a month ago and looking to put A home it. Me and my fiance are struggling to figure out what exactly we want. My fiance wants to go with a manufactured home(doublewide) but, I have my doubts. I was wondering if you all could give me the pros and cons of a manufactured home. The big issue with me is price. I don't want my whole paycheck going towards a house payment every month. I know my home will be one of the only good investments I'll ever make and from what I have been told manufactured homes dont hold there value. Another problem is we are getting married in march so time is also a issue. I would really appreciate and advice. Thanks in advance

  2. #2
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    Re: manufactured homes

    Manufactured homes will vary in quality. You basicaly get what is paid for. Some are so designed it's hard distinquish them from a house built onsite.

    Another option may be an older trailer that can later be sold when a house is completed. Providing local regulations allows this.

    You could also build the house yourselve's. Takes a lot of time, patience and perceverance. Items beyond your capability could be contracted out or you could act as your own General contractor subing all the work out and coordinating it.

    Have you factored in all the other costs such as power,water, sewage disposal, basement/or support structure for house and access road?

    Being house poor may lead to different types of problems.

    We have built one house by ourselves. It was long hard haul as we basically worked from paycheck to paycheck. Missed out on sking during the best physical years but made up for it many times over later with no house payments

    Sorry I cannot give a good answer but these situations are very dependant on the individuals involved .

    Egon

  3. #3
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    Re: manufactured homes

    Here in SE Iowa, there are oodles of manufactured homes sold. It seems to me that it would depend to a large extent on: (1) getting a quality-built home to begin with; and (2) the general setup with regards to location, foundation/basement and how it fits into the property. If I wuz you, I'd BUY a manufactured home.....a good one......and I would scheme and scheme on how to position it such that as my family grew I could construct additions which would look like they went with the home. Go for few-large bedrooms rather than many-small bedrooms in the initial house, and pick a floor plan that lends itself to expansion later on. Plan for the garage so that it will look like it goes with the house when you add it on. So instead of considering the house "the house"....consider it "the core" of the future home as you continue building the Phase I, Phase II, and even the Phase III additions. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
    CJDave

  4. #4
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    Re: manufactured homes

    Mobile homes just don't hold their value and appreciate the same as a conventional stick built home. If money is tight, consider a small home that you could add to later. Also, if you're handy, you might want to consider having a contractor build the basic home and you could finish all or part of the interior, based on the skills that you have. A good friend of mine put up a real nice cape style home and left the upstairs unfinished. Once he had a couple of extra bucks he finished off the upstairs (three bed rooms and a bath) himself. Whatever you consider, if you plan on staying in this home for the forseeable future think about what it will look like in 10 years. For my money, a mobile home is just not the long term investment you're looking for. Also, visit with your local banker. With interest rates still at very low levels, you might be surprised how much house you can actually afford. Note, interest rates on a conventional home mortgage are less than a mobile home loan. Good luck!

  5. #5
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    midwest
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    Re: manufactured homes

    Along with the others input;

    First, I would recommend you consider VERY seriously the request of your fiance. You will learn (may take a few years to fully comprehend) that you are getting a signal there, and to not recoginze it, it will make for some rough times (to various degrees). If you want to second guess her request (suggestion), do so with her input and blessings. Had she not made such a request, then you would be the one to make whatever decision you want and then I would recommend she support you. But she has spoken (put the pants on first maybe?). You can weigh that in with your decision for a future together. It takes a lifetime of trying to figure these things out. IMO

    Second, I would consider the acreage that you purchased. Is it worthy of more than a glorified mobile home or mfg. home? If so, don't put on something less worthy than what the land and neighborhood deserves. There are places for mfg homes, and there are places for nicer homes. I think mfg homes are usually well built (visit the mfg and see the construction techniques first hand to make that decision). I also think it is difficult to hide the fact that they are mfg homes, and the re-sale value will likely carry the burden when that time comes. However, the property tax assessment may work in your favor if it is a mfg home.

  6. #6
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    Re: manufactured homes

    There is a big difference between mobil homes and manufactured homes. I'd suggest going to the factory where manufactured homes are built. There must be one somewhere near you. The good ones are just like stick built homes.
    A man's likely to mind his own business, if it is worth mindin' - Eric Hoffer

  7. #7
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    Re: manufactured homes

    The downside to manufactured homes which is NOT ameliorated by build quality is the stigma associated with "trailers." It isn't fair but it is strong and it results in a new manufactured home being valued at about $10,000 less after it is set up than when it is on the sales lot or factory lot. Frequently manufactured homes depreciate in value rather than appreciate like a stick built home. I'm not defending this situation, just mentioning it.

    A friend in real estate sales diverted me from the manufactured home market to the rollaway home market. A rollaway is built exactly like a site built home and some of our local buillders will build the same plan either way. Once completed, the roll away is trucked to the site and set on the foundation. Once set up it is identical in all respects to the same home built on site at your location and has no stigma or guilt by association (as improper as it may be). Typically, you site build the garage and any porches.

    My mom's builder offered to build my design on site or at his facility. They helped me to design within the limitations of what could be trucked but offered it on-site for $4,000 more. Trucking for us was about $4,000 so it was a wash dollar wise. We gained 4 months in schedule by having it done at their facility. We added a detached garage then a sun room to connect the house to the garage and a safe room on the side of the garage. Mom's house (where my wife and I are living while building our house) is 1820 sq ft (plus a 10 ft by 33 ft sun room). It has two master suites with master baths (Jacuzzi tubs) and large walk-in closets. the guest room is at the other end of the house across the hall from the hall bath. the guest room has a WIC that is 6x13 ft. I am presently writing this from the guest room closet as I have taken half of it for a computer room office.

    It has a cathedral ceiling with decorative hardwood beams and an open great room plan with kitchen, dining room, and living room open to each other with an "L" shaped island with two levels of counters to delineate the kitchen without isolating it.

    This house is indistinguishable from one built on the site and its resale value/appreciation will reflect that. It does not carry a "trailer" stigma. It has no plackards on it like an RV, trailer house, or manufactured home is required by law to have.

    A similar sized manufactured home of comparable quality costing the same or even $10,000 more would not be worth as much as this house. It isn't fair and it isn't logical but it is the way it is due to human psychology. If you intend to keep a house forever and never sell then you can probably make some kind of argument for ignoring loss of appreciation and lowered equity.

    Still, some day you might want to get an equity loan for an addition or ... then what? Look at the adds for used manufactured homes. Are they selling for more than new prices? Stick built homes usually appreciate in value AS DO DECENT QUALITY ROLLAWAYS which are indistinguishable.

    lalke home, mountain retreat, something larger and more comfortable than a travel trailer, OK I'd consider a used manufactured home because they are one of the cheapest forms of housing to buy but beware... some will not survive a second move.

    Lots of folks take out loans and buy manufactured homes only to discover in short order that the amount owed is larger than the market value of the unit and if they had to sell it would be at a significant loss. If your future is totally secure this might not be a factor for your consideration. Me, the idea that it would be worth a lot less after it was set up than it was on the lot would be a very discouraging thing.

    Did I mention that I was taking my mom around to various mfg home sales lots and was gung ho for her to get one till my real estate sales friend clued me in? You pays your money and you takes your chances.

    So far after a couple years the only problem we had with the house was the time required to get hot water to the master suites due to long plumbing run from utility room. I installed a 2 1/2 gallon water heater under the floor between the master suites inline with the hot supply line. Now hot water in the winter is 6 seconds away and the hot water from the util room gets there before the little tank runs out. It was a self inflicted wound. I designed the house (my first design to be built) and just didn't think of the amunt of storage in the hot line running that far. My new house will have a recirc pump and near instant hot water from a central tank in the basement.

    Pat

    "I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"

  8. #8
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    Re: manufactured homes

    A "manufactured home" is a trailer that has been built since 1976. Prior to 1976 and the implementation of "HUD Code", we called them trailers or mobile homes. A "factory fabricated" home is what used to be called a "modular" or as Pat explains it a "roll away". Factory fabricated homes are built in a factory, slid onto a trailer and delivered to the site. Manufactured homes are built with the trailer as part of the floor structure, and only need the axles removed on site.

    You might try this site for more information.
    Appraisers

    There is a forum there where you may post any questions.

    Steve


  9. #9
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    Re: manufactured homes

    My $.02 is to check insurance cost. I've observed most manufactured homes in my area to be much more expensive to insure, on a dollar-to-dollar comparison, than stick built homes.

  10. #10
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    Re: manufactured homes

    I am currently living in my 4th "house trailer, mobile home, or manufactured home". I can tell you there is a tremendous difference in the quality built by different manufacturers; type of plumbing; i.e., type of water lines used, type of roof, amount of insulation, size of electrical wiring, type of switches, quality of water faucets, "plastic" vs. ceramic lavatories and toilets, quality and finish of cabinetry, exterior finish; i.e., type of panels used or vinyl siding, size of eaves, quality of floors; i.e., plywood (best) vs. OSB or particle board, quality of carpets, type of windows, and on and on. If I had more time right now, I'd try for more detail, but the biggest and most common complaints are related to the installation and setup according to a story in AARP's magazine and my personal experience as well as the experience of a number of neighbors.

    I'm currently in a mobile home park, so I had no choice, and I bought this one cheap, but if I were buying a new one in this part of the country to put on my own land, I would never have one installed except on a complete concrete slab foundation.

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