Anyone ever have a Family in a Single Wide Trailer

[BamaSpek]

Just wondering. My wife and I were thinking possible getting a cheaper single wide trailer to put on the land to live in...at least until we sell the house in town and get the equity out.

We still have to think about barn,clearing and all the other start up expense.

Has anyone here had a family (3 kids..possibly 5 kids if we have my brothers too) in a smallish single wide trailer?Any Advise on this?

[big rockpile]

Did it for years.Just can't have too much,or some place to store your stuff.

big rockpile

[Ravenlost]

My son, daughter and I lived in a singlewide for several years. At one time my pregnant sister, her husband and two-year-old daughter lived with us.

When the kids were born my ex and I were living in a small two bedroom singlewide. My daughter had to live in a bassinet that I rolled from room to room as we didn't have room for two baby beds.

[Joy in Eastern WA]

Actually, I have fond memories of living in a little two bedroom singlewide while we were building our home. The kids were little, 3-8 years old and all shared the larger bedroom and the smaller one was the family closet. DH and myself slept on the living room floor on an airmatress. We lived that way for three years. It was very cozy, but it worked out fine.

[Ken Scharabok]

A 16' x 80' has about 1200 square feet of interior space - equivalent to a 35' x 35' house. Mine has a large master bedroom with bath, combination kitchen/LR and two smaller bedrooms, with a bath for them.

Fortunately I found a good used one. Probably looked at 30 used single wides. Hard to believe the condition some were in.

As noted there is virtually no storage room.

Have heard of people putting up garages and living in them while building.

[BamaSpek]

It took the wife and I so long to get out of debt I am "gun shy" about borrowing money against anything. They have manufactured homes that are beautiful that go over $100,000!! We could get a used doublewide for probably 30-40...or a used single wide for 15-20k. That is alot less debt and I was hoping to build a house one day...so i hate to have too big a debt on something I will have to move and sell in the future.

Also, what I think I can do as far as barns,pasture,fencing in a few years might turn into many years....and not having a huge house payment would be ideal.

My one concern is IF we refinance the land banks don't want to do single wide loans it seems...something about the land cant be two times the value of the home .... would hate to have to roll the trailer off the land to refinance just hte land ...then roll it back

I hope the kids (one pre-teen boy, one 7 y/o and and 3 y/o) understand one day. I was watching Little House on the Prairie the other day though... That house made a single wide seem like a castle.

[Old Vet]

When I was young I lived in a singel wide 2 bedroom trailer. I had 2 dauthers and it was OK. If you have more than that you realy need to have a three bedroom. I would not even think of living with a brother and family until you can build a 7 bedroom house.

[BamaSpek]

Originally Posted by Old Vet

When I was young I lived in a singel wide 2 bedroom trailer. I had 2 dauthers and it was OK. If you have more than that you realy need to have a three bedroom. I would not even think of living with a brother and family until you can build a 7 bedroom house.

The one were looking at is 16x80 3 br Model Redmond..thats 1280 sq feet.

[quadcam79]

5 of us live in a 16x66 SW, the only issue we have is storage. we need to get another shed otherwise no problems

[Cornhusker]

We lived in one from the time I was born until I was in 5th or 6th grade, there were 6 of us.
As a kid, I didn't know any different so it was ok.

[Ravenlost]

The mobile home I had when my sister and her family lived with us was a 16x80. I gave her and my BIL my bedroom and I slept on the sofa. My two-year-old niece was more than happy to sleep with my daughter (who was eight at the time). I was even running a home daycare and it was winter!

You have to get creative with storage...under beds, etc. I used every inch of space in my mobile home.

[PyroDon]

Our first home was a 1970 12x60 we bought for $400 cash and batered some work . It needed a lot of work but after redoing the master bedroom and bath we moved in and lived in it for ten years until the eldest was three and the youngest was well on her way. it remained a 0ne bedroom and unfinished .
we then rented it out6 for a year and a half at 200 a month. currently theres a homeless couple staying in it rent free but it has no water and power suppied only by and extention cord.
we managed to find a very nice 28 by 65 modular that had been repoed
3 bedroom two bath large living room kitchen and office. got it for 17,000 .
2x6 walls double pane windows lots of insulation a working fireplace built in 96 listed for $65,000 new . when we got it the stickers were still on the windows and cork still on the sliding glass doors it had never been lived in .
you can make it in a single wide thousands of people do.
but you should look into repos to save some money

[tamsam]

I did it with 4 kids.Brings a whole new meaning to the word togetherness. Still have stories to tell about how we worked out sharing tv and stuff. Sam

[cindy-e]

Originally Posted by BamaSpek

Just wondering. My wife and I were thinking possible getting a cheaper single wide trailer to put on the land to live in...at least until we sell the house in town and get the equity out.

We still have to think about barn,clearing and all the other start up expense.

Has anyone here had a family (3 kids..possibly 5 kids if we have my brothers too) in a smallish single wide trailer?Any Advise on this?

HOw about 5 kids and two parents in a 900 square foot trailer? Yep we did that for a year as part of our get out of debt quick plan. (It was CHEAP). It actually made us close as a family because there was nowhere to hide. We were in each other's faces all the time! Had to deal with issues as they came up. Couldn't just walk away...

1) Spend a lot of time outdoors.
2) If you can swing it, build a nice big deck. Sort of extends your living space.
3) Get a decent on site storage solution. Even if you are not a stuff person, you'll need it.
4) Store your furniture and build stuff that will have a dual purpose. We had a bench the children sat on at the "bar" that was built into the trailer. We built it to be storage for bulk foods on the inside, and a book shelf on the outside. We didn't have a table. Dh and I slept in the LR on a futon as there were only two bedrooms. We made a low bedstead for the girls that would hold two mattresses across a very small room and built a book shelf across the back of that. Their beds wouldn't fit in the room. We put their dresser in the closet to give them more floor space. The boys were on bunk beds, and we made a bedstead for my older son that went across the TOP of his dresser. (Taller on one side than the other) The space underneath had his bookshelf and his desk. He is a lot older than the other two and we felt he needed some private space. We hung a curtain from the side and put a lamp in there so he had a place to go to be alone.
5) Measure what furniture you do put in and make sure it will fit. Diagram the walls with your furniture on it to get the best layout before you try to move it all in.
6) When you are ready to move or build, all of the wood you use to build the dual purpose furniture can be recycled to some purpose in your building. We reused ours to help a friend rebuild a house they owned that a renter devastated. Felt like money well spent.

Good luck,
Cindyc.

[neolady]

When I was a teen, the house my parents had bought was more than six months behind schedule - as was that that whole subdivision. Two adults, six kids (aged 13 down to twins less than six months old) lived for many months in a 16 foot mobile house trailer - the one we had used for severals for camping in.

When the weather was good my sister and I (and the dog) put up an old 7 x 7 tent and spent a lot of time in it. We survived, and I have many fond memories of that time. We lived in grandma's driveway and had the run of her country property which was a joy to most of us kids.

Today, there are a lot more options available to expand outdoor living space at least during the good weather - I don't know where you live, but there surely are at least some good months of weather where you can expand to living more outside of the physical dwelling place. I'm thinking of the gazebos, dining shelters, etc. which are very very reasonably priced now.

Could you start with a barn or garage and live in it - or partially live in it, or alternatively use it for storage while living in the single. It really wouldn't take all that much finishing it inside using portable office dividers to partition off bedroom space or even use curtains and furniture as the dividers. It's not ideal, but it does work and I know of families that have done that for extended periods of time due to disasters, emergencies, etc. The general space is left wide open for kitchen, dining and living area, just the bedroom are partitioned off for privacy. A rough-in kitchen, or cabinets and countertops in a garage would ultimately end up as a great workshop area after the home is finally built.

Right now the market on house trailers has dropped dramatically - far less than a single wide or double wide, that could be an option and as it is on wheels, you shouldn't have to remove it from the property for mortgaging. You could built the barn or garage or shed(s) for storage space. Storage space is the worst part of living in a trailer.

I think you could built one really big garage or barn for less than the price of what you are looking at for the used singlewide. If you built the barn style garage or barn with the loft, that would make for an even better situation if used for temporary living accommodations.

I think you've got lots of options available. I also think that what you initially suggest could work out remarkably well for you - regardless, it's still lots better than many people ever have to live in. If you want it work, you can and will make it work - it's really as simple as that.

As pointed out, storage is going to be your biggest problem and that is easily resolved by building a garage/barn/shed (or even purchasing an office trailer which is again on wheels and doesn't affect mortgaging).

Another storage option is to purchase one or several used shipping containers. Used cans are priced at approximately $2,500 where I live for a 40 foot container. Many people here use them as workshops and storage by installing one (or more) of those whirlygig turbine vents in the roof and sometimes cutting standard door and window openings into them. They are usually placed on either a raised gravel bed, or railway ties. Two of those placed side-by-side 10 to 25 feet apart also allow for a simple roof structure over top and the space in between works well for vehicle or equipment storage.

Best of luck in your endeavours, whichever way you opt to go. There's lots of ideas here in this thread, and I bet plenty more to come.

Try a website like this one http://www.vmfrepos.com/searchHomes.cfm
There are several "repo" web sites out there. Put in your information and go, If you can do a little work, you can get a really good deal. I helped somebody recently who was looking for a bargain, and we found a 2001 16x80 in mint condition for 12k, found some doublewides in need of work for under 10k. Depends on how much work you're willing to do as to how much money you can save. For instance, i put in Mobile Alabama, 25 mile range and came up with a 1996, 28x64 doublewide for 16,500 asking price. You can change the "within 25 miles" and find hundreds of choices within hauling distance, make a list and go looking.

ETA, just did a search out of curiosity for less than 100 miles of my zip code, found a 91, 28x66 doublewide in Wake Forest NC for under 4 thousand bucks. Also a '97 14x70 singlewide for 4500. That's the kind of stuff you might find if you look hard enough.
The singlewide that we eventually settled on cost 1500 for the moving and setup fee, but we could have opted for 500 for moving it and then set it up ourselves.

[Bay Mare]

Originally Posted by BamaSpek

My one concern is IF we refinance the land banks don't want to do single wide loans it seems...something about the land cant be two times the value of the home .... would hate to have to roll the trailer off the land to refinance just hte land ...then roll it back

In '96 we financed a single wide and 7 acres. The only thing we ran into was that the banks wanted it to be a 15 yr loan because it was a mobile. Things may have changed with the financing rules since then.

Originally Posted by BamaSpek

I hope the kids (one pre-teen boy, one 7 y/o and and 3 y/o) understand one day.

I am curious about this this - understand what? I mean it is a place to live, right?

We currently live in a 640 square ft house so what you are looking at is exactly double what we have now. We have no closets at all - so no storage space. We do need to add some outside sheds for that. Now it is just the two of us here but the people we bought it from had 3 children. From what I can tell the two girls got the big bedroom (11 1/2 x 11 1/2) and the boy got the smaller bedroom (9 1/2 x 9 1/2). The parents must have slept in the living room area.

I say check on the financing requirements and go for it. I think it is great that you are trying to do this without going into to debt so deep!

Angela

ETA: I just checked the site Zong gave above and put in within 25 miles of here. It came up with a '97 14x70 3 bdrm 2 bth for $10,500. Says accepting cash offers. It shows a stove and refrig in it too so those probably go with it. From the pictures it doesn't look like new but perfectly fine to live in. If I was looking for something to buy I would absolutely go look at it.

[jimarh]

we lived in one with me, my DH, our oldest son- 24, our next oldest son -19 -with his wife and two babies (twins) from their birth until they were three.
Crowded some but we got along fine. It was a three bedroom with two baths. A 14x72 single wide.

We live in 987 square feet now which is a fairly small house but now there is only my hubby and me.

[Ken Scharabok]

Be aware mobile homes are measured from the end of the tongue to the end of the back. A 16' x 80' is really 16' x about 76'.

Ask pretty well everyone you meet if they know of a used singlewide which can be had for the cost of moving. That, itself, can be a significant expense. $1,500-2,000 is probably not unusual just for the move. Set-up is probably extra.

And, yes, check into repos.

If you are going to eventually build a house you are going to need a well and septic system anyway. If set up right, the mobile can use them. Depending on the location, you may or may not be allowed to keep the mobile on the property after the house is ready to move into. For example, my county restricts residences per deeded property to one.

As mentioned, a large travel trailer may not be considered a permanent residence and can be used as a guest residence (or for sleeping for an older child). For much of jr. high through high school I slept in an 18' trailer in the backyard.

[willow_girl]

Build a pole barn instead. Put a rudimentary kitchen and bath in it, plywood partitions to divide the sleeping spaces. Live in it while you're building, then turn it into a workshop when you're done.