Questions: Maunfactured / Mobile Homes, Pros and Cons

[Laura Zone 10]

I have always lived in a stick build home, so I know nothing about manufactured/mobile homes.

I am looking to move before fall 2014 to either the Atlantic coast (From Jacksonville Fla to Jackson NC) or the Pan Handle of Florida (Pensacola-Panama City area)

I am surprised to see so many mobile / manufactured homes in 'hurricane land'....but there are. And they are not cheap!!

What are some Pros and Cons of buying a mobile / manufactured home?

What are some common problems?

In my heart, I would prefer to buy a stick built, but that's because it's all I know!! A little education from those who know more than I is appreciated!!

[Use Less]

You should check whether you pay a fee for space use. Manufactured homes sometimes aren't on land you own. There's something about depreciation over time, compared to stick-built, which don't depreciate that way, and getting a mortgage, too. Don't remember the details. I wouldn't be a fan of manufactured, either, except maybe the kind of house that is built elsewhere and assemble on your lot, but that's not the same as a mobile home.

[Darren]

A friend recently bought a double wide. I made the mistake of calling it a trailer. It is. they think it's a modular. It isn't. The thing that came across to me was the quality. It isn't there. I'd bet money it has OSB for flooring. That's not unusual for stick built either. A leak from a water line or an appliance is potentially a disaster with that stuff.

The fixtures aren't top notch. There's a lot of eye candy in a sense that the builder included some stuff that is impressive, if you don't know what you're looking at. Lipstick on a pig comes to mind. It comes down to value and what you can afford. Buying stick built is no guarantee. Building codes deal with fire and safety issues. They don't address quality and potential maintenance issues down the road.

I see a lot of modern stick built houses. I know the owners paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for what I call a pasture patty house. In a previous life I owned one. It was junk. Same with a stick built house built in the 70's. It was junk too. Sorry to be so negative. I've seen a lot of stuff. I've also seen some excellent construction.

As always the devil is in the details. You really can't say one is absolutely better or worse than the other.

[Ramblin Wreck]

Around here, used manufactured homes do sell for much less (on a heated/cooled per square foot basis) than a stick built home. That's either because of a true or perceived quality issue with them. It's only anecdotal, but family that have owned these type homes seem to have systems (heat, air, plumbing, electrical, even cabinets) go bad more quickly than you would normally see in a site built house. If you do buy one, buy it cheap, because if you go to sell it, you will probably have to sell it cheap.

Good luck.

[Irish Pixie]

Manufactured housing, even double wides on their own land, depreciate. Real estate should be bought as an investment even if you're going to live there forever.

Modular homes are slightly better but the quality still suffers in them as well.

Personally, I'd never buy a trailer or a modular.

[MDKatie]

We lived in a single wide mobile home while we were saving up to buy our house. Now we are in a stick built house, and I will never, ever go back to any kind of manufactured home (trailer). Even the double wides are still trailers. The trailer served us well while we needed it, but it was still a trailer. I like having walls with insulation, and I like being able to nail stuff into the studs to hang things.

Financing can be hard with a double wide, even if it's on a foundation. My FIL bought a nice double wide recently, and it's perfect for him. He wanted a house to retire in, one story, easy to maintain. His house fits the bill perfectly.

I know there are a lot of really nice manufactured homes, but for me they're just not an option.

[Ambereyes]

Mobile homes have to meet HUD standards since 1976. I live in a double wide now, it is comfortable and well insulated. If you decide to buy go for a good manufacturer, mine is a Palm Harbor. Also make sure the dealer has been in business for a prolonged period.

That being said the last stick built home I lived in was new construction and it took 4 years to get all the problems fixed, including a class action lawsuit against the builder.

[po boy]

Financing is difficult to find and is more expensive.

However, I bought a singlewide in 1969 for about $5000. My brother owns it now and rents it for more than $5000 per year.

[Mr.Hoppes]

Personally it is a matter of the manufacturer quality which you pay for. Example ones made in the north east are far better than ones built in southern states in my experience. Also how it was transported and to where. Roads and how the transport agent does hos job effect the long term usage. Going over bumps too fast weakens joints that were not intended to be stressed like that. Also the terrain it has to go over can cause issues also. Pre-manufactured homes are not much better and if not assembled properly can cause A LOT of problems. Some folks think they can skimp on the crew that does the assembly. There are good reasons to hire professionals to do what they do, and this iss one of those areas. Even site prep can be an issue if it isn't prepared properly graded and drained properly. YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR is very true when it comes to mobile homes - trailers - prefab homes. Also note that some lending institutions won't even finance a prefab.

( personal exp ) I wanted one property because it had out buildings with a viable business and pond on the property, and frankly at that point in life didn't even know the house was a pre fab until the bank got involved.

Choose well ask for references, including from real-estate and lending folks, they have a wealth of information they can give away without ever having to use them.

Good Luck and thanks for Posting !

[Wolf mom]

It comes down to what you can afford.

I bought 5 acres of land, and the only thing I could afford was a double-wide. It's 1500 sq ft., got 2X6 wall construction, tape & texture with bull nose corners, crappy cabinets - (that could have been upgraded), great carpeting, double paned windows, jacuzzi tub and upgraded insulation for under $50,000 . After 15 years, everything including the roof is in great condition even with freezing winters & 100+ summers.

I bought it used and had it hauled to the lot and had a cinder block skirting, with a front & back porch put on it.
It does require more upkeep - painting, caulking, etc. but I've been very satisfied.

I'm now moving & and putting tile in the bathrooms & laundry with laminate in the rest.

It's not a stick built house, but I've seen many houses with poorer construction (uneven floors, wavy walls, etc.).
It's too bad they have such a poor reputation as the newer ones in nice neighborhoods can be really nice & you can order them with lots of upgrades. They are nothing like the "trailers" of old with metal sides, vinyl walls & small windows.

BTW: Modular homes are built in modules in factories and trucked to the site. They can be 2 stories. Double-wides are called "trailers" as they have a metal frame with wheels and each side is "trailered" to the site and wedded together there. You can also have them placed on a cement slab to help negate the "trailer" stigma.

[arabian knight]

I do think many are getting confused here between a Manufactured Mobile home a Manufactured Double Wide which is two single Mobile trailers put together.
And a Manufactured Home which HAS the same specs are stick built homes the difference being they are made in a factory setting built in two sections, but don't get that confused with a Double wide Mobile they are different.

And a good Manufactured home built in a factory setting and moved onto a concrete slab is energy compliance with many stick homes that are made today. And do not depreciate like many have said. My friends "Manufactured" home has Gone UP in value over the years pretty much the same as a stick house would as his tax records and appraisals have shown it going up also.

They have fully insulated walls, ceiling, and floor. Now they do cut back on things like faucets and such, but the cupboards are made well and the stove refrigerator etc, are of good quality. And many have a nice double pane patio door that is just as good as any put in any stick homes. And his is a 3 bedroom two bath with a nice kitchen and dinning area, a very large living room and a very nice sized 'family room'. Good quality carpet throughout. And I believe some are forgetting or do not know that most newer Manufactured homes today have 6 inch exterior walls~! And are well insulated.
And once again you get what you pay for. Want a good quality Manufactured Home you will pay a good price for it.

[Ambereyes]

As to financing we were offered FHA, VA and RHS. Financing didn't seem to be a problem.

[Irish Pixie]

Originally Posted by arabian knight

I do think many are getting confused here between a Manufactured Mobile home a Manufactured Double Wide which is two single Mobile trailers put together.
And a Manufactured Home which HAS the same specs are stick built homes the difference being they are made in a factory setting built in two sections, but don't get that confused with a Double wide Mobile they are different.

And a good Manufactured home built in a factory setting and moved onto a concrete slab is energy compliance with many stick homes that are made today. And do not depreciate like many have said. My friends "Manufactured" home has Gone UP in value over the years pretty much the same as a stick house would as his tax records and appraisals have shown it going up also.

They have fully insulated walls, ceiling, and floor. Now they do cut back on things like faucets and such, but the cupboards are made well and the stove refrigerator etc, are of good quality. And many have a nice double pane patio door that is just as good as any put in any stick homes. And his is a 3 bedroom two bath with a nice kitchen and dinning area, a very large living room and a very nice sized 'family room'. Good quality carpet throughout. And I believe some are forgetting or do not know that most newer Manufactured homes today have 6 inch exterior walls~! And are well insulated.

Doesn't matter, if it was manufactured off site it will still depreciate. Modular homes don't depreciate as quickly as a trailer but they don't have the value of a stick built home either.

A quality trailer is going to cost nearly as much as a stick built house and it will still depreciate.

I understand that it's what you can afford but that doesn't make them a decent investment.

[Irish Pixie]

Originally Posted by Ambereyes

As to financing we were offered FHA, VA and RHS. Financing didn't seem to be a problem.

Was the interest rate and loan length the same as a conventional house? Chances are the interest rate was higher and the loan length shorter. Plus insurance rates tend to be higher, especially in a trailer.

[TenBusyBees]

When we bought this place we bought it for the land....it just happened to have a double wide on it that we could live in until we built our house. It didn't take too many months of living in it to realize we got a good sound house, just had cosmetic issues. We've since decided not to build. Our dw is built better than the starter home we sold to move here. Our starter home was a brand new house when we bought it....always had problems with drainage and dishwasher backing up out of the sink. Also in that house they didn't use solid studs....the boards were fringrd and glued end to end. We have since learned that most of the foundations are cracked in that neighborhood due to faulty concrete work and the city is suing the homebuilder. Our walls here have solid studs and the overall construction is better than our stick and brick was. I never thought I would be "queen of a double wide" but I could easily see us buying another whould the need arise....space is not wasted, a lot of house for quite a bit less money and repairs/diy projects are easier than our stick and brick.

[TenBusyBees]

We had no problems with financing but we went through a mortgage company that only financed mobiles...it was a 30 year note and the interest was only 1% higher than the going rate at the time.

Now we did run into a hiccup with the size of our land....to big for traditional financing and to small for ag financing. Don't remember how they worked it but obviously it worked out.

Btw, because our house was so much cheaper than a traditional house we were able to pay it off much sooner. Had we stayed in our other house we would still be tied to that house payment and a badly cracked foundation.

[TXWildcat]

i grew up in a mobile home. they can be fixed up nicely. do not buy a new mobile home. buy used. its like a car. looses most of its value in the first 5-7 years. in 1988, dad bought a repo for less than half of new prices. we lived in that for 11 years, fixed it up, made it look nice & took care of it. 11 years later he sold the trailer and lot for $80k.


Live life in such a way that the preacher won't have to lie at your funeral.

[Harry Chickpea]

Yeesh.

Mobile home - technically 1976 and older, but really quality was bad for a number of years after. I rented one in Athens GA that was so poorly insulated the walls "sweated" in cold weather from the humidity inside. Think big travel trailer.

Manufactured home - code for built in a factory to HUD standards (and HUD inspectors are on-site at the factories) on a metal frame. Only the wheels and tongue get removed from the frame on site, and the home rests on concrete block pillars at key frame points. The home is built in controlled conditions by people who do the same tasks daily and become proficient at it. A home is built from start to finish within a week or two.

Double wide - manufactured (built on a factory floor and moved to site) can be single wide, double wide, triple wide, and more. The widths of the sections has expanded over the years, making newer ones less "shotgun" then older ones. Quality varies tremendously, but in general the cost of new compared to a stick-built is less than half for the same square footage and amenities. Double wides are remarkably similar to tract houses in design, except the manufacturers love to oversize bathrooms as a selling point, and some don't deal well with the marriage wall between sections.

Modular - again it is manufactured, but it is designed to have the transport frame completely removed and be set on a standard foundation. Those DO appreciate in value, are taxed and treated like stick built. The code requirements are exactly the same as a stick-built. That means you may pay property taxe$ on it vs. an ad valorum tax.

$tick-built - built from lumber on-site, usually to standard plans. Most of the shell construction is the same as above. Time of construction is measured in months, and the construction is exposed to the weather during that time.

Builder's grade - refers to both manufactured and stick-built. The cheapest product that will meet code and do the job. Often can look great at first, but doesn't have the quality to hold up.

Most expensive - new custom built stick built. Think $200 per square foot minimum plus site prep.

Less expensive - standard plan stick built. $150+ psf + site. Builder grade junk.

Less expensive - used stick built. Cost varies in up-front, but repairs can bite your behind hard. Caveat emptor, do your research and get inspections before buying.

Less expensive - modular. $125+- psf + site. Appreciates in value if well done, costs more in taxes.

Less expensive - new manufactured double wide. $90+- psf + site. (More if Palm Harbor, which charges a premium for reputation.) Less taxes, will depreciate - which also works to lower taxes. Proper site and skirting prep is essential.

Less expensive - newer single wide. Higher energy costs because of large exposed exterior - especially if poorly insulated. Like living in one direction.

Less expensive - older manufactured. Can be the best bang for the buck of all. Low cost, low taxes. Money can go into buying better land that will appreciate in value. Can often sell home for what was paid, then sell empty land for a price that has appreciated due to location.

Less expensive - used mobile home or trailer. Just a place to hang a hat for someone who works a lot.

Less expensive - rental in trailer park.



Meth house - any used dwelling used to make meth. An absolute deal-breaker, especially if you have or plan to have kids. Inexpensive properties may have this as a reason for being cheap.

---
Florida -
Florida building codes have become VERY strict due to hurricanes, and insurance - especially windstorm insurance is CRAZY high.

Insurance on a stick-built home to code in south FL will be at least $3K per year with property tax to match.

Having gone through a few hurricanes in FL, it is a rare house that gets through one without damage. Those with major damage become a headache for over a year, as construction crews are over-booked, inspections are slow, and insurance companies a pain. I would never OWN a stick built home in Florida or hurricane country again.

If you examine overall costs, an uninsured used doublewide is actually the best deal. Example - you pay $30K, live in it for 10 years with no insurance - you have saved the $30K right there plus the taxes are lower. Now say a hurricane comes along and damages it beyond repair. You pay to have the remains removed, find another in decent condition, and within a month you are back up and running while homeowners are suffering through construction crews and endless hassles. If there is no hurricane, it is all gravy.

Perhaps now you can see the wisdom of "cheap."

Coming originally from Vermont, where houses are hard to get and are maintained for hundreds of years, I find it odd around here that houses are built for a single generation only and then abandoned. This goes for expensive stick-built homes as well as manufactured housing. There are a couple of large abandoned two story homes near us, and hundreds in the area. It brings home to me that stick-built does not always appreciate in value or even HAVE value over time.

I also own a stick-built south of here that I rent out. If I were to sell it, I might get what I paid for it back in 1982. Do not fall into the speculation trap. If you don't pick an area with growth and money, you are as likely to lose as win - and guaranteed to lose if you are honest and deduct from your "winnings in the real estate game" the costs of taxes, insurance, and maintenance that you have paid over the years you have owned the home.

[Ambereyes]

Originally Posted by Irish Pixie

Was the interest rate and loan length the same as a conventional house? Chances are the interest rate was higher and the loan length shorter. Plus insurance rates tend to be higher, especially in a trailer.

Insurance is relatively inexpensive, less than what we paid in Central Texas. Interest quoted was the same as stick built, didn't ask about length of mortgage as we paid outright for our home.

As to appreciation really not an issue, taxes do not go up and at our ages we will not be moving again.. Have done enough that we have no interest or reason to relocate.

[Irish Pixie]

Originally Posted by Ambereyes

Insurance is relatively inexpensive, less than what we paid in Central Texas. Interest quoted was the same as stick built, didn't ask about length of mortgage as we paid outright for our home.

As to appreciation really not an issue, taxes do not go up and at our ages we will not be moving again.. Have done enough that we have no interest or reason to relocate.

I'm glad it works for you, but most people do use real estate as an investment, and want it to appreciate in value.

If you're not in questionable areas of the country, stick built homes are nearly always a better investment.

My own farm's (log cabin on 115 acres) value has more than doubled in the 15 years we've owned it. A much better rate than any of our other retirement investments.