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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Own the home
Own the lot
= not a bad investment
or buy / bring your home to a ROC (resident owned community).
I have seen the great value in ROC's as the home value INCREASES tremendously in many cases. We have a ROC in town that is 40 yrs old, the homes go for increased sales prices, as the space rent (deductible joint ownership costs for the ENTIRE park) continues to decline as debt is serviced. Homes are about 40% more valuable and equivalent space lease is 20% of neighboring parks.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,714 posts, read 58,054,000 times
Reputation: 46185
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerseygal4u
If someone plans on staying in the mobile home they bought at 20 yrs of age and stay there throughout their lifetime,are they still considered bad investments?
plan B and C for frugal MH 'investors'...
if on your own land... (and allowed by code)
Put a pole barn roof over it
Get a 'older model' (Aluminum siding is FAR more durable than Particle board / LP siding)
Windows (new) are one of the BEST upgrades, local utility may offer rebate or financing + Fed tax credit is possible ~ $60 a piece when on sale (I prefer Vinyl to metal or wood frames)
If plumbed in Galvanized Pipe... replace with PEX style to prevent freezing.
Be cautious of wiring. some MH and houses were wired with aluminum. Replace that stuff.
Option...Build a shop / pole barn next to MH, with a bathroom and laundry. (and indoor space to play / hobby).
Add RV hook-ups (rent space to friend, or host guests)
I have renters that comment how cozy the MH is. (in 80mph + winds).
My BEST investments... Trashed MH on beautiful acreage with NICE view. Water well, septic, road, power, grading ALL done (will cost you $100k to do all this in a challenging area / high cost). I never pay more than $75k for the whole package. (property and MH). You can demolish and recycle the home in a weekend. You can pick up a repo, or new home that the buyers backed out of deal (VERY cheap).
Get a 'older model' (Aluminum siding is FAR more durable than Particle board / LP siding)
Windows (new) are one of the BEST upgrades, local utility may offer rebate or financing + Fed tax credit is possible ~ $60 a piece when on sale (I prefer Vinyl to metal or wood frames)
If plumbed in Galvanized Pipe... replace with PEX style to prevent freezing.
Be cautious of wiring. some MH and houses were wired with aluminum. Replace that stuff.
Option...Build a shop / pole barn next to MH, with a bathroom and laundry. (and indoor space to play / hobby).
Add RV hook-ups (rent space to friend, or host guests)
I have renters that comment how cozy the MH is. (in 80mph + winds).
My BEST investments... Trashed MH on beautiful acreage with NICE view. Water well, septic, road, power, grading ALL done (will cost you $100k to do all this in a challenging area / high cost). I never pay more than $75k for the whole package. (property and MH). You can demolish and recycle the home in a weekend. You can pick up a repo, or new home that the buyers backed out of deal (VERY cheap).
Interesting perspective.
And I'll second that 'pole barn roof' idea. I grew up in Deepest Darkest Appalachia where trailers were as common as houses... so I've lived in and been around a few. On older models, it's a real pain to keep the roof from leaking. At one point my friend's dad got tired of fighting that battle, and just built a 'pole barn roof' over the top of their trailer. Not only did it work well- it's still there and still lived in. That was 25-ish years ago.
Pole barn roof is very common in particularly North Georgia, where it rains a lot. Not only keeps water off a leaky roof, it keeps the trailer cooler if it gets direct sun, and just like garaging a car keeps it in better shape.
I have to agree with most here- a trailer on a rented lot is no investment. You are better off to rent an apartment. But a used trailer bought cheap and put on your own land as a temporary home while you build a "real" house, maybe building it yourself or at least having more time to build it - that can be a good idea.
A good friend's parents bought a mobile home for the family to live within about 30 years ago. It was very affordable and in an upscale mobile home community. Seemed like a heck of a deal. They are still there and when they looked into moving, they realized their home was worth nearly nothing due to the age (unlike a house, their mint-condition looking mobile home has gone from ~$45k to just ~$15k in value). Additionally the cost of moving the trailer was quoted as high enough to be a deterrent. They thus cannot afford to move right now (until their kids can afford to buy a place for them).
Aside from that their home has very little insulation (thin walls = ridiculously high energy costs) and renting their lot all these years hasn't gotten cheaper (rent goes up annually).
Overall, the trailer seemed like a good idea initially when it was shiny and new and the family needed an affordable place to live somewhere safe, but over time the truth became more apparent. Family members who bought tiny homes nearby in old neighborhoods 30 years ago now have cheaper bills and property to pass onto their children (or to sell).
A good friend's parents bought a mobile home for the family to live within about 30 years ago. It was very affordable and in an upscale mobile home community. Seemed like a heck of a deal. They are still there and when they looked into moving, they realized their home was worth nearly nothing due to the age (unlike a house, their mint-condition looking mobile home has gone from ~$45k to just ~$15k in value). Additionally the cost of moving the trailer was quoted as high enough to be a deterrent. They thus cannot afford to move right now (until their kids can afford to buy a place for them).
Aside from that their home has very little insulation (thin walls = ridiculously high energy costs) and renting their lot all these years hasn't gotten cheaper (rent goes up annually).
Overall, the trailer seemed like a good idea initially when it was shiny and new and the family needed an affordable place to live somewhere safe, but over time the truth became more apparent. Family members who bought tiny homes nearby in old neighborhoods 30 years ago now have cheaper bills and property to pass onto their children (or to sell).
True that. Buying a new mobile home on a rented lot is pretty much always a bad long-term investment.
We have a 3 year old very nice manufactured home, in a community. We bought it thinking it would help our credit, and it did. Unfortunately we will be paying about 16k out of pocket to sell it. Didn't really know we would be in such a terrible position when we decided to buy it.
If it's on land, and it's new, might as well get a stick built IMO.
Back in the day, a cheap used MH let us get my H through school without going into debt. We paid 2K for the home and it was in awful condition. Utilities are no bargain in a MH. You will bake in the summer and freeze all winter. And we had no insurance!
If you buy with the idea that it's trash when you leave, you won't be disappointed. Don't expect one of these set ups to be sellable or appreciate at all!
A good friend's parents bought a mobile home for the family to live within about 30 years ago. It was very affordable and in an upscale mobile home community. Seemed like a heck of a deal. They are still there and when they looked into moving, they realized their home was worth nearly nothing due to the age (unlike a house, their mint-condition looking mobile home has gone from ~$45k to just ~$15k in value).
When you think about it, things could be worse. They essentially paid $55k ($45k = ~$70k in 2015 dollars) for a place to live in for 30 years. That's ~$1800/year. Even with maintenance, I'm sure they came out ahead compared to renting. If they want to move, their best bet may be renting the mobile home...a lot of families would rather rent a mobile compared to being packed into an apartment complex with wild kids running around everywhere.
When you think about it, things could be worse. They essentially paid $55k ($45k = ~$70k in 2015 dollars) for a place to live in for 30 years. That's ~$1800/year. Even with maintenance, I'm sure they came out ahead compared to renting. If they want to move, their best bet may be renting the mobile home...a lot of families would rather rent a mobile compared to being packed into an apartment complex with wild kids running around everywhere.
I'm not sure they came out better than renting. After all, they had to rent the space, and the space rent went up. And they had to pay their own repairs. And their utilities were likely higher than an apartment's would be (Apt. buildings are more energy efficient than free standing homes. Doubly true for mobile homes).
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