Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'd only advise buying a mobile home made in 1995 or later. There were some changes to HUD's manufactured/mobile home building code in late 1994 that really increased the construction standards for them both in terms of energy efficiency and sturdiness.
I'm in college and live in a mobile home and love it. While local apartments cost $500+/month, my itty bitty $#itty trailer costs only $225, including lot rent. I'm going to college in the middle of nowhere, fyi, if you're wondering what's up with these prices.
Once I finish college I'll of course continue to rent until I find a job, and probably for at least the first two years after I work steadily, too. I've long believed that buying a conventional house would be too far out of my reach, regardless of whether I ended up making $20k a year or if I got lucky and landed a job making $45k that actually uses my degree. Buying a ritzy home is a huge investment, and it isn't liquid. Worst of all (imho), you have the dreaded mortgage payment. Anything over 1,200 square feet is way more space than I need, and almost all trailers come with at least 2 bedrooms in the event I end up with another member in the household (or needed to make a quick buck in renting a room).
Since I'll be graduating debt-free (woooooot!), I'm considering, once I have a solid job after graduation, saving $100/month towards buying a decent single-wide, or more if my budget can manage. I'm lucky that I haven't had any problems with my trailer thusfar (minus the sagging roof it had before I moved in). I'd estimate its street value to be maybe $2k; it's a 2/1 1980 12x42 and needs a new roof. That said, other than living in a trailer now I have no experience with them.
Even though they're dirt cheap, can a <30-year-old, <$10k single-wide potentially become a good investment for a frugal person like me? Or should I just buckle down and risk it all on some high-priced house with a $100k mortgage and property taxes?
Advice from anyone with experience with mobile homes would definitely be appreciated. I'm totally fine with the stigma that comes with living in a trailer park, but I don't want to invest in a form of housing that will nickle-and-dime me to death.
Thoughts?
Thanks
We live in a mobile home that we bought for $7500. It is 14X56 with 2 bedroom and one bath. I would have liked it to have been a little larger because we moved here from a three bedroom and there was just a whole lot of stuff left over. LOL
Anyway, the mobile home is an 1989 and was in *amazing* condition when we bought it. It had been owned as a vacation property by an elderly couple, so it had only really been lived in a handful of years.
The carpet is cheap and should be replaced (someday), and we did have to have some work done on the air conditioning system because there was a refrigerant leak. And we had to replace the thermostat in the hot water heater.
Other than that, everything has been fine and we are quite happy living here. Buying an inexpensive home as an option allows us to live without a mortgage or rent which was our objective. Our philosophy is that a house is where you eat, sleep and go to the bathroom. We are not social people who "entertain" or any of the other reasons why you, supposedly, need a big, fancy house with a big fancy payment.
If you have a simple, frugal lifestyle, that just might be the option for you.
Even though they're dirt cheap, can a <30-year-old, <$10k single-wide potentially become a good investment for a frugal person like me? Or should I just buckle down and risk it all on some high-priced house with a $100k mortgage and property taxes?
Advice from anyone with experience with mobile homes would definitely be appreciated. I'm totally fine with the stigma that comes with living in a trailer park, but I don't want to invest in a form of housing that will nickle-and-dime me to death.
Thoughts?
In my first two years out of college, I was living in sleeping rooms for $150 month and changing rooms every 6-8 months. Kind of a lousy existence but an effective way to pay off all of my student loans and car loans. By the time, I was married at 25, we owned two cars outright and had no debt.
If you view it as an expense as opposed to an investment, go for it. Pay cash. Fix up the trailer and when you are ready to sell, you might get most of the money back.
Alamosakid (Can I assume that you are at Adams State?), why don't you fill in everyone on how you were able to get through school DEBT FREE?? That is what inquiring minds need to know.
I started out in a cheap older mobile home as my first owned place (paid cash for it) and it allowed me to save 50% of my earnings which is what I recommend to you. After a year I had enough for the downpayment on a construction loan to built my first house, at age 20. Later on I bought a condemned huge older house (for cash) and rebuilt it into a new three family to live in rent free with income so I had an essentially risk free base to start a succesful other business from scratch. It's a good idea to build up this way.
I currently live in an older mobile, essentially a double wide because of side addition, with four bedrooms for my retirement. Not particularly what I had planned in life, but I love the convenience of it. I have improved it only to the point that it fits my standards and not to exceed what I could get out of it, but have furnished it with brand new furniture which could be moved elsewhere instead. I have had the roof coated, and it was rewired before i bought it (something i recommend with any previously owned home), and it could use new windows for better energy efficiency. They can serve a purpose.
I can dig that! I'm hoping to purchase a Manufactured home and 10 acres in the very very near future. I put my bid and lets home no one else out bids me.
I think the trick to enjoying a trailer will all depend on where you have to park it. If you have a piece of land or can afford a nice park....then all is well and you'll be very comfortable and happy. If you have to park it in a cheaper park....that is when you'll end up with neighbors you may not want to live around. 'Trailer Trash' is a phrase for a reason. (I can say that because I have lived in several trailers during my lifetime.)
Personally, I happen to like trailers. You can get a whole lot for your money. It's the lot rent that can eat you up.
In my first two years out of college, I was living in sleeping rooms for $150 month and changing rooms every 6-8 months. Kind of a lousy existence but an effective way to pay off all of my student loans and car loans. By the time, I was married at 25, we owned two cars outright and had no debt.
If you view it as an expense as opposed to an investment, go for it. Pay cash. Fix up the trailer and when you are ready to sell, you might get most of the money back.
Alamosakid (Can I assume that you are at Adams State?), why don't you fill in everyone on how you were able to get through school DEBT FREE?? That is what inquiring minds need to know.
Sorry for the late reply; absolutely.
Scholarships! I'm from Detroit but because my dad lives out here in Alamosa in the sticks, I qualified for in-state tuition. It was cheaper for me to go here than to go to Berea College, another college I heartily considered that is FREE minus room and board.
So, I just worked my ass off and sent out tons and tons of scholarships apps. I was blessed with the ability to write, I have great recs, and I have a f*ked up life story that seems to knot everyone's heart up and thus received a whole ton of scholarship cash. Hell, I even had so much scholarship money this year that I went to Uganda for a semester on the house, including airfare!
I would strongly suggest you look into a book titled "Deals On Wheels" (don't buy it new, look online and you can probably find it for a few $) and hang out at some real estate investment websites. (PM me for a couple of suggestions if you need to).
I know people who have gotten (moderately) rich doing what are called "Lonnie deals" (Lonnie is the guy who literally "wrote the book"), but like any other investment the REAL MONEY IS MADE WHEN YOU BUY, not when you sell.
Thanks! I'm looking into it
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
