Mobile homes & Modular..... what types are the best for the money

Looking at all different options before deciding where we want to move. Looking for 20 plus acres and it can be hard to find a house already on it, so I'd thought I'd ask you all out there with experience living in these. I have always had a standard frame house, this home we are fixing to sell being my first as an adult. Give me the good, the bad and the watch out for's ...

I have looked at modulars alot and they seemed to be a whole lot better than mobile homes. My only problem is that they seem to have gone up so much that now you could build for what they cost.

Best for the money? Guess it depends on a persons needs and wants.
And of course, the amount of money you're talking.

Each style of housing has its good points and bad points.

The real answer is what will take to satisfy you?

I live in a double wide palace...problem is they depreciate in value and are not great investments. The right style and builder makes a lot of difference not all are created equal...we have a solitaire and love it. Bought used, set-up, in town...for the money we couldn't have gotten anything close to what we have in a regular stick house...there are issues that can get irritating about loans and insurance and such...but everything is paid off now and we really like it

Florida and hurricanes go hand in hand. Would you feel safe in a mobile during a hurricane?

The problem with many modular homes is that they are nothing but mobile homes minus the wheels. A lot of mobile home builders are calling the homes they make "modular" to try to give them more prestige. But they are still mobile homes. Now there are REAL modular homes that are exactly the same as regular houses, even as far as holding their value. They look like regular homes, have all the same features (real wood floors, granite counter tops, wood trim, real drywall, etc). They are brought in on flat-bed trucks and assembled. Some of these homes are multi-levels too. The "modular" homes that come in two halves....14' to 16' wide and the halves are joined...those for the most part are really mobile homes and they will depreciate in value, no matter what the sales guy tries to say. Mobile home salesmen are just like car salesmen (sorry if i offended anyone with that comment...lol). They will tell you what they think you want to hear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular_home This link explains the difference

There are also some mobile homes out there that are nearly as nice as real houses. I think Palm Harbor makes a line of them. But man are they expensive!! You can buy a regular house for what they cost. If you are looking for a "forever home" and don't care about the investment (or the depreciation) and want something fast, a mobile home is a pretty good way to go. Just be aware that you will probably never get your money back out of it. It's nearly impossible to sell a used double-wide. I know a guy who lived in a double-wide for the 10 years it took to build his house. When he tried to sell it, he had to pay it off and pay someone to take it.

I have lived in mobile homes off and on for years, while we built our own houses. We are finally in our forever home though, so no more mobile homes for me. But I can share some of my experience with you.

I guess my best advise is don't buy a new one. The depecration is just too great. Get one that's a couple of years old. Plan on remodeling it. The kitchen cabinets in every mobile home I have ever seen are very low end. You can replace them cheaply with IKEA cabinets. The plumbing fixtures and door hardware are often (usually) very low end as well. You may have problems if you need to replace any electrical switchs or outlets...often they are made specifically for mobile homes and you have to buy replacements at mobile home supply places. Trim...you usually can't paint it because it's not wood or even mdf. It's almost cardboard with a plastic laminate on it, so paint won't stick. It's cheap enough to replace trim and it makes the place look a million times better. The carpet is usually as low end as you can get. That can be upgraded too. The interior doors probably won't be standard sized so replacing them with regular doors may not be possible.

Whatever you do, do your homework and don't buy the first thing you see.

Are you going to need a mortgage? Some mortgage companies won't lend on mobile homes.

A true modular home has to meet the same building code requirements as a "stick-built" home, so most lenders treat them the same way as a standard house.

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Very true. The problem is that many mobile home dealers call what they sell "modular homes", even though they really aren't. The best way to tell for sure is look under it. If it has a non-removable steel chassis, it's a mobile home. If it's framed up, then it's modular.

Being as your location states Florida, I'd have to question whether you could get insurance on a mobile, may be available, may not also depends on the time of year. Once a storm gets named, forget it even for a stick built, been there done that. I know there are a lot of mobiles in Florida but theres quite a few that have no insurance on them. Something to check into that you may not have thought too much about at this point.

I currently live in a Modular home mine is a Mascot brand, and also own a single wide its a fleetwood. My windows are awful I hate them, wish I could replace them but not in the budget. We bought it 2nd hand, and the bank (BOA) treats this house like a regular stick built. It has normal drywall except in the bathrooms and kitchen.

Think about all the issues to your location and make sure the property you are looking at doesn't Flood. We had a house in Fl, nothing in the flood plain, but the way the neighbors had graded their property and the way that property was graded, left me with a lake when it rained more than 2". when its knee deep to a 16.1hand Thoroughbred its deep to me. My minis almost had to swim, and several times I had to move them to a friends.




Karen

My house is modular.....It was trucked onto my lot in two pieces...(front and back), placed on a foundation that has a full basement. We paid extra for a higher roof pitch so that we also have an upstairs with a bedroom and attic space.

We did look at mobile homes, and I liked the modular better because you don't see the seams in the walls and such......The thing with the modular homes is, once placed onto your lot, nobody would even know they weren't built onsite unless you told them.

They're very sturdy, and that's because they usually have about 30% more building materials because they have to be strong in order to be transported. I love my house.

I would probably love a mobile home too though.......Some of those are beautiful now-a-days! Very fancy.