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

[speckledhen]

Modular has better resale value. They are stick built in panels and transported to the location. A manufactured home is basically considered a vehicle with a title unless something has changed from when I was a realtor. If I had a choice, I'd go with modular, no question. Mobiles always look like mobiles to me, no matter how upscale they make them but lots of people live in them. They don't last well.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Buying empty land an having someone build is cheeper an better in the long run. You pay both in money an quality for wanting it right now.

 

[Spookwriter]

Housing choices will always come back to what a person can afford.

Mobile homes being the cheapest thing next to a tent.

In my area the Amish can throw you a simple stick built, unfinished three bedroom
for the $15,000 range. They don't do electric or plumbing but they will come back
and finish the drywall. Of course, that's only basic with no upgrades. But it is a stick
house and you can move in pretty quick...about two-three weeks, start to finish.

Mobile homes...I favor the repo option. Cheap. Might have to do some repair, but did
I mention it's cheap? Quick easy rentals.

Double wides? Never knew one to hold its value.

Modular home? I bet you can stick build cheaper.

 

[carolinagirl58]

I dont know how handy you are, but have you thought about living in a single wide and building your own house? I have done that 3 times now. My DH and I knew nothing about house building on our first one. We had just lost our single-wide to a fire and so we started building our own house on our 6 acres of land. A disabled retired builder helped us by telling us how to do stuff and we learned as we went. We were just 21 years old when we started that first house. We lived in it for a while but wanted more land, so we bought 28 acres and moved into another trailer (this time with two kids) and started building again. We eventually sold that house and 3 acres of land with it and moved into yet another trailer and started our 3rd and last house. We moved in 2 years ago after spending 6 years building it. We will be debt free at the end of this year. It's hard work building your own home, but it is certainly something that can be done! You would be amazed at how much money you can save by doing it yourself.

If you do go the mobile home route and don't plan for it to be a permanent home, you are far better off with a single wide. They are much cheaper and much easier to re-sell. My daughter got a 16x80 repo that was only a year old for $17,000. My son paid 3 times that for a new double wide that was only a little larger!

 

[Judy]

Repo mobile is undoubtedly the cheapest, modular the most likely to have some resale value down the road. Mobiles improve every year, even have house type drywall finishing without the seams now, and certainly can be painted inside, I've painted everything in one at one time or another. In Florida, though, whatever you do, look into the insurance and zoning and flood plain stuff first, for sure.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Buying off a repo lot is still paying to much. When a trailer goes under with the bank they stick a red sticker on the door. You call the number on the sticker an make a bid. Thats how the repo lots get them. They go for cheep. My brother bought his almost new 32 by 60 double wide for $10K. Probably could have got it cheeper but thats what he bid.

 

[Duker17]

We live in a 2200 sq ft modular with a partial basement basement on 13 acres, and had we not gotten it for a steal as a foreclosure, I would have never bought one. EVERYTHING in it is the cheapest of the cheap and could stand to be replaced. It is 12 years old but needs new carpet, new roof, new plumbing, new cabinets, new furnace/ac, basically everything you can imagine. But in the other hand, we have more room than we could have ever afforded buying a conventional stick-built home. I think the oddest thing about our house though, is where the placed the light switches. Who puts a bathroom light switch BEHIND the door?! It's just plain weird...and all of the other switches are on the opposite side of the room than you enter.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

lol they probably put the switches where it would take the least amount of copper to run them. I have a room that has a door that swings the wrong way an you have to reach around it to turn the light on.

 

[speckledhen]

If I had a choice, I wouldn't take either one, but have one built from the ground up.

 

[texasdixiechick]

I'm sorry to say that mosts of the posts on this subject are incorrect. Here's the difference between a manufactured home and a modular home. A manufactured home is built according to the HUD code. When reselling, it has to be compared to other manufactured homes to come up with an appraisal. Just like stick built homes, some manufactured homes are better than others. It depends on the manufacturer. It is true that manufactured homes do depreciate in value. However, they are a viable option for many people. I have customers that have lived in Manufactured Homes for 25 years and trade them in to get a new home. In the country, this is quite common. If you take care of them and they are a well built home, they can last just as long as a stick built home. If you don't take care of them, they won't last long but neither does a stick built home. I am a former realtor and have seen many stick built homes that are falling down. Why? Neglect by the homeowner. My husband and I have owned 3 stick built homes ranging in price from $100,000 to $275,000. Some were built better than others. We are now in our late 50's and plan to purchase a manufactured home in the next 6 months. Why?

1. We have family land
2. We want something that we can get in quickly rather than being built
3. To have a quality home built, you will pay @$120 per sq. foot minimum. A MH cost considerably less than that
4. We are not planning on selling the home, so who cares if it depreciates?
5. Thanks to this economy, our age, etc., we are not willing to spend everything we have to have a roof over our head. We want something we can afford in our old age
6. My company offers a 7 year warranty on our homes. I do not know of any site built homebuilder that will offer a 7 year warranty.


If you are not planning on selling your home for a long time, a manufactured home may be a good option. The financing for a manufactured home is easier to obtain these days than stick built homes. If you like the freedom of living in your own home with some land, in this economy, a MH may be a good investment. You can always rent it out later. Manufactured Home dealers have finance companies they deal with. People that are turned down for stick built homes b/c of their credit, etc. come to us and we put them in homes every single day.

Now for modulars. Modular homes are built according to an IRC code (International Residential Code). They have more lumber and they are placed on a concrete slab. The home is built in modules and then transported and placed on the slab. The only reason you would want to buy a Modular Home is if you want to put it in a neighborhood or subdivision with other site built homes. When reselling a Modular home, it must be compared with other site built homes because it is a site built home. Modular homes do hold their value better than Manufactured Homes.

I am a salesperson for a manufactured/modular home builder. That is why I know about them and how they are constructed. There are some Manufactured Homes that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole because I know the manufacturer. Like I said, we are purchasing one from my company so I must feel comfortable with it. You can get some beautiful homes with tape and texture, etc. The important thing is how they are constructed and the materials used - not the cosmetics. With regards to hurricanes and tornadoes, many site built homes cannot withstand the winds of those storms. Our homes are built according to Wind Zone standards. In Texas, 95% of homes are built for Wind Zone I, which states that the home must be able to withstand winds of 120 mph. If greater than 120 mph winds are frequent where you live, you can have the home built to a Wind Zone II or III.

I have a blog on this very subject, if any of you are interested, pm me and I'll give you the link. My latest blog has to do with what to ask a Manufactured Home builder when shopping for a Manufactured Home and what to look for.