Is being trailer trash really all that bad?

So it look like my wife and I are going to move from our house this spring/summer. We are using this opportunity to move closer to her parents.

Now the ideal situation would be to buy another house and be done with it, but the area we want to move to still has pretty good property values and we don't think we would be able to find a house that fits our budget.

About 6 miles from her parents there is a newer trailer park... ahem, I mean "manufactured home community" that I started investigating. It's about 10 years old, really clean, quiet, a community center, has about 70 homes and they are still currently adding more. After talking to the sales lady it would seem that I can afford this option.

So tell me about mobile homes... The samples I saw looked a lot nicer than what I remember seeing as a kid - skylights, cathedral ceilings, real shingle roofs, whirlpool tubs and the like. What's the construction like now?

The square footage of a single wide comes to about 1280 sq. feet - about the same as I have now in my house. The only thing I would lose is my basement in which I don't really use anyway and my garage. I could build a new garage on the lot if I desired though and probably would if my long term plans involve staying there for a length of time.

Am I crazy for even thing about this?

first step on the slippery slope......

Crazy people have the most fun.

Are they actual trailers, or are they manufactured homes? Either way, I've seen some really nice ones that don't seem to have any trailer trash.

It's not crazy, MH's are a perfectly legit and viable form of housing. They definitely aren't like they used to be back in the bad ol' 'twist and shake' days, the quality has improved dramatically. My brother used to sell them back then, man the stories... But there are still a few pitfalls.

Numbah one, you will be renting a lot. That means yes there are restrictions on just what you are allowed to do.

Numbah two, MH's depreciate. Rapidly. Meaning just like buying a new car you are upside down the moment you sign on the dotted line. Again like a car, it might not be bad right now but in two years uh oh. Even if you buy a new one for cash with the equity from your house this still means you lose bad.

If you look around, you can usually grab a repo pretty cheap meaning you can get in pretty reasonably and not take a complete bath if you have to move.

Sometimes people buy MH's and put them in a park while they are looking for a piece of property to move it to. That's not a bad deal except for zoning. It's pretty tough to get close to most towns due to that.

Probably your best bet is to ask the park manager if you can rent one. Rentals are pretty common; what usually happens is someone gets in a jam and has to move in a hurry. They don't have the time to sell their MH so the park assumes the loan and then rents it out. That way you can get your feet wet, so to speak.

Does the space rental include the dog(s) and a broken appliance or two for the front yard??

I kid... I kid....

Seriously, I think they can represent decent housing options - you have to make your own judgement about the state of the park but if everything checks out, then why not. Are there any resales in the park to save a few $s and avoid the depreciation hit?

They are tornado magents, you have to grow a mullet and get an old Camaro or Firebird (TransCamaro) and put on blocks out front.

Seriously, have you looked at finance options--MH financing is not like getting a mortgage on a stick built home, especially on a single-wide w/skirts. A double-wide on a foundation may have better terms...

Thanks peeps. The park as I mentioned is pretty nice. There is a mix of trailers and what I think are manufactured houses. They all come in hooked to a truck so I'm not really sure what the difference is between the the two. I am eying up a couple used ones that are 2-3 years old so some of the deprecation is taken by somebody else.

I looked into a couple of rehab houses in the same area and of the 2 that I looked at neither were worth the time or money to me. While I've never been one to shy away from a project, right now I'm looking to do a "maintenance free" thing for awhile. I don't want to paint/lay carpet/hang drywall or install a furnace. I just want to move, drink beer, and spend my summer taking road trips with the wife.

I'm hoping that getting into a new or newer MH might be the answer.

How old is the community? Hang out on a Friday or Saturday night with a 30 pack and see how many people speak English?(if thats your thing) Expect a mobile home to lose 2/3 of its value within minutes of signing the papers.

Marty! wrote: Thanks peeps. The park as I mentioned is pretty nice. There is a mix of trailers and what I think are manufactured houses. They all come in hooked to a truck so I'm not really sure what the difference is between the the two. I am eying up a couple used ones that are 2-3 years old so some of the deprecation is taken by somebody else. I looked into a couple of rehab houses in the same area and of the 2 that I looked at neither were worth the time or money to me. While I've never been one to shy away from a project, right now I'm looking to do a "maintenance free" thing for awhile. I don't want to paint/lay carpet/hang drywall or install a furnace. I just want to move, drink beer, and spend my summer taking road trips with the wife. I'm hoping that getting into a new or newer MH might be the answer.

The difference is the foundation. Parks have moveable homes. Once you put it on a raised slab or basement foundation, it loses the "trailer" moniker and becomes a "home". It can then be considered for a conventional home loan once it is on a permenent foundation and just not sitting on blocks with plastic skirting like in a park.

New MH are often built to full stick-built standards. The noticable differecnes in our 12YO double wide(on full basement)is some of the trim is cheaper. Our sliding glass door is smaller than standard home units, making it VERY hard to find a proper sized replacement. I want to replace the tub faucet and handels, but that means low end trailer-specific peices, or replace the entire tub.

One thing to watch out for in nicer parks is the HOA type rules, like no working on cars ect.

most "parks" aren't car hobby friendly.

Lot rent in Michigan in a mid-class area seems to be about $400-500 per month.

Add the cost of purchasing a decent MH and you might as well be paying a mortgage and being able to use the tax deduction.

I have yet to see a positive to living in a MH in a park. Now, if you owned a few acres of land to put it on first...

Grtechguy wrote: Lot rent in Michigan in a mid-class area seems to be about $400-500 per month. Add the cost of purchasing a decent MH and you might as well be paying a mortgage and being able to use the tax deduction. I have yet to see a positive to living in a MH in a park.......

unless you are about 85 years old and waiting for your appointment with the Grim Reaper.

Our 1st home when I moved to the US was a trailer......that said if you can avoid it, do so at all costs.

Everything in a trailer is built down to a lower standard than the worst stick house.

My .02c

Well, I can't talk about trailers, but manufactured homes can be nice. Those are the ones that come on the back of a huge flatbed, they don't have wheels and do have a foundation.

We had a vacation cottage in the family for a long time that was a MH. When it was new, you would close the door and you'd feel the air pressure change. Pretty impressive build quality.

Speaking as one time trailer trash

Buying or renting?

Rent = OK Buy = crazy.

Trailer financing is the always the first to go and the last to come back. Trailers generally go down in value (location can make a difference there, but it's really the land value going up not the trailer)

Cost to heat & cool significantly higher than stick built for a variety of reasons. Partially it's build quality and partially it's design and HVAC units used.

Outside noise levels are much higher.

Much scarier in a big storm.

Yes, no matter where you put them a tornado does seem to find them.

mtn wrote: Well, I can't talk about trailers, but manufactured homes can be nice. Those are the ones that come on the back of a huge flatbed, they don't have wheels and do have a foundation. We had a vacation cottage in the family for a long time that was a MH. When it was new, you would close the door and you'd feel the air pressure change. Pretty impressive build quality.

Manufactured Homes come on wheels--a trailer and have a Certificate of Origin and a VIN--they are like a vehicle--and are usually considered personal property.

Modular Homes come in pieces on a trailer and are built in a controled, off-site environment and are placed by crane on a foundation; typically they qualify for normal home financing--but are more expensive than manufactured.

Most people get sick after living in a mobile home 6 months or longer. But their doctor doesn't(didn't?) think to check for exposure to formaldehyde. After the FEMA debacle with over 10,000 UNLIVABLE mobile homes (due to chemicals built in - not cleanable and not removable without total rebuild) hundreds of thousands of inhabitants learned what made them and their families sick for the last several decades. The doctors simply treated their symptoms(minor and major), and ignore the cause. If they move then within 2 days moving into a chemical-free house, they are 'mysteriously' CURED of their previous symptoms.

Rent an apartment or buy a condo. I have never lived in one. Actually I have never driven into one. I drove by a few in my day. No way in hell should someone willingly move into one.

This about sums it up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvyTY_oYR_c

I looked at Modular Homes and they have some pretty nice features, but I couldn't drop one onto my existing basement so I never went that route.

I bought Casa del Mofo (Four Seasons 16x80 "single wide" in a decent park) as a one year old repo for $20k. The unit sold for $34k new so I was fine with accepting the remainder of the depreciation under my watch. My loan and lot payment combined are about $550.00 per month for a 1200sf 3 bedroom two bath domicile. I would like a garage, I would like a basement for more storage, I hate mowing the lot my trailer sits on because it IS the largest yard in Kid Rock Acres.

Owning a trailer or manufactured home is what you make of it. I like my neighbors, we have no theft issues. Our park is clean with a lot of kids for the boys to hoon with. The pool and rec center are pretty handy, and I don't spend my week cleaning them. I live close to the highway and I actually LIKE it. It is a little noisy, you do hear the wind and traffic, but it is my intention after paying the box off to sell it for a down payment for a proper house. Yes it will be worth $10-15k when I pay it off and after interest I will have lost more than the asking price for the house to start with but if I paid $550.00 rent to an apartment complex for ten years are they going to give me $10,000 to move out?

Here are my suggestions:

• do not buy older than 10 years old
• do not buy a house that does not have the power or water on when you inspect it, they freeze quicker than a conventional home and the damage can be bad.
• do not buy a house in a community that you are not impressed with.
• do not buy a house with the intention to move it, but it already planted.
• like Miatas, buy the best one you can afford.
• like Miatas, inspect under the "rockers". Pull the skirting and make sure the belly pan is intact and not ripped. It is your primary insulator for the floors and if it is corrupt your heating/cooling costs will be terrible.
• if you buy a trailer there is a neat way to insulate the skirting while still being compliant: attach high R value expanded styrene insulation to the inside of the skirting. It will not be 100% efficient but it will reduce cold in the winter a lot.

As trailer park trash I can say I am happy I did not buy into the pre crash mortgage rush like others did. I was approved for a house with a $1000+/mo payment and was considering pulling the trigger when we decided to be more conservative with our spending. It was the best move I could have made by far. Put me in the +1 category for purchasing one.

John Brown there's just one itty bitty fly in your ointment - will you be able to sell your trailer when you decide to move? That's not always a given.

1) There's a much smaller market for trailers. You have a much smaller buyer pool

2) Financing for trailers isn't always available. If financing isn't available then you can't sell.

Are you in a trailer park where you own the land? What happens if the park closes.

A trailer park is like a condo, the actions of the park (HOA in the case of a condo) and the actions of your neighbor determine IF financing is available for your particular park (condo). So even if financing is available, it might not be available for your property.

I grew up in trailers, I know friends in trailers and I do home loans. Trailers & manufactured housing are the worst idea for homeownership you can imagine. (condos are the second worst) Renting is different subject.

I know someone who lives in a t-park, everything was fine till the park owners sold, now her expenses went up 700/month, just like that. Can't sell, can't move, danger will robinson.