moving a mobile home i already own to newly purchased land, am i nuts?

My wife and I own a 1989 mobile home outright, but we don't own the land that it sits on. I want to buy a plot of land and build on it later. The cost of moving the mobile home we have now would most likely cost more than what the thing is worth, plus the thousands of dollars we would mortgage for the land to move the house onto.

We aren't paying rent and our bills are reasonable, but I cannot explain to you how badly I want to own the dirt I live on. Grow a garden, build a house, build a garage, etc.

This isn't anything short term, just me daydreaming. I want land where I can raise chickens and a garden and do drunken donuts in my huge backyard if the mood hits me right. You know, the GRM dream.

I can't respond to the mechanics of answering your question, but I can answer the actual question:

No, you are not at all nuts. If this is your dream, and you can find a way to accomplish it, go for it!

Sounds like you could buy the land you want and stay in your current location if your finances allow. Slowly build your dream house or put a new modular home on it. Rent out your current trailer after new place is live able and make some extra income. I wish I lived in an area where I could buy acreage for cheap and put a nice manufactured home on.

Another option would be to rent/sell your current place. Finance acreage and install water/sewage. Buy a large fifth wheel camper to live in until new dwelling is ready.

I assume you lease the land your trailer is on? Just seems like moving your current home on wheels is way, way more hassle than it's worth.

My grandparents did just that in building their hunting camp in the woods up north, except they got the home for cheap back in the early 80s (60s model I think, conveniently already set up with ammonia fridge and gas lamps), and had a 3/4 ton IH pickup they used to tow it up there. Later they built an addition onto it and a real roof over it too I think. Still standing AFAIK, haven't been up there to see in a decade though.

Moving a mobile home is a PIA but not as expensive as you might think. Put the job out for bid and see how much it cost.

Or like was posted just keep living in you current home and build/ install a home on your land as you have time and money. What ever you do don't rush this, you may berkeley yourself. Hard.

In reply to BoostedBrandon: It is always a good thing to own dirt. Can your mobile be sold on its current site? If so, you might be ahead by selling it and adding the the cash the moving would cost and upgrading the mobile home for the same money.

How far is it? My Bro-in-Law moved one behind a tractor, down Main St. to the new land he bought once.

Before mobiles and modulars became the devil here, my wife and I looked into a land/home package with a modular builder. Basically you buy the land and home with a construction loan (can be a bit higher in interest), then refi to a permanent loan (generally lower interest), when the home is complete. Not currently paying rent will cause sticker shock though, but you get a new home on your own land under one payment. Check out county tax sales or foreclosures for raw land. You may find a parcel that you can pay cash for (or small loan).

Check your local laws. Here on the coast, if the home is built before a certain year, I want to say mid 90s, you can't move it. This has to do with wind load and impact requirements. Older homes don't meet the requirements.

Moving a mobile home is easy for the people who do it all the time. My ex FIL moved a double wide from Georgia to Kentucky when he retired and stuck it on 5 acres just because it was unsellable in the trailer park where he had it down there. For the cost of 5 acres in the country, a cinder block foundation and a few other odds and ends he sold it for 100K. You can do this and enjoy your new life maintaining property. (mowing, painting, mending fence, etc)

I left out an important part of the story.

This trailer belonged to my grandfather, and upon his death about four years ago, my mom got the trailer, but my uncle, who inherited the rest of the farm, refused to separate the land the trailer sits on from the rest of the farm. A few years ago, my other uncle put a trailer on another piece of the farm, and my grandfather deeded it off to him.

Well, later on he winds up moving and my sister buys that place, she runs into financial troubles during the Great Recession and gets foreclosed on. My uncle was worried about someone who isn't family moving in (they're weird)

I think maybe, he's concerned that in the event that my wife and I were to divorce, that I may lose the house and another piece of the farm is taken from the family. I really don't know, and I don't have a big problem with it, he doesn't charge us rent for the land and doesn't really care if I have bonfires and such, so long as I keep the grass mowed and keep the place looking halfway decent. My mom actually owns the house on paper, but she doesn't charge us any rent and we can do whatever we want here, so we might as well own the place outright (I was in a hurry when I posted the OP)

I doubt I can sell it to anyone except family. We've lived here almost four years and my aunt won't come in because "it just hurts too much." We've painted walls and put in flooring and updated several things, but it isn't like it was when my grandparents lived here, so unless I sell it to a cousin, selling it is off the table.

I've wanted to buy a piece of land and build on it slowly over time, this idea had just hit me, so I decided to ask the peanut gallery.

I'd buddy up with your uncle and see if you can't make a deal for an acre or 2. There are legal protections he can include in the deed so in the event something unfortunate happens, he gets "dibs". That would involve the help of an attorney though.

If you have been living rent-free for for that amount of time you should have been socking away money to buy your own place.