Manufactured Homes

HDRchampion

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Has anyone ever lived in one or better yet bought one brand new? Care to share your experience on the dos & donts.

We kind of enjoyed the glamping thing so much, i want to buy some land near a lake & put one of these manufactured homes. Prices seem pretty nice, like around $150,000 or less. I really dont want to spend too much on something that we are not going to live year round. Maybe even make money out of it as vacation rental.

Or am I better off just getting a stick built home?

*edit*
To answer, yes i will put some of my statues in this home.
 

evil wasabi

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Never stayed in one, but it seems like a shit idea when I think about it. Maybe I have the wrong idea, but one good rain and your home will float off into the water.
 

Craig

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I saw one that was a two story that showed up on 3 tractor trailers. they installed them with a crane and by the time they put the siding on it you couldn't tell it was prefab'd.
 

NeoSneth

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The main negative is they depreciate like vehicles. A house typically doesnt.

John oliver just covered this topic.

 

Craig

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Wait are we talking about trailer homes or the pre-manufactured ones that just get assembled on site?
 

HDRchampion

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Wait are we talking about trailer homes or the pre-manufactured ones that just get assembled on site?

Damn looks like there are different types, i just assume manufactured homes, modular homes, mobile homes, trailer homes were consider the same. The one im looking into are modular homes.

Im a little worried about the deprecation factor. Im reading modulars do & dont, so probably would need to do more research. The others most definitely do depreciate which is kind of surprising.
 

norton9478

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Modulars don't generally depreciate. But then again, they don't generally appreciate like a stick-built. An issue with modulars is style. Older modulars have a dated, factory-made look so that has hurt the appreciation. Modern modulars have an updated look but who knows if it will be in style 30 years from now.

Then again, I think a lot of the modern cookie cutter McMansions are a "Bad Investment" as they will have a dated look and the workmanship on them will reveal issues over time.

I've also seen double-wide homes on a concrete foundation (basement) command decent money. Not quite as much as similar sq footage houses in the same area, but not nearly as low as "Trailer" prices. One factor to the depreciation of [non fixed foundation] trailers is lack of ability to get a proper mortgage (even a 15 year one). Most lenders don't want to finance them because they "depreciate" but that also contributes to the poor market. It is hard to sell something that can't be financed (see also salvage title cars/trucks). There is a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy going on.


In my book, any house that you don't live in or rent out is a bad/risky investment. Even if they appreciate in cost, you still have upkeep and taxes. By the time my modular home is "Paid Off", I will have paid about the same in taxes as it is worth currently.

If you are looking for a vacation home in a rural setting, I would consider buying/building a cabin. Or one of those "Tiny Houses". Or you could buy a used single-wide trailer that has already depreciated.
 
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norton9478

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The main negative is they depreciate like vehicles. A house typically doesnt.

John oliver just covered this topic.


If you don't own the land under you, you don't own squat. That is why I'll never buy a trailer on a lot, an apartment or a co-op.
 

Lastblade

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You don't really own any land, the government does.
 

WoodyXP

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A trailer home will serve you well if all you're going to do is "glamp". I strongly advise you don't make a trailer your primary home, though. I've lived in a couple and now that I've lived in larger homes I don't think I could ever go back.

You should be able to get a single for under $30K and that'll do you for some glamping. Just make sure to do your homework on the manufacturers and their product lines since theres some really shitty ones out there. And before you take receipt of one, make sure you check the frame underneath. A bent frame can cause you some issues, like sagging floors, cracks in the walls, etc. The delivery guys will just drop it off and hook it up, they don't care what shape its in.
 

Cylotron

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Most mobile home parks are 55+, but there's actually several around San Diego county that are "all ages". One of my friends purchased one in a park a few blocks from the beach about 10 years ago for around $50k. I noticed that homes in that park currently average around $200k. You don't own the land unfortunately, but I believe the monthly rent where she is is around $300. That's at least cheaper then the $1,200+ for a studio apartment.
 

Dochartaigh

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My entire family has had mobile homes at a campground by the Jersey shore since maybe 1945 or so. Started off with tents, then pop-up trailers, then regular trailers, and now everybody has upgraded to "Park Models". Those are wider than a trailer, but not quite a double wide. Something half way decent starts at maybe $50k (cheap $30k, and there's deluxe models too). Ours has a kitchen (which is nearly the same size as the one in my 2000sf house), a living room (big enough for a 3-seater couch and a loveseat), bathroom, and a bedroom with a full size bed – also have a nice screenroom the same size as the entire trailer which effectively doubles the livable space (in nice weather - we only use this spring/summer/fall). Other family members' park models have 2 bedrooms and even a short 2nd story loft - some have side areas which expand out (big enough for a 3-seater couch or a smaller kitchen table).

If you have $150k to blow though, I would definitely look for a small cottage somewhere. True modular homes (the type put up with a crane like mentioned) can actually be extremely nice now though - you can't even tell they're modular homes with the right ones. I went to several open houses for them when I was looking for a house of my own and there wasn't really a difference from a 'regular' house.
 

LoneSage

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norton what is it you have against McMansions? I went to one in a gated neighborhood and thought it was fantastic. Lots of space, three floors, quite nice.
 

norton9478

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I went to one in a gated neighborhood .

What are you trolling me?

Seriously, my post there didn't have anything to do with my actual hate of McMansions. It had more to do with the economics regarding their reliance on contemporary design aesthetics, high cost, low cost materials and notoriously poor workmanship. It's like a KJP consolization only with worse workmanship (where as KJP's is acceptable most of the time). When they are in HOA's/Gated Communities, it makes them all the more expensive.

I see it all the time, people buy those things and become "House Poor". People with good jobs that can't keep up with the mortgage,The HOA fees, the taxes (especially now that the trump administration has punished my state for not leaching from the federal government), the repairs, filling one with furniture/fittings/furnishings/drapery/etc.

These people have the worst fucking yard sales (when the HOA lets them). They never have anything good because they are up to debt and can't afford anything other than Starbucks coffee, junk ikea furniture and streaming services. It used to be that you could hit yard sales in rich neighborhoods and find good shit. People dumping media, designer clothes, Quality furniture/furnishings, Interesting artwork, high end electronics and being glad to get rid of it. But the more expensive HOA's are the pits and the shits for yard sales unless you like overused toys, broken Ikea and old Keruing coffee makers.
 
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wyo

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What are you trolling me?

Seriously, my post there didn't have anything to do with my actual hate of McMansions. It had more to do with the economics regarding their reliance on contemporary design aesthetics, high cost, low cost materials and notoriously poor workmanship. It's like a KJP consolization only with worse workmanship (where as KJP's is acceptable most of the time). When they are in HOA's/Gated Communities, it makes them all the more expensive.

I see it all the time, people buy those things and become "House Poor". People with good jobs that can't keep up with the mortgage,The HOA fees, the taxes (especially now that the trump administration has punished my state for not leaching from the federal government), the repairs, filling one with furniture/fittings/furnishings/drapery/etc.

These people have the worst fucking yard sales (when the HOA lets them). They never have anything good because they are up to debt and can't afford anything other than Starbucks coffee, junk ikea furniture and streaming services. It used to be that you could hit yard sales in rich neighborhoods and find good shit. People dumping media, designer clothes, Quality furniture/furnishings, Interesting artwork, high end electronics and being glad to get rid of it. But the more expensive HOA's are the pits and the shits for yard sales unless you like overused toys, broken Ikea and old Keruing coffee makers.

Some truth in this post. However, maybe part of the problem is people garage sale-ing fancy neighborhoods expecting residents to sell luxury goods for pennies on the dollar. While I'm sure there's quite a bit of house poverty going on, have you considered that most people in gated communities would rather donate items to the Salvation Army or whatnot rather than allow the unwashed masses through their gates to be haggled by resellers?
 
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GohanX

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I never see garage sales in decent neighborhoods, they either take the good stuff to consignment stores, or just take everything to Goodwill and take the tax writeoff.

I think Norton has nailed the McMansion thing though. Around here the actual well to do people live in older neighborhoods or buy land outside of town and build whatever they want. The upper middle class buy big houses on tiny plots of land in developments for way too much money and then don't have cash for repairs when the shoddy materials the house is built with start to crumble in five years.
 

norton9478

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Some truth in this post. However, maybe part of the problem is people garage sale-ing fancy neighborhoods expecting residents to sell luxury goods for pennies on the dollar. While I'm sure there's quite a bit of house poverty going on, have you considered that most people in gated communities would rather donate items to the Salvation Army or whatnot rather than allow the unwashed masses through their gates to be haggled by resellers?

I'm sure that many donate. But I'm jut going off what I see them actually put out for sale.
 

LoneSage

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McMansions are made of poor quality materials? Is this hearsay or what? How do they differ from normal homes?
 

norton9478

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How do they differ from normal homes?

Factory made using prefabricated panels and cheap labor. Cheapest possible materials to maximize profit. Lots of design flaws due to disparate architectural elements and non-functional features for cosmetic purposes. Add to the enormous size where small problems can become big headaches.

Real mansions are often made of brick or stone.
Real houses are designed for the site and built by a craftsman with architectural elements for the purpose of structural integrity.

When people were scooping up McMansions, they weren't asking the right questions.The were concerned with checking as many boxes as possible such as superficial design elements, Square footage, number of bathrooms, number of bedrooms etc... And ohh yeah, keep it as cheap as possible.

Good luck replacing that 20 year roof on a 3000 sq foot home with multiple ridges, faux dormers and valleys.
 
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LoneSage

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Well I just dunno because I still think it's too soon to judge the quality of McMansions considering they were only built within the past decade or so.

I would sooner like to see the houses of people who deride McMansions though.
 

lithy

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Well I just dunno because I still think it's too soon to judge the quality of McMansions considering they were only built within the past decade or so.

I would sooner like to see the houses of people who deride McMansions though.

Nope, certainly not too early, the houses he's talking about are actually pushing 15-20 years now and they're shit builds. They have some pretty stuff in spots (usually kitchen/bath), but then there's linoleum in the laundry room that's pulling away at the walls or drywall tape that you can see the seems and it is peeling up at the edges because they only used a bare minimum of mud.

We're looking to move in the next year or so and we'd like to find something newer but honestly, some of the houses we've liked best are the same age as our current house that was built in 1960 just a bit bigger (currently 2bed/1bath). The stuff from the 70s/80s is ok-ish, but they're all split levels, ugh. The styles in anything from the 90s is by far the worst. I'll take our coral pink and robin's egg blue 60s bathroom any day.
 
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