Anyone here own a manufactured home?

[skyking1]

I'm down in the big trees so it would get clubbed by them long before the wind could directly damage it. It is the most typical weather damage on the west side of the mountains. Nothing escapes the 2' fir trees!

[ShokWaveRider]

We always thought that Mobile Homes, we a depreciating asset. They certainly are here in our part of Florida. Is it the same for a well built modular home? Not a rolled in Mobile, but built on site with pre-built panels. I have watched many HGTV type shows where Log homes were basically modular, a kit that is delivered then erected on site. They could be considered modular and do not appear to be a depreciating asset. What about Tiny homes, they are certainly modular, but like Mobile homes are mostly one module.

[skyking1]

<looks at tax statement> Nope, we did title elimination on our manufactured home and it goes up up up.
We were into this place for 82K in 1995, built a ~15K garage and carport in 2003, and currently valued at ~350K.
1300 sq ft
There is a 2300 sq ft traditional house down the street listed for 675K. I doubt it was purchased for 82 + 15K, and no, it is not moving. They will have to drop the price <flippers>.
Just for giggles I looked it up.
Originally sold for 160K as new in 1997 roughly double our first home, before I built the garage.
Picked up by flippers in May for 485
failing the flip for a 190K flip after renovations.

[Car-Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee For those of you who own mobile homes--are you concerned about wind storms, tornadoes, hurricanes? Whenever we have a wind storm or tornado where I live it seems that mobile home parks are the ones with the most damage to property and people.

I've lived through and seen the wind damage from a bunch of hurricanes and I've also seen the damage caused by a few tornadoes that have passed close by. While a direct hit from a Cat 3 hurricane can cause some widespread damage, a direct hit from a F3 tornado is unbelievably devastating... (Yes I know the wind speeds and effects are different) but I've seen both so they aren't "that" rare.

We had a F3 tornado pass by about 20 miles from us a couple of years ago...Everything in it's path was gone/destroyed. Trees, houses, mobile homes, cars, everything... Looked like a bull dozer came though and just piled everything up. I took this picture the day after the F3 pass by.


The only good thing about tornados (if you can call anything about them as good) is they are usually pretty short in duration and damage is limited to their direct paths... But unlike hurricanes, you don't get much (if any) notice that they are coming.

[Andre1969]

Depends on what jargon you're using. I've always taken "manufactured housing" to mean essentially a house trailer. Now that can be a single-wide, a double-wide, or even a triple-wide. And it can be be put on a permanent foundation, or even have a roof with a slight pitch to it. But if it came in on its own frame and own set of wheels, and could also be put up on cinder blocks, then it's a "manufactured home".

I've heard the phrase "Mobile Home" came into common usage because one of the earliest manufacturers of them was located near Mobile Alabama. And in later years people thought of "Mobile" as in, a trailer you can move about as you please, although these things are really only designed to be moved once, towed by a heavy-duty truck, and then blocked and skirted, either in a trailer park or private lot. They're really not sturdy enough to be moved about regularly, though.

"Modular Home" on the other hand, is what I've taken to mean a home that is built in sections, in a factory, and then brought out and set into place on a permanent foundation. They can be split foyer, split level, two story, or a Cape Cod, any design, actually. And once put together and finished off, they don't look any different from a stick-built home.

My Mom and stepdad live in a modular home. It's a rather modest 24x48 rancher, built in 1979. The only tip-off that it's a modular home is on the inside. The bearing-wall that runs down the center is extra thick, because each side of the 12x48' sections was designed to be self-supporting. The roof was also site-built, and separate, whereas on a manufactured/mobile home, the ones that have a slight roof pitch have the roof actually built into the structure, I believe, and then when the two pieces are joined together on the side, the top layer of shingles/ridge vent, etc are installed to finish it off.

Most manufactured/Mobile homes, even the nicer ones, always give themselves away to me, because the outer walls are usually only 7'6" tall, rather than your typical 8', or more. The inner walls are usually thinner as well. And often, rather than having what I'd call a "fully-finished" wall (drywalled, spackled, and painted), they just have these 4x8 panels that have thin strips at the seams, sort of like an RV.

I'm not trying to rag on manufactured/Mobile homes, though. I've seen some of them that are actually quite nice. I have some relatives that have owned them, and as far as I know, never had problems with them

I do remember one issue that my cousins had, though. They had bought a large parcel of land in Southern Maryland, on a fairly new street, and wanted to put in a manufactured home. I think it was built by Fleetwood, and 28x76 feet. Some of the neighbors, who had already had stick-built houses put in, did raise a fuss, although I don't think there was any kind of HOA they could have griped to. But, my cousins were able to get it put on the land, anyway, and apparently once it was finished, the neighbors chilled out.

[gayl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Souschef I would like to make a distinction. The old single wide "tin can" mobile homes are being phased out in favor of manufactured homes. These are stick built at a factory and joined together on site. I have attached a photo of ours.

That's what they look like in my DD's development. Put on a lot (small yard, just length + 10' / 25' wide side yards / enough space on other side that she added a 3rd bedroom), plus community pool / basketball courts. I always thought it was trailer parks but it's not.

[disneysteve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre1969 Most manufactured/Mobile homes, even the nicer ones, always give themselves away to me, because the outer walls are usually only 7'6" tall, rather than your typical 8', or more. The inner walls are usually thinner as well. And often, rather than having what I'd call a "fully-finished" wall (drywalled, spackled, and painted), they just have these 4x8 panels that have thin strips at the seams, sort of like an RV.

Yes, some of the homes I've looked at do have those wall panels, but others specifically advertise that they have drywall throughout. I'm assuming that's an upgrade done after the fact though. They probably came with the panels.

[DaveInMi]

The wife and I had a premanufactured home built on our property 2 years ago. The 2 halves of the house were built in an Ohio factory using mass production processes. Floors and walls, including electrical, pex plumbing, sinks, toilets, were built on horizontal surfaces. No drywall nails were used, just some "liquid nail" adhesive was used. The house is very tight and energy efficient. Separate items, like basement steps and wall studs, front and back porches we're stick built after the house was set.
The only problem we had, and it was a strange one, was that all the light and fan switches were failing mechanically. The company replaced them all. It seemed that some shifting occurred during transport and caused them all to bind up. For the new switches installed, mounting holes were drilled out so the switches could float better in the switch boxes.
The picture below is the first half being lowered on the foundation. Note gap between house and foundation.

[CRLLS]

Call it what you will, my parents lived in a double-wide mobile home in central FL. It came to the lot on wheels. It was placed on concrete blocks and had foundation skirts on a rural 7 acre plot. It was a very nice place when they bought it. During their 25+ years living there though, it didn't fare very well. The quality/durability over time was sub-par. But they got what they paid for and that worked for them.

I'm sure that over the last 40 years construction methods and materials have changed. I would still need a lot of convincing to buy a similar one.

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRLLS Call it what you will, my parents lived in a double-wide mobile home in central FL. It came to the lot on wheels. It was placed on concrete blocks and had foundation skirts on a rural 7 acre plot. It was a very nice place when they bought it. During their 25+ years living there though, it didn't fare very well. The quality/durability over time was sub-par. But they got what they paid for and that worked for them. I'm sure that over the last 40 years construction methods and materials have changed. I would still need a lot of convincing to buy a similar one.

We don't want to convince you......name me something that hasn't changed in the last 40 years.

[CRLLS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan We don't want to convince you......name me something that hasn't changed in the last 40 years.

My name.

I get your point. I'm sure doublewides have gotten better. My experience
was based on only 1 close association of a mobile home (plus a few other less close associations. I guess my point was that over a long ownership period, the construction methods and materials used back then were not made to last like other home constructions. They used to be more like construction of an RV of the same period with paper-thin paneling and pressed wood floor sheathing. I don't know what today's construction is like. Looks can be deceiving. I'm more of a structural bones type and would want to see what is behind the looks.

[ShokWaveRider]

^^^^^^^ Still a depreciating asset at the end of the day.

[DaveInMi]

Here is the company that built our house.
Check out some of the videos of the process.
Main advantage of modular homes is that the labor cost in building them is much less.
https://www.unibiltcustomhomes.com/

[skyking1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShokWaveRider ^^^^^^^ Still a depreciating asset at the end of the day.

go reread my post above. we did a title elimination which means that it's not separate from the land. it is appreciated just like a stick build house with the exception of the fact that it was quite a bit cheaper to begin with. The percentage of appreciation has been effectively greater!

[Scrapr]

Saw this Shipping Container home this weekend in a home tour this weekend. Thinking about a getaway home. I was pretty impressed. Nice finishes. Price is for the home fitted out in the yard. It's on you to prepare a lot & transport

https://www.relevantbuildings.com/gallery/#prettyPhoto

[LakeRat1]

We retired 8 years ago, 7 years ago we decided to go South to Ft Myers, FL and rent for 4 months. We found a community called Palmetto Palms 55+ RV Park. This community has very few old RV Trailers left, a few open lots rent to people with RVs. 685 Lots are owned by the people, there are two pools, shuffle board, tennis courts, volley ball, pickle ball, and horse shoes, library and community hall with all kinds of activities...... The Park Model we have today is 730 sqft, sits on cinder blocks was built in 2005...... Best investment we made..... We did do an extensive remodel, as well we go to Lake of the Ozarks during the summer months ....... Our HOA Dues are less than $140 per month...... We can only have one vehicle ........ But with all that, it still works great for us .....I highly recommend Park Model (PM), Modular, or whatever else these are called ..... Cheap Livin

The homes in our community are priced from 50K (Lots are worth that) to $200K ...... There has not been any problem with anyone selling their homes the past 7 years that we have been here...... We are on our 2nd Place

[NoEZmoney]

Back in the 1980s my company got acquired by a huge conglomerate and laid off about 25% of staff including yours truly. It was a tough time as I had been working in the O&G industry and the biz was seeing a bust so I couldn't find a job in my field. I took an "in-between job" to fill the gap until I figured out my next career move. Long story short: I sold manufactured homes for almost a year.

So the industry has come a long way from those days as there were decent companies but a lot of subpar manufacturers. Quality names like Fleetwood, Schuldt, Palm Harbor, were a few that I found to have higher standards. Formaldehyde fumes was a big deal because of all the toxic bldg materials used in the process on top of the super energy-efficiency/high insulation values of the homes. 90% of what we sold were mostly wood paneling with tons of chemicals. They were pretty good at staying cool or warm depending on season.

We had folks buying better units, putting them on private land, ditching the wheels and adding skirting, landscaping, decks and they were pretty nice. Others on the low-end were typical trailer-park types and they were lucky to get financing.

The standards of construction today are really high for most and the key is roof & joist hurricane strapping, adequate anchoring/foundation securement but they are still going to suffer damage from tornadoes and hurricanes. (what home won't in the path of an F3 or 4). Another thing was particle board for flooring, some companies like Skyline (no longer built I think) had issues with PB getting damp, swelling and falling apart despite guarantees PB was "treated for moisture". I would encourage would-be customers to buy homes with plywood flooring and thicker wall studs (6" instead of 4"), better insulation with vapor barrier in walls & floors. (VB's became a requirement.)

Appreciation in value is a mixed bag. In general, MHs won't appreciate as well as a conventionally built home IN MOST CASES. A lot depends on the zip code. So there's that. Financing used to be limited to 15 years at higher interest than conventional homes but that may have changed. Back in the 80's, financing was rule of 78's and 15 yrs with higher interest than conventional home mortgage. That may have changed but I don't know as I've not looked at MH loans since the 1990's.

The other thing is where you plan to locate it. There have been plenty stories about park owners taking advantage of people on fixed incomes who have no other place to go and in some cases they lose their home. SEE STORY LINK.

So in all cases, get educated if you plan on buying a MH, and as equally important, know the terms of the park you plan to live in because the fine print is really, really, important. I cannot stress that enough.

https://www.npr.org/2016/12/26/50259...american-dream

[Cerys]

We bought our old house 33 years ago, and soon after that the lot across the street from us was subdivided and two modular homes were put on it. Around the same time a developer down the way bought up a large lot of land and put several modular homes on it. The houses across the street have run the gamut of use and abuse. Including a 14 car lineup of FBI, local PD and ICE using one of those big log things to knock in a door to break up a drug ring.

I live in a really good neighborhood.

Anyhow, we’re talking some 25 years later, the guy across the street replaced his roof. The building has not been repainted, has not needed it. And they look not unlike what they looked like when they were put up.

Now, down the way, is another story. There were about eight houses put up, each one was different. They were all two levels, though I don’t know if that makes a difference. Within 10 years all of them had faded, a lot had siding issues where the siding blew off or sagged, one caught fire from wiring, and they all looked like garbage. They were much more expensive than the ones put up across the street from me.

Because I frequently go down the road past those other homes, I see them frequently. They have all been repainted at least once, if not twice, there have been multiple remodeling‘s, and frankly they still look like crap. The paint fades quickly, there always seems to be something going on around the foundations that looks funny.

So, I am going to go with the builder/manufacturer really matters. Like everything, there are good ones, and there are bad ones. Do your research. The places across the street for me are going to last. There’s no doubt about it. The places that are a way away, at what point do you stop throwing good money after bad?

By the way, I am not anti-trailer. My grandparents bought a brand new trailer in like 1965. My grandfather died in 1971 and my grandmother made the decision to sell the trailer and move in with her daughter, my aunt. In 2013 or 14, my sisters and I were charged with keeping my aunt busy on her birthday so they could set up a surprise party. And what we did was go see some old haunts one of which was the trailer park where my grandparents lived. And I was stunned to see that the trailer was still there, and in really good condition. It has been freshly painted because the colors were different and it looked really nice. So if a single wide on wheels trailer can last 50 years….so can a well made modular.

[ychuck46]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat Be sure to place a manufactured home on land you own.

We almost fell in love with a manufactured home community near North Myrtle Beach. No issues with the HOA fees (although I tend to dislike any HOAs I realize they are needed for all the amenities in that development) but I had a big issue with not owning, but rather leasing the land. Would never allow ourselves to be caught in such a situation. The contract stated that the highest increase in land rent on a yearly basis would be 4%. That is only good until they decide they need more and pull something like selling to another shell company which dictates new contract terms. Don't get caught in a leased land situation.

[Camas Lilly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat There is a big difference between the construction of a manufactured home and a mobile home. A manufactured home is built in compliance with stick-built homes building code. Mobile homes IMHO are like trailers on a block foundation. Be sure to place a manufactured home on land you own.

The term Mobile Home ceased to exist in 1975 or thereabouts. Acutally, we do own a 1974 Mobile Home as a vacation residence. Back then, yes there were more like trailers. Not so any more.

There are now Manufactured Homes and Modular Homes. They are built just as well, if not better, than stick built homes now. Yes, they are beautiful and less expensive than stick building. There are some lower end manufacturers, but look around and you will find the good ones such as Champion Homes, Kit West LLC and so forth. It varies in different parts of the country. We currently have an order in for a Manufactured home with Kit West LLC. We live in a Modular home and now moving out of state so buying a Manufactured home. For the price difference of $50,000, there wasn't enough difference between the two. Both are just as energy efficient.

And please stop using the term "trailer". They haven't been trailers for over 40 years now.