Alright, whats the deal with 'manufactured' homes.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

So i'm going to look at the prospective new Casa De Bunny tomorrow. Its a huge piece of property with a very large manufactured home on it priced about $150k below market. Big "problem" is that its sort of out-of-the-way which would suck for a daily commuter but isnt bad for a retiree with a part time working spouse. And apparently most default home searches dont look for "mobile/manufactured"homes in the MLS unless you ask it to. And most people dont.

So anyhow, I've been in a 'manufactured' house perhaps twice in my life. Certainly have read plenty about the new fru-fru ones made from SIP's with high efficiency but while this one looks realllly nice inside, its not one of those.

So given that I have absolutely no idea what is "good" or "bad" about a manufactured home, any input on what to look for or avoid?

Its 12 years old, about 2500 square feet, with about 1200 square feet of recent Trex decking, just under 10 acres with a half acre pond. I never had a pond before either. Other than making sure the septic isnt seeping into the pond, whats the deal with those?

Looks like central air/heat, wood outside, composition roof, granite kitchens and some marble in the master bath, finished wood ceilings and tile/carpet throughout.

Couple of pics:

Any hints/tips/tricks?

 

[crazy connie]

Examine the utility bills and pop for a home inspection by a certified individual. If in snow/wet country examine driveway and parking area very carefully. Verify septic size and get pumped by seller if possible, walk the drainfield and look for soggy area & excessive growth. If on a well ask for the drillers report on depth and water table and get a water test (usually the local agricultural extension service or health dept can assist).

 

[wabmester]

You're buying a tornado magnet?

Differences between stick-built, modular, and manufactured:

link

I would find out who made it and how often they get sued.

 

[REWahoo]

So i'm going to look at the prospective new Casa De Bunny tomorrow.

Go for it. Your Lexus will look really nice parked out front.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Sounds like you're going back to work to me.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Wouldnt matter...the "driveway" is about 3/4 of a mile long and there are only two other homes within about a 2 mile radius.

In other words, anyone that ever sees the lexus is a trespasser!

Oh yeah, and the wifes already given the okay to get a gun!

Connie...all good info, thanks. I've had well/septic before, so i'm familiar with that part of the drill.

Looks like these come with an "ID plate", usually located near the electrical panel. I'll definitely have to research the 'maker'.

Biggest downside I can see so far besides being 'in the sticks' is depreciation on the "home". Good news is the BIL is a home builder and he's out of contracts about 18 months from now. We can have him build us something else on the lot somewhere.

Oh yeah, and between the woodsy area and the pond, we might get mountain lion, coyote, fox and some other thrilling critters. So no wandering off for Gabe and dogs will have to learn to stick near the house.

Sounds like you're going back to work to me.

Just for a few months. Get some work done updating the new place a little, move our stuff and critters, get the old place fixed up and sold. We're just replacing most of our furniture anyhow as what we've got is near the end of its lifecycle...and we need new carpet and paint inside the existing place as it is.

So not a huge net gain in 'work'. Besides, owning my own small mountain and my own body of water is kinda cool!

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Uhh... aren't those the kind that have the "flyaway" feature included? Especially during high winds, tornados and, here in Florida, hurricanes?

Tear-down. Caveat emptor big time from what I hear.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Good news is that we dont get high winds, tornadoes or hurricanes anywhere near here. Well, there was a small freak tornado of short duration once about 50 miles away from where this is. And of course the minute I buy this sucker there'll be another one...

Only weather problems we have here is high heat (and its cooler in this location than where I live now)...maybe a handful of 100 degree days and plenty in the 90's...and lots of rain in the winter.

I'm already well schooled in checking insulation factors and making sure good drainage is present.

 

[REWahoo]

Be aware that once you move to a place with all that elbow room you will be spoiled forever. You will learn to despise crowds, traffic congestion, and will never want to live in a "normal" residential setting ever again. It will change your life.

 

[wabmester]

Fill in the pond. They attract mosquitos and toddlers.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

You will learn to despise crowds, traffic congestion, and will never want to live in a "normal" residential setting ever again.

I'm already there. Thats one of the prime motivations involved, along with the pleasure of opening my back door and letting the dogs run until they fall down from exhaustion. Which at this point is about 110 feet.

Fill in the pond. They attract mosquitos and toddlers.

I'm wondering how much dirt it'd take to fill in a more than half acre pond. Then wondering about the legal implications of the other two adjoining owners deeded rights to use it. Then noting that its more than 200 yards from the house, and is currently stocked with fish. Which if they dont eat mosquitoes, will be replaced by ones that do.

I doubt Gabes gotten more than 20 feet from me in his entire life. I'm sure not letting him get 200 yards away! But point taken.

 

[Leonidas]

I doubt Gabes gotten more than 20 feet from me in his entire life. I'm sure not letting him get 200 yards away! But point taken.

Swimming lessons might not be a bad idea.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

He's already been in our little intex pool with me a few hundred times this past summer and even spent time in there with me as a 4-7 month old the year before. I used to be do lifeguarding and taught a few swimming lessons. He's quite comfortable in the water, floats on his back pretty well, and so far doesnt panic when he looses his footing.

Peed in his potty chair standing up this morning too. Well...mostly.

 

[Zoocat]

Wildlife caveat: If you move to lion country, don't keep your dogs outside at night.

Folks in the mountains near where I live report lions in their yards in all seasons, and dogs regularly become dinner.

Good luck.

 

[bbbamI]

You might also want to get insurance estimates for the property.

 

[kowski]

Here in Florida the banks will not finance a manufactured home after its a certain age. Check your area if thats true you might find it hard to get your money back out of it.

 

[Brat]

The mortgage interest rates on a mfg. home are often higher and the structures depreciate vs appreciate all other factors equal. They are rarely made to last long.

Were I you, and I loved the site and location, explore the possibility of replacing the manufactured home in the future. It will cost $$ to get rid of.

Be sure to check out activities for Gabe.. play school, preschool. Mom and Dad will likely be his early entertainment and educators.

 

[bosco]

This unit is more high-end than the one I owned years ago, but the things I would look for based on my previous experience:

Since the house is not stick-framed, it quite possibly has preengineered floor trusses in it. Make sure plumbers didn't saw out truss bottom cords to run piping. Some folks aren't too smart about this obvious subtlety, and would rather saw out a chunk then reroute piping. Unfortunately, a truss with no bottom cord might as well not be there at all. Sometimes there is damage that occurs when the units are set into place as well, crushing etc. While you are at it, check the centering of the unit on the foundation. Shouldn't be a problem, but.... I would check the connection to the foundation for good measure. Surprising how often this isn't properly done. Get ahold of the set of plans. The a/e will have specified this detail carefully, and it's an important one.

Check out the seam down the middle of the house, especially at the roof. Sometimes the units sit in a yard for a while and get rained on. Roof plywood warps, then tar paper and shingles go on. The warpage leaves gaps which are covered by the tar paper. Roof problems can appear sooner than usual. Don't ask me how I know this.... Check attachment of roof trusses to top plate and attic venting (probably a bigger deal in Alaska, actually).

I'd hire a professional inspector, preferably one familiar with the contractor.

 

[Buckeye]

Is that a plunger to the right of the tub? Why is it readily available?

 

[Outtahere]

The pond had deeded rights by neighbors? What else do they have rights to? That could be a problem in the future.

 

[bpp]

What are all those square protuberances on the roof?

 

[REWahoo]

What are all those square protuberances on the roof?

I would think they are attic vents since they appear to be located only above the flat portion of the ceiling as show in the second photo.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

There should be attic vents, as its gonna get hot in there otherwise.

Bosco...good data...thats what I was looking for. I've got a pair of pretty good inspectors, both home builders and one (my BIL) lives in a manufactured home but other than that doesnt have a lot of experience with them. The other does.

We might have my BIL put a house on the property sometime down the road, providing its zoned for it and has the well capacity. Leave the manufactured home there and keep it up. My dad'll probably need some closer care at some point in the next 4-5 years and it might make a nice place for him.

As far as the pond, it looks like this property and two others join at the pond as a nexus...so I imagine the deeding is just to keep one or more of the adjoining owners from doing something to the pong that the others wouldnt like...like filling it in or dropping 50lbs of chlorine into it, or trying to run a jetski on it...i'll look over the deeds.

Mom and dad and grampa are a good source of entertainment for gabe now, and this is about 20 minutes from my old mcmansion...lots of parks, play areas, preschools, couple of big lakes, lots of retail.

I see from an update from my agent that the property has been up for sale for more than six months and has been dropping in price steadily. Zillow put it at right about where they set the original price; dropped it almost $150k since.

The comps are looking pretty good on it, and we're also looking at a 5 acre property with a smaller 2 year old manufactured on it for about $100k less, and a 30 year old stick built house on 2 acres for around the same price.

Given the area (serious gold country) I also need to check and make sure the area wasnt historically mined. Last thing I need is to find out that the place is sitting on top of a lot of dug out tunnels...

 

[maddythebeagle]

The mortgage interest rates on a mfg. home are often higher and the structures depreciate vs appreciate all other factors equal. They are rarely made to last long.

Were I you, and I loved the site and location, explore the possibility of replacing the manufactured home in the future. It will cost $$ to get rid of.

Might be able to sell it off of the property....probably already made to move...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Hey, I could just put some wheels on it and push it down the hill into the pond!