House vs Trailer rental...Advice & Experiences please! :) (Commerce: prebuilt, apartment)

[Misplaced Magnolia]

Hi everybody! Yet another piece of the relocation puzzle is trying to find a place to live. It's hard to find info on rentals, as most realtors are zeroing in on buying/selling. If my move back to northern GA is successful, I'd love to be able to buy a small house (with a porch!) with some land in 1 or 2 years. But in the meantime, a rental seems best. Don't want apartment living....missing out on the peace and quiet and rural beauty that I need if I do that. Now, how many of you rent houses, and how many trailers (or mobile homes, if you want to be PC about it.)

I asked someone who said house rentals are about 700-900 range, while trailers/mobile homes are in the 350-500 range in Walker County. Dos that seem right? I'd like to save as much money as possible at first, and the idea of my own lil trailer seems fine to me...as with a house,as long as it's soundly constructed, quiet, clean, peaceful, safe, with access to nature, I don't care about much else.

I'd really appreciate your opinions on the two possibilities, experiences in either/both, good areas to look for, what to expect, etc. I'm zeroed in on Walker County now but am flexible to surrounding areas. Thank you so much! Whew, I need a lot of help!

[atlantagreg30127]

Well, "well constructed" and "trailer" don't usually go together, but sometimes prebuilt or prefabbed homes are ok.

Your biggest problems could be in two categories:

1) You're in tornado country here. Not the monster types that they get in Texas, typically, but even a small F0 tornado can do significant damage (or flat-out destruction) on a trailer, and yes, like a magnet, they magically DO seem to be attracted to them. A small house with a basement offers the best protection, but even a typical slabbed wood frame house usually offers more protection than a trailer with storm straps.

2) Many mobile home communities have been inundated with large numbers of illegal immigrant populations. In some areas it's a migratory seasonal work force that rents them out, while in others, more permanent factory worker residents. In some of these communities you'll see larger than normal drug issues, and in others, more targets for thugs who like to rob (home invade) residents, assuming they are illegals who keep large sums of cash from paydays at home.


So if you feel you need to rent a mobile home first-off in order to get settled before moving up, then it's wise to research specific areas first, and to avoid units that are offered in mobile home communities, opting more for private individuals who may have a mobile home on private property that's more like a free standing single residence outside of a "trailer park".

[chinaberry25]

Have you checked out the prices in Northern Georgia. Off the charts. As far as mobile home living, I am considering a doublewide and wtill maintain our house. As long as you get a trailer on some land in the country you should do okay. But as they say in the south trailer park trash, they are the very worst. Drugs, illegal immigrants with dozens of children, and wild parties too. They have Rental; listings at the Chamber of Commerce in most towns as well as web pages. Try these out. Plus mobile homes tend to have higher utilities, so check on this.

[Sharon R.]

I rented a double-wide for a couple of years while saving to buy a house. I was in a neighborhood of trailers, not a park. My place was on a decent lot, nice big front porch, and it was in good condition. I was probably one of the only single people. Many places had a bunch of people piled in. I had a large dog and did a lot of walking in the neighborhood with him, so I saw a lot. Badly maintained yards and trailers, beat up cars, tied up mangy dogs. Noisy neighbors late at night. Just not a lot of pride of ownership. I was certainly the only one taking a dog for a walk.

When I moved in, I thought that the stigma of living in a trailer wouldn't bother me and I'd keep to myself. Well, I did keep to myself, but I can honestly say that I was a bit embarrassed for people to come visit me. It was in a rural area which I would normally enjoy, but it just had a trashy vibe. Ugly! I was really happy to be able to move out.

[JeffMurdoch]

Stay out of the trailer parks in Ga! There are full of thugs, white trash and mexicans. I feel for the few good people that do live in them though.

[Misplaced Magnolia]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I should've made it clearer--I defnitely am not looking for 'trailer park' living,--same reasons I want to avoid apartment living- but rather more 'isolated' land where a trailer may be; just thought it may offer the seclusion and rural beauty I look for at a lower price than a house, at least to start. I appreciate all advice, thank you!

[B Wagner]

You might start looking for rental homes at www.Rentlist.com.