Manufactured Homes (Mobile Homes)

[mbuszu]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

I'd like to learn more about manufactured (mobile) homes. I toured some at a manufactured home expo about ten years ago and I've looked through a local monthly "for sale" mag, and I'm intrigued about the possibility of buying a used one (say, 1000+ feet for under $10,000--in general, not a particular one that I have my sights set on).
Has anyone had experiences with manufactured homes, good or bad?
Are there any discussion forums that are specifically devoted to the subject?
Do you have to pay property taxes if you're renting a lot in a manufactured home community?
What happens if the landlord decides to suddenly jack up the lot rent? (Perhaps a developer wants to build pricey condos or luxury homes on the land.) Are there normally any sorts of contractual or legal prohibitions that would keep them from dramatically increasing rents arbitrarily?
Has the quality of manufactured homes improved in the past ten years and would it thus be not necessarily insane to consider purchasing a used one (allowing the first buyer to take a big depreciation hit)?
Has anyone purchased a used manufactured home and did you regard it as a good deal? After paying for the lot rent, did you conclude that it was cost competitive compared to renting? Did you feel that you had a nicer dwelling?
Has anyone had any experiences with purchasing a plot of land and having a new one installed on it? Was it better than just renting a lot?
Are used manufactured homes on (owned) land available and are the prices for them reasonable? (I've never seen any listed, but perhaps I need to look in the conventional "homes for sale" books.)
Realistically, what do you think I would I need to spend to get a ~1200 foot manufactured home in decent condition?
I know...it's not the Ritz...and they depreciate in value some...but not everyone can afford a $140,000 1500 ft townhouse.
If you've owned one before, were there any hidden or unexpected costs?

Had friends and family who owned or currently own "nice" ones. Here's the deal from someone who has inquired about them and listened to owners
a) the rent can be changed, and when it does you pay it because you're not going to be moving your manufactured home. The rent/leasing of the land indeed is like a mortgage payment you'll be paying forever. The contract terms vary by location.
b) regular homes depreciate in value (except in hot real estate markets). So will your manufactured home (it will depreciate pretty fast actually). What goes up in value is land. In a manufactured home situation you have no land, you just have an expensive depreciating asset (like a car) and you have an ongoing lease payment forever (like you're renting an apartment).
c) manufactured homes are not built as well as regular houses. Yes mileage varies, but generally you're going to see thinner walls, less outside wall insulation, cheaper doors and windows, and pretty much everything in the house will be a little less sturdy. In storm situations this will be even more apparent - siding/shingles will likely fly off in a mobile/manufactured home park compared to a regular house neighborhood where damage is likely less all other things the same.

Overall, buying one of these isn't a good investment. You're not going to resell your place for as much as you paid for it. It's like buying a car except worse in my estimation since you have ongoing rent to worry about (unless you plop the house on top of land you own).

To me it seems you have little money to spend. If I was to do anything, I would probably continue to save up. It seems smarter to just rent an apartment or condo so that you can let the landlord worry about repairs and upkeep of your place while you save up for a real house with some actual land.

[katzenfreund]

I would only recommend a mobile home if you can afford to buy a piece of land. The land will go up in value, most likely. If I had limited funds, I might buy a "used" mobile home and a piece of land.