Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A mobile is not a good investment. I'd like to suggest that before you do anything, you hire a financial advisor to guide you through a financial plan.
I think you would be less skittish about buying a house if you had a plan in place with goals. Galaxie Girl is spot on with her advice, IMO.
You need to decide what you want to do, save money for retirement or own a home. I don't see how you could make money on owning a manufactured home unless the land you purchase becomes valuable. If saving for retirement is most important, I'd find inexpensive rent or a cheaper home and save, save, save. If you are renting now, now and where you live is OK, then I'd investigate funds that will give you growth as you save. If you know nothing about investing then find someone to advise you on this.
We thought our home, in a very nice area, would be worth a lot when we retired. We didn't take a bath on the price, nor did we end up upside down, but we definitely put more money into the house than we got out of it after over 20 years. Why not set up a savings plan for the future first?
I personally feel home ownership is overrated. When your rental needs a new roof, the landlord pays it. Same with plumbing, heating, leaks, etc… You always have someone to watch your place when you decide to take a vacation - the office will take your parcels, and notify if anything happens.
I work with a lot of professionals in the SF area. Many of them rent apartments because of the lifestyle. You can have a clean pool and hot tub to use, a fitness center, social events. And it feels secure to know you can up and leave for a week or more if you travel. Wouldn't trade that for home ownership unless I was raising a family or wanted big dogs or horses, etc… who require more land.
I'd hesitate to look at a mortgage as a retirement plan. One bad neighbor or bad event can destroy your home's value overnight. Seen that happen more than once.
First, you need to get your living expenses under management so that you can pay down whatever debt you have outstanding. What --- live without debt??? Yes. Novel concept, isn't it? Learn to buy for cash. You cannot control your future, as long as you owe. I don't want to hear about "credit ratings" that are hyped up by the banksters. They are really "debt ratings", as that coin has another side. Just think how much more you could save, if you were paying zero interest to the banksters.
You state that you have about 30 years before retirement. There is no law that says you need to live in a mortar home for all, or even most, of that time. Personally, I would live in a camper on 1/8 acre of 'junk land' until I got my finances in order. Get your finances in order and your living expenses under control. This is of paramount importance.
MrRational, who stated that home ownership is a reflection of stability and wealth, was dead-on. Your plan of taking on more debt (even if just a small mortgage) puts you back in a position of paying interest to the banksters. Stop borrowing money. Some people have the incomes to do that and still end up fine, but like most people, you've run into problems with it.
Society puts this idea in our heads that we need to live a certain way, drive certain vehicles, own certain iGadgets, etc etc. You don't need to do any of that. If renting fits your budget best, you can rent for another 10-20 years. It is NOT wasted money. It's a lower-cost way to put a roof over your head. If it allows you some years to get out of debt and sock away some serious cash, go for it.
The main advantage I can see to owning a home is not having to pay rent in retirement. That said, if you buy a home I wouldn't go as cheap as you can. If you plan to live there in retirement, you want a place that isn't going to be falling apart in your retirement years and one that will serve you well now and later. I am finding that out now as I am in my mid 50s. We bought a house that was built in 1956 and have lived in it for 27 years and it's been a great house. BUT, going into retirement I'd like to have a newer house that isn't going to need maintenance and upkeep that we may not be able to do ourselves as we get older, or can't afford to pay someone else to do. This house we have now is starting to need some things done, like plumbing reworked. If we were starting with a fairly new house NOW, we could get through the next 30 years without much in the way of maintenance issues of an older house.
Maybe you could rent cheap now and save money with an eye toward buying a house to live in during retirement?
The main advantage I can see to owning a home is not having to pay rent in retirement. That said, if you buy a home I wouldn't go as cheap as you can. If you plan to live there in retirement, you want a place that isn't going to be falling apart in your retirement years and one that will serve you well now and later. I am finding that out now as I am in my mid 50s. We bought a house that was built in 1956 and have lived in it for 27 years and it's been a great house. BUT, going into retirement I'd like to have a newer house that isn't going to need maintenance and upkeep that we may not be able to do ourselves as we get older, or can't afford to pay someone else to do. This house we have now is starting to need some things done, like plumbing reworked. If we were starting with a fairly new house NOW, we could get through the next 30 years without much in the way of maintenance issues of an older house.
Maybe you could rent cheap now and save money with an eye toward buying a house to live in during retirement?
A house that was well maintained will by far cost less than buying a new house especially if you lived in it for 27 years and weren't a refi heloc idiot your house should be paid off. If you were smart you would have had money allocated to repairs for the house. Buying new does in no way guarantee a trouble free house. I have seen how new houses are put together by some builders. If you're smart can do a lot of the work yourself you'll be even lower in cost of repairs. A new house will by far cost more in the long run than a house you lived in for 27 some years and were hopefully not borrowing against. Unless you are selling and buying your next house cash in full from the sale of the current house you don't want a house payment when you retire.
Even if you needed a complete remodel it's still cheaper to remodel than to buy new.
Most people start collecting debt at 18. Car loan credit card and college education loans and then mortgages. And they never stop that debt
Last edited by Electrician4you; 12-07-2013 at 12:44 PM..
Husband wants to do it all over again, but our plan B since the economy sucks and the American dream is pretty much gone is to purchase a small piece of land for around 10,000 and a mobile home for about 50k. This will keep the mortgage manageable (500 at the most) in case the crap hits the fan again with our finances. Will a mobile home be sturdy for the next 40 to 50 years? I know they depreciate but I don't want it falling down around us.
Is it better to play it safe now, or is buying a brick and mortar home the best way to go for that nest egg. I don't think it's possible to buy a decent home for less than 100k and I want to keep the mortgage low, no more 1000 monthly mortgages or more for us.
Your plan isn't too bad. Paying $700/mth in rent over 6 years will cost $50,400. Your mobile home will last at least 6 yrs. Probably longer. The ultimate length of time will depend on the original build quality. The cheaper ones probably start falling apart earlier. So the question is can you get a good quality one at $50K?
Have you factored in the real estate taxes on the land with the home as an improvement? Do you know the cost to run utilities to the land and hook them up to the house?
If we add in the land cost and assume you have included utility hook up, septic etc. then your ahead after about 8 years. But not if you don't have septic (add another two years just for septic so 10 yr payback), electric, natural gas and water.
For me the real reason to own a home is quality of life. I can do what I want with the house and have room to breath on the property. I don't view a home as an investment. If I were you I would only get the home and land if you valued the quality of life offered by home ownership. If not renting is a better option.
Also you have to remember that an old mobile home on a inexpensive piece of land will likely only sell for land value. However that is true for stick built houses also if they are aged out and not the type of homes people are looking for at the time they are sold.
Some good advice going around here. I still have a couple comments, though:
You didn't lose your house because you bought, you lost it because you contracted for a mortgage you couldn't afford. All the time I see people buying far more house than they need. If you can live in a 2 bedroom apartment, you can live in a 2 bedroom house. I know a young woman (26 year old single mother) who bought a nice little house in a decent neighborhood 2 years ago. Her mortgage payment, including PITI, is $600/month. It would probably be impossible to find a comparable rental in her area for that price.
Locking in your housing costs at as low a level as possible is always a winner. However, you have a history of spending money you don't have. Silverfall's advice to find a financial adviser to help you get squared away is excellent. You don't have to buy right now. With 30 years to retirement, you can take 10 years to get your finances in order, float a 15 year mortgage, and still be paid off 5 years before retirement. After making the down payment, you still need at least 6 months expenses in the bank as a cushion. If you don't have that, every home repair is going to put you right back into debt.
Don't buy any house if you can't see a clear path to paying it off.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
