Planning our move to AK - Mobile Homes (for sale, to rent)

[gobrien]

Originally Posted by hc5831

Any property that I end up getting will end up a rental property when I move. Mobile Homes make fine rental properties. I'm looking to get bang for the buck to get moved up there without spending a lot of money.

The real estate meltdown we are currently going through should convince everyone that houses are not guaranteed investments. I've looked at the trends for Fairbanks and they look ok.

I would love to rent, but people don't want to rent to a 5 animal household. And the ones who do want to charge too much pet fees. As such, I'm looking to get my own place.

Any more feedback on how mobile homes handle the cold in Alaska (Fairbanks). I am assuming that they are insulated well to deal with the cold, but you never know.

PM me if you are interested in a house swap for my 1600 sq ft house in Ozark MO. And yes, I do plan on posting ads on the house swapping sites in the future.

The ones I am familiar with in the Fairbanks area are arctic insulated, they would need to have storm windows or plastic put over the windows if there were no storm windows. Arctic entries are usually built on to the front doors, or are called mudrooms, to keep the outside air from coming in when you go inside.

[Marty Van Diest]

2 lots w/traveltrailer Sutton (http://anchorage.craigslist.org/for/1586210347.html - broken link) Here you go...$5,500 for cabin and lot. I doubt that's it's livable, and I'm familiar with the area, I believe its off the grid. But it's only about 25 miles to Palmer.

Don't call me...it's for sale by owner

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by stiffnecked

I have lived in a few mobile homes in Alaska. Couldn't wait to get out of them. Seems they were always cold inside. Plus when they catch on fire they go quick.

Here Here!

Why would you want to live in a place that gets -55F on a regular basis and live in a home that has barely 3 inches of insulation??

[hc5831]

Still reading up on my thread. Thanks for all the replies.

If trailers didn't cut it in Alaska, they wouldn't be there. I'm still interested in people who have actually lived in them there.

How much more expensive was your heating bill compared to a house?

How do the neighbors who live in houses treat them?

The mobile home is temporarily (2-5 years) one way or another. If we stay, we can sell the mobile home and build a cabin. Or we will make it a rental property.

Thanks

[gobrien]

Originally Posted by hc5831

Still reading up on my thread. Thanks for all the replies.

If trailers didn't cut it in Alaska, they wouldn't be there. I'm still interested in people who have actually lived in them there.

How much more expensive was your heating bill compared to a house?

How do the neighbors who live in houses treat them?

The mobile home is temporarily (2-5 years) one way or another. If we stay, we can sell the mobile home and build a cabin. Or we will make it a rental property.

Thanks

I have lived in them, it was well insulated and the heating bill was not more expensive than a house. If one's neighbors treat them poorly due to living in a mobile home, then they are not worthy of consideration. That said, it depends on what community you are in. In more rural areas, many people live in temporary conditions while they are building and that is accepted.

[Alaskan_Adventurer]

If you are going to be sticking around here in Alaska, it is not a horrible idea to buy right now. It is a buyers market and our economy is a bit different from the lower 48. Interest rates are still relatively low. We have about an 8-10 year bubble where housing prices will drop dramatically, and it has been that way since the 50's... I have lived here through 2 of them. I personally know quite a few old timers who have taken advantage of those bubbles and scooped up housing for way cheap. This recession is obviously a bit rougher than past ones, but we will recover over time. Expect a housing boom IF the natural gas pipeline gets build, especially if the rest of the US is still in a major recession. People have a tendency to go where the jobs are, and there will be plenty of jobs if it does go through. *crosses fingers*

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by hc5831

Still reading up on my thread. Thanks for all the replies.

If trailers didn't cut it in Alaska, they wouldn't be there. I'm still interested in people who have actually lived in them there.

How much more expensive was your heating bill compared to a house?

How do the neighbors who live in houses treat them?

The mobile home is temporarily (2-5 years) one way or another. If we stay, we can sell the mobile home and build a cabin. Or we will make it a rental property.

Thanks

I too have lived in them. Sure, the bills might have been the same as a house but my house now is 4 times the size of a mobile home and our heating bill is the same or less then any mobile home in Alaska.
Why do people live in them you ask? Because they are cheap.
Why do people live in Mobile homes in Tornado Alley? Because they are cheap.
Here in Anchorage, there are dozens of mobile home parks. Most are dumpy, just as you would expect. They are actually in the process of being phased out.

WHen I lived in a mobile home here in Alaska, it was in Delta Junction. We bought one, a 2 bedroom with an addition added. 5 acres + a huge garage for $50,000.
We sold it a year later. Then we rented one for a time. This one had been well insulated and had new doors and windows installed by Alaska Weatherization.
Later we bought another one, $2500 in a park. It too had an addition added on to it.
I have also lived in an older Mobile home in Bozeman Montana as well as a Newer "manufactured Home" there.

New or Old, You are still living in a Trailer.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by hc5831

Still reading up on my thread. Thanks for all the replies.

If trailers didn't cut it in Alaska, they wouldn't be there. I'm still interested in people who have actually lived in them there.

How much more expensive was your heating bill compared to a house?

How do the neighbors who live in houses treat them?

The mobile home is temporarily (2-5 years) one way or another. If we stay, we can sell the mobile home and build a cabin. Or we will make it a rental property.

Thanks

You won't see any many trailers around Fairbanks. Listen to what we are trying to tell you Heating fuel costs around $3.00 per gallon at the moment, and heating a trailer will cost you an arm and a leg. If the trailer was air-tight, with perhaps 6" of insulation on the walls, and 12" of insulation on the roof and the floor, with arctic entries at the front and back doors, double or triple-pane windows, and heated by an oil-fired furnace: it should cost you around $400.00 per month for fuel during the long winter. However, you will be paying from $300.00 to $400.00 for electricity since you will need a hot water heater. You will also need a septic system, and water since there won't be septic pipes nor water pipes connected to your trailer unless you live in the city. If you are going to have the trailer away from a town, then you will have other problems: how are you going to get heating fuel, water, and food?

You can build a log cabin I imagine, but you will have to look hard to find any decent logs in Fairbanks. Also, you will have to spend a lot of money on insulation, all around the cabin to survive during the winter. Even the pipes from the well buried over four feet deep still needs a heat tape.

[hc5831]

I am listening. A lot of people have negative views of trailers because they are trailers. Trailers don't make people trashy, people make people trashy. Sound familiar to the gun debate? Just trying to get some facts like you just provided.

Most if not all of the things you posted apply to any housing in AK. ie a cabin/house would need a water heater, good insualtion, etc.. I'm interested in the differences. I think I have a pretty good plan. I also asked for critiques of the plan. There may be holes in it, common sense can only take me so far without actually living in AK. Luckily I have a sister stationed in Fairbanks to pick her brain and lots of brains to pick on city data.

We are doing this provided my wife can secure a RN job in Fairbanks, which shouldn't be a problem. They wouldn't be offering relocation and signing bonuses if they weren't having a problem recruiting. We are adventurous and outdoorsy and I can't think of many more adventurous things that we could realistically do.

The cost of heating fuel is the reason I have a requirement for a wood burning stove. I have no problems cutting up and splitting firewood for the winter. And with all the trees, I'm assuming I can get the wood itself for free. I looked at the heating fuel price trends and saw they have exploaded over the last 10 years, not something I want to pay. In addition I watch every year as prices spike and strain families budgets.

I am very good with my money and live "below my means". I have plenty of money saved up and should have at least an extra $20k a year to invest in AK. I'm not going to work until I die like 90% of Americans out there so I can live in the biggest house and drive the newest cars.

I hope I'm not coming across as ranting or arrogant, just trying to let you know I'm not some dumbass city slicker who hasn't thought things through. Please give me more to think about! This is why I posted on here.

Are you saying that on average living in a trailer would cost 2-3k more a year in utility costs than a comparable house? If this is true, then any saving from a mobile home would be whipped out in the long run.

Thanks, gimme more!

Originally Posted by RayinAK

You won't see any many trailers around Fairbanks. Listen to what we are trying to tell you Heating fuel costs around $3.00 per gallon at the moment, and heating a trailer will cost you an arm and a leg. If the trailer was air-tight, with perhaps 6" of insulation on the walls, and 12" of insulation on the roof and the floor, with arctic entries at the front and back doors, double or triple-pane windows, and heated by an oil-fired furnace: it should cost you around $400.00 per month for fuel during the long winter. However, you will be paying from $300.00 to $400.00 for electricity since you will need a hot water heater. You will also need a septic system, and water since there won't be septic pipes nor water pipes connected to your trailer unless you live in the city. If you are going to have the trailer away from a town, then you will have other problems: how are you going to get heating fuel, water, and food?

You can build a log cabin I imagine, but you will have to look hard to find any decent logs in Fairbanks. Also, you will have to spend a lot of money on insulation, all around the cabin to survive during the winter. Even the pipes from the well buried over four feet deep still needs a heat tape.

[warptman]

Trailer for sale or rent....