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If someone plans on staying in the mobile home they bought at 20 yrs of age and stay there throughout their lifetime,are they still considered bad investments?
A mobile home is not an investment. It's the purchase of personal property. If you own the land, now that's real property and could be considered an investment. Buying a mobile home in most states is just like buying a vehicle. It is not real property. And, no mobile home is going to last 50 to 60 years, either.
If someone plans on staying in the mobile home they bought at 20 yrs of age and stay there throughout their lifetime,are they still considered bad investments?
That would depend on two things- how long on the average does a mobile home last (and I don't know that answer) and what would happen if the space rent went up by a large amount? The space rent issue is the one that would make me worry unless I could buy a lot and put the mobile home on it. I read about a mobile home park in Santa Cruz Ca which had space rents of $500 or so, then they were bought out by a corporation which raised the space rent to $2,000-$3,000 a month. At first they tried to increase the rent for existing tenants to that amount but I guess the tenants sued so they settled and decided to keep the rents the same unless you sell your mobile or die, at which time the rents go up to the new figure. There are a number of really upset people who inherited an older mobile that now has a space rent of $3,000 a month and no one is willing to buy the mobile and pay that kind of rent. To make it worse there are no parks nearby with empty spaces so moving the home isn't feasible either. It appears the ulterior motive of the corporation is to get people to abandon these old mobile homes so that they can go in and erect very expensive modular homes on the spaces.
IMHO, buying a mobile home on land you also buy could be a frugal way of living. They are often taxed very reasonably for property taxes and can cost much less per square foot than a stick built home. So you could make your income go further by having frugal housing and investing the saved money wisely..
Personally, I would not by a mobile home on a rented space unless I was willing to walk away if the space rent went up too high. But then, there's also the possibility of having to move if the park owner sells the space for other uses.
For those reasons, I would only buy a mobile home if I also owned the land under it...
Realistically, someone twenty years old has no idea of where the vicissitudes of life will drive them. The one exception I can think of might be someone on permanent disability with lots of family in the immediate area. Spending $$$ on ANY home or dwelling with the intent of investing is suspect.
Housing in general is a very spotty "investment." Once you figure in taxes, insurance, maintenance, interest paid, and incidentals, then add those amounts to the selling price when you sell a few years later, very few homes end up being a successful investment. They are often a holding vehicle for money and sometimes are a money pit.
What CAN work, and work very well, is buying land in a low tax area that either has an existing mobile home on it and is being sold at a low price, or buying raw land with easy utility access and placing a used mobile home on it. The concept is to minimize ongoing housing costs and free money up for better investments, recognizing that the LAND value may increase in the future to where the MH can be removed and the land sold for development.
With retirees, the idea is much simpler. Buy land and a DECENT manufactured home for cash in a low property tax area and don't plan on selling.
Buying a MH in a park is worse than buying into a HOA, IMO.
Still a bad investment. My sister bought one 20 years ago, and has been paying more for lot rental and maintenance than I pay for my apartment rent. Now her MH is of so little value, she can't even give it away, because the recipient would have to pay the lot rent. All she can do is walk away, and the lot owners will be stuck with the cost of towing it away.
So it was a bad "investment", but she enjoyed her living surroundings more than she would have enjoyed an apartment, so she got some quality of life for her output.
But then, before that, she "invested" in a house. And then lost money when she sold the house for less than they paid for it, thanks to the miracle of diversity that graced her neighborhood. So what are you gonna do?
Buying a doublewide or single on its own land can be a good way to go, IMO (granted, a 20 yo probably doesn't know what they want long term). I was looking last year and around here (south) you could get a 1200-1700 sq ft doublewide on .75+ acre for $30-40k with no city tax. Some of them require $5-10k in repairs and a good cleaning, but I don't see why they couldn't last a lifetime if maintained. Most aren't built as well as stick built so you might have to replace some of the original cheap materials quicker than normal stuff. I don't think I'd mess with one without owning the land. Lot rent could go up or the park could get run down by people that don't maintain their home.
A mobile home on a rented space is never a good purchase. A mobile home on land you own might be a good purchase, because of the land, not the mobile home.
A brand new mobile home to place on your own land costs as much as a stick built house from an economy builder. Surprise! It really does.
Mobile homes are not as well built and the methods of building aren't the same as for a site built home. That makes them more difficult to repair and they need more repairs.
Parts can be difficult to find for repairs.
I own three old mobile home I use as rentals. They have been a good purchase. I paid fair value for the land and the mobile had depreciated so much it was just about free. They are in excellent locations and easy to rent out. They take extra work to keep them I good shape, but all are over 40 years old and going strong. Plumbing can be difficult because of the way it was originally installed.
Holes in floors are common and can be difficult to repair because floors went down first and then walls added and walls sometimes don't line up with floor joists.
To me, a mobile can be a good purchase if it is on a desirable piece if land and it has already depreciated substantially. Then, once you own it, you have to be extra diligent about maintenance.
Knowing brands helps. I've got one made in 1970 that is rock solid and you can feel the quality it was built with. My son owns one 15 years younger that has a badly sagging roof. That one wasn't built so well in the first place
Buying a doublewide or single on its own land can be a good way to go, IMO (granted, a 20 yo probably doesn't know what they want long term). I was looking last year and around here (south) you could get a 1200-1700 sq ft doublewide on .75+ acre for $30-40k with no city tax. Some of them require $5-10k in repairs and a good cleaning, but I don't see why they couldn't last a lifetime if maintained. Most aren't built as well as stick built so you might have to replace some of the original cheap materials quicker than normal stuff. I don't think I'd mess with one without owning the land. Lot rent could go up or the park could get run down by people that don't maintain their home.
I agree with this. My brother paid $22K for a used double-wide mobile home on an acre of land a few years back. It's in a rural area of a southern state. At the time, he didn't have a very high paying job, but he isn't a spender either. It was an economically feasible way for him to have something when he couldn't afford much else. It has given him a lot of freedom. After a number of years rent free, he will have more savings than if he had been renting all of those years. He has a good job now, but is still single. If his life circumstances were to change, he could afford the changes better than many people.
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