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Or (let's just say it) a trailer park? I had a friend who lived in a nice MHpark and I actually grew up in a trailer on an acre of land in the country for a time. It was one of those old ones, nothing like the ones they make nowadays. My mother was able to save up enough to eventually buy a home in a prestigious private residential lake community (members only) that also had a golf course, a pool, it's own fire dept., deer everywhere, (really beautiful), 2 beaches, boat docks etc., and 0 crime whatsoever. Pretty amazing accomplishment considering where we came from.
Anyway, it got me wondering about my current situation. We are barely making ends meet, going slowly into debt, unable to keep up with the maintenance costs of our house, which we just bought 2 years ago, my partner had a major pay and hour cut at work, and on top of that we have 2 kids. Would a manufactured home park be such a bad thing if I could save more money? I checked into a relatively nice MHpark nearby, with newer homes, a playground, close to work. They had really nice ones up to 60,000, some at 30,000, and one that was still nice at only 10,000. The lot rent was 334/month, includes the water, sewer, trash, and $5 for our dog. All appliances stay. Heat and electric not included, but for a small place it might not be so bad.
I just think of all the money that could be saved if I could pay off a 10,000 cheap home. I could pay that off asap. We could finally get a decent vehicle and save up for a house we actually like instead of being limited to affording only a fixer upper in a questionable area. Gotta make sacrifices right? What are your opinions? Good or bad idea or would we be better off in an apartment? What is the best place to live in to SAVE MONEY. I want to afford gas, a savings/college fund for my 2 kids, retirement, etc, and someday be able to purchase a beautiful home for my family.
Anyone with experience in this be able to help me out? Thanks.
Or (let's just say it) a trailer park? I had a friend who lived in a nice MHpark and I actually grew up in a trailer on an acre of land in the country for a time. It was one of those old ones, nothing like the ones they make nowadays. My mother was able to save up enough to eventually buy a home in a prestigious private residential lake community (members only) that also had a golf course, a pool, it's own fire dept., deer everywhere, (really beautiful), 2 beaches, boat docks etc., and 0 crime whatsoever. Pretty amazing accomplishment considering where we came from.
Anyway, it got me wondering about my current situation. We are barely making ends meet, going slowly into debt, unable to keep up with the maintenance costs of our house, which we just bought 2 years ago, my partner had a major pay and hour cut at work, and on top of that we have 2 kids. Would a manufactured home park be such a bad thing if I could save more money? I checked into a relatively nice MHpark nearby, with newer homes, a playground, close to work. They had really nice ones up to 60,000, some at 30,000, and one that was still nice at only 10,000. The lot rent was 334/month, includes the water, sewer, trash, and $5 for our dog. All appliances stay. Heat and electric not included, but for a small place it might not be so bad.
I just think of all the money that could be saved if I could pay off a 10,000 cheap home. I could pay that off asap. We could finally get a decent vehicle and save up for a house we actually like instead of being limited to affording only a fixer upper in a questionable area. Gotta make sacrifices right? What are your opinions? Good or bad idea or would we be better off in an apartment? What is the best place to live in to SAVE MONEY. I want to afford gas, a savings/college fund for my 2 kids, retirement, etc, and someday be able to purchase a beautiful home for my family.
Anyone with experience in this be able to help me out? Thanks.
It makes good sense to me. My family moved around a lot when I was a kid, dad was a journeyman electrician, had to move to where the construction job was. We lived in a large trailer house, 6 kids, we didn't mind it at all. It was an adventure for us. Some of my best childhood memories were from that time. Lots of other kids in the trailer park to play with. It is definitely something you should consider if it makes financial sense for your family.
Lots of people are doing this these days up in Wyoming, where there are lots of mineral extraction jobs available and not much housing. The same is happening in Central Texas currently, lots of oil and gasification jobs, limited housing. With the drought I noticed one of the largest cattle feed lots in the area turned one of their largest feed lots into a trailer park.
Generally a home purchase is not considered a depreciating asset (like a car would be).
In this case though that is exactly how the purchase and possible later sale needs to be considered.
$60,000 (new) sold after 8 years for (lets say) $35,000. OK?
$25,000 / 96 (8x12) = $260 plus the space rent at $334 = $594 per month. Follow?
If you have to borrow the purchase amount then those loan costs need to be added in too.
Generally a home purchase is not considered a depreciating asset (like a car would be).
In this case though that is exactly how the purchase and possible later sale needs to be considered.
$60,000 (new) sold after 8 years for (lets say) $35,000. OK?
$25,000 / 96 (8x12) = $260 plus the space rent at $334 = $594 per month. Follow?
If you have to borrow the purchase amount then those loan costs need to be added in too.
hth
So what is the best way I can save money? Buy a short sale? Foreclosure? Rent an apartment? Buy cheap manufactured home? I wouldn't mind taking a loss if its only 10,000. I wouldn't buy one of the "high end" trailer homes. I already know how they depreciate in value over time. Heck I am IN one on 2 acres of land that I bought for only 75,000. The value is the land. We originally wanted to build a house eventually on that land, but things change. Back on point, if you could suggest one of the above-mentioned housing types as the absolute cheapest, best type for saving money, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
It makes good sense to me. My family moved around a lot when I was a kid, dad was a journeyman electrician, had to move to where the construction job was. We lived in a large trailer house, 6 kids, we didn't mind it at all. It was an adventure for us. Some of my best childhood memories were from that time. Lots of other kids in the trailer park to play with. It is definitely something you should consider if it makes financial sense for your family.
Lots of people are doing this these days up in Wyoming, where there are lots of mineral extraction jobs available and not much housing. The same is happening in Central Texas currently, lots of oil and gasification jobs, limited housing. With the drought I noticed one of the largest cattle feed lots in the area turned one of their largest feed lots into a trailer park.
Well, I have no problem with some trailer parks. A friend of mine lived in a nice one, my cousin lived in a really nice one in Florida that even had a pool. A trailer is not my first choice of housing. I only was considering living in one to earn up enough money to buy a nice house someday in a location I like. Main concern is saving money. So do you think that a trailer as a housing option is the cheapest and would save me the most money?
I just think of all the money that could be saved if I could pay off a 10,000 cheap home. I could pay that off asap. We could finally get a decent vehicle and save up for a house we actually like instead of being limited to affording only a fixer upper in a questionable area. Gotta make sacrifices right? What are your opinions? Good or bad idea or would we be better off in an apartment? What is the best place to live in to SAVE MONEY. I want to afford gas, a savings/college fund for my 2 kids, retirement, etc, and someday be able to purchase a beautiful home for my family.
Anyone with experience in this be able to help me out? Thanks.
We paid $7500 cash for our single-wide mobile home. We put it on 26 rural Missouri acres but I am not unfamiliar with trailer parks. As a child I grew up in a few. My father was a civil engineer and worked for the Department of Defense (Army) which required frequent moves. It made sense for us to have a mobile home so that we could just have it moved wherever we were going.
There are two distinct flavors of mobile home parks. There are the "upscale" ones and the ones you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. The secret, of course, is finding a park that suits your lifestyle. Strong management is the key and location.
As far as the financial end of having a mobile home. It does depreciate if it is not on real estate. (This is in Missouri. Your state may be different). But if it is a good brand, and well cared for, you can usually sell it for what you paid for it. (New mobile homes, of course, depreciate badly the first year - just like cars). In special circumstances you might even be able to make a little money on the deal.
If you are serious about this, start spending some time investigating parks. Always spend time in any prospective park late at night and see what goes on. Be sure to check it out in the summer to see if there are a lot of people making noise outside late at night (working on cars, [older] kids on bikes). Check with the local police department and find out how many calls they have had there in the past 6 months or year. (this is all public information). If the landlord will tell you, find out how many long-term residents there are and what the turn-over is. Try to find out how many trailers are owner occupied and how many are rentals. Keep a eye out for outdoor dogs. If they are allowed they can bark and keep you awake *all night* *every night*.
As a beginner home, until you can afford better, a mobile home is not a bad choice as long as you are careful and know the negatives.
I do not know if I would buy one within a park, because you're going to be paying lot rent. Even though it's low, you're not going to get to a point where you don't have to pay it. It's always going to be an expense, and that's turned me off of wanting to buy a home in a mobile home park.
But if I had the land, I'd totally buy a mobile home. They're a lot cheaper, and are just as nice (if not nicer) than other homes.
I think it depends on the community. If you are talking a classic "trailer park", like most people think of when they hear those words, then no, I would only live in one if I had absolutely no choice.
But my grandparents live in a very nice retired community made up of manufactured homes, and motor homes, all on rented lots. The community has a pool, a clubhouse, lots of trees, walking paths, etc. I would live somewhere like that.
It beats living in an apartment, in my opinion because you don't have shared walls with your neighbors and people stomping around upstairs. It was a very good suggestion from another poster to visit the park at different times of the day and night and on weekends. I moved into a house into what I thought was a quiet neighborhood during the day. At nights it was horrible-music booming, crazy people in and out all night.....turns out some of my neighbors were drug dealers. The SWAT-team-like drug bust by the DEA was particularily scary. All of a sudden a few vehicles skidded into my neighborhood, with gun-toting, bullet-proof vest wearing agents trying to herd up all the people spilling out of doors and windows. I was running a home daycare and children were in my fenced yard. I moved pretty quickly.
When we were young college students, we purchased our first place, a single wide new mobile in a very nice park near the college. We loved it, had great neighbors and even made a very small profit on it a year and a half later when we sold it. I would love a nice mobile in Malibu with a view, lol.
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