Renting a mobile home? What do I need to know? (apartment complex, rentals)
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I have a new job in a small town and I'm looking at rentals (no time to sell my house before the job starts and no energy to mess with a contingency. Plus, I may decide I don't like the new town. I plan to give it two years). I can rent out my current home for mortgage plus 30%.
What I'm finding is there is very little in my price range (I'm shooting for my current mortgage minus 10% or lower) and the competition is fierce. I've found plenty in the range of my current mortgage payment plus 35%, which would mean I would need to secure a roommate. That's a whole different kettle of fish. I have applied for one of those houses and we'll see if I even qualify on my own (not much time to find a roommate, either!)
OR I can rent a decent sized mobile home in my target range, no roommate needed. The mobile homes in this price range are set on foundations with porches and garages and actual roofs, etc.
I would never in a bajillion years purchase a mobile home. They just don't seem like a good value to me. But what are the pitfalls of renting one? The only thing I can see in the pictures that even indicates it's a mobile home are the cheezy wall panels (no sheetrock).
FYI, this small town is on the coast, so I would not want to hang around in a hurricane/tropical storm. I don't consider that a dealbreaker, if the house blows away in a storm I only have a few meager yet insured possessions. With the money I'd save, I can just drive to my daughters house for a few days.
IF it Not on land Owned by the same person that owns the MH... You are going to need the Park owners/mgr approval too. Even IF the MH owner is paying the lot rent. So that 2 Landlords to please. Newer MH have sheetrock.
I have a new job in a small town and I'm looking at rentals (no time to sell my house before the job starts and no energy to mess with a contingency. Plus, I may decide I don't like the new town. I plan to give it two years). I can rent out my current home for mortgage plus 30%.
What I'm finding is there is very little in my price range (I'm shooting for my current mortgage minus 10% or lower) and the competition is fierce. I've found plenty in the range of my current mortgage payment plus 35%, which would mean I would need to secure a roommate. That's a whole different kettle of fish. I have applied for one of those houses and we'll see if I even qualify on my own (not much time to find a roommate, either!)
OR I can rent a decent sized mobile home in my target range, no roommate needed. The mobile homes in this price range are set on foundations with porches and garages and actual roofs, etc.
I would never in a bajillion years purchase a mobile home. They just don't seem like a good value to me. But what are the pitfalls of renting one? The only thing I can see in the pictures that even indicates it's a mobile home are the cheezy wall panels (no sheetrock).
FYI, this small town is on the coast, so I would not want to hang around in a hurricane/tropical storm. I don't consider that a dealbreaker, if the house blows away in a storm I only have a few meager yet insured possessions. With the money I'd save, I can just drive to my daughters house for a few days.
Thoughts???
What do you mean they have real roods as opposed to imaginary?
Those cheesy wall panels and thin windows means it's going to cost a lot of money to heat in the winter and cool in the summer. and like you said you would need to evacuate even if a category 1 hurricane was headed your way. Other than that I can't think of any other downfalls.
Not much difference in renting anything else. Renting always has potential pitfalls.
As far as electrical costs, same deal. Depends on the house, mobile or otherwise.
Before renovating, I had all cheesy walls and thin windows and live in SWF and still never had an electric bill higher than $150 even in the middle of the summer.
You could ask for previous bills if that's a concern.
If I had to rent again I would much rather be in a mobile home than an apartment complex. Sure some of the neighbors would make noise but at least you don't have upstairs/downstairs neighbors.
The downside is that your utility bills will be higher.
If the neighborhood inside the park is good... I'd prefer it to an apartment. At least you're not sharing walls, and you can have a yard and some flowers... perhaps pets. But the vibe in the park is everything.... drive it and look closely at the neighbors. Maybe hang out there on a Friday night. Call the sheriff's department and see if they do a lot of calls in there. Look it up on some of the crime mapping resources online. Check it out.
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