A mobile home has been giving my mom a roof over her head for several years now. She bought a house sitting on 10 acres. Turns out the house had a defective HVAC system and managed to infest the entire thing with black mold. The house is uninhabitable. My mom was able to score a used mobile home for a few thousand dollars and have it moved onto the property and hooked up to Electric and water. She sold her old home and has been waiting on something to come of this lemon home she bought. Odds are it's going to have to be rehabilitated like homes flooded on the Gulf Coast.

I know a lot of them look like crap. Some people don't want to put money into what they call a throw away home.

Living in Florida I see a lot of really old mobile homes still being occupied. So I'm not really sure if the idea about them being such a death trap is real or it's just easy to show a tightly packed home parks destruction on TV to give that idea.

My thought on mobile homes is that you can get twice the house for half the cost. They are being built better and nicer. I was in one the other day that had high flat ceilings, crown molding, real textured walls, good name appliances, plenty of really nice extras. I was quite impressed.

as for tornadoes and hurricanes... I don't really want to be in ANY home that is underneath the storm.

It was $80k brand new--I pay $600 a month for it and the land. That's cheaper than renting and I get a whole house out of it AND I'm not throwing money away renting.

We'll eventually have to move to a bigger home once we start a family, but for now this is just right. :)

Now, that wasn't a house I'd personally want to live in with two kids and two dogs for my entire life, but it beats a lot of other options. If you need, say, 3 bedrooms and a living arrangement that accepts pets, a trailer + lot rent will probably work out better than trying to find a three-bedroom apartment that takes pets, eh?

How bout a FEMA trailer complete with poison so you get sick.

@Verucalise(countingcalories):

"I'd rather live next to honest people in trailers than Bernie Madoff in a mansion."

Damn straight.

My dad's brother and two of his sisters each lived in mobile homes when they first married their spouses. They had great neighbors and were in a nice area.

Unseen cost will add up with a mobile home. Park fees get to be about $300 a month plus most insurance companies don't want anything to do with this type of risk. If it is 10+yrs old expect to pay a lot of premium for very little coverage.

@JohnDeere:

My parents used to rent out an old trailer on part of their farmland. After my mom died, I looked into replacing it, since the trailer was about 50 years old and starting to fall apart.

I was STUNNED at the quality of the mobile homes I saw. I talked to some people who'd bought homes from Clayton Homes over the past five or six years, and they confirmed that the homes were of exceptional quality. I even talked to a man who refurbishes mobile homes and he showed me all of the work that they do.

The stereotype of the cheap, low-quality mobile home may have been valid a few decades ago, but from what I can tell there have been a heck of a lot of changes in the industry. The salesman at Clayton Homes told me a lot of those changes were driven by gov't regulations (safety standards, consumer protection stuff, etc.) and some were driven by Warren Buffet, who bought their company a few years ago. Now a "manufactured home" is equal quality of many of the contractor-built homes you buy, if not actually better--and for roughly a third to a quarter of the price.

I would serious consider buying a mobile home if I already owned the land.

I've suggested mobile homes in the past and some didn't like it. Funny how things change when Consumerist says it.

The best thing about quickly buying out and owning a mobile home is that you stop making payments - no more rent, no more mortgage. Then you can bank and invest the money. Using the following site:

[www.moneychimp.com]

I calcuated saving $800 per month (a typical monthly payment for rent or a mortgage) at 4% using simple interest.

In five years, you would save $54000. And in eight years, you would save $92000. You could buy a small house outright for that much, or at least, get a very small mortgage.

Another question: Why weren't moble homes brought up in articles on spending and image, on why people buy expensive things to "keep up with the Joneses"? Isn't one's ome considered part of that image/spending cycle?

We're paying less than $175k in Texas for a brand new house...that doesn't have wheels.

@secret_curse: Thanks, General Sarcasm. I know that would happen, I was wondering about the actual structure. Given that it would be a little more "flexible" than a block home I would think all the movement would cause less damage to the home. Not sure if there would be much difference in regards to wood frame homes.

Just wondering man, damn.

And my old drafty house definitely needs more insulation. However, I do still spend less on gas and electricity than my parents modern modular insulated home.

Some people might say that an upscale outhouse is still a shit hole, but if you can get past the stigma of being "trailer trash", it's nice.

"I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park!" (From Mater in the movie cars, if you didn't know)

A friend of mine did that after high school. Admittedly, the land was gifted to him from family (~30 acres a mere 10 miles outside of the western suburbs). He had enough money left over to build a large garage that was twice the size of the double-wide trailer he lived in.

I considered a having a contemporary modular constructed on some rural land when shopping for a house a couple years ago. I still wonder if not doing it was the right choice...

Ok, the trailer wasn't the newest, but it was clean, and most of the park were families. And unlike many parks, the owner (a nice old man) lived there too. During the weekends, he'd even wander around the park, keeping an eye on the kids, and making sure people weren't making messes, or could grab him if they needed to speak to him, or that everyone wasn't being a pain. Wasn't a bad place to live and bring up kids, really.

@The Porkchop Express: "of course you furniture and stuff would shake around regardless"

Yes, Captain Obvious, that does indeed happen during an earthquake...

Actually, in the midwest many mobile home parks are in low-lying flat areas and are slighly more vulnerable to a tornado moving across the open land than a housing development in the hills, for example.

There are a few oddities to be found, but overall it's just a nice community.

It costs ~$350 a month for lot rent, water, sewage, and taxes. Everything runs on electricity (no gas) and that costs ~$120 a month. Houses in the surrounding area pay $300-$400 per month just in property tax.

@K-Bo: Yeah, I doubt they depreciate as quickly or severly as cars unless you just trash it. And with proper care, they probably do HOLD value.

I grew up in a mobile home, as well. Partly because of Wetterau putting my dad's grocery store out of business, and partly because it was cheap enough that my parents could send my brother and I to a private school.

No hate from me for people, as you said, "living in a trailer, who works an honest day, lives clean"

@sifr: I was wondering about these things holding up in earthquakes and the like.

Any experience with this?

I would think that the only thing that could happen is that they fall off the blocks/foundation, but hurrican straps and the like would probably help prevent that.

of course you furniture and stuff would shake around regardless.

@tricky1: think condo, only the original purchase and monthly payments are a lot cheaper.

@coujo: Oh, they don't just have white trash. they have all kinds of trash.

Of course there are some decent ones.

You could also buy one of these and put it on your own land somewhere. I saw a kinda nice double wide on 6 acres with lake front once.

Mobile homes stop being mobile very quickly. There is a risk you'll lose the home with little or no compensation if you're kicked off the land when the mobile home park is bulldozed for a new strip mall.

@eric?: my trailer park rent was only $180/month. and that included buying the trailer.

@feralparakeet: my 1995 doublewide is built better than most homes built in the last 10 years.

@Musician78:

You should rebuild old barbeques and come up with a scheme. Call it the big dirty.

@ngoandy:

There's a shit tornado coming, I can feel it.

If you are willing to settle for the quality and design of a mobile home....you can build it yourself cheaper than a manufactured home. A box is a box is a box.

it's also important to note that the distinction between modulars & mobile homes is much smaller than you may think & only really exists b/c of antiquated tax classifications. for example, what is the difference between a double-wide with the wheels removed & installed on slab vs. a modular installed on slab? virtually nothing.

Will your friend living in the shed be able to fix enough shopping carts so that Lahey will get off your back?

And then add an air-conditioned garage with room for several cars.

@Verucalise(countingcalories):
Amen.

@frodolives35: hell yah! I grew UP in a trailer with an addition... it was clean, nothing special, and my parents were damn proud to be able to own it after the sucky life they had up to that point.

No one should EVER look down on a person living in a trailer, who works an honest day, lives clean. A home is what you make of it-

I'd rather live next to honest people in trailers than Bernie Madoff in a mansion.

I redid the whole interior, and sold the mobile home for slightly more than I paid for it. It got my husband and I through college for super cheap lot fees monthly, instead of rent or mortgages.

@Dondegroovily: I live in the North Central part of Washington and Ursus described our climate exactly. Not all of the PNW is dreary and rainy. Some places have four seasons and areas of eastern WA are actually considered to have desert climates, including Pasco. Who knew...

I still hold that there was never any intent to deceive. The series concept is still admirable since they are in fact real local businesses.

Please carry on. Talk amongst yourselves.

Of course, folks who recently bought new traditional homes thinking they'd largely avoid these issues ended up with toxic drywall from China instead.

Buyer beware!

@humphrmi: Here in TN you see crappy mobile homes (we call them trailers ) next door to nice 150000 brick homes. You can buy a very nice house down here for 150000. Oh yah theres probably a church within 2 miles also. But who cares what peoples homes look like we all still smile and wave to strangers while driving down the road and the bbq is the best in the world.

Ended up buying a modest 1000 sqft. traditional home on a fairly small lot, which I thought would be out of my budget. But even though I paid about $20K more for it than I could theoretically have bought the manufactured home for, my loan terms are better, the payment is lower overall, and despite the housing collapse, the value of the property has likely appreciated somewhat since I moved in.

Ironically, I probably would not have been able to qualify for this place now since the collapse of the credit market. But I'm in no real hurry to go anywhere, my mortgage is still less than most rents in the area, and once things level out in real estate a bit, I should be in pretty good shape to move into a nicer place.

A used mobile home? No way.

It's not like they're trying to hide anything. It's still about bringing attention to local businesses. Do you think Cullman Liquidators has the money to pay for an ad like that on their own? If MicroBilt gets their name out there too (allegedly, they provide services for small businesses), what's the harm?

I grew up in a town where half of everybody lived in a mobile home, including my family (though you'd barely know by looking at it, given the number of additions that went onto the thing), so I'm not particularly biased against them, but the perception that they're cheap, freeing, etc, can be a little untrue.

mmm could go for a donair right about now...

@dohtem: I'd rather live WITH and AMONGST seniors that amongst wanna be thugs and trashy types that care little about cleaning up their areas or pride in appearance/sefl.

@Dondegroovily: I'm not familiar with the term "Mani-home," but if it's a shortening of "Manufactured home," then I feel the need to point out that many manufactured homes aren't actually mobile these days. They're often just homes built in pieces and then assembled on site. In terms of looking "classy," most of them are on par with the crappy design and construction jobs on-site builders are doing these days.

Yes, it depreciates like a car but owning is better than leasing there, too. At the end of the loan, you have a car that can be resold and that may last you a good many years longer. At the end of the lease, you have nothing.

Mobile homes do not appreciate, they depreciate over time. This means borrowing money to buy one is expensive. The cheapest loan my wife and I were offered was 9% on a 15 year loan. For our house we got a 5.25% 5-year ARM - which essentially meant we could afford twice the house for our monthly payment.

Mobile home parks charge a lot fee, which can be substantial. There are no deductions for this, and they can raise it almost as they see fit.

There are often severe restrictions on what you are allowed to do or put up outside - no fences, etc.

Watch out for garages that are home-made and not to code.

Finally, consider your neighborhood. In a privately owned park where you rent space for your mobile home, you may not have the same rights regarding noise from your neighbors, such as their dogs, etc.

Finally, consider how easy it will be to sell it again when you want to leave. Even if you don't live there, you are still responsible for the lot rent, and if anything happens to you mobile home, you could get caught on an expensive bill trying to get it demolished and disposed of.

Other than that, yeah, a newer mobile home can give a lot less work than a comparable old house.

Actually, this is often true of any kind of unconventional home. I had a friend once who bought a concrete geodesic dome, and had a really hard time getting financing.

Buying a mobile home on a rented lot with the idea that it's somehow more cost-effective than renting an apartment, on the other hand, usually doesn't make sense.

@H3ion:
Those old huge satelite dishes are called the official West Virginia state flower!

never thought i'd run into a situation where a manufactured home was beyond my means when a larger site built stick structure wasn't!

On another note, I once heard it explained that mobile homes are to today's rural poor what log cabins were for the last several hundred years. Sort of makes sense to me.

That said, while mobile homes, especially older ones can be of dubious quality, another type of inexpensive housing, manufactured homes are amazing. Exceptionally well built (far better construction than a home built in-situ) and fairly affordable. Plus, once assembled, no looks of condescension from your neighbors, as they are indistinguishable from any other house.

First, used ones can be had for the price of a used car but they are still declining assets.

Second, trailer parks are filled with people who have either low incomes or legal problems that typically keep them out of apartments and these people are going to be your new neighbors. When my parents first bought their park they had a multi-month battle to evict drug dealers. The people running your trailer park might not be as nice as my parents and don't care who live there.

I lived in four mobile home parks in my childhood and with one exception, when I visit any of the old parks I lived in, they are all ganglands now. They're all dumps.

I never once got hit by a tornado, but the issue with mobile homes is a bit more nuanced than your home being turned into toothpicks. They are generally drafty, and built with a focus on light weight for hauling. As a result, the floors are generally particle board with linoleum on top, the walls are usually just panel boards with insulation between them, and because they are manufactured rather than built by hand, you usually find lots of places where floor doesn't meet the wall right or the window frame doesn't fit. As a result, you never really feel completely sealed off from the elements.

Also bear in mind that if you think you can resell it, before you move into a park, find out if the landlord also sells mobile homes in the park. You don't want to end up competing with your landlord to sell your unit later.

I have a mobile home in a pretty nice park. I am currently looking for a house though. I think due to the housing market's collapse I may be here a while now that I have negative equity.

Oh well it's a house (or a roof over my head anyhow). I regularly tell people that I am going to put a rusted '82 Camaro up on cynder blocks in my front yard. Maybe an ancient couch and a bullet hole ridden refrigerator.

Um, no. That's for a mobile home that's in a Mobile Home park and requires rent. I've seen plenty of mobile homes that were literally almost falling apart and they were still wanting about $150K for them during the boom. Those same places are still around $50 to $75K now..

Doesn't make sense.

That said, a modern, quality double wide (just like cars, there's different brands and different built qualities), can be quite nice and tend to hold their value a lot better than older/cheap homes from the 70/80s.

Now, if you own the land it's on, you might build equity in that. But if we're talking about a mobile home on a rented lot, you're going to lose money on that.

Around here the lot rents are around $250 a month in most cases...so if you have a mortgage that's even $300 a month that's still cheaper than an apartment in this area, with at least a bit of a yard.
If I was to move to a park I would go for a co-op park, as you tend to have more of a role in deciding the bylaws and such. But mobile homes are generally a pretty good investment, around here at least!

"Flimsy as hell" - Only if you're buying a low quality one. Poor quality is just as common in houses. Quality building construction is something you should look for no matter what you're buying for a home.

Now, on trailer parks... well, yeah, I can't really defend them that much. They tend to go the direction of any lower cost housing.

That being said, not all mobile homes are found in those places. Depends on the by-laws of where you live.

The river changed course so quickly that they put the barricade at the end of the road on wheels.

Viral marketing or not, it's an awesome commercial. Watch the making-of too for more fun details about Robert Lee.

@kateblack: Do you think that mayber burglaries are rampant becasue its in the same neighborhood that needs frequent vists by a social worker and not becasue of flimsy housing material?

The strange blog name, to the overly common Wordpress template, to the weird articles, makes me think it's a spam blog grabbing stuff from Associated Content.

Plus, you have cool neighbors like Randy and the Mustard Tiger. Oh the hijinks they get into.

Those things are flimsy as hell, and a social worker friend who frequents the parks on business told me burglaries are rampant.

Where I live, we hit 110f in the summer and -10f in the winter - insulation and weatherization is extremely important!

But this does give me occasion to post a link to this AWESOME commercial: