Are Manufactured Homes a decent way to get into a home?

Question

I'm really wanting to get into a place of my own but HATE living in apartments since in my eyes its just throwing away money because rent is about as much as a mortgage payment. However, I don't make much money and houses in the North West are very expensive now. It's impossible to find anything within 20 miles thats within my price range. Even condos are outrageously priced!

I've noticed Manufactured Homes for sale thats within my price range and was thinking of getting one and living in it for a few years, after which I could use the money I get from selling it as a decent down payment on a cheap condo. Granted the manufactured home will depreciate a decent amount but I'm hoping I could get at least 75% of what I paid for it pricing it low enough to be attractive to the next buyer. I'll also rent out the other 1 or 2 bedrooms to help soften the payments.

My question, is this a viable method since I'm not a rich guy? Or just a waste of time/money?

Answer 1

I know many people who have lived in manufactured homes to be able to save for a better and larger place. My parents did it and so did my boyfriends parents. Both have been able to save enough during that time to be able to put down payments on brand new houses. So instead of growing up in a manufactured home, I spent a couple years in one and then moved into the new house. They really are money savers. It also helps you build your credit.

Answer 2

If you have to rent out the other 2 bedrooms to make it affordable, you're probably considering doing something that's going to damage your credit.
Buying a home is a great idea, unless you don't have any money, then it's the worst thing you could ever do.
I'm not sure how much your monthly rent is right now, but if I were you I'd consider downsizing for now. Rent the cheapest place you can find and save money like crazy. Try to get a decent down payment - nobody expects you to save up 20% or anything like that, but a good 5% can give you more financing options.
Personally I wouldn't consider a manufactured home, they seem like great deals but you wind up paying almost as much as a regular home after all is said and done - only with a regular home you get the benefit of owning a home that actually increases in value.
Regardless of what you decide, the last thing you want to do is purchase anything that requires you to rent out rooms. Dealing with tenants isn't fun and they can potentially cause a great deal of damage to your property - getting them evicted isn't the easiest thing to do either.
Bankrate.com has a lot of good resources, I think you can type in answers to some questions and it'll tell you whether buying a place is a good idea for you - you might want to check it out.

Answer 3

They're not a bad deal, except if you are buying in a park, then you pay lot rent to the owners, and live under their rules, which sometimes can be quite hard to accept.
Figure on a loss of about 50% of new cost when selling, unless in a high demand area of the country.
Best bet if you can afford it is to buy a lot and have one placed on it, in most cases what you would have paid in lot rent would just about or more than cover the purchase of your own lot, then the value of all will be higher on re-sale.
Twenty some years back we lived in a two story house with full basement, when my wife went down the basement stairs to do the laundry, head first, it was then we decided to move into a one story home and decided on the manufactured home, mainly because we wanted to travel and didn't care for the upkeep of a regular house. Now, twenty one years later, we feel we did not make a mistake, and are happy here.
Also, there are many who will advise against it for one reason or another, but you can ignore most of them as if they don't or never have llived in one, they have no idea of what it's like. Today's homes are well built. well insulated and usually made of good materials. The only drawback of course is the depreciation, but again, in some parts of the country, like here, houses are losing value faster than junk cars.

Answer 4

The financing options for manufactured housing are becoming more and more limited which means that about the only way to finance a manufactured home any more is FHA. Fannie Mae won't take them as security any more. FHA isn't a bad thing but any time you invest in something that has limited options you may not be making the strongest investment.

I live in the NW too and know what you mean about housing prices but there are still pockets where you can buy for a reasonable amount. You just need to know where to look and what to look for and you have to have reasonable expectations. Understand that what you are looking at initially is a short term investment so that you can grow the equity to step up in a couple of years.

I highly recommend you meet with an experienced mortgage banker to confirm you eligibility and work with that banker and an experienced Realtor to find you that starting point and work with you as you grow. A strong team can benefit you for a lifetime of home ownership. Now is a good time to start putting your team together.

Answer 5

It's a toss-up. Manufactured homes are pretty much guaranteed to go down in value, and you always have the stigma of "trailer trash" associated with it. I have a friend who lives in a manufactured home, and I have to say that the neighbors in his community don't seem to care about keeping them up or making their homes/yards look nice, so I wouldn't want to live in a place like that. Personally, I prefer ownership over throwing money away on rent, but I'm not sure I'd go the manufactured home route. The other consideration in this part of the country is the fact that trailer parks attract tornadoes, and I don't particularly like the idea of traveling to Oz, so...P.S.: If you're talking about renting out rooms in a manufactured home, I'd advise against it. Manufactured homes are very tiny, so I'm guessing you could fill up all the space with your own stuff, even if you don't have much. And sharing that small space with one or two roomies is going to get really old really quick.

Answer 6

Manufactured homes are okay, but like new cars, they depreciate over time.
If you must get a manufactured home, try to get one with as much floor space as possible that looks as much like a real house, if you can. Manufactured homes that plain look like double-wide trailers have a lower resale value.
Put as much money as you can into a better-than-neccessary foundation for your manufactured home. The biggest problem with 90's models are poor foundations, causing the homes to split apart at the seams.
Location, location, location. Don't let them talk you into situating your front door at the back of the property facing away from your drive. Don't let them talk you into putting your home at the bottom of the hill just so you can be cheap on incoming pipes. Don't let them situate your house right next to the railroad tracks or right smack next to the highway, if you can.
Good luck. Personally I don't like them, but some companies have improved. Go with the best product, if you can.

Answer 7

modular home is the way to go they re buildt well and appreciate. they are also stronger then a stick buildt home due to the fact they are buildt off site. and delivered in sections. manufactured homes or mobiles lose value!