Maybe Moving Out. Advice on Mobile Homes?

[ThatNickGuy]

Any advice for buying a mobile home? I'm at a point financially where I think I can afford to (finally!) move out. Student loans are paid off (WOO!) and I don't have any debt or major expenses. And I have a handsome amount put away in savings.

I considered just getting a one-bedroom apartment for myself, maybe in Dartmouth since it's generally cheaper over there compared to Halifax. But I've heard that buying and owning a mobile home can sometimes actually cost less than renting an apartment. Obviously there would be other expenses to consider like electricity, home insurance, etc. One setback for me is I'm terrible at budgeting and can often be impulsive buying things. Not big purchases, but little things that just add up.

Anyone with experience in this have any advice? Or where to start?

Putting this behind a spoiler, just in case. Not sure if I should be divulging this and might edit it out:

Spoiler

For the record, I make about $2000 a month. Which I don't even know if that's considered "good." It's better than minimum wage, to be sure. And I have, to date, about $7,500 stashed away in savings.

 

[Ravenpoe]

A mobile home is a big investment. But just like buying a regular home, that investment isn't just money gone, but rather money, well, invested. However, the big difference here is that a regular home may appreciate in value while mobile homes, much like cars, depreciate. It's for this reason I would recommend you buy used. Just like buying a used car, someone else will have taken the immediate hit in loss of value from it becoming no longer new, meaning the value you pay for it will last a lot longer.

 

[Dei]

Are we talking actual mobile homes, or the type of modular home that is similar to a mobile home, but without the wheels? Or are both on the table? Do you have a lot in mind to live on?

 

[ThatNickGuy]

Are we talking actual mobile homes, or the type of modular home that is similar to a mobile home, but without the wheels? Or are both on the table? Do you have a lot in mind to live on?

Sorry, I think this would be considered a modular home, then. Basically, I'd be looking somewhere that's a whole neighbourhood of these kinds of homes.

 

[Gared]

Sorry, I think this would be considered a modular home, then. Basically, I'd be looking somewhere that's a whole neighbourhood of these kinds of homes.

I spent a lot of time looking at those when we were looking to buy a home. They aren't bad options at all for the first couple of homeowners, it's the third and fourth down the line that may have difficulty getting financing, if that's anything like the hassle it is here in America. Most of the big suppliers should have similar models, floor plans, and amenities, since they all have to compete with each other. What I found helpful was to go through a list of pretty much all of the manufacturers in my region and see what all of them had to offer, completely without any kind of expectations, so I could see what kind of features and options I could expect to be available. Then I researched the reviews for individual manufacturers, and narrowed down to a list of available manufacturers that had the features I wanted in the space I could afford.

I don't know what pricing looks like in Halifax, but down here, the pricing was pretty standard across manufacturers and feature sets, and the big pricing difference is single-wide, double-wide, or triple-wide, and whether or not you spring for some upgrades, like a jacuzzi bath tub in the master bath, or go for solid surface counter tops or laminate (that choice is totally up to you, by the way, they're both perfectly durable).

Obviously, I didn't wind up going that route, though, so I can't really tell you what the buying process is going to be like.

 

[Denbrought]

Not much knowledge on mobile homes past the obligatory John Oliver episode, but (from experience) being your own landlord can suck at times, specially if you can't stretch your savings/income for unexpected expenses (heating breaks, pipe freezes, mold strikes, toilet cracks, roof leaks, noun verbs). It's also great in that you know exactly when something is getting fixed, and how, but the buck stops with you either way.

You mention budgeting as a difficult area and thinking that you are ready to move out financially-speaking... In case you haven't, I would encourage you to figure out what your essential spending would look like once you're living on your own (food, transportation, kitty care, misc need-to-live expenses, some savings). Whatever space is left after those is where both your impulse buys and your new housing expenses (taxes, insurance, utilities, and mortgage/rent/land-fee) go. If the final pie doesn't look too pretty, maybe you don't make enough to live alone safely yet (that is, with minimal/nil risk of asking to move back in if something unexpected were to strain your finances).

 

[Ravenpoe]

Are we talking actual mobile homes, or the type of modular home that is similar to a mobile home, but without the wheels? Or are both on the table? Do you have a lot in mind to live on?

At least here in florida, modular homes are still called mobile homes, and in fact are what most people think of when saying mobile homes as opposed to something like a camper.

 

[Dei]

At least here in florida, modular homes are still called mobile homes, and in fact are what most people think of when saying mobile homes as opposed to something like a camper.

That's why I asked for clarification from Nick to be sure. I would automatically assume he meant modular, but you know what they say about assuming. 0_0

 

[ThatNickGuy]

I've been just sort of looking around and stumbled on this place. It's in a great location, basically at the bottom of the hill where I currently live. That hill is killer when I try to bike back home from downtown or my couple of attempts biking to and from work. When I thought about moving out before, I thought even the bottom of the hill would be better.

 

[ThatNickGuy]

Separate but related question: assuming I were to go in on this and get a mobile or mini home, if it's a 2 bedroom or larger, would it be within the realm of possibility to get a roommate? I'd probably have to revise the lease agreement or something, I thought it might be an idea to cut down on costs overall.

 

[Tinwhistler]

Home ownership (even mobile homes) has a lot more costs involved. AC goes out? You pay. HOA decides to fine you because the grass is too high? You pay. There's more to consider and budget. It may or may not actually be cheaper in the long run.

When I first moved out, in order to ease the budgeting I had to do, my first few apartments were in "all bills paid" places, so I only had to pay for rent, car, landline, cable, and food & essentials (yeah, this was before the internet or cell phones existed as consumer goods)

 

[drifter]

The description says it's a leasehold, Google tells me that basically means the cost doesn't include rights to the land, only the building. That can make things tricky, and possibly more expensive than you think. You probably want to find out what the deal is on the lease.

 

[jwhouk]

Yeah, in a situation like that, you're paying twice - once for the building, second for the land. And, even once you buy the building, you still have the lot rent.

Go in and ask questions. Oh, and a resource for you might be MH Village. It's a buy/sell site, but it does have a lot of articles on Manufactured Homes that can help you in your decision making.

 

[ThatNickGuy]

Yeah, in a situation like that, you're paying twice - once for the building, second for the land. And, even once you buy the building, you still have the lot rent.

Go in and ask questions. Oh, and a resource for you might be MH Village. It's a buy/sell site, but it does have a lot of articles on Manufactured Homes that can help you in your decision making.

Friendly reminder that I'm Canadian and that site is US only.

 

[Bubble181]

I can visit it just fine? Yeah, the buying part won't be relevant, nor will some parts of it about lending, but some of the info is relevant no matter where you are.

That said....Well, I'm a European, my opinion on Mobile Homes is that they're for vacationing in, not actually living in.
Given the problems with resell value, land ownership, etc etc - would it be feasible to buy, say, a studio? For $150K or something, you'd own something you can actually sell on later. A mobile home for $70K is money....well, down the drain, isn't it? I('m not entirely up on local values and such, of course, but my apartment for example has almost doubled in value over the past 15 years - where as my car has gone down 80%. AFAIK mobile homes depreciate slower than cars but still fairly quickly.

 

[jwhouk]

Friendly reminder that I'm Canadian and that site is US only.

Argh. I thought there were Canadian listings on there.

The resources and blogs should still apply to you, though.

 

[Sara_2814]

In my experience (I grew up in a trailer), they are a whack-a-mole of maintenance problems. Especially if they are from the 70s (like the one in your link). A trailer from the 2000s may be worth it (better construction), but I would be very very wary of one that old. It looks like it’s had a lot of upgrades, but those could be hiding some severe structural problems. My dad was a construction worker, so he already had all the tools and was able to do all the maintenance (including plumbing and electrical) himself, which saved a ton of money. Honestly ask yourself if you like doing home repair/maintenance, or if you can afford to hire people to do it for you. Trailers are not as forgiving as a solidly built house when it comes to putting off maintenance.

Definitely watch the John Oliver video @Denbrought linked to. Buying a trailer on leasehold just seems very backwards, because you’re investing in the thing that depreciates/deteriorates and renting the land that’s actually worth something. My parents owned the land our trailer was on, so they were eventually able to replace it with a modular home (and eventually sell the property, which had gone up in value). They did not make any money selling the old tin can, it wasn’t worth much by then and got hauled away to be someone’s deer camp.

With your income and self-admitted poor budgeting skills, I suggest you’re better off with an apartment (or house) rental, where there is a fixed cost you can learn to budget and someone else takes care of maintenance. If you really want that house/property of your own someday, a rental would better allow you to save money towards a down-payment rather than pouring that money into (often unexpected) maintenance on a tin can that’s only going to go down in value.

 

[TommiR]

In my experience (I grew up in a trailer), they are a whack-a-mole of maintenance problems. Especially if they are from the 70s (like the one in your link). A trailer from the 2000s may be worth it (better construction), but I would be very very wary of one that old. It looks like it’s had a lot of upgrades, but those could be hiding some severe structural problems. My dad was a construction worker, so he already had all the tools and was able to do all the maintenance (including plumbing and electrical) himself, which saved a ton of money. Honestly ask yourself if you like doing home repair/maintenance, or if you can afford to hire people to do it for you. Trailers are not as forgiving as a solidly built house when it comes to putting off maintenance.

Definitely watch the John Oliver video @Denbrought linked to. Buying a trailer on leasehold just seems very backwards, because you’re investing in the thing that depreciates/deteriorates and renting the land that’s actually worth something. My parents owned the land our trailer was on, so they were eventually able to replace it with a modular home (and eventually sell the property, which had gone up in value). They did not make any money selling the old tin can, it wasn’t worth much by then and got hauled away to be someone’s deer camp.

With your income and self-admitted poor budgeting skills, I suggest you’re better off with an apartment (or house) rental, where there is a fixed cost you can learn to budget and someone else takes care of maintenance. If you really want that house/property of your own someday, a rental would better allow you to save money towards a down-payment rather than pouring that money into (often unexpected) maintenance on a tin can that’s only going to go down in value.

Listen to this lady, for she speaks the truth.

 

[PatrThom]

I grew up in a trailer

My wife also grew up in a trailer. A trailer which used to belong to Elvis, for his tours. No lie.

With your income and self-admitted poor budgeting skills, I suggest you’re better off with an apartment (or house) rental, where there is a fixed cost you can learn to budget and someone else takes care of maintenance.

NOTHING has had more of a profound positive impact on my life as when I finally learnEd to budget. Nothing.

—Patrick

 

[GasBandit]

While I was in college, I lived in a MH (Trailer). The wood in the floor turned out to be particle board. A couple places, I was saved from falling through the floor by the tensile strength of the carpet.

 

[phil]

When I visited canada and, for funzies, looked at rental listings I saw y'all have basement apartments which seems hella rad.

As far as manufactured homes goes, and when trying finance something relatively cheap it can be hard to get the loan. The vampires known as banks don't always want to lend so little because they won't make as much back as on a nice juicy "middle class" mortgage that starts at 150k.

One option that my wife and I are looking into is just gettin' a lil piece of land and getting a new mobile home installed on it. We would need to, ideally just buy the land outright and then I believe we can finance through the manufacturer. I don't know what kind of rates or deal they would offer though.

Our last ditch effort is going to be to get some land and just put a travel trailer on it and just live with that.

 

[phil]

As to your other point of a roommate, I'd say that it's possible but might be hard. You'd want an agreement in writing for sure. I'm renting from my wife's grandma and we still have at least something on paper.

If the price is right, you'll for sure attract someone. I rented a room from a co-worker some years back for 500 all bills paid. That was super reasonable for me at the time. It was a nicer house though.

 

[Sara_2814]

My wife also grew up in a trailer. A trailer which used to belong to Elvis, for his tours. No lie.

NOTHING has had more of a profound positive impact on my life as when I finally learnEd to budget. Nothing.

—Patrick

That is hilarious about the Elvis trailer. Did they find sequins in the carpet?

And so many brofists on the budgeting thing.

 

[PatrThom]

As to your other point of a roommate, I'd say that it's possible but might be hard.

As someone who has had roommates, you MUST prepare for the possibility that you may unexpectedly not have one for an indeterminate period of time. Don’t let a flaky roommate cost you your home if they unexpectedly up and decide to bail. But then we’re back to budgeting again.

That is hilarious about the Elvis trailer. Did they find sequins in the carpet?

Elvis (or his people) had a pair of trailers/coaches customized for touring—one for himself, and one for the band. Graceland has the fancier “main” one, and this was the secondary one for the band. No sequins, but it had all sorts of custom storage compartments for gear and stuff. When they realized what they were living in, they contacted the Presley estate to see if they wanted it, but were basically told, “No thanks, we’ve already got one.”

—Patrick

 

[ThatNickGuy]

That John Oliver video, by the way, is also not available to watch in Canada.

 

[phil]

That John Oliver video, by the way, is also not available to watch in Canada.

Oh snap. Well to sum it up

*If you don't own the land under the home, the person who does could force you to move without any real notice usually by raising the rent

*While called a mobile home, they don't move so easily. It can cost like 20k to move it if you had to.

*The landlord might offer to buy your home for pennies on the dollar since they know you can't afford to move it

*This is all by design and it's terrible.


*Also the depreciation of value stuff people have already touched on

*The manufacturer will finance but the terms are shitty (15% interest) which is something I forgot about when I suggested it earlier in the thread.

 

[strawman]

Mobile homes are not "mobile", though they can be moved very expensively. They are not designed to be moved repeatedly, but manufactured, and then moved into their final location. Mobile comes from Mobile, Alabama, not from the idea that they are movable.

They are never - NEVER - a financial investment. They do not appreciate, and due to the monthly cost of lot rent and the high interest rate loan, they are worse than an apartment financially.

They only have a few things going for them compared to apartments:

- Low/no credit history will still get you in.
- They don't share walls with other units.
- You are free to modify/fix/repair/upgrade them, rather than waiting for maintenance, approval, or a new apartment to open up.
- Almost always include some small bit of land and a place to park one vehicle. (I love the listing "Less than 1/2 acre" -

Since you will never get any real money back out of one, it's best to think of it as an apartment that you have to fix yourself, and that has some amenities that apartments typically don't have.

Things you will have to do in a mobile home that you won't have to do in an apartment:
- Crawl around under it to fix/insulate/heat tape the plumbing AGAIN.
- Mow your lawn
- Buy mobile home insurance (more expensive than renter's insurance, and in some cases more than homeowner's insurance)
- Pay both the loan and the lot rent, plus some utilities that might not be included, plus whatever taxes are placed on top of each bill (You will never get a straight answer as to what the actual cost of having one is. Talk to the other residents in the community first and ask to see their bills - a surprising number of people don't know how much they are actually paying once taxes and all the little bills are added up)
- Deal with household repairs, leaking roof, etc
- Live with cheap materials (not inexpensive, but cheap). From the carpet to the heater, they are usually made to last 5-10 years in a mobile home in order to save money.
- Live with substantially less insulation (higher heating/cooling costs)
- Plan for $500-$2,000 per year in maintenance and unexpected costs. Four to ten times more if you aren't going to do the work yourself.

As long as you're ok with all that and the benefits outweigh the additional costs, then it might be a suitable choice.

If so, shop around, and make sure you get your money's worth. That 44 year old unit cannot possibly be worth what they're charging. Try to find a bunch of for-sale-by-owner units, rather than going through a realtor - it's not property, it's an asset, and selling/buying through a realtor is like using a used car lot for a vehicle - a lot more cost for very little additional value. Further, I don't understand why they are so expensive where you live. The listing you showed should be less than half the cost listed. $50k near me gets you a double wide, 3 bed, two bath unit that's less than 15 years old. If that's honestly the cost in your market, then I'm sorry to tell you this, but something isn't adding up. Things are more expensive in canada, yes, and perhaps your location is particularly highly valued, but over 2x more expensive? Look around, including the surrounding areas. If you can save $15k or more, it might be worth the additional 15-20 minute commute.

I know it's exciting to think about taking the next step, and having your own place is important. I just don't think that mobile homes are a good decision except under very specific, niche circumstances. I don't fault people for choosing them, but if you want to flex your financial muscles, mobile homes are more often an anchor weighing you down than a launchpad pushing you to greater financial freedom.

 

[blotsfan]

Further, I don't understand why they are so expensive where you live. The listing you showed should be less than half the cost listed. $50k near me gets you a double wide, 3 bed, two bath unit that's less than 15 years old. If that's honestly the cost in your market, then I'm sorry to tell you this, but something isn't adding up.

FYI, you have to take 25% off the top when you see anything in Canadian dollars.

 

[strawman]

FYI, you have to take 25% off the top when you see anything in Canadian dollars.

Yes, I did the conversion before posting. Remember how crazy it was that CAD > USD during the recession?

 

[Squidleybits]

Even after currency conversion, things just cost more here. There are hidden taxes on many things. Our gas, liquor, beer, junk food etc all have hidden taxes and the. taxes calculated on those taxes included in the sticker price before any HST or land transfer tax is added. I saw a breakdown on gas prices at the pump once at the gas station when our gas prices were hideous. It was scary. Likely the poor guy at the counter was tired of irate customers and shared it. As if he could change prices in our price fixing province, but I guess he still gets chewed out.

I know very little about mobile homes so I’m afraid that I’m of little help in that respect.

I do know about closing costs and would suggest that you make sure that you double and triple check that you are aware of everything that you maybe required to pay up front. Many of these can’t be financed.