Should My Roommate And I Buy A Mobile Home?
A friend οf mine іѕ selling hеr trailer thаt ѕhе used tο live іn before ѕhе mονеԁ tο another one. I'm аƖmοѕt thinking mу roommate аnԁ I ѕhουƖԁ bυу thе mobile home. I know іt's older, probably mid-eighties ish, bυt ѕhе's selling іt fοr $4000, whісh I wουƖԁ bе аbƖе tο pay cash. Thе park hаѕ a rent οf $250 a month, bυt ѕіnсе I'm buying thе trailer outright, thаt's thе οnƖу rent I wουƖԁ hаνе tο pay, plus heat аnԁ electric. Rіɡht now wе're hаνе a small apartment fοr $600 monthly rent, plus heat аnԁ electric, іn a nosy building wіth nο pets... Sο іt seems Ɩіkе a ɡοοԁ option. Whаt аrе thе pros аnԁ cons οf buying mobile homes аnԁ ԁοеѕ іt seem Ɩіkе a ɡοοԁ іԁеа? (FYI, mу roommate аnԁ I hаνе bееn living together fοr years аnԁ іt isn't ѕο much аѕ a roommate situation аѕ a partnership - wе even hаνе a joint bank account, ѕο I'm nοt worried аbουt thаt аt аƖƖ)
It sounds like a pretty good deal. You’ll break even in a year. Be aware that mobile homes can be difficult to sell, if and when the day comes that you want to sell it.
Also, in an apartment you are not responsible for repairs. If you own your own place you will have to pay if you need repairs, such as plumbing or heat or air conditioning.
Buying anything that expensive with a partner is a potential problem. Better for you to buy it and your partner pay more than half the other expenses to compensate. That way if you split up, the mobile is yours to keep or sell.
You probably won’t be able to sell it when you want to. Mobile homes usually depreciate in value so you will not get your money back if you decide to move.
Well, the problem facing mobile home owners these days is that big land developers come in and buy up the property these trailers sit on. With no where to park the mobile home, it’s meaningless to then own it, but you then also can’t sell. That problem is a lot worse for people who took out loans for the homes, rather than if you did what you want to do and pay cash.
But still…my husband is military and we were considering buying a mobile home a while ago but declined, but now I wish we almost had because every place we have been relocated to since seems to have available rental land to place trailers, and it could have saved us numerous headache if all we had to do was move the house to a new piece of land (although we’re talking rural Missouri, Utah, and the middle of the Mohave, California…so unless you want to move out there, you may have a hard time finding a place to put it)
But, still…I wouldn’t. Especially an older home could have some issues with weather-resistance and repairs, maybe mold..not to mention you’re kinda limited on where you can live since you have to live either in a park or else buy or rent your own land from someone. And those homes have pretty bad resale value…the one we wanted to buy was built in 2003 and had been on the market for like 18 months and the price had dropped clear down to $15,000 (which is good for buyers, but imagine the owners who had bought that thing brand new). Unlike a typical house, it’s really hard/impossible to increase the value of a MH.
a; it will have almost no-resale value; that is our culture–not related to the value you find in it.
b; it has thin walls……if there is outside noise, you will hear it.
c; it is harder to secure; the locks are ……barely enough……..consider adding more locks
d; get an arbiter so that if there is a disagreement between you 2, it is settled quickly.
e; U did not mention its length but I hope it is at least 50 ft long. Shorter will make you
feel squeezed.
f; call around to see who repairs components of the trailer–sometimes a home repair
man is not qualified…….
g. be concerned about mail [post office mail] security upon delivery…….and
make sure you understand how UPS and other deliveries are handled. Some firms do not
deliver to MHPs.
h. confirm the condition of the septic tanks–and water lines and elect lines to your unit
i. in windy conditions, trailers have no GROUNDING and are very very susceptible to
winds over 15 miles an hour; some will start rocking. Prepare for that ahead of time.
Same with the roof; see how much space exists between the roof and your ceiling. A home
has a few feet often and some trailer have 1-2 inches of wood or tin. [if something
hits the roof, it can go right through.]
j. [i lived for 1 yr in a 60 ft double expando and it was OK till mom went on a bender]
k. if you ever dislike your neighbors, find out the costs and time needed, to get a trailer
mover to your unit and move it elsewhere. Sometimes, it can be done in 1-2 hours and
cost $500 and sometimes, it costs $10,000 and takes 2 weeks.
l. read your lease carefully re the space. it might be month to month or 6 mo. [one is not
better than the other, but if longer than x, you might have to pay a penalty if you want out
in a hurry]
m. ask the cost to remove the axles–[and to store them safely somewhere else]
a trailer on its axles is susceptible to kids, animals and more beneath it. IF the axles
are removed, you will gain some additional stability [the negative part of that is, if you
want to leave, you have to pay to have them re-inserted/installed.
enough for now.
luck with your decision