Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire School me on mobile homes

I got a job offer in the Brainerd Lakes area of Minnesota, which I'm seriously considering. We've always had it in the back of our heads to move north and get out of the Minneapolis area. We're thinking about possibly buying land, like about 15-25 acres and dropping a mobile home on it. What are the pros and cons, and what should we look for and avoid. It gets pretty cold up here in the winter, so what steps must be taken to keep the plumbing from freezing. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We're open to single wide or double wide models too.

They homes sold up there should be better insulated than what they sell down here!

Can't help with the mobile home, but the Brainerd area is fantastic.

Good luck.

Mobile homes are not efficient to heat and cool, and they lose value like buying a new car. I would seriously consider building a stick built home that will appreciate in value.

Jeff, what about having a solid house built?

Buying a mobile home is like throwing money away. However, they don't cost very much so it's not like you've lost a whole lot either.

If I was to buy another one...

No insulation or plastic under the floor. Put it on a foundation and heavily insulate the perimeter. That insulation makes for a warm floor but it's a haven for mice and when you need work on the plumbing... and that always happens sooner or later even in stick houses...you can't get at the pipes.
We're warmer here than in MN. Our water line bury depth is only 24". I have it on a foundation and have 2 short expansion tanks under the house. In 25 years they've never frozen.

About those mice...the water and sewer lines will come through the floor in holes much larger than needed. Mice just waltz right through them. You need to get under every cabinet in the kitchen, laundry, and bathrooms to seal those holes or the mice will move in in hordes.

With a double wide, there will be a heat duct down each side with a crossover tube between them. They will likely use an insulated flexible duct to join them. Get rid of it and install a solid metal duct, then insulate that. The flexible ones are too easy for mice to chew through, plus the springy ribs will slow down air flow.

Wiring: the code requires outlets to be no more than 12' apart and with no point on a wall being more than 6' from an outlet. So, they put an outlet in the middle of every wall. It meets code but every wall wide enough for an outlet will have a sofa, bed, or other furniture in front of the outlet. We had to use extension cords in each outlet running to the side of the furniture to be able to plug in lamps, etc without moving furniture.
To save costs, instead of GFI breakers, they use GFI outlets which protect all other outlets down stream of it. It works fine but if you pop one, it can be a real pain trying to figure out which GFI outlet is the culprit. Before you move in and cover them all up with stuff, test them and make a diagram of where they're located and which GFI protects which outlet. You might find the GFI for the bathroom is located 2 rooms away and under a bed.

I don't know about the current models but older ones likely have a particle board floor instead of OSB or plywood. That stuff should be outlawed. If it gets wet, it will swell then crumble. They also use 3/4" for the floor instead of 1" and it will slump between floor joists.

2x6 construction

They attract tornados.

Mostly, poor people live in trailers, well off people do not.

go to a mobil home park.....find one from folks that know them.....it can be cheap temporary quarters but not a great idea for long term living.....they can be a lot of work.

Finances dictate considering a mobile home. We'd have to heavily raid my retirement account to build a house.

Good luck with what you decide on Jeff.

A modular home is what you will want if you're not going to have one stick built.
A manufactured home or mobile home is not.
Banks typically won't lend much for either manufactured or mobile.
Values on these go down, never up.
If you're going to do it, at least go with a modular home.

There is minimal cost savings if any with a modular versus stick built... infact when we looked, modular was more expensive than stick built.

Regarding modular homes: from what I've experienced (former licensed General Contractor), modular homes don't really save you a whole lot of money over a stick-built home. That is, if you put quality molding, materials, wiring, etc. in it. You just get it built faster in a controlled environment.
Personally, I'd rather have a mobile home (trailer we call 'em here in NC) or a tiny, minimalist Katrina-cottage style home than spend the money for a modular.
Gopher, how do you envision using your home? If you're considering a trailer, I'm guessing that you are not intending to host the local medical association surgeons regularly for dinner. If you want an efficient, well-built place to live and sleep, please look into one of the many minimalist style homes that can be built. It sounds like one would be perfect for dropping in the middle of 25 acres somewhere.

I would try to figure a way to build a home on a slab. You will get tired of a trailer quick!

If you put a mobile on a foundation (and don't even consider doing it any other way), make the foundation high enough so you can crawl under the house on your hands and knees instead of belly crawling under the steel frame. It'll be the best 6" of concrete you'll ever buy.
If it's on a foundation, you can convert it to real property instead of a mobile home property. That has some real tax savings. Also, banks will loan more if it's real property.

Ya really gotta have money to burn to go out and buy a new mobile home.
Just figure on any money you spend for it or on it will never be retrieved.

CONS
When buying land that happens to have a mobile on it normally it's viewed by one of two things.
A deduction in the land value determined by what it will cost to have the mobile removed.
Or
Possibly an addition value determined by any development, such as land clearing, roads built, septic systems installed, wells drilled, electrical services installed IF applicable* to the construction of a conventional stick built home then of course minus the costs of removal of the mobile home.

Any supporting structures should be considered as well, shops, garage, etc. but they must have been legally built. I've seen permits for new homes held up until all un-permitted structures were removed from a property.

I've seen it work out for folks buying land where a livable mobile already existed.
It gave them a chance to buy now build later.

*Just be cautious and know what you are looking at when considering value of existing utilities (ele. well, septic) that it is sized to accommodate the home one might plan to build or even be legal.
If it's legal there will be paperwork available. If there is no accompanying paper work just consider it illegal (un-permitted) when considering value.

Banks rarely loan money on undeveloped land unless the loan is combined with a construction loan for building a new home.

In more developed areas if mobiles are legally permitted it reduces land value.

PROS
Instant livable home.
You can buy it one weekend and move in the next.
They can be like sex with a cheap hooker, instant gratification but you're sure to be sorry later.

Most are rather cheezy with low grade features and construction unless ya spend a lot on it then you can have one that's just sorta cheezy.


Any savings recognized in buying a mobile over a stick built home will quickly diminish in the form of utility bills for heating and cooling. And of course a huge loss on re-sell.

What Gregintenn said, they lose value, vs a non mobile grnerallyi creases in value.