So my youngest daughter who is in her mid-30's wants to by a small piece of property and thought she would put a mobile home on it until she could afford to build what she wants. She found a really small new mobile home 16x30 (500) sq ft., 1-bedroom, 1-bath and asked me to call on it. STICKER SHOCK! $101,000.00. I asked him to repeat himself.

I was hoping to find someone in the know regarding mobile homes. Have mobile homes followed real estate price escalations? Is this guy nuts or is the price in line in a competitive market? The price included washer/dryer and kitchen appliances, trucking to a local destination, and setup.



Is this guy putting used car salesmen to shame???

That's cheap compared to out here. Something like that on average costs around $200k after everything is said and done.

See Clayton Homes for details lol.

There are larger mobile homes that are cheaper than that. Some are very well built with materials that tend more to the premium side.

Remember, that 100k mobile home will depreciate like a 100k car compared to stick built too. See the 2008 mortgage crisis

That's crazy.

Then you add the cost of plumbing, septic and electricity...

By comparison, about 2 1/2 years ago we added a double wide out at the ranch here, and turned the barndominium we were living in into a guest house.

The house we got was a top of the line Clayton Homes 2400 square feet, furnished, and setup for like $125k, IIRC.





Everything's gone crazy, price-wise. The big skid steer loader I bought 2 years ago for $60k is worth $85k now with 500 hours on it. Crazy.

8% inflation my ass. It's not going to get better anytime soon either.

My first thoughts too.. Couldn't you build a 500 sq. ft. house for half that?

Are you serious? ($200k after everything is said and done.) You're included the lot too right?

How long before she plans on building? 5 years?

If about that, amortize the $100K cost for those 5 years, add in the costs of those appliances, etc and compare that to what she'd pay for 5 years rent. What are rents in her area? If she rents can she manage to save more towards a stick built that will cost even more when she's ready to build? In this economy? If the Dems should win again in 2024?

Realize that at the end of the 5 years she'll still have her property whatever happens. Is that a guarantee if she rents somewhere for 5 years and gains no equity?

And if she does well in 5 years or so, she can sell that mfg home.

From your pic it appears to be a "Park Model". They can be popular in some places as they beat the heck out of an old trailer with aluminum wiring and no insulation.

Another thing for her to consider............can she live in 500 sq ft?

It's a horrible time to buy anything.

Especially a trailer house.

I think most places the cost of stick built is running over $100 and even up to $200 per sq ft. And I don't think that covers permits and such.

Buy a 5th wheel to live in while building… sell the 5th wheel later.

Hell have a 20'x30' metal building built up for 30k

Another 50k to finish it out and done. Once her dream home is built she will have a perfect guest house or studio or whatever.

My guess, part of that price is the "premium" for the "Tiny Home" fad... Saw one here locally a few weeks ago, comparably sized Amish storage barn that someone had half-azzed finished out. Wanted $50K for it. I have a 16ft and a 25ft flat bed trailer that I had considered building a cabin / tiny house on that I could move around the farm. I have a sawmill. I have standing timber. I love to "tinker". But when you run the numbers, the tiny house concept just doesn't add up...

Neighbor is having the local barn builder (non-Amish) build a Pole Barn-o-minium. By far the least expensive option around here for decent affordable living quarters. This will be the third one within 2 miles of my house in the past few years.

That's before the lot. I wish I was kidding.

That's crazy.

Nice!

But you could have added another 200 square feet on the inside by using a bit smaller logs...

Dayum. They ain’t cheap no more!!!

Yup.

Or buy a used trailer since she is going to build a house anyway!

Often small pieces of property zoned to allow mobiles are next to many other small pieces of property zoned for mobiles.

They may not be the most rewarding properties to invest in.

But the 'R' factor is less

Slummy...........

will be along soon & give ya all the info ya need on trailer houses

I feel for young people starting out. Unless you have a real good paying job, it’s tough to get a home of any kind.

Me and wifey married in 2005 I already had 5.5 acres and bought a 14x52 1998 single wide for $8k cash.We lived in that until 2009 and built our 1500 sq ft castle behind it and sold it for $10k look at the used market or I see plenty new ones under $50k😉

feel sorry for young growing family's and today's economic reality's

I like my Podunk back 40

By a skid shack.

You should be able to find someone to frame it out of wood a lot cheaper.

The trailer will lose value over time, unlike a stick home which will appreciate.

At prices like that, were it me, I strongly believe I'd be looking along the lines of a adequately equipped used camper/travel trailer in good condition (see them advertised all the time for sale in the $25k - $40k price range), parking it on whatever ground I had and live in it until I was ready to build a permanent house.

If she’s willing to spend that much on temp housing I’d talk her into more acreage and something she can add on to later on as far as a roof over her head😉

That is $202 per SF.

Depending on construction details and materials $202 can be considered a fair price... again depending...

Sold two stick built homes in the past 15 months+/-. They went for $452/SF and $378/SF IIRC. They were NOT special.

If I was to build a man a quality garage I would be $100+ per SF.

I am selling a 7 lot subdivision in WV at the moment... all 7 lots for one money... $100k. Land only.

As always... details matter.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3670-Blue-Gray-Trl-Franklin-WV-26807/2062194735_zpid/

If she could hack it for a little while get a camper to stay in for a while.

She can sell it later for a nice sum over the small mobile home.

Hope she does well.

Have a $6,000 repo trailer dragged in there. Slap a bucket of fresh Silver Seal on the roof with thick knap rollers

Pressure wash the tree sap off of it. Live it in for 2,3,4 year till your home is built and set it on fire when youre done

You know, I hadn't thought of the repo deal.

Goodly number of doublewides end up on lots for sale after they've been taken back by the manufacturer/dealer.

Burning it could be fun, maybe get the volunteer FD to come for training exercise.

Keeping it in good shape to resell might be a better idea though.

Tikka called that one!

Reading the replies, no one has openly said the seller is out of line or a crook. Yet a stick built unit of the same size could be built for half the price, and add value to the property as a rental or storage unit. Any way you look at it, the above pictured mobile home is a no-go. There are better alternatives as recommended above. It's a head-scratcher how these guys stay in business. Or this is a perfect example of a sign of the times. She liked the Tiny Home, but 100K puts it out of reach. Never heard positive positions on mobile homes, other than they are a cheap alternative. Guessing this has gone by the wayside.

On the negative side, I've heard plenty of times they're tornado magnets.

Tornadoes make lots of improvements when they hit trailer parks.

Have lived in stick builts all my life.
A good chunk of ground w a trailer sounds great to me..............whatever it takes to GTF away from folks
Looked at some ground online last night, 9K an acre, good hunting nearby. This lot just for base camp.
Nope.
Looked around, looked like meth head central.

Like was mentioned upthread by another, value can be heavily influenced by neighbors.

That is ridiculous

guy that owns a huge mobile home park 2 miles from me sells clayton homes. guy next doors mom just moved in to a new one for under 80.000.00. its a 1300sq ft double wide

guy that owns a huge mobile home park 2 miles from me sells clayton homes. guy next doors mom just moved in to a new one for under 80.000.00. its a 1300sq ft double wide

I was going to put a nicely spec’s 1800 sq ft manufactured home on the “spread”, and thought it was going to be alright at just over $100 per sq ft just for the structure. I was then given an estimate of $240,000 for everything else - electric to site, septic, driveway, two car garage, foundation, moving and installation of structure etc… and there was at least $20k missing from the estimate.

So because I am D-U-N done with living in a trailer, I bought a different property that had a home, garage and workshop already on it. Yep, not the best time, but one can only hope to not take too much of a haircut…

There is something else to be aware of. In California, and I believe elsewhere, manufactured homes that are permanently fixed to a standard foundation, and have other ‘stick’ built features such as attached garage or carport, covered patio and dormers will be considered real property. Look up “MH advantage”. So you can get standard bank financing on these homes. Gone are the days of “ it’s just a mobile, so it’s personal property that just depreciates” Manufactured homes done right can be real property.

I know someone that just bought a 2020 16x80 and it was $85k. Even worse, the thing is a complete POS. The roof leaks, walls and ceiling buckled and cracked. The dealership got their money and now won't do a thing about it.

A lot smaller at 12X24 and the inside is just a shell, but this one was about $9K delivered. Going to wire it and make a bunkhouse for my fish camp. Should have enough room for 2 bunks, a couch and a small bar. Probably throw in a window AC and a TV for kicks. I have an artesian well and a porta-potty, so no real need to plumb it. Should be a cheap gettaway spot. I used to have a 32' travel trailer on the site, but the tires were rotting and the mice were taking it over so I sold it for $10K.

I do have sticker shock looking at the price of everything to finish the inside. Trying to find as much as I can for cheap on craisgslist.

Prices for construction can vary from region to region, but as Cash posted these days a insulated garage will be well north of $100 sqft. That doesn’t include dirt work, utilities, or driveway. Kitchens and bathrooms are are the most expensive part of the sq ft hard costs of a home.

These guys are good friends of mine... they build tiny homes...

https://www.baysidejoinery.com/

They also build a build the "Cheslight"... and stood one up on Summerland Key (west of Big Pine Key) a couple of weeks ago... https://www.baysidejoinery.com/the-cheslight

Tractor Trailer deliver and crane to set... Category 5 hurricane engineering



They are not your solution... IMHO...

But I like the design... and methodology... I am working on a cleaner/stronger/faster SIPS design for them...

These are getting popular around here

First one that popped up on google search

https://www.worldwidesteelbuildings.com/steel-buildings/homes-residential/

What about a shipping container home? Pretty sure that would be cheaper, very durable and could be moved (or sold) later. I have it on my list to consider if we find land without a house (central TX area) for retirement (start with that while building what we want, then use for guests).

Great solution... especially if you are handy.

FYI... Many states have made moving a mobile home (over 10 years old) illegal... Look into it before assuming all is OK.

That's a nice little house.

But but........you get a hand job for that! No no......I didn't say blow job.....I said hand job!!

Many places won't allow a trailer. But, where that is allowable, you can buy a pretty nice older travel trailer for under $10k.