topic Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home? in Community Chat

Does anyone live in a mobile home?

silver Goldie — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 14:54:33 GMT

I am toying with the idea of buying one. My husband and I have moved 18 times during our 39 years of marriage and I think we are ready to settle down in a mobile home. What are the ins and outs of owning one? We have owned 6 homes all firmly rooted to the ground. I now feel we should try a mobile home but I know nothing about them. Can you help? Thank you.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

croemer — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:32:32 GMT

I am going to choose this is a legitimate question.

I did many years ago and Mobile homes have come very far since then. My mother had until recently lived in one...having lived in a conventional home all her life until about 10 years ago. I believe it is a 18 'by 76' and she loved it.

I know from my years of living in one I would not have one that wasn't tied down, rocked in on the bottom...because when a high wind comes the skirt can/will collapse. Of course tied down for safety. I still enjoy looking at the changes Manufactured Homes(as they call them now) which are amazing with sheet rock walls, granite, stainless steal appliances, built on porches, double pained windows, fireplaces, french doors and nice cabinetry.

Do your research there are many online searches you can do. One quality home is Palm Harbor.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

Preds — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:52:58 GMT

Do you still plan on moving around some? If not, I'd advise the permanent under skirting as Croemer mentioned. I grew up in a trailer and my father still lives in one. He never wanted a "solid" house. Haven't been in any newer ones in years, but they are sooooo much better looking than they once were. I've known several people that also add on rooms to their original mobile homes and you would never know that hidden under everything is a trailer.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

irishmama5 — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:53:30 GMT

My Uncle lives in a mobile park community in Kentucky, however they are no longer mobile they are beautiful 3 bedroom, sucken livingroom, master bedroom with jaccuzi, state of the art kitchen. The homes are pre-fab homes but still considered mobile. Lots of info on the web,

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

spud188 — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:55:21 GMT

And Fleetwood,do your research,as always you get what you pay,we looked for 2 months after our house fire in1993 and we are well pleased and have not had one single issue in all this time. Ours is a 25' x 56',3br 2bath. You choose carpet color,kitchen and bath flooring,faucets,countertops,floorplan. And yes have it tied down.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

traveler — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:20:45 GMT

Do you live in a tornado area? Plan on a tie down? Pipes protected? Nothing like a sewage leak. Thin walls make heating expensive in some areas. Are you thinking of private lot or park? Yes, I've lived in several. Some are very nice inside.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

OCGurl — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 17:23:38 GMT

Check the plumbing pipes under the sinks & the mobile home. in the 70's & 80's many mobile homes had what is called Polybutylene or ""Qest"" . It was cheaper to use these in many mobile & manufactured homes. Many homeowners had so much trouble with these pipes that there was a class action law suit in the 90's & they were able to recoup their costs of damage caused by the faulty plumbing. They are gray plastic tubing pipes. They stopped making these pipes so now if a homeowner has trouble with the plumbing they need to do what is called a coupling or union with old piping and a new piping. Or replace all the plumbing in the home to More current plumbing. Also check with your insurance b4 purchase to see if they will cover any damage related to Qest piping since the piping is no longer made. You can google the 2 names I referred to and read about it so that you can make an informed decision b4 you purchase. HTH

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

harcon — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 17:51:42 GMT

Do your research on the homes by different manufacturers. Know that you can change placement of walls, add or remove closets and cabinets, make showers larger etc.

We lived in one for 15 years and loved it. Ours was set ranch style and had 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, living, dining, family room with fireplace, laundry room and large kitchen and was about 2000 sq feet. The insulation was more than what is in a stick built house and our windows were very good. Once inside the house you'd never know it was a manufactured home.

When my husband passed away the house was too big for just me and I moved to a an independent senior apartment.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

qvcfreak — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 19:30:50 GMT

On 7/5/2014 Preds said:
Do you still plan on moving around some? If not, I'd advise the permanent under skirting as Croemer mentioned. I grew up in a trailer and my father still lives in one. He never wanted a "solid" house. Haven't been in any newer ones in years, but they are sooooo much better looking than they once were. I've known several people that also add on rooms to their original mobile homes and you would never know that hidden under everything is a trailer.

My brother had theirs bricked and they added a large master bedroom with bathroom and a huge patio. When we give directions to people, it's so funny as we say, go West and turn right immediately after you pass the canal and 1st trailer on the left is his home and they always call as it doesn't look like a trailer from the outside anymore.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

151949 — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 19:43:02 GMT

My parents lived in one after my Dad had a small stroke and their 3 story home was too difficult for him. They like the home and they liked the park - where most of their neighbors were in their same age range. It seemed like a nice safe place for them at that time, but now the homes are aged and the park has become a low income type of housing - very scary neighbors there. So it is not somewhere I would look for a long term place to live. As the older folks in my parents park died off the used homes were sold cheaply and the people who moved in were highly questionable.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

Kachina624 — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 20:19:51 GMT

On 7/5/2014 OCGurl said: Check the plumbing pipes under the sinks & the mobile home. in the 70's & 80's many mobile homes had what is called Polybutylene or "Qest" . It was cheaper to use these in many mobile & manufactured homes. Many homeowners had so much trouble with these pipes that there was a class action law suit in the 90's & they were able to recoup their costs of damage caused by the faulty plumbing. They are gray plastic tubing pipes. They stopped making these pipes so now if a homeowner has trouble with the plumbing they need to do what is called a coupling or union with old piping and a new piping. Or replace all the plumbing in the home to More current plumbing. Also check with your insurance b4 purchase to see if they will cover any damage related to Qest piping since the piping is no longer made. You can google the 2 names I referred to and read about it so that you can make an informed decision b4 you purchase. HTH

It's not just mobile homes that have this pipe. I've spent almost $20,000 replacing the polybutylene pipe in my house and paying excess water bill that were the result of leaks. I have a friend whose entire first story was destroyed by a leak in this pipe that occurred when they were away on vacation. Unfortunately my house wasn't built during the time covered by the class-action suit and it's not covered by insurance.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

PuppyBreath — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 20:49:32 GMT

Tie downs are useless, even when they are secured to cement footings.

If you must get one, buy one from a northern manufacturer. Much better built. (Insulation, windows, etc.)

If you must buy one, either buy your own land, or get into a park with a lot of enforced restrictions.

If you must buy one remember you have minutes to get out in the event of a fire. Electrical fires in the ceilings are not uncommon.

I have lived in 2 of them. 1 old, used one in Fla. One brand new special order in Mn. Never again. Never.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

Preds — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 20:57:18 GMT

If you get a chance, rent one for a while and see if you feel safe and secure. It is different than a house, but if you prepare it for your needs it can and will work. If you buy property you have to make sure you have permission for a modular home and that you have water and sewer available to connect to. If you are looking at a retirement area, check restrictions on what you can and cannot do. There are pros and cons to every move.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

Gooday — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 20:58:05 GMT

Since we spend half the year in IL., NO. We are in the tornado built and there is a phrase that mobile homes are God's cruel jokes.

I have seen some though that are beautiful but, they came with high HOA fees. You don't own the land so, that kind of bothers me. They have come a long way in terms of looks.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

tansy — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:04:31 GMT

On 7/5/2014 Gooday said:
Since we spend half the year in IL., NO. We are in the tornado built and there is a phrase that mobile homes are God's cruel jokes.

I have seen some though that are beautiful but, they came with high HOA fees. You don't own the land so, that kind of bothers me. They have come a long way in terms of looks.

We thought about buying one in AZ for snowbirding but the high monthly fees discouraged us.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

OCGurl — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:19:21 GMT

You'll also have the expense of rent space that can go up each year

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

Mominohio — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 23:06:50 GMT

My mother started out her married life in one in the 1950's and bought one again after retiring, and still lives in it today. In between she had a beautiful brick home in a lovely neighborhood.

I wouldn't recommend it for most parts of the country. Mom's is on a concrete and block foundation, many straps etc. but it is still a trailer. They new ones are lovely, but cheap. They don't take a lot of wear and tear, the supplies in most are not all that great quality. She chose to put all new house grade windows, doors in, a second roof on top of original etc. In the end, she could have had a really nice solid house with a basement for what she put into the mobile home.

Even with the solid foundation and insulation, pipes freeze easier than a house, and around here, it is hard to find service people to work on them (like plumbers, contractors etc.) My advice would be to consider a house or condo instead.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

spud188 — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:45:55 GMT

My area gets to 20-30 below zero pipes have never froze.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

bells4me — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 15:17:09 GMT

Love mine, bought it new, paid cash & own the land. Mine has tie downs & a snow roof. Carpet, drapes & appliances are all included & you choose. Property taxes are a lot lower. I had a large douglas fir deck built & nice rock skirting put on mine. Owning the land means no park rent & no home owners association. My kids will inherit it and can do what they want with a new build, rental property or whatever they want to do.

Re: Does anyone live in a mobile home?

KathyPet — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 15:26:17 GMT

I have read that the resale market on these is virtually nill and you would get pennies on the dollar if you wanted to,sell it later on.