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Manufactured Homes

Looking to buy a mobile home in a trailer park

15 years ago

Hello everyone! first post and looking for some advice. Im looking into purchasing a 2009 single wide, and just wanted to get some feedback on the problems that are common with mobile homes. This will be my first home and plan on staying there for a few years, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

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Comments (9)

ronbre
15 years ago
i have a double wide..problem # 1..all the fixtures in mobile homes are NON standard, which means if you need plumbing repair, and elec repair, you have to get replacement parts from a mobile home supply store, make sure there is one close by that isn't outrageously priced as you WILL need repairs eventually.
our first year it was plumbing, bathroom showers, tub drains are notorious for leaking under the home as they aren't properly supported..so get walk in showers instead of one piece or 2 piece tubs if you can.
make sure the windows are what you want, we ordered top and bottom tilt in to clean and they came with only bottom tilt in's i was livid.

if it is drywall inside it will crack, so save lots of touch up paint to match.

otherwise i love our house
xvwowxv
Original Author
15 years ago
so if the drywall cracks all you need to do is paint it? not replace it? and this is a 2009, should I expect the same problems as you in a year?
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A couple of things one should look at when being side tracked by industry people. Read the code of Federal Regulations Congress put into place. 24 CFR 3280 states how mobile homes should be built and 24 CFR 3282 states how the agencies (SAA) should be ran to protect the consumer. Then you have the state regulations and/or statutes that are supposed to be in place to protect the consumer. (Check with your state for this information). One might suspect ALL these intities are rubbing each others shoulders since the consumer ends up getting the worst end of it. What if the media were to run a survey on television and radio to ask the public(mobile homeowners) to provide input about these so-called federally regulated mobile homes and ask two questions: 1. Were you able to get warranty work in a reasonable amount of time, and 2. What do you think of the quality of your mobile home? What do you think the stats would be? Probably not very good for the industry. This just might spark a light into the consumer to wonder just how safe these things are. One would wonder what changes might be made to these industries? However, the industries are out to keep this information from the public because they know the mobile homes would not be purchased and stockholders would probably be selling stocks as fast as they could before they lost their money. So to keep this somewhat simple, the industry is counting on the consumer to be ignorant of the basic facts. Mobile homes are poorly constructed. And it is not until the consumer gets the shaft and is forced into becoming an expert on his or her home that they find out how the real game is played. If you have had an inspection because of a complaint you filed or if the manufacturer filed an "industry" complaint, you have seen how this works. Did you notice how they tend to selectively write down things? OR they just won't admit to a defect? This is because the Code Of Federal Regulations (24 CFR 3282) states they have to notify the consumer(s) of such defect: " The manufacturer shall provide notification as set out in this subpart with respect to all manufactured homes produced by the manufacturer in which there exists or may exist an imminent safety hazard or serious defect. The manufacturer shall provide such notification with respect to manufactured homes produced by the manufacturer in which a defect exists or may exist if the manufacturer has information indicating that the defect may exist in a class of manufactured homes that is identifiable because the cause of the defect or defects actually known to the manufacturer is such that the same defect would probably have been systematically introduced into more than one manufactured home during the course of production. This is just one of the many regulations that state how they are "supposed" to do business. 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I agree with the above poster, it needs to be inspected. If the owner wants you to go on his word then it should be reduced a lot due to unforseen possible future problems. If you do buy it, vents need to be installed first thing, and fans need to be put in the crawl space to dry it out. I would be more concern with mold. It is not just damp under there it is WET, dripping wet at that. That is VERY bad. Although it is not something that couldn't be easily fixed, it is still going to cost money either to you or to the homeowner. It doesn't matter now that HE doesn't want vents, HE is trying to get rid of it and this is something that has to be done if HE wants to sell it. Unless he is lucky enough to find a sucker who also thinks it isn't an issue. And I would have to wonder since he thinks it is a great problem free place, why's he wanting to let it go? Albeit a REALLY nice place, gosh I would love to have it too, and all the land with it. It does have some VERY nice upgrades to it. STILL there are issues there. I would get an inspector out there ASAP, if I were seriously considering buying this place because they can tell you what is REALLY going on. They can spot things that most of us would say ok, that's not really a big deal, when in fact it could be, or in the future might be. :) NCGG
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I am assuming you already have a lot? I would check with a mobile home moving company. They might know of one being removed and for sale. When we had our first mobile home (1985 Schult in PA) we had to put heat tape on the water pipes and be sure you follow the instructions and do not get a longer size than you need and overwrap it. My cousin had a fire doing that. There are shorter tapes - ours was 3'. Inside the water pipes under the sink maybe once a year would freeze in a bitter north wind so we learned to leave the cupboard door open. The septic did not need any tape because the pipe was bigger and sloped away. We lived in this home - purchased used - for 15 years before we built our house and we paid $18,000 for it and sold it for $6,000. We bought it as a repossession and the only thing we replaced was the kitchen floor so the next owner had some work to do. It was cheap living though! Home #2 is in Chincoteague VA. We bought a lot, cleared off an abandoned 60's leaker full of wet furniture. We went to Delaware to a big mobile home dealer and bought a home that was owned by a finance company going out of business. It is a 1997 vinyl sided Redman 3 bedrooms, 2 bath doublewide and we paid $13,000 for it but had to pay to have it towed (about $1,000) Set up was another $2,000 but the trailer had to be above flood stage (over 4'). The new regular septic was $1200. We saw a set of fiberglass steps for sale in front of a doublewide and lucked into a deal for skirting too. Skirting and track are pricey and Lowes sells it. If you are in a high wind area as we are we had to brace the skirting behind it with a sturdy framework to keep it from blowing under (we used a futon frame for part of it). If you are creative you can save money. We were going to buy a log home too until we talked to a couple who lives in one. That's a whole 'nother story! Do your homework though.
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aikanae
15 years ago
There are good deals and not so good. When I was looking for a home, I was prepared to buy new (already had the land) and I lucked out getting a home apx 5 years old - bigger and better floorplan - from a manuf. home park that was undergoing renovations. I saved 2/3's off of new price. I've run into others that were able to get deals from parks closing etc.

The previous poster is correct. NOTHING in a MH is standard and usually lower quality at mh supply store. Not even the bathroom sink or tub, kitchen cabinets, counter, plumbing (stay away from grey funny pipe). It's a pain and usually cheaper to do a little remolding to fit standard home supply store stuff when the time comes.

The most important things to pay attention to are the sub-flooring and ducts/ventilation. It's not uncommon for ductwork underneath to not be connected properly - holes=$. Homes are usually shy of vents, which builds humidity = not good. SubFloors are susceptible to humidity problems since it's pressboard (they have fancy names. It's still pressboard).

The park you pick is a factor too. Not all are run well, nor are you covered if management changes. The homes are not mobile. It's best you if can get a piece of land that you own. There's also been a trend towards co-ops. I think there's a fairly active group of mh owners in Florida.
ronbre
15 years ago
shower heads, no,
outdoor lights, no,
most plumbing, no,
desertsteph
14 years ago
ronbre - are you saying those things are NOT non standard? or no you don't have to buy at a mobile home sply place?

i'm in a 72 trailer. haven't bought anything at mobile home supply (that I know about). bf and electrician/plumber just buy at HD or local hdw store.

i'll be replacing the kitchen sink in my newer mfg home (to be... about a 2000 I think) and am planning on a cast iron one - unless there's a reason I shouldn't. will probably buy at HD. saw one there for about 200.00. haven't checked lowe's yet tho. but that's about my limit - I'm not running around to lots of stores looking for stuff.
too much to do...too little time AND energy. lol!

most likely i'll eventually be replacing the fixtures in mstr bath - and maybe the sink in the main bath. not buying plastic to put in either!
ronbre
14 years ago
you know I wish I knew where you wanted to live, as my brother and sister in law have just purchased a new home and they are completely remodeling their double wide in a beautiful park in Temperance Michigan and they are going to sell it really cheap ..just to get out from under the cost to maintain it..it is a lovely large double wide with a storage shed in a gorgeous park, just a block or so North of the Toledo, Ohio/ Michigan state line in Temperance..they are sacrificing this home at a whopping good deal !!
lalynn
14 years ago
We've lived in our 1997 single wide (16x80) for 7 years. For the first couple we were in a mobile home park and then moved it to our own property.

Within the last couple of years we have done some remodeling work.

We had to replace the walk-in shower in the master bath and had to go to a Mobile Home Supply store for that (fortunately my nephew is the owner and we were able to get his pricing).

The rest of the items we've replaced have been standard from Lowe's or Home Depot:

-replaced the plastic sink and faucet in master bath with ceramic sink and stainless faucet
-replaced plastic sink in kitchen with single bowl stainless, replaced the faucet & added an under counter water filter (just a week ago!)
-replaced all light fixtures and ceiling fans with standard fixtures/fans
-replaced some of the light switches with standard ones
-replaced almost all of the door knobs (inside doors and outside doors) with standard brushed nickel one

We have added beadboard in both baths, the back door hallway and as a backsplash in the kitchen. We've textured and painted. Changed all cabinet hinges and pulls in kitchen and both baths.

So far in two years, we haven't had any problems with cracking walls. We are working now on the living room and hall - texturing and painting.

We've replaced bathroom flooring with vinyl and just a few weeks ago, put Allure Trafficmaster wood look vinyl in the kitchen.

Everyone who walks in (we use the back door mostly) comments on how it doesn't even look like a mobile home (I call it my cottage - my really long, shotgun cottage - lol)

We plan on being here a very long time and are very pleased with the quality of our home.

I've added a link to see some of the pictures of what we've done. I don't have pictures of my new kitchen sink yet.

I hope you enjoy your home.
desertsteph
14 years ago
lalynn - did you put in a tiled shower? or a 1 piece one? I might have to replace mine in a yr or so. I don't really know yet - that part was closed off with plastic... i've been in it before, just don't remember the condition of the shower.

I don't see a link to your remodeled home???

the one i'm getting is about 24 x 50 something. dbf and i don't agree on the width or length of it...lol! it's his (he buys up these things on a regular basis) and it's been sitting empty on a piece of his property about 40 miles from here for a few yrs. it's pretty solid inside and with some changes will be a very good home for me and my 2 dogs. I think we did figure it was at least 1400 sq ft. 4 bdrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, laundry and LR/DR (LR/DR is the full width of the home and about 14'wide).

It also needs a super good cleaning. double super good! and this next yr i want to redo the kitchen - after i've lived in it for several months. After the kitchen is done i'll work on the mstr bathroom.
lalynn
14 years ago
Desertsteph, I had to put in a 2 piece, the pan and the walls. My entry door into the bathroom wasn't big enough to get a one-piece through, much to my dismay!! But, it's fine. It's a stall shower - small. We had the big garden tub and then the stall shower. My brother took out the garden tub - made for a nice big bathroom.

We have a single wide, 16x80. Before we moved it to our property I found a wonderful double wide that I fell in love with. And, we almost bought it, but this one was paid for and I was only a couple years from retirement, so decided to keep this one. I'm retired now and am glad we made that decision.

So far we've remodeled both bathrooms, the kitchen and the back entry hall (every one comes to the back door - here in the south!! lol). We've started working on the living room and when we're done I'll post some pictures.

Since these pictures were taken, I've put in a stainless single bowl sink (which I love) and have done a bit of redecorating (which I do on a daily basis!!!)

I forgot to post the link before - here it is.

I LOVE seeing pictures of remodels on mobile homes. I love looking at the beautiful kitchens, dens, etc. on the other forums, but I could never do enough to make my home look that way.....so, I wish I could see more remodel pictures on this forum. So.......anyone - please post pictures!!

Lynn

Here is a link that might be useful: Remodel

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