Hoo boy...what an off-topic clusterfreak this thread has become! Might as well add to it... I have to disagree with the US as the be-all, end-all of origin and influence. At least that was not the case when I lived in Singapore and Indonesia. For example, US diesel vehicles do not meet emissions requirements for Singapore. Toyota, Isusu, and Mitsubishi dominate the market there. Just like many European countries, all three use particulate traps for thier diesel engines. You will not see a smoking diesel auto, truck, or bus in Singapore. Some US autos can't be sold in S'pore because of the brakelights and turn signals. They require that rear turn signals use a completely seperate bulb from the brake lights. in addition, rear turn signals must be amber. This is a safety protocol inherited from Europe. US banks also have trouble in the Singapore market. The Lion City has adopted EU guidelines for customer privacy that US firms simply could not stomach. Such laws cut down junk mail and reduce the chance of identity theft. Then there is the mobile phone market. US-based standards such as CDMA are virtually unheard of in Asia. The European GSM standard rules, and for good reason. GSM requires the least battery power to produce a usable signal. There is US influence in Asia, to be sure. However, it is not the prime-mover some people would believe. And to our friends from the Great White North... My furnace install has a few components from Canada. The 13ga, 275 gallon Crown oil tank (no relation whatsoever to Crown Boiler Company) I picked up from the Big Orange Box was made in New Brunswick. The 24ga black T's and black solid 90° elbow for the flue I bought at a local hardware store were made in Canada. A flue cover plate, as well as some of the assorted hardware I needed, was also Canadian made. Lot's of things come from, or are influenced by, the American market. Unless you have lived abroad, however, you may be tempted to overrate the effect. Peace. Marco

Local ordinances pertaining to mobile homes probably vary more from one location to another than one can even imagine. Some localities are trying hard to eliminate mobile homes. If you contemplate buying a new mobile home, the dealer might be the best source of information. I know you said you work for the government. The person who best knows the regulations for that area might be an inspector who is in the office only a little while in the early morning. Here locally, the person who answers the phone frankly knows only how to answer the phone. When I go in that office, I look deep in her eyes and there is no one at home! If you were considering moving to my area, I would advise getting the ordinances and reading them yourself. For a property here to remain grandfathered for mobile homes, the SELLER must submit within 24 hours of the deed transfer, in writing, a letter notifying the Planning Director of the sale and the BUYER must, within that same 24 hours, register that property for mobile home use with the Planning Director. Obviously that means personal hand delivery. This is in addition to the normal recording of the property deed. Even the best local real estate attorney did not know of this regulation until I told him. He told me this would be easy to defeat in court- but he did not say it would be low cost. And the local "Commissars" are counting on that to forestall any challenges. They also have some regulations on mobile homes that permit "unbridled/unfettered discretion" on the part of the enforcement officer. Many court precedents have ruled such to be unconstitutional, but it costs a lot to mount a challenge. Here, I do not trust the Planning Director to be forthright about these ordinances. I asked him if a public housing unit would be built to house the folks forced out of mobile homes (that they paid for)- he just had a blank stare. I am not an attorney, but I review the work of my attorney carefully.

The days of seeing gains like those in the above posts where an $80,000 purchase sells for many times that years later are over for at least 10 years. Don't expect any major real estate boom any time soon; real estate is going to return to what it's supposed to be for, a place to live and call home, rather then a slot machine that pays out. With that said, I got a super deal on a manufactured home built in 2003 with new 2 car detached garage on a .65 acre lot for under $40k. The modular homes in a new subdivision being built start around $100k and that's with no garage included and they are still selling! They don't look that much different, they have the same or less square footage, yet they are selling for more then double the price. I guess it depends on what you need. Do you need a basement? The manufactured homes around here will qualify for a traditional mortgage as long as they are anchored on a frost free foundation. Surrender the title and they become real property, treated as such. Why pay more for less in an environment where real estate is going to go down adjusted for inflation going forward? If you can find a good deal, go for it. A house is a place to live, a place to call home, that's the important thing.. not bling bling, unless that's your style.

@ryse: Good thought about liability only - since I'm just starting to look I really haven't learned anything about insurance on mobiles, I just figured I needed to insure it like I would a house. I'll check into liability insurance and will also try to research what other similar properties have sold for in that neighborhood. @cathyyg; I agree that sounds like a crazy price for a 40 year old mobile home, even after aggressive negotiations. I don't yet know what updates they might have done to add value (I'll check on the things you mentioned, thank you!), but it seems like it's being carried on the tax rolls at a value of $14.5K - $12.5 for the home and improvements and $2K for the half-acre lot, so there's a heck of a disconnect there somewhere.