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

Is it possible that the bank has placed no lien on the mobile home or isn't using it as part of the down-payment and that you are free to sell it at anytime? You will have to bite the bullet and ask the lender if the mobile home is considered part of the total package. It is possible that they considered the moble home to have no value and simply added the amount owed to the mortgage of the new home, their appraisal of the new house and land being high enough to absorb the amount. When I was in a similar situation, it wasn't a bank but the town that said the mobile home would have to be gone before the inspector could issue the C. of O. Wayne

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.

After careful and thorough preparation, SW A-100 Exterior Acrylic Latex will work just fine.