Considering buying a very custom mobile home, thoughts?

[gade202]

My wife and I have found a property in upstate New York. It's a mobile home that was built in 1989, had an addition put on in 1998 and a major renovation over the past 3 years.

No soft spots but please advise on crawl space photos. The owner does not believe in venting the crawl space and the result was a wet mess. Luckily, he has 2x 2" rigid insulation and then the original looked intact, so the wood looks to be OK.

Here are the property spec list:

- 15 Acres of land, bordering several thousand acres of state park
- 4 Bedroom, 2 Bath, approx. 1,800 sqft
- New 50 year steel roof
- Fully insulated, heated 2 car detached garage
- Wrap around deck
- 12x12 Cabin with electric and wood burning stove in woods

http://lh6.ggpht.com/gary.freelance.tec ... imgmax=720

http://lh3.ggpht.com/gary.freelance.tec ... imgmax=720

http://lh5.ggpht.com/gary.freelance.tec ... imgmax=512

http://lh5.ggpht.com/gary.freelance.tec ... imgmax=720

http://lh6.ggpht.com/gary.freelance.tec ... imgmax=720

Crawl space findings:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/gary.freelance.tec ... imgmax=720

http://lh3.ggpht.com/gary.freelance.tec ... imgmax=720

The crawl space has 2 screened, vented doors that have been covered by the insulation. The owner had the insulation installed a few years ago but does not believe in venting it out, which shocked me.

Anyways, what do you think? I would appreciate overall thoughts on the property and price, as well as thoughts and advice on the crawl space. Thank you for any help!

[Yanita]

Hi,

I am going to move this to the Off Topic forum, this forum is reserved for repair questions only.

Thanks,

Yanita

[Harry]

Hi

On venting: A good rule of thumb is at least one square foot of open vent area per 150 square foor of floor area.

All that wetness downunder can't be good.

Harry

[flcruising]

The method used to insulate the crawlspace is completely wrong, evidenced by the excessive moisture.

Like a house built on a stemwall foundation, when you insulate the perimeter walls and seal off all vents (they defeat the purpose of the insulation), the floor must then be UN-insulated. This essentialy makes the crawlspace a conditioned room, sometimes even requiring some floor openings being installed to facilitate air movement easily.

He has created a insulated 'room' below with no method of controling the environment. If you do decide to purchase, you should definitely vent the crawlspace since the floor looks to have excellent insulation.

[gade202]

Thanks for your insight!

I do plan on venting that crawl space right away after purchase.

The crawl space has been insulated like that for the past 3 years and had been vented previously.

Let me pose a different question: Does the excessive moisture underneath cause the steel frames to age (obviously, they show surface rust) more rapidly or would that not be significant?

I am considering bringing this issue up to the owner and possibly seeking to reduce our offer.

[flcruising]

Absolutely!

A good home inspector will pay attention when he/she's down there investigating. Otherwise, a structural engineer will be the only person who can say whether the integrity has been compromised by the amount of rust.

If the rust is only on the surface though, I would simply coat the exposed metal with a good rust converter, then simply repaint.

To see if the problem runs deeper though, you may have to remove some/all of the polystyrene insulation because that moisture does look EXCESSIVE.

[Greg]

Upstate NY is a big area. In some places this could be a great deal, others could be a major rip off. I would contact a real estate proffessional in the area for their thoughts. Greg

[gade202]

The area is roughly 25 minutes NE of Ithaca. The Zillow estimate for the property (with my accurate details given) gives back an estimate of $149k but doesn't take in to account the land and the location, right up against state park land. I am willing to pay a slight premium for that.

[Greg]

Ok so that puts it in my back yard.
I would think 150- 160 range. Make an offer, the worst that happens is they say no. Greg

[cxjon]

Looks cool... hope you buy a riding mower.

[gade202]

Update: The owner has seen the photos and within 12 hours had a contractor under the house, looking at possible water damage and how to resolve this (VENTING!). He is also having a structual engineer come out to check the steel.

I will post their findings.