Are manufactured homes a dying breed?

[oldfart]

Well folks I got to reading... and thinking. Something troubles me. Somewhere along the way the great American dream got confused. Everyone wants to own their own home..that's the dream. I don't have a problem with that. What troubles me is..can everyone afford a dream home? My neighbor recently had his s.w. trailer ripped out and brought in a new double-wide home. It's beautiful! Huge! Cathedral ceilings, "great-room" with a fireplace, decks on every corner, total elec. heat, etc. etc. etc. Now, mind ya I'm not envious...this man is my friend and I'd do anything to help him. I helped build them decks and the front porch. That man works harder than any mere mortal man I've ever met. He works 7 days a week, 16hr. days...365 days a year. Quite simply... he never stops working. I asked him recently how life was going. He said..."Audie...I don't know if I'd ever do this again." (he's 57yrs. old..) His taxes went from $400 a year to $1800 a year. He went from no mortgage to $1800 a month mortgage. He fought building codes and "Inspectors" (what a joke..these idiots wouldn't know a ground wire from a telephone wire if it was stuck in their hinder-most parts!)...to fighting the local "sewage inspectors." (Another bunch of morons with an axe to grind..) In hindsight he's got a nice home..the cost of which is eating him alive and if he misses a days work he's in deep quano. I'll help him out as best I can..but this is not The Great American Dream. Audie..the Oldfart...

[Steve S.]

I hear ya Audie, I see that same thing all around me and everywhere I've lived . I think the real American dream belongs to us mobilehome-owners who can actually afford to pay for our homes and therefore can better enjoy life because we live simply and don't have to work like madmen or slaves to creditors. I personally don't understand the allure to owning one of these large superfluous houses...just more problems, more expenses, and more debts. Yet they keep building them and the idiots keep buying them. If Mark's observations are correct and mobilehomes are becoming extinct, then I think it's a sad day for the prospective homeowner who lives on a modest income. Just my two cents...now, I'll get backing to living MY life...happy, simple and unencumbered .

[Mark]

I have to agree that the housing bubble that's now bursting may have a positive effect on the mobile home industry. People who thought they could buy houses instead of mobile homes may be moving back to mobile homes.

I don't care how old your home is. If its paid off and you're living practically debt free -- that's the true American Dream.

Mark

[Barb P]

Amen to that, Mark.

[Jim from Canada]

My sister just built a million dollar 4600 sq ft home...I wouldn't trade her! Don't even want to think about the cost and time to just keep it clean!

Jim

[Steve S.]

Strangely coincidental, but I just heard on the local news tonight of our state's largest manufactured home builder (after 14 years) closing its doors for good after laying off 80 workers in December. Reason for closure cited: "the lack of orders for manufactured homes probably stems from the nationwide economic downturn."
Ironic, eh...that most of the bad lending practices and foreclosures were probably made on stick-built mansions, not mobile homes...lesson learned, perhaps.
All I can say is, if it wasn't for manufactured homes, I probably wouldn't be a homeowner today since it was all I could afford at the time, and still I was able to buy 5 acres of forestland with the home to boot. My home is essentially paid off...but I still owe quite a bit on the land

[oldfart]

Folks all these posts brought me back to a conversation I had with my daughter some time ago. She will never live in a mobile home/trailer/pre-fab or whatever else you want to call them. She'll live in a cardboard box in the ghetto before she does that. And yet she grew up in one..go figger? We had a conversation about it before she purchased her new 1/4 million dollar 4000sq.ft. home. And another conversation when she couldn't pay her electric bill and my 2 grandchildren, age 2 and 4 at the time, lived for a month without electricity. No running water (well) no heat, no lights, no cable t.v. and no phone service. Thankfully it was late summer..they survived. The grandkids thought it was cool..like camping out. I supplied a gas grill to cook their meals and took the grandkids out for meals when I could. I did not intervene otherwise, and I will not do so in the future. I asked my daughter why she had purchased beyond her means with no consideration for her children..my grandchildren.. and she answered me quite simply..."Dad, whether you realize it or not... friends judge you on what you have. Material things. Cars, homes, clothes..etc. etc. etc.!" I pondered that a while. I'm a simple man..not out to impress anyone. Never had a new car or home. I would hope folks judge me (if they must) on what I do..not what I own. I told her..."Donna..perhaps you have the wrong friends." We left it at that. Just the rambling thoughts of an old grandfather...Audie..the Oldfart.

[Yanita]

Audie,

I agree one hundred percent, this is in part why the younger generation is in debt to their wa zoo!

I commend you for not "intervening" other than to take the grandkids out.

I wish I could learn to do the same about not paying the kids bills when they over spend somewhere else.


Yanita

[Greg]

Hats of to you Audie! We had our grandkids living with us for 6 months after we got a call from the 5yr old saying "I don't want to live on the street". Greg

[Harry]

Hi

Here are the numbers of MHs manufactured and shipped according to the Institute for Building Technology and Safety and republished by the Manufactured Housing Institute.


Year Shipments
in thousands
1990 188
1991 171
1992 211
1993 254
1994 304
1995 340
1996 363
1997 353
1998 373
1999 349
2000 251
2001 193
2002 168
2003 131
2004 131
2005 147
2006 118
2007 96

Harry

[lefties]

Definitely hats off to Audie. I wouldnt have bailed my kids over that either. We are who we are,,good or bad,,rich or poor. I agree with you,,she needs better friends. Wise man there Audie!!!!! Saluti!

[Furball]

I live in Oregon. I can think of 7 nice MH parks in my area (and a couple of "trailer trash parks"). This park has five rentals -- mine included. The owner has 4 of the 7 nice parks. This is a 1993 Fleetwood Broadmore 14 x 66. A couple days ago, the park owner offered to sell it to me for $20,000 with the same payment I'm currently paying for rent (about half is home rent and half park rent). He sent this message through the managers. I said I don't have money for a down payment and they said they'd get back to me.

We do still have some oldies here but generally in good repair. There is one that has a tarp over part of his back porch, and one whose awnings were destroyed by the recent heavy snow we've had.
If you want to live in an MH park that's nice and doesn't cost a fortune, come to Klamath Falls.

[rbow]

While I do recognize that sales of manufactured homes are down, I believe it’s due to the fact that there are fewer new “parks” being developed as much as anything. At least in my area that’s the case, as I cannot remember the last one that was developed. Within older parks people tend to live in existing homes and renovate them rather than purchasing a new one. Where I am (Central California) cities have generally never allowed mobile\manufactured homes within city limits unless they were in designated parks. (with few exceptions) Most of the new manufactured homes I see are being placed outside the city limits on acreage, and without the development of new parks in this area I believe that is the only market for new manufactured homes and it’s a shrinking market.

There is a stigma against mobile\manufactured homes, and Mark is probably right it’s extremely doubtful that will ever change. I know I’m preaching to the choir, but it’s almost all based on perception, misconceptions, and stereotypes. Mortgage brokers, banks, insurance companies, and city\county planners all unfortunately buy into these perceptions. The one thing that probably gets under my skin more than anything is the misconception that stick built homes appreciate in value, while manufactured homes drop in value. No doubt property can, and usually does appreciate in value. However a stick built home without property losses much of its value, just like our homes. I had an older small (1050sf) stick built home which had to be moved or demolished, it was decent looking and structurally sound. We ended up demolishing it as there was no interest from anyone in buying it, and only mild potentially problematic interest in moving it when it was offered for free. Ironically after the home was demolished, and replaced with a larger manufactured home the property did appreciate in value.