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They are an extreme ripoff.
Homes are cheap because they are manufactured, BUT YOU PAY OUTRAGEOUS RENT ON THE LAND.
So, when the homes burn, you have NOTHING.
This sums it up from Reddit: 3 years ago.
https://www.reddit.com/r/povertyfinance/comments/s0jh8a/whats_the_catch_with_mobile_manufactured_homes/
What's the catch with mobile / manufactured homes? why are they so cheap? are they better or worse than renting an apartment?
Housing/Shelter/Standard of Living
i've lived in an apartment for all of my adult life and pretty much accepted by this point they i'll never be able to afford a traditional "house." but every year, rent just keeps climbing and climbing. my studio apartment, split between 3 people, has almost doubled in rent in the past 5 years. i hear people talk about how much better having a mortgage is vs renting, but there's no way i could afford the down payment that a home would require.
so what's the catch with mobile / manufactured homes? why are they 1/10th the price of an ordinary house? every place i've looked for answers responds from an investment perspective and talks about how they depreciate like used cars. i'm not looking for an asset. i don't care if my house is "worth" anything. i would just like to have a home to live in without worrying about the rent climbing up endlessly and outpacing my ability to afford it. are there any downsides for someone who doesn't care about trying to use it as an investment, but just as a place to live in? the only thing i can think of is needing to move elsewhere and then not being able to sell your house for what you owe, but i have no extended family or job or anything that would ever require me to up and leave from where i live now. i live in the desert, so there isn't a big risk of flooding, tornadoes or other natural disasters carrying the house away. i realize apartment complexes are also supposed to provide things like maintenance if things like plumbing or electrical go wrong, but anyone who's ever lived in a shitty apartment complex knows how reliable that actually is.
i don't see any immediate downsides? but i know the grass is always greener. can anyone chime in with some advice?
------
Is it in a mobile home park? You still have to pay lot rent, if so, which is often hundreds of dollars, sometimes equal to regular rent. You don't own the land they sit on and the owner can just keep raising prices because you're stuck. It is nearly impossible to get someone to move a mobile home in some locations and many places outlaw new ones on private land.
-----
Housing/Shelter/Standard of Living
i've lived in an apartment for all of my adult life and pretty much accepted by this point they i'll never be able to afford a traditional "house." but every year, rent just keeps climbing and climbing. my studio apartment, split between 3 people, has almost doubled in rent in the past 5 years. i hear people talk about how much better having a mortgage is vs renting, but there's no way i could afford the down payment that a home would require.
so what's the catch with mobile / manufactured homes? why are they 1/10th the price of an ordinary house? every place i've looked for answers responds from an investment perspective and talks about how they depreciate like used cars. i'm not looking for an asset. i don't care if my house is "worth" anything. i would just like to have a home to live in without worrying about the rent climbing up endlessly and outpacing my ability to afford it. are there any downsides for someone who doesn't care about trying to use it as an investment, but just as a place to live in? the only thing i can think of is needing to move elsewhere and then not being able to sell your house for what you owe, but i have no extended family or job or anything that would ever require me to up and leave from where i live now. i live in the desert, so there isn't a big risk of flooding, tornadoes or other natural disasters carrying the house away. i realize apartment complexes are also supposed to provide things like maintenance if things like plumbing or electrical go wrong, but anyone who's ever lived in a shitty apartment complex knows how reliable that actually is.
i don't see any immediate downsides? but i know the grass is always greener. can anyone chime in with some advice?
------
Is it in a mobile home park? You still have to pay lot rent, if so, which is often hundreds of dollars, sometimes equal to regular rent. You don't own the land they sit on and the owner can just keep raising prices because you're stuck. It is nearly impossible to get someone to move a mobile home in some locations and many places outlaw new ones on private land.
-----
And "investors" are buying up properties and jacking up rents.
Capitalism, Comrade.
https://www.mhbo.com/mobile-home-park/39469-pacific-palisades-bowl-mhc-16321-pacific-coast-hwy-pacific-palisades-ca-90272
The lot rent ranges from $800 - $1,600 per month
These look like real manufactured homes. I have never seen a double-high one.
https://www.biggsapm.com/listing/pacific-palisades-bowl-mobile-estates
Has earlier photos. (just one here)
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