Manufactured Homes

[GloryofGreece]

Are manufactured homes long lasting and worth investing in i.e. living in? I've found one for a reasonable price I can afford and its in a location that works for my and my wife etc. Its been difficult to find any home that's decent and where we need to be.

Thanks for the advice and any tidbits you could offer on buying a manufactured home.

[SuburbanFarmer]

I’m told that they’re the same as other homes, but I don’t really believe it. Besides, I won’t live in a house without a basement.

[C-Mag]

They are much better than in decades past.

Get the construction specs and check them out. With the better built ones they are essentially no different than a traditionally built home. The biggest issue I'd it won't appreciate in value as much.

[GloryofGreece]

They are much better than in decades past.

Get the construction specs and check them out. With the better built ones they are essentially no different than a traditionally built home. The biggest issue I'd it won't appreciate in value as much.

Thanks, can you give me things to look out for? What are some glaring no nos , if you will?

[C-Mag]

I'll get you a longer post a little later.

[heydaralon]

Are manufactured homes long lasting and worth investing in i.e. living in? I've found one for a reasonable price I can afford and its in a location that works for my and my wife etc. Its been difficult to find any home that's decent and where we need to be.

Thanks for the advice and any tidbits you could offer on buying a manufactured home.

If you have the money, you could buy land and make one relatively cheap. I had a buddy who really wanted to do that. He was looking into something called Earth Kit I believe. I'm sorry you are having home buying difficulties dude.

Look at this one. It was at the top of the search results. It looks pretty cool.

https://www.ebay.com/i/311926860406?chn=ps

[heydaralon]

I’m told that they’re the same as other homes, but I don’t really believe it. Besides, I won’t live in a house without a basement.

Why do you like basements so much?

[Ph64]

I’m told that they’re the same as other homes, but I don’t really believe it. Besides, I won’t live in a house without a basement.

Why do you like basements so much?

They're pretty much essential in northern climates because a simple slab can shift in the freeze/thaw cycles. Needs to be deep enough to get below the frost line.

[heydaralon]

I’m told that they’re the same as other homes, but I don’t really believe it. Besides, I won’t live in a house without a basement.

Why do you like basements so much?

They're pretty much essential in northern climates because a simple slab can shift in the freeze/thaw cycles. Needs to be deep enough to get below the frost line.

I live in Florida, so they are a curiosity here. One buddy I know had his basement flooded from Irma. Are you saying that up north a freeze can actually cause the entire foundation of your home to shift?

[Ph64]

Why do you like basements so much?

They're pretty much essential in northern climates because a simple slab can shift in the freeze/thaw cycles. Needs to be deep enough to get below the frost line.

I live in Florida, so they are a curiosity here. One buddy I know had his basement flooded from Irma. Are you saying that up north a freeze can actually cause the entire foundation of your home to shift?

Yup. Gets worse the longer/colder it gets in winter too - here in CT we rarely even a foot of freeze in the ground, unlike say Alaska where they've got big problems with things like the pipeline that was built on "permafrost" that maybe isn't quite so permanent in recent years. Ideally you sink the foundation (supports for the pipeline) below the depth of the frost line so it won't shift in a thaw.

Think about it - water expands when it freezes to ice, the ground always has some moisture, so the ground heaves upward when it freezes - and more so the deeper it freezes. Then when spring comes and it thaws the ground sinks. It might only be 1/2", maybe even an inch, but do that to a concrete slab over and over for 20 years you'll at least have cracks, sinking in places, etc. Same thing with roads. And with a house a shift in the foundation is going to affect the wooden structure you built on it - again, probably getting progressively worse with time.

Can't do much about the roads - or I suppose you could pour a 3' thick concrete slab (deep enough to be below the frost line), but it'd be way too expensive. Could do the same for a house I suppose... but 6-8" of slab probably isn't gonna cut it. Thus a basement, where the bottom is (typically) 3-4' below ground level.

(I've had to bury a pet out back in January, it's a pickaxe for the top 6-8" at least before you can switch to a shovel because it's just packed dirt by then... and that wasn't even all that cold at the time - give it a month+ of sub-zero(F) temps I'm sure that could be way deeper).

You can still do manufactured homes up here, I see them going up all the time - big chunks of house getting delivered, cranes.... you just need to have an appropriate foundation for the climate.