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There is a market for buying and selling used mobile homes. I've worked on a few already this year, getting them ready for tenants after they have been bought a

by rascul 4y ago

There is a market for buying and selling used mobile homes. I've worked on a few already this year, getting them ready for tenants after they have been bought and moved. Maybe not a large market, I don't know. And I'm sure it's very location dependent. Lot rents are (edit: mostly) only in (some) trailer parks, the vast majority of mobile homes that I see around here (southern Mississippi) are not in trailer parks.

topkai22 4y ago
Yeah, I was going to comment the same thing. I’ve lived in multiple regions where there is plenty large, owner occupant lots where the structure is a mobile home. The mobile home park/ground rent model is definitely not the only model in use for these structures.
01100011 4y ago
It's not uncommon to buy a piece of rural land and drop a mobile on it. I've even seen folks do it so they have a place to live while they build a traditional house.
- rascul 4y ago
  > It's not uncommon to buy a piece of rural land and drop a mobile on it. This is the large majority of mobile homes I see and work on.
- dylan604 4y ago
  I've even seen people go so far as to brick around the pre-built home to hide what it is or to comply with some sort of code. Sometimes, they'll match the brick on the house that was built, and keep the pre-built for an in-laws suite type of thing. One of those, "we already have this thing and we're not going to get much from selling, so what do we do with it now" scenarios.
  - ncmncm 4y ago
    There are hundreds of thousands of those all over the American West, going back well over a century. Typically, it starts with a shed over the trailer that the house is then built onto. Even after the bedrooms are built, the bathroom and kitchen serve until plumbing and fixtures go into the main house. Once the house is built, there is no value in removing the trailer, and it becomes guest quarters. With a proper roof over, it can last a long time. But enough decades later, it is torn out to make space for a back deck. Many of these can be seen along cross-country Amtrak routes.
alistairSH 4y ago
Around here (DC suburbs out to Appalachia), it’s a mix of both. The closer to the city, the more likely the mobile home is in a trailer park. Though there aren’t many left - most that I’m aware of have been bought/closed/redeveloped. In terms of increasing the supple of affordable homes for people who are in suburban or semi-rural areas, mobile homes really are a mixed bag, for the reasons listed (which is then exacerbated by PE firms buying up parks and milking the residents dry).
kube-system 4y ago
There’s technically a market, but they experience insane amounts of depreciation. If they’re sold with land, most of the value is in the land.
- cudgy 4y ago
  For used mobile homes (caveat emptor), this can be an advantage if the structure is usable, since the buyer essentially gets a “free” or very low cost livable structure with a septic field included. Fast depreciation is an advantage to the used market buyer, since prior owners took the hit.
  - kube-system 4y ago
    The depreciation is a result of the value to the buyer, though. They’re a PITA to maintain because everything on them is an odd size and made from the worst possible material. Unlike a permanent home which has mature ecosystems for completely refurbishing them, a better bet with a mobile home is to use it up and throw it away.
    - rascul 4y ago
      > everything on them is an odd size and made from the worst possible material I've found that outside of light switches, electrical outlets, and bath tubs, much of the stuff is the same or similar (2x3 instead of 2x4 or 2x6 walls for example, or 1/4 foam instead of plywood sheathing) than regular houses, and can be purchased from Lowe's or Home Depot at regular prices instead of super high prices from the only mobile home parts store around here.

by rascul 4y ago

topkai22 4y ago

Yeah, I was going to comment the same thing. I’ve lived in multiple regions where there is plenty large, owner occupant lots where the structure is a mobile home. The mobile home park/ground rent model is definitely not the only model in use for these structures.

01100011 4y ago

It's not uncommon to buy a piece of rural land and drop a mobile on it. I've even seen folks do it so they have a place to live while they build a traditional house.

rascul 4y ago
> It's not uncommon to buy a piece of rural land and drop a mobile on it. This is the large majority of mobile homes I see and work on.
dylan604 4y ago
I've even seen people go so far as to brick around the pre-built home to hide what it is or to comply with some sort of code. Sometimes, they'll match the brick on the house that was built, and keep the pre-built for an in-laws suite type of thing. One of those, "we already have this thing and we're not going to get much from selling, so what do we do with it now" scenarios.
- ncmncm 4y ago
  There are hundreds of thousands of those all over the American West, going back well over a century. Typically, it starts with a shed over the trailer that the house is then built onto. Even after the bedrooms are built, the bathroom and kitchen serve until plumbing and fixtures go into the main house. Once the house is built, there is no value in removing the trailer, and it becomes guest quarters. With a proper roof over, it can last a long time. But enough decades later, it is torn out to make space for a back deck. Many of these can be seen along cross-country Amtrak routes.

alistairSH 4y ago

Around here (DC suburbs out to Appalachia), it’s a mix of both. The closer to the city, the more likely the mobile home is in a trailer park. Though there aren’t many left - most that I’m aware of have been bought/closed/redeveloped. In terms of increasing the supple of affordable homes for people who are in suburban or semi-rural areas, mobile homes really are a mixed bag, for the reasons listed (which is then exacerbated by PE firms buying up parks and milking the residents dry).

kube-system 4y ago

There’s technically a market, but they experience insane amounts of depreciation. If they’re sold with land, most of the value is in the land.

cudgy 4y ago
For used mobile homes (caveat emptor), this can be an advantage if the structure is usable, since the buyer essentially gets a “free” or very low cost livable structure with a septic field included. Fast depreciation is an advantage to the used market buyer, since prior owners took the hit.
- kube-system 4y ago
  The depreciation is a result of the value to the buyer, though. They’re a PITA to maintain because everything on them is an odd size and made from the worst possible material. Unlike a permanent home which has mature ecosystems for completely refurbishing them, a better bet with a mobile home is to use it up and throw it away.
  - rascul 4y ago
    > everything on them is an odd size and made from the worst possible material I've found that outside of light switches, electrical outlets, and bath tubs, much of the stuff is the same or similar (2x3 instead of 2x4 or 2x6 walls for example, or 1/4 foam instead of plywood sheathing) than regular houses, and can be purchased from Lowe's or Home Depot at regular prices instead of super high prices from the only mobile home parts store around here.