HELP!! Should we live in a doublewide?

[newrdh]

Hi all!! I have lurked for some time and now have a question. My husband and I just purchased 4.5 acres out in the country where we want to build our forever home. Currently there is a singlewide trailer sitting on the land and the previous owners will be moving this soon. My mother owns, free and clear, a double wide home that was manufactured in 2000. She suggested that we move this home to our new location, live there for a few years to pay off the land and then re-sell for a small profit and then complete our stick built home. I feel like this is a good option, mostly because it would save rent payments for 3 years. Am I not seeing a glaring red flag to this option? We would put in some work to the doublewide, but nothing major. Our other option would be staying in our townhome, paying rent and the land payment. So I guess my question would be, what would you do?

[sierramist03]

Sounds like a smart idea to not being paying rent. Also once the land is paid off getting a loan for the house is typically easier. The doublewide is new enough it won't have any roof,siding,etc issues yet. I don't know if your in a tornado area but having a storm shelter is a must around here.

[sailorgray]

I would definitely do it. In the grand scheme of things, 3 years is nothing.

[cotner]

I would do it. Save your money for yourself. Even if your only paying $500 a month in rent, over 3 years that is $18,000 dollars. Make "rent" payments to a seperate account and enjoy what you will be able to build with the extra money.

Edit-it's too early for math

[mrsacornblue]

I would. It's worth it to live in anything to not pay rent and put that money toward your forever home. My parents lived in a 32 foot motorhome for 18 months on their property while they were building their house. It was cramped but it beat paying rent plus paying for house and land.

[sjh722]

How much would it cost to move the double-wide?

How old is it? Does it have its HUD tags/title all in order? If not, no one will be able to get a loan to buy it when you're done. Chances you can find a cash buyer to haul it away if that's the case?

Utilities? Septic? Permits? It's possible that the existing septic for the single-wide is not large enough for a double-wide and the septic field would have to be made larger. (I'm assuming that if it's somewhere with acerage that you can take in a double-wide you're not on municipal utilities.)

Do you live somewhere with lots of storms? The construction quality + no basement would scare me in a tornado-prone area.

If it really saved me significant money, yes, I would think about it, but there could be a lot additional costs.

[FoxInFiji]

When you say "re-sell" I assume you mean the double wide right? Yes I would totally do this. The added benefit of living out in the location for a while to see if you have any living out in the country. It sounds like that might be a big change from a townhome in the city to acres of land in the country. Things like: is the commute too long for you, are the roads plowed very well in the winter or do you need to get 4 wheel drive vehicles, would you want to plant some trees now to help block the wind or provide shade for a future home and yard, how much of a yard to you actually want to mow and how much are you going to let be wild, where and what direction do you want the home to face, etc. My only concern is you need to check into the laws for your town. They may not let you take the old trailer off the property and replace it with a doublewide with out getting new permits. They may require your septic system be bigger for a bigger home (very likely since septic system sizes are based on the number of bedrooms you have and this trailer is twice as big), your electrical line be upgraded if it's old, or a driveway may need to be paved instead of gravel. Basically what ever laws have been inactecd since the other home was put on the property. They may also have new rules for how long a trailer can be on the property...the old one would have been grandfathered in. You'll have to call your township and get approval first.

My parents bought an inexpensive trailer home when they were building their house. We lived 45 minutes away from our new home at the time which was really eating into my dad's hours he could work on the house each night (he built it himself). Living in a trailer on site was beneficial but the town only let us have the trailer on our property for 6 months. So we were on a tight timeline and super cramped as a family of five in a tiny single wide trailer. We couldn't fit everything we owned inside so we rented a POD type box and stored it on site as well. The kitchen was tiny and made the entire house hot so we did a ton of grilling outside and the weather was horribly rainy. Like most construction sites everything is mud but with record amounts of rain that year it was a nightmare trying to keep the mud out of the trailer and new home.

[Deleted]

I agree with SJH. If you have to dig a septic and stuff it might not save you that much.
Otherwise, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Cost savings all around.
People here do it all the time.
Just be aware no one is probably going to buy a doublewide for much money. There's ads here all the time for pennies on the dollar or "haul it and you can have it."
My Sister's boyfriend lived in a double wide for a bit on a farm rental property he owns. When he was done with it and rented a better house, they just ended up torching the trailer for controlled burn fire department practice. No one wanted it.

[duckduck]

Echoing what everyone else already said, I'd do it in a second provided a) You've looked into moving/upgrading costs associated with putting the double-wide on your land, and b) You are prepared for the trailer to depreciate rapidly.

But not paying rent for three years and also living on your own land that much sooner is an amazing opportunity.

[kellygordon]

I would do it. Even if you have extra expenses here and there it still would be way cheaper.

[sb]

What area of the country do you live in? I would not do this in tornado alley or my current location where we have to worry about hurricanes.

But if storms aren't a problem, then it's a great idea.

[housegeek]

I would do it as long as the septic issues are covered but I wouldn't plan on making any money from it at the end.