Lifespan of Palm Harbor Home

[Penny]

This has been very informative, thank you. After looking around, I think we are going to go for a new Patriot of Texas home. We have to sell our house first though, which is always a hassle. The ebook from this site was such a great resource! I can't wait to get on with it.

I can tell where the "undocumented workers" who put together my spec home cut corners. The interior looks fine but if you examine the framing in the attic it is atrocious.

[gavin ryan]

Yes, realtors are a better source for local residential values than a university of michigan study. It is not a question of who is smarter.

Local knowledge means everything in real estate, that's why we use local comps to value deals rather than university studies.

And although i hate paying realtor fees, they have the best grasp of local markets.

[Bill F]

As a Real Estate Appraiser, I see a lot of Manufactured Homes in rural areas. I have found that most of the better built homes, such as the Palm Harbor and the Hart Homes do seem to hold their Value a lot more than the cheap built ones. I have also found and have advised many future home owners and Banking Institutions, that if you are going to purchase or finance a Manufactured Home, at least get the upgrades such as a 5/12 or higher pitched roof-a concrete foundation-have the inside drywalled instead of the cheap paneling and trim they use. It seems that the outside of a top brand manufactured home is just as well built as a stick built, it's the cheap trim and paneling junk they put inside. I believe that if the Manufacture Home Industry would create some higher minumum standards, that not only would their sales skyrocket, but the reputation of the "Mobile Home" would get a lot better.
Getting back to answering your question, I have seen many nice Manufactured Homes that are 20+ years in a lot better condition than some stick built. If you keep up your MH and it is in a good location, it should last you a long time.

[Virginia]

Whether your home will appreciate of depreciate will ultimately come down to one thing: location, location, location.

In other words if you do not own the location (i.e.the land) all you have is a difficult to move mobile home which will, like a car at best, depreciate in value.

The land, which belongs 100% to the landowner in land lease parks, will do all the appreciating.

[dee stevenson]

What is the difference between a modular home and a manufactured home? How does Silvercrest compare to Palm Harbor in quality. I've seen them both and think Silvercrest is a finer home by finish work. But how about construction? What is a modular?
Thanks,
Dee

[jgn]

Dee, a modular home is a home that is built at a plant and delivered in sections. The difference in modular and manufactured is the modular is not on a frame and is set with a foundation (like a site built home) with a stem wall. You really don't get a better home with modular but you partially erase the stigma of mobile home. A well built MH is a very good home with a steel I-beem as a base but it does carry a name stigma. I have not seen Silvercrest but PH builds a nice home in most areas and has a solid reputation for customer service.

[dave]

remember people we are making an investment into property not the home. That is why a mobile home on land and being sold wihthe land goes upin value. It may go up in value a little slower then a modular or stick built but it dioes rise with the market area. Even now in my area around 1.5 - 2 hrs outside of New York City a single wide home in a park used is selling for 95,000

[unknown]

Now this is a great forum. Everyone can voice what he or she thinks about the subject and we all learn something. there is an NADA book for homes you can look up the value of most homes. I am no longer in the industry and i will agree with David.

It is also a matter of what the housing market is doing at the time which will effect all types of homes.

I have given several speechs my area to Real Estate agents about the mh industry, real estate agents in this area are limited to how many mh's they can sell a year because they were not licensed to sell them, and because they some how feel they are inferior which in many cases is not true at all.

The life time of your home will depend on how you take care of it, I dealt with repos for a while and I have seen 30 year old homes in perfect shape and i have seen 1 year old homes torn apart. ask questions about the structure of the home every home can sell on the interior looks but it is the parts you do not see that really count.

[Kelley]

I don't usually reply, but have to interject here. I am BOTH a licensed Realtor in the state of NY and a Sales Manager at a Manufactured Housing retail center. My recent experience has been that the reason many manufactured homes packaged with land sell for below market value is because of ignorant real estate agents who are afraid of manufactured homes. In recent months I have had real estate agents call me to explain the difference between a manufactured and a modular home because they had one to list and could not tell the difference. I have also had listing agents tell me that they can't get financing for "trailers". HOGWASH...we finance them everyday at conventional rates and terms with conventional lenders as well as FHA. Real Estate agents who take listings on Manufactured Homes price them far below true value and then hesitate to show them to their buyers. This has enraged me to such a degree here in my market that I offer my knowledge to other Realtors in our MLS area to educate them before they list. Many take advantage of it and are now listing with a less biased eye.

The other reason there are Manufactured Homes selling below market value is the number of land/home repos hitting the market place. The banks are wholesaling these, many thru MLS to investors to rehab and these sales are bringing the figures for comps way down. Hard lessons have been learned by the lending mistakes of the late 90's. Today's lenders are requiring the same of Manufactured Homes as they are of site built, existing, and new construction.

When I think of the misconceptions in our industry I think of something my Grandfather used to say. "I'd rather drive my team of horses than a hunk of metal that won't move without a crank." Eventually even he took to driving a car.

Kelley

[Bill]

I'm currently in my 10th home, which is my 2nd manufactured home on land. My experience with this has been very good. What I found with my first mfg. home on land is that, yes, you do somewhat limit your audience of potential buyers because there are a good number of home buyers who absolutely will not consider a m.h. on land. The other side of the coin is that a m.h. on land (around here, anyway) is more competitively priced than a site-built house, thereby increasing the attractiveness of the home to would-be home buyers.