Purchasing a pre-owned manufactured home

[prairydawn]

Hi everyone, a newbie here. We are considering purchasing a pre-owned manufactured home built in the early 90's in NY, near Ithaca. I was wondering what we need to know when we go to look at it. What should we be looking for? Do home inspectors typically have knowledge on manufactured homes? We would also like to have an addition put on, a stick built addition complete with basement. The house is currently on poles that go below the frost line. Is an addition of this nature possible? Does having a large addition with a basement change how the home would be assessed? Would it still be considered manufactured? Or should we also look into installing a permanent foundation under the whole house? What is the most simple method of installing a permanent foundation, and what kind of cost are we looking at? I had asked the real estate agent and she assured me that 'of course you can add on, it can all be done easily'. However we would rather ask the experts, you folks, to see what your opinions are. I have one last question, and forgive my ignorance. The whole house is wall papered. We would like to strip it off and paint the walls instead. Not knowing what the walls are typically made of, we didn't know if this was a bigger job than the usual spray and scrape. Thank you so much in advance!

Dawn

[admin]

Adding an addition should not be a problem. Additions of all types and sizes can be added to any manufactured home. You will need to talk to your local building department to find out what they require for building standards in your area.

With or with out a basement your home will be a manufactured home. In some areas of the country tax assessments can change depending on the way the home is installed. Contact your local Property Appraisers office to see if they have different standards for and what they might consider a permanent foundation for manufactured housing.

Costs for permanent foundations are different depending on the system used, local building requirements and soil conditions. For example if your soil is sandy and easy to dig in it would be considerable easier to install any foundations than if you are in an area where there is a considerable amount of rock to be removed. To get a better idea of at least one top of the line system that will work well just about anyplace in the country take a look at the products of FOUNDATION WORKS. They offer a free estimate on their web site

The walls in your manufactured home are covered with sheet rock, like any conventionally build home. You can prime and paint directly over most of the wall papers. If your looking for a book that covers all facets of manufactured home repair and renovation check out The Manual for Manufactured Home Repair & Upgrade

[Mac]

A couple small points - Yes, you can paint right over the wallpaper - use Kilz or something similar first, to prime it and help the top coat adhere.
Also, see what the subfloor is made of. Many (including mine) are made from wax - impregnated particleboard, which will swell if moistened. Plywood or OSB are preferable; if you DO have particleboard, and it swells, it can be replaced without too much trouble (but you may not want to spend a Saturday that way).
At least here in Oregon, my house is attached to the land, but it is listed and assessed as a manufactured dwelling. Our mortgage was 1/2 point higher than otherwise, partly because it's manufactured, partly because it was considered a "jumbo." Even so, 5.875 fixed looks fine to me right now

[prairydawn]

THese replies are so helpful and have prompted a couple more questions. Lets say the walls are made of gypsum (SP?), rather than dry wall. If I remember correctly, gypsum is rather thin, doesn't give the impression of being very strong (true?), can we take it down and put up dry wall? or install dry wall of the gypsum? Also the point on flooring is excellent. How can we see what kind of flooring it is? The home is currently set on piers and the interior is a mix of linoleum and carpet. We are fine with replacing the floor, it would be a first for us but we'd give it a go. If the sub-flooring is solid wood or if we installed solid wood, can we lay down ceramic tile in the kitchen and baths? Thanks again for your input, it truly is invaluable to those of us still learning.

Dawn

[prairydawn]

When doing an addition such as ours (large room with basement and perhaps a deck) should we belooking for a contractor who has experience with MH specifically? I guess the same question can be asked regarding a home inspector? Thanks again!

Dawn

[Mac]

Gypsum = drywall. In lower-end homes, this may be 1/4" thickness, usually with vinyl wallpaper over it. Up the scale, it's 1/2", just like site-built, and 1/2" or 5/8" ceilings.
As to finding out what the floor is made of, here are a couple ways: 1 - in a carpeted area, pull up a floor heating register; 2 - go to the area where the water heater/furnace are, that might also show you some bare floor. 3 - Ask. My preference would be #1-plywood; #2 - OSB, #3 (which I have) pressboard - brand names are Cresdek and Novadek.

[admin]

To get an excellet idea about what pre-owned homes are selling for in your area and what is available check out the Manufactured Housing Multiple Listing Service This is the web's number one most popular destination for buyers searching for a pre-owned manufactured home.

The Multiple Listing Service includes listings BY OWNER, BY DEALER, BY BUILDER and ven FINANCE COMPANY REPOS

Thousands of manufactured housing shoppers from across the country browse through the MLS every day searching for the home of their choice. Listings are searchable by city, state, number of bedrooms and baths, manufacturer, year built and price.

Each listing also auto-interfaces with Yahoo Maps via a MAP link included each listings individual page. When clicked it will auto-generate a map of the location of the home for sale and the surrounding area.

Click to go to The Manufactured Housing Multiple Listing Service NOW!

[mannymanbo]

Prairydawn,
you got some good advice from Mac, and advice that is incomplete from admin.
Your state is starting to instatute the Manufactured Housing Installation Act.
It requires all kind of certifications and such.
You need to talk to the local building code official before you make any decisions.
If you want, email me direct for more info.