Should I buy double-wide?

[n4nsl100]

OK, I'm new to this forum. Long story short; my wife and I have daughters that are about grown, one in college, the other a senior in high school. We have lived in our stick built house for 11 years and mainly lived there for our daughters. As they are leaving to college, we are looking at double-wides so my wife can get the rooms and space like she wants. Out house was built in 1965 and I am always fixing or remodeling something which I am tried of. We have toured double wides in our area and they are new and beautiful! Part of our goal is to GREATLY reduce our current mortgage of $1650 and 200K balance. We hope to get a double wide and land for around $125K. We currently have our sights set on a few acres for 25K.
Sorry for going on. My question, are we being realistic or foolish? Is it possible to GREATLY reduce our mortgage and are we giving up a solid stick built house that has appreciated and will continue to do so verses a double-wide that may depreciate?

Thanks for any comments.................

[rmurray]

No one here can tell you what is best for you and your family..I understand the desire to move to a lower payment, 2 in college is a financial challenge for all of us.. You should be able to easily lower your monthly payment by over $1000 permonth..Sounds to me though you should spend more time building your confidence in factory built homes..I would way more rather be in a new manufactured home then a 45 year old brick home...Energy bills will go down and maintenance will be low for the next many years..Cost savings can be found in many areas..

You mention appreciation/deprieciation....That brick house is really deprecating over time because it is wearing out...but the brick house on the lot it is on (location) might well be appreciating...If you tried to sell the home separate from the land, you would lose it all..it would be worth less than $0..You might want to start your quest in the bookstore here and consider a small investment is the buyers guides there..

There are resources on the net that are very unbiased,,Consumers Union (the company that publishes Consumer reports Magazine) has done many reports and studies and has many helpful. You can find their portal here.

http://www.consumersunion.org/mh/

This is from the Consumers Union book review section..

"The Complete Buyer’s Guide to Manufactured Homes and Land
John Grissim 2002 Consumer $23.95

Most in-depth, aimed at readers who want to know it all. "

Next is a direct link to the Consumers Union report on appreciation/depreciation and manufactured homes...It is 44 pages long and in very much detail..but mostly concludes that manufactured homes on land will appreciate the same as any other house on that same lot...They prove housing appreciation is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION...Be sure to pick your location with care..find it here:

http://www.consumersunion.org/pdf/mh/Appreciation.pdf



Just as helpful is these forums...There is only 1 thing the webmaster asks...As you get up to speed and buy, come back here often and share your experience with others just starting like you are now...Be sure to use the search function listed on the top of this page..When you do search through all dates..Good Luck