MH's moveable once placed?

[Matt]

I am considering buying a manufactured home as an alternative to a trailer to be used as a temporary residence on my property. I was planning on living in the MH for 2-5 years while completing renovations to an existing home already on the property (needs a lot of work!!). Once the house is finished I was hoping to sell the MH to someone and have them pick it up and move it on out. Is this plan feasible? Is there a general amount of time that a MH can sit and still be moved, and/or other factors that affect mobility?

[rmurray]

Manufactured homes are quite movable...This would not be a problem in the future...

If you do this..you should buy a decent used single section...10 years or so old...You will get a good price in todays market...and not lose much when it is time to sell..

[Matt]

Great, thanks for the quick reply!

I thought that was the case but I had been getting conflicting answers from other sources... so I figured I would "ask the experts"! Thanks again for the input.

This now brings up a few follow up questions though, as I am quite new to the home buying/owning arena I am practically clueless...

Where would be the best place to look for a (and how would I recognize) a decent used single section? The property is in New Hampshire. Also what are the incidental costs associated with this; moving the MH from seller's location to mine, running electricity & water/sewer to the unit, etc. What am I getting myself into here?? I would greatly appreciate some perspective on the overall process and some common pitfalls to avoid...

Greatfully yours,

Clueless Matt

[Linda Oz]

Isn't nearly half the cost of a MH the moving and installation? My Skyline 934 (double) sells off the lot for about $85,000 but you can't touch them installed in a mobile home park in California for less than $142,000. I researched prices quite a bit and by the time the lot is prepped, MH moved and installed this runs about $40,000. Wouldn't Matt stand to lose a lot if he is only planning to keep the MH in that location a couple of years?

Linda

[Matt]

Thank you for offering your perspective and insight into my question string Linda. I figured that the costs of set-up, moving & installation would certainly be considerable, $40 k though is a bit steep considering I would be pretty much assured to lose those costs,( right?) unless I factored them into any selling price when I am ready to deal...

Thing is I was figuring on taking a pretty big hit when I'm done living in it but I was hoping to minimize it (of course!), my circumstances are atypical and I was planning on selling the MH to a friend who would be helping me to fix up the existing house along the way. I was ready to take a $5-15k hit on the value of the MH upon resale anyways to induce him to help me with cheap, quality, motivated labor, etc. on the main house.

That would be hard enough to swallow but to add another $40K (??) of upfront costs to swallow! That's where we start running up against feasibility... I appreciate any and all opinions on this, I want to be as well armed as possible with unbiased opinions and facts from neutral sources before talking to sellers & servicers that would almost certainly tell me anything they think I needed to hear to sign that check... Thanks a million!

~Matt

[rmurray]

Matt...

I do not know where you are...but Linda is in CA...where everything is much higher than the rest of the country....

Most parts of the country..you will find wells $2300 to 3500

septics.$1000 to 2500
Electrical $500 to 1000
Set up..$3500 to $ 5000 for double sections..
Clearing..depends on the site...none to ?????????

That would be no more than $13,000..usually less..

How can anyone live in CA...???..

[Linda Oz]

Matt,

I should add that I have practically zero knowledge about lot prep or installation, in your area, but from my minor research into costs before I bought, it seems like you'd take a loss on moving the home. Then again, you may break even or come out ahead considering the costs of renting for 2 years. Good luck on your project. Sounds like fun!

Linda

[Linda Oz]

>>How can anyone live in CA...???..

We can't afford to move.

Linda

[Matt]

Linda,

I appreciate your (and anyone/everyone's) insight. I am certainly hoping that Mr. Murray's figures are a little closer to home though ; )

My property is in Western New Hampshire, right across from the Vermont border, I'd be looking to put down on a cleared site probably right near the main house & barns. The property is actually quite large and irregularly shaped, towards the top of a very small mountain ( approx. 125 acres), mostly wooded with 4 cleared fields all of varying slopes. There is really only one "flat" strip of about 3/4 - 1 full acre but even that strip isn't what most people (especially those readers from the mid-west) would call FLAT. Lots of rocks in the soil though, isn't called "the Granite State" for nothing... should make for an intersting process.

Any more advice or perspective is certainly welcome. If/when the project gets underway I'll post again for any interested. This is an excellent resource and I appreciate the input.

Thanks again,

Matt

[Matt]

Born and raised (until 11yo that is) in San Diego, CA myself!

...wish my parents could've afforded to stay when I was a tike ; )