Add on or replace with new?

[Leanne in WA]

My husband and I own a double wide on private land. Our home has 2 kids' bedrooms and a master suite. We are considering either adding on to our existing home or, if possible, selling the double wide, having it moved off of our land and installing a triple wide. We need at least 1 extra bedroom. We have a crawl space with a full concrete foundation. I've heard of smaller "tag units" as well. Which one of these ideas, in your opinion, would be more cost effective and a better solution?

[Tom]

It would certainly be cheaper to add on. However, that being said, adding on brings its own problems. There are no tab units out there anymore that Im aware of. Those were popular when MH's were smaller with fewer bedrooms. There just isnt much of a market anymore for them. Maybe someone else has more info and will post it.

The proper way to install an addition is to be sure its on it own concrete slab with footers. This will keep the addition from shifting. The one problem that is almost universal with additions on MH's is they leak at the attach point. That is why I recommend having it professionaly installed. If you dont do it correctly, it will turn out to be a nightmare, trust me. Find a contractor experienced in putting additions on MH's if at all possible.

One thing to also remember about additions is, that if you ever want to move the home, the addition will have to be detached and all the extra expenses come with that. Tom

[Annaz]

It probably depends where you live, but we live in AZ and they have a few homes you can buy w/a "tag" which is what we call them here. I personally like them, because it adds interest, but they don't make as many as they used to since the full triples have come out.