Manufactured homes can be nice, but they can also be a pain. Watch out for plastic plumbing once it starts blowing your looking at a plumbing bill every few months. I had to replace all my plastic plumbing with copper to stop the endless plumbing costs. Another expense is buying special equipment; for instance, water heaters, when I went to replace mine I discovered rather than being able to choose the best value, I had to take the only one they had for manufactured homes (legal requirement) that of course cost more than the others. Also the veneers and such they use tend to come off after 10 years or so. Also I highly recommend getting ceiling fans in every room they last a long time and knock your power bills way down. If you need AC don't think a single window unit in the living room will cut it, I have three units in mine 1 in the main room and 1 in each bedroom, however it still runs less than central air.

All in all expect extra expenses, expect to replace a lot of stuff every 5-10 years but overall it is a nice type of house. I'm currently selling mine but I wouldn't shy away from buying another as long as I owned the land. I must say absolutely under no condition let yourself get talked into a mobile home park, I have been trapped in one for 10 years now and I can't recommend it.

Like the others have said it is very difficult to get financing to put one on land. I tried many times and was always extremely frustrated. Even though it would of cost far less than a standard house (for both land and home) the lenders wanted superior credit and larger down payments. You have to have money to save money, that is a logic I have never understood.

Value of a new manufactured home is defined by:quality of construction, energy efficiency and ease of maintenance. It is difficult to quantify this criteria. The best way would be to visit dealers and ask to point out top features (and compare). Two very large manufacturers are Cavco and Palm Harbor. Cavco used to allow visitors to view assembly process at one of their plants in Phoenix - excelent educational opportunity. While considering a manufactured home look also at modular homes.
Attached are four links - first two point you to Cavco and Palm Harbor websites, the other two provide a lot of information through Questions & Answers.

If you are considering a re-sale than there are additional considerations. You may contact me with your questions GeoSzk@WBhsi.net



http://www.cavco.com/default.asp

http://www.palmharbor.com/

http://www.modularhomesnetwork.com/ModularHomes/modular-home…

http://www.nadaguides.com/default.aspx?LI=1-26-0-5603-948-83…

George
Tucson/Sierra Vista Home Advisor LLC - Realtors

Here's the thing, not all mobiles are a bad deal! If you are looking at affordable housing, more Sqft, and a couple of acres a double wide might just be the thing for your family. But they do have a down side, resale in our area can take upto a year, they typically do not appricate and they do have to meet additional requirements for financing. I suggest if you are serious about this property, that you personally inspect the property and then during your option period you have a licensed home inspector, inspect the property. If at all possible be there during the inspection and ask him everything you have concerns about. Good Luck, I hope everything turns out well!

Personally I think manufactured homes are more of a money pit compared to stick built homes. Not only do mobile home have a lesser retail value but financing and insurance are two things you should look at. If you are only buying a mobile home because its affordable and you are going to stay in a trailer park I would advise you go see a local real estate agent and see what they recommend..

Let me give you my opinion based on a lenders perspective. Manufactured housing is very difficult to finance compared to Single Family Homes, Condo's or Townhomes. Your 2 best loans programs are still VA or FHA. Most manufactured homes need to meet certain criteria to get the financing.

Hi, There are differences in manufactured homes depending on the age. Some of the older manufactured homes are 2x4 construction. Newer manufactured homes are usually 2x6 giving you a better insulated & more energy efficient home. There are some good choices when it comes to buying land in Cochise county at this time. It pays to do your homework and compare buying the land and placing a new manufactured home on it with buying a property like the listing you are referring to. I specialize in the sale of land in Cochise county so I know there are some good properties available. I have about 40 land listings on my website in a wide range of prices.