It's true that a mobile home on land might appreciate more slowly than a "regular" house, but faster loan pay-down probably more than covers this factor. If you also chose to bank difference in payments ($235.61 per month), you'd definitely be better off financially with mobile home versus more expensive home.

Pay less per month and build more equity! Don't expect your real estate agent to tell you this. Don't expect him to even agree with me after you explain it. I sold real estate years ago, and math skills were not part of licensing requirements.

Mobile Homes For Sale; Other Advantages

Mobile homes are cheaper to maintain. Years ago I had a mobile home as a rental, and furnace in it died. This is most expensive repair you'll have in a mobile. I had to replace it for $1,200, but that was still less than a furnace for a larger home. Consider that for $200 you can tar roof of your home, or $30 if you do it yourself, instead of $5,000 to re-shingle a traditional roof. The windows, plumbing, doors - all cheaper.

Property taxes will cost less, because they're based on value of property, and mobile homes for sale on land have lower value than stick-built houses. Insurance may cost less too, again because you are insuring less value. The only precaution to remember here is to be sure you can get insurance. Very old mobiles may be uninsurable in some areas.

Should You Buy A Mobile Home?

Don't buy a mobile home if prices for houses in area are just as low. Believe it or not, this is case in some areas. We bought a house near Butte, Montana for $17,500 - less than mobile homes for sale there (See a photo on our site www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com. Houses do generally hold up better. Then there are issues of whether your own needs and predjudices will let you be comfortable in a mobile home. They are sometimes for sale in areas you don't want to live in (Certainly true of houses as well). These are personal things you have to consider.

The advantages are clear for many young people starting out. It may be their only option. It may be your better option. Besides a lower initial price, you get simpler, cheaper maintainance, lower monthly payments, less property tax, less for insurance, and faster equity build-up. So don't automatically pass on those mobile homes for sale when you're out home-hunting.

Cheap Houses You Don't Want To Buy

On other hand, there are towns like that one in South Dakota where we stopped for lunch. The bulletin board had ads for cheap homes for sale, placed there by desperate home-sellers, each trying not to be last to leave town. There was a photo of a beautiful old five-bedroom farmhouse for $11,000. We looked up deserted street as we ate, and noticed that most of buildings were boarded-up. This town was (is) clearly dying, and didn't have anything to help revive it. Inexpensive homes are easy to find here, but I wouldn't take one for free.

Cheap Homes For Sale In Paradise

Maybe paradise is too much to expect, but there are many wonderful towns, from Florida to Oregon, where there are cheap homes for sale. So what does a town need in addition to inexpensive houses in order to make our list? Well, criteria are certainly subjective, but include at least following:

1. Population between 4,000 and 80,000. 2. A good library. 3. A good grocery store. 4. A movie theatre. 5. Cheap houses: at least six for sale under $50,000.

6. The town "feels" good.

When we researched and built our website, we broke towns up into two pages. One is for towns with houses for sale for less than $50,000. The other is for towns with really cheap homes for sale - under $30,000! Yes, they are still out there. Using a phone and internet, searching for your affordable dream home is easier than ever.