Why Look At Mobile Homes For Sale?

Written by Steve Gillman


There are mobile homes for sale, for much less than stick-built houses, in most areas ofrepparttar country. Despite repparttar 111948 persistent predjudice against them, and sometimes against their residents, mobile homes arerepparttar 111949 cheap housing choice of millions. The advantages are not always obvious, but they are real.

First of all, let's acknowledgerepparttar 111950 big "truth" about mobile homes and appreciation or depreciation. It is true in most areas that mobile homes in parks go down in value over time. That's why I don't recommend buying in a park, unless you absolutely can't buy real estate, and you have done repparttar 111951 math to see if you are better off than renting a nice apartment. To "dorepparttar 111952 math" consider lot rent, payment, and repparttar 111953 remaining value ofrepparttar 111954 mobile when you put it up for sale, minus what you will still owe, when you are likely to move. These are guesses, but still better than nothing if you are as objective as you can be.

Mobile Homes For Sale With Real Estate

When looking at mobile homes for sale on land, however, you are looking at an entirely different investment. My mobile home in Michigan doubled in value inrepparttar 111955 twelve years I lived in it. That's because even asrepparttar 111956 home deteriorated a little over time (don't all houses?),repparttar 111957 value ofrepparttar 111958 land continued to rise. You also can do what you like withrepparttar 111959 home when you ownrepparttar 111960 land. For example, I took in more money from my home than it originally cost, by renting out a room or two overrepparttar 111961 years.

As mentioned, mobile homes usually sell for much less than other houses, and this means not lower payments. Also, because ofrepparttar 111962 shortened amortization and lower loan amount, you will often build equity faster in a mobile home than in a more expensive house. A quick example follows, forrepparttar 111963 skeptical among you.

Equity Building With Mobile Homes

If you buy a house with a $100,000 mortgage loan amortised over 30 years at 6% interest, you'll have a payment of $599.60. Ofrepparttar 111964 first payment, $500 will go towards interest, $99.60 towards principal. In other words, you only built equity of $99.60 (I'm ignoring appreciation, but only forrepparttar 111965 moment).

Second scenario: Find a nice mobile home for sale, and borrow only $30,000, at 8% interest, amortised over 10 years. Noterepparttar 111966 higher interest - this is alwaysrepparttar 111967 case with "factory built home mortgages." The shorter term is normal too, but least you'll own your home free-and-clear in 10 years instead of 30. Despiterepparttar 111968 higher interest and shorter term,repparttar 111969 payment will be only $363.99,repparttar 111970 first month only $200 will go towards interest. That meansrepparttar 111971 other $163.99 goes towards principal. You bought more house (built more equity) in this scenario.

We Bought A House For $17,500

Written by Steve Gillman


Good Homes Under $50,000?

My wife Ana and I found cheap homes for sale all over during a seven-week cross-country trip, and we even bought one in a pretty little town inrepparttar mountains of western Montana. We paid $17,500, spent almost $2000 to fix it uprepparttar 111947 way we liked it, and lived there for several months before selling it for $28,000. You can see a photo of our little pink house on our website http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com. This wasn't a fluke. There really are great towns where you can still find cheap homes for sale.

Cheap Homes, Nice Town: An Example

In Anaconda, Montana you can fish for trout, go to a three-dollar-movie in a beautiful old art-deco theatre (namedrepparttar 111948 5th most beautiful theater inrepparttar 111949 U.S., according torepparttar 111950 Smithsonian), drop some nickles in a slot machine (a dozen casinos), eat at a fine restaurant, stop byrepparttar 111951 bar for a dollar beer, and buy a house for less than $30,000 - all within a four block area! There are good schools and churches, a library with fast internet service, and wildlife (including bears and mountain goats) a few hundred yards from downtown.

Why There Are Cheap Homes For Sale

The reason there are so many cheap homes for sale in Butte and Anaconda, is simple. There aren't many good jobs left. I personally found jobs in Anaconda easily-but not good ones. People leftrepparttar 111952 area inrepparttar 111953 80's especially, afterrepparttar 111954 mines and smelters closed. This exodus has left one-in-seven "housing units" in Anaconda vacant, according torepparttar 111955 2000 U.S. census. This has driven downrepparttar 111956 prices of houses dramatically. Since both towns still have allrepparttar 111957 basic ammenities, are cleaner now, and are recovering, they are great places to retire to, or to move to if you have an internet or other non-location-based business.

The economic situation isrepparttar 111958 primary reason you can buy a cheap house in many parts ofrepparttar 111959 country. These are towns that have seen troubled times, but are often recovering, and with good reasons. Anaconda, an example we know well, now has a ski resort, a Jack Nicholas golf course, and beautiful scenery. The houses cost four times as much if you go an hour in any direction, and those higher prices are will reach Anaconda eventually.

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