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Is a Mobile Home a good investment?
Mobile Home Investment info
Is a Mobile Home a good investment?
YES!
Here's why
Mobile Home investment explained! Owning
a Mobile Home is a good investment simply
because they will always have people looking to buy them (as long as
they are livable). Mobile homes and
Manufactured homes are the best low cost home ownership opportunity
around - hands down. There just is no other chance to own
your
home at such a low cost over-all.
Make no mistake - most people would rather own a
home than rent. The biggest fear is having the home go down
in value once you own it. If you own one, you want to keep
the value up. If you are looking to buy one, you need to
consider the factors on this page carefully.
One
thing to consider: if you live in the mobile
home, and you like it, it fits your needs, and you can easily make any
payments on it, then the value should not matter.
Live in or rent out
Will you be living in the home or renting it out?
In a lot of
cases, if the home is placed in a Mobile Home Park, the rules will
often be that you cannot rent it out. We will focus on the
question from the perspective of the owner living in the home, not
renting it out. If
you are more interested in renting one out
and
are wondering if that is a good idea, then check out our page devoted
to that idea: Investing in Mobile
Homes for cashflow
Many people think that owning a Mobile Home is a
bad idea because they "just depreciate" - this is not true.
Any home will have value based on many, many
factors.
For instance, if this is the only home for miles and a new
shopping center just opened up accross the street, you can bet the
value would go up due to the desire of the employees of the new stores
would want to live close to work. But, it may go down due to
traffic.
Here are some factors to consider that directly
effect the value of a Mobile Home:
- Over-all Housing Market - going up or down?
- Amount of quality homes in the area
- Current price of quality homes in the area
- Age of the home
- Size of the home and number of bedrooms and
baths
- Condition of the home
- Location - in a park, on it's own land, near a
dump or near a nice park, etc.
- If it is in a park, how nice is the park?
How safe is it? How much is the space rent?
Mobile Home Investment - Factors broken down
So, looking at the factors above, there are 3 main ideas that effect
value of a Mobile Home, and determine if it is a good investment.
First - The market: Is there a lot of housing in
the immediate area or is there a shortage? How many homes are
on the market in the area right now? How is the economy? Are
there a lot of jobs in the area? The over-all market for
housing in your area is a big factor - think about the area factors.
Second - The structure: How big or small is the home itself?
What condition is it in? How old is it - meaning, is it in
good shape but outdated? Or is it newer and therefore more updated?
How many bedrooms and bathrooms does it have?
Third - Location: Where is the mobile home located?
Is it near any major employers? Or in a flight
path? Or near a land fill? Is it in a park or on
it's own land? If it is in a park, is the park nice?
Or is it in an area that has a lot of crime? What City is it
in? What State? Malibu, California has mobile homes in the
million dollar range, with space rents around $2500/mo. But
in Bakersfield, California, the mobile homes go for $10,000 and have
space rents around $250/mo. The space rent alone has a huge
impact on the value of your home. A home on a spot that rents
for $300/mo is worth twice as much (in theory) as the home that is on a
spot renting for $600/mo. Think about this: for
every $100/mo in space rent you pay, that equals about $15,000 in value
of the home.
Summary
Mobile Homes are a good investment IF
you take care of them. Make sure to buy in a good area, a
good park, and in an area that is not over-built. Make sure
the home suits your needs first and foremost, but also is desirable to
a lot of people in general. All of these factors will make
your home a good investment. By Will Cunningham
Here are some additional topics, click on the
underlined words for more information.
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