Is being trailer trash really all that bad?

carzan if that's the case then they aren't building them around here and none of the main lenders know anything at all about them.

Now if you are talking about where they build the walls, ship them flat and then assemble them, then I'd have to agree with you and there's no financing penalties for that type either.

Sips would be included in that type. Way too expensive and some issues when you find you need to relocate that light switch or move/add a wall plug or virtually any changes, but really quite cool other than that.

http://homebuying.about.com/cs/modulareducation/a/modular_homes.htm

This is the first site I came to that seemed to sum it up pretty well.

carguy123 wrote:

oldsaw wrote:

carguy123 wrote:

914Driver wrote: I agree with oldsaw, build quality has come a long way, unfortunately some communities won't allow them.

There's a reason they don't allow them as the quality of even the best modular home doesn't meet the standards of the worst stick built and therefore they bring the value of the whole area down because they don't "weather" well. There is a time and a place for a mobile home or a modular home but if you're contemplating buying vs. renting the odds don't favor the purchaser.

I'm not saying you have no points, but your blanket statement doesn't wash either.........

Which blanket statement? The one where I said there was a time and a place for a mobile or modular home or the one about the huge financing and resale issues with mobile homes? OK, there may not be a time or a place for a mobile home, but there IS a huge financing issue. It's the first loan money to disappear and the last to reappear. It is usually more expensive and NO they do not last as long as a traditionally built home. I've worked with them my entire life. I moved around the country in one just about my whole childhood and I live in the country where they are many more of them than you'll find in any city. I have a mortgage company and I deal with the guidelines on a regular basis. Your parents home may be very nice, and it may fit their needs, but it will never have the resale value, ease of sale or the life expectancy of the neighbor's houses.

It hasn't been their home for years. They didn't lose money on it when it sold. I'll reiterate that the location is at least as important as the home itself.

An exception to your rules - yes. Maybe they got real lucky, maybe your rules aren't absolute.