Mobile Homes, Manufactured Homes, Site Built... what's it all mean?

[EviesMom]

I see that mobile homes are much much cheaper than site built homes, and have read that they tend to depreciate rather than appreciate. What I'm not sure of is why?

Can you put a mobile home or a prebuilt home on a regular land site? Or just in a park designed for them? Are there advantages to them? Disadvantages?

Not looking for a place right now, just starting some discussions with DH and trying to figure out what this stuff means.

[nd_deadhead]

A mobile home (often called a manufactured home) comes with wheels. They do not require a foundation (like a basement). They are completely built in a manufacturing plant in one place, which makes them inexpensive to build. Whether or not you can put them on any building site depends on your community - some towns allow mobile homes to be put anywhere; others do not. I think financing is different for mobile homes. Because they can be moved, if you move you can bring your house with you, assumig you can finda suitable site (lot of mobile home park).

Stick-built homes are built completely on the building site, from the ground up.

Modular homes are constructed like stick-built, except that they are built in parts in a manufacturing plant, and delivered to the site and placed on a foundation. The foundation is exactly the same as it would be for stick-built. They are generally less expensive than stick-built because most of the work is done at the plant. Once in place, a modular home looks exactly like a stick-built home.

[JTSmommie1]

A manufactored home and a mobile home (trailer) are the same thing. The only difference in a modular home and a double wide mobile home is an inspection. At least that used to be the only difference.

Manufactored/mobile homes can be put on a foundation or a basement. But, most towns/counties have rules about if a mobile home can be put on private property or must go in a trailer park.

Not sure about single wide mobile homes, although now they have pitched roofs and vinyl siding also. Not the old "tin box" style from many years ago.

My double wide has a pitched shingle roof and vinyl siding, looks just like a stick built home, but I opted to not put in a foundation (wish I had, now) so it has typical trailer skirting.

A stick built home is built from scratch on the property it's going to be on.

Mobile homes depreciate much faster than a stick built home. Modular would probably depend on if you put it on a foundation or not.

Laura