by Melissa D. Ing

Created on: March 19, 2006   Last Updated: January 29, 2012

Having lived in a mobile home off and on for five years I've become pretty savvy on the advantages and disadvantages of owning one. Mobile homes aren't houses, and they come with their own set of problems. Many people believe the monthly costs of living in a mobile home will be less than a traditional house, and with newer double wides and custom built mini homes, this can certainly be true. Older mobile homes, or 'single wides' come with their own unique characteristics and problems. Read on.

Financing

If you are seeking to purchase a mobile home that is ten years old or older financing can indeed be a problem. Mortgage companies and certainly traditional banks are extremely reluctant to extend mortgages to what they term 'older mobile homes'. This is especially true if the mobile is in a mobile home park where you don't own the land under it. When someone forfeits their mortgage in a mobile home park, the park owners often insist the terms of Bank/Finance Company auction include moving the home, which can add up to three thousand dollars to the cost of buying it. Banks often lose out big time on mobile home foreclosures.

Purchasing one yourself can be no picnic. Older mobile homes have no home warranties available to them and are often sold 'as is'. Having bought one in just this way, I had to get private financing in order to purchase despite having reasonable credit. The only institution willing to lend me money for my now twenty year old mobile home was a finance company at twenty eight percent interest!

Location

Most mobile homes owned are in mobile home parks. Living in a mobile home park brings it's own unique set of challenges. Along with having neighbours in quite close proximity, (luckily I live on a triple sized lot) you often don't have much space for a yard, a work shed, or parking. Anyone thinking of residing in a mobile home park must take into account their personal lifestyle, and how much space it requires. Mobile homes have many rules, and you probably won't be able to park your boat in the driveway like you would with a house.

Costs

Mobile home living isn't always cheap. When we first moved into ours our monthly oil bill in the winter was more than our mortgage! It took two years to be able to afford renovations to remove the drafty crank windows and replace them with double glazing as we couldn't afford to renovate and pay for the oil! Added to that was the monthly mobile home park fee, and snow removal fee in the winter. All in all, the

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