STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Metric · Gucci

a home question

ILoveChoo · Hermes

we were looking at something similar not too long ago but decided against it for two reasons:
1- when we went and drove around the neighborhood it was really seedy. Yeah, some of the newer places were super cute, but there was a lot of the old falling apart tin trailer too.
2- there was a super high condo-type fee. It almost doubled the mortgage and even after the mortgage was paid off we would still have to deal with that. We though it would make it harder to sell when we were ready to move. It king of felt like paying rent on top of the mortgage and we didn't like that.

I can't really give specific advice for your friend since I don't know how it is there, but she might want to keep those things in mind. I personally would rather be "trailer trash" that owned something than rent an apartment and feel like I'm throwing away my money every month.

edit: has she looked into dowpayment assistance? That would help her be able to afford something more. Or depending on how your cities low income housing is she might go that route- here there are no "projedcs" the low income units are mixed in with regular housing and there are some really cute townhouses that have yards. They have a really long waiting list here, but go for around 200k.

-- Edited by ILoveChoo at 10:27, 2006-01-07

lynnie · Chanel

do you guys get bad storms there ever (hurricanes, tornados?) maybe this is ridiculous, but the first thought when i think of a trailer is it being smashed in a storm. also- would there be good security there? it could be shady in the neighborhood, or the doors/apt not sturdy enough for breakins. hmm, so those are my thoughts, i like to be cautious.

halleybird · Hermes

She should also check the resale market. I knew a girl who bought a mobile home right after she got married (for the same reason as your friend). When they were ready to buy a regular house a few years later, they could not sell or rent the thing to save their lives, even though the market for regular houses was hot. So she may want to talk to a realtor about that. The girl I knew eventually gave up, after trying to sell or rent for about 2 years.

Metric · Gucci

lynnie wrote:

do you guys get bad storms there ever (hurricanes, tornados?) maybe this is ridiculous, but the first thought when i think of a trailer is it being smashed in a storm. also- would there be good security there? it could be shady in the neighborhood, or the doors/apt not sturdy enough for breakins. hmm, so those are my thoughts, i like to be cautious.

I don't know about security. But we are in the middle of the prairies so no hurricanes, and we are too close to the mountains for tornados. So that's not a problem.

Good points, girls. Please keep them coming and I will bring up these things with her.

Cortney1982 · Chanel

I would never spend money on a trailer, manufactured home, etc. The value of those things just decrease. I would go for a smaller, older home if I had to. Seems like a better investment.

Elle · Hermes

Cortney1982 wrote:

The value of those things just decrease.

Exactly - the value depreciates just like it would for a car.

I've seen quite a few people who rent houses, and then allow you to convert the money you've payed to them in rent into a down payment after your lease is up after 2 years or whatever. Might be worth investigating to see if there are any similar setups in your area available.

Deuce · Dooney & Bourke

ILoveChoo Mentioned this but I want to touch on it too. The trailer may only be 40k but she has to pay space rent for the rest of the time she lives there, and that can be a lot. It can also fluctuate and go up over time. I really do not reccommend this. A condo type home is probably a better choice. Has she looked into moving 1 town over or something like that. It may add a commute but allow her to buy, as well as probably increase in value as others will be looking to do the same thing in the future as your area grows.This is just my opinion.