Could you be happy living in a double wide trailer?

[Tizeye]

How many tornados do you have? They seem to be attracted to double wide trailers. ?

My cousin and her mother live in her parents doublewide out in the country on a 2+ acre lot. Over the decades, they have added addition after addition where now has a rambling floorplan.

[Dottleshead ★]

16 minutes ago, shotgun said:

I feel much more comfortable during electrical storms, hail storms, or high winds inside my brick home than I do in a manufactured home! 

Yeah, we don't have those problems up here. A couple days out of the year for high winds maybe.

[Dottleshead ★]

13 minutes ago, Tizeye said:

How many tornados do you have? They seem to be attracted to double wide trailers. ?

None.

[BR46]

1 hour ago, ChrisL said:

Sounds a lot like us. When we bought 22 years ago we were looking for a detached home but they were a bit out of reach. We settled for a townhouse well under our budget and had a “7 year plan” to move when our financial situation improved.

Come to find out we bought at the lowest low of a down market & the housing market took off like a rocket a few years later.  7 years later all we could afford was what we had!?!?!?

We do like the area (other than the congestion) and everything we need is close by so we opted to stay.  

We were able to pay the house off early and then I gutted it and remodeled it doing 95% myself. Once we got the house done we decided that it's not too bad living here.  The taxes, electric and gas bills are extremely cheap for us so for us to move to a different location would cost us more in the long run. 

We can't down size because we never up sized and all my stuff is here anyway. 

[Ralphie ★]

2 minutes ago, BR46 said:

We were able to pay the house off early and then I gutted it and remodeled it doing 95% myself. Once we got the house done we decided that it's not too bad living here.  The taxes, electric and gas bills are extremely cheap for us so for us to move to a different location would cost us more in the long run. 

We can't down size because we never up sized and all my stuff is here anyway. 

And don't forget the Wisconsin $2 and $3 draft craft beers!  Jealous!

[sheep_herder ★]

35 minutes ago, shotgun said:

I feel much more comfortable during electrical storms, hail storms, or high winds inside my brick home than I do in a manufactured home! Then there is the issue of non-standard sized everything, such as doors which are hard to find. Cold floors suck too.

Interesting, even in the 60s our 8x43 'trailer' had the heater vents running below the floor with good insulation.  Most here have the new modulars installed on a concrete foundation.  I'll have to ask about the door sizes, as I know that is true on some mobile homes, but not sure about the modulars. One of the more interesting laws in our state, is that one has to get different insurance for a double wide, if the axels remain under the home, even when they are not attached than if they are removed off site.

[BR46]

1 minute ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

And don't forget the Wisconsin $2 and $3 draft craft beers!  

Tourist that stop in at one of the corner bars for lunch are usually suprised by the price. A cheese burger, chips and a pint of beer is 7 bucks and between the hours of 3 and 5 it's 2 for one on the beers. 

 

[Dottleshead ★]

The place we went to said that the new homes the parts being made were built to standard size. In other words, I could go down to my local HD and buy door knobs that fit.

[Dottleshead ★]

2 minutes ago, BR46 said:

Tourist that stop in at one of the corner bars for lunch are usually suprised by the price. A cheese burger, chips and a pint of beer is 7 bucks and between the hours of 3 and 5 it's 2 for one on the beers. 

 

Probably because it's so warm up there. Boys get thirsty.

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

Interesting, even in the 60s our 8x43 'trailer' had the heater vents running below the floor with good insulation.  Most here have the new modulars installed on a concrete foundation.  I'll have to ask about the door sizes, as I know that is true on some mobile homes, but not sure about the modulars. One of the more interesting laws in our state, is that one has to get different insurance for a double wide, if the axels remain under the home, even when they are not attached than if they are removed off site.

All our doors and windows are standard size. No issues with cold floors even though we only have a crawl space under the house. 

[smudge ★]

1 hour ago, BR46 said:

Tourist that stop in at one of the corner bars for lunch are usually suprised by the price. A cheese burger, chips and a pint of beer is 7 bucks and between the hours of 3 and 5 it's 2 for one on the beers. 

 

That's it. Plan on a smidge visit next summer!! 

[BR46]

15 minutes ago, smudge said:

That's it. Plan on a smidge visit next summer!! 

Can you bring some Pasties?

And You are not that far north of me.  Don't you have some places up there with some sweet deals.

[Indy]

7 hours ago, smudge said:

Get an elder Care lawyer to set things up so you won't lose your farm. Unless your heirs don't want it....

The issue, there is a fairly significant look back period.  I believe it's 15 years.  With my Mother in law, her daughters have realized everything is gone because their parents didn't want to set things up initially, then did it late and poorly.  They are fine with it, but also sad because their father worked his butt off and pinched every penny with the intention of his daughters getting it when they were gone and now it will be gone.

[Dottleshead ★]

23 minutes ago, Indy said:

The issue, there is a fairly significant look back period.  I believe it's 15 years.  With my Mother in law, her daughters have realized everything is gone because their parents didn't want to set things up initially, then did it late and poorly.  They are fine with it, but also sad because their father worked his butt off and pinched every penny with the intention of his daughters getting it when they were gone and now it will be gone.

It's 5 years. My father stuck his head in the sand on that one and now I get to write a $6700 check every month until it is gone 

[Kzoo]

4 hours ago, Dottie said:

None yet

FIFY

[Dottleshead ★]

Just now, Kzoo said:

FIFY

So you are a believer. I knew you were.

[Parr8hed]

5 hours ago, shotgun said:

I feel much more comfortable during electrical storms, hail storms, or high winds inside my brick home than I do in a manufactured home! Then there is the issue of non-standard sized everything, such as doors which are hard to find. Cold floors suck too.

I was going to say the very same.

[Parr8hed]

A little late to the party, but I will add my 2 cents FWIW.  I would live in one in a heartbeat on some land.  But honestly I would rather just built a pole barn on some land.  Build a loft up in the barn and live there.  Or maybe a camper.  Move around.  Being a nurse that's kinda easy.  Once the kids are gone that is my plan.  

[BR46]

1 hour ago, Dottie said:

It's 5 years. My father stuck his head in the sand on that one and now I get to write a $6700 check every month until it is gone 

I'm watching the same thing with my mother in law. 

All the money that they worked for is getting sucked out of the savings account at the rate of 6,800 per month. 

[Dottleshead ★]

Just now, BR46 said:

I'm watching the same thing with my mother in law. 

All the money that they worked for is getting sucked out of the savings account at the rate of 6,800 per month. 

I could not get my father to listen to me.  He knew it all.

[Indy]

1 hour ago, Dottie said:

It's 5 years. My father stuck his head in the sand on that one and now I get to write a $6700 check every month until it is gone 

That's where we are at.  Mother in law will be in a Colorado nursing home tomorrow.  And we just found out the price already went up since she is considered a flight risk based on feedback from where she was at.  Of course we told them that and why she is specifically being put into a memory care facility.

 

Only good thing, they can't force a sale of the farm because it generates revenue (though not much) because it is rented out.  Though it may get sold anyways just because no one wants to deal with it.

[Dottleshead ★]

Yep.  It all sucks. Nothing good about getting old.

[BR46]

3 minutes ago, Dottie said:

Yep.  It all sucks. Nothing good about getting old.

I'm going out kicking and screaming. 

Unlike the drunks in this bar. Most of think that when you turn 40 you supposed to sit on a barstool and wait for their time to die.

[smudge ★]

My husband took care of all that with his parents' home and camp.  He and his sisters kept the house and camp even though his mother was in memory care for a couple years or so, and his dad ended up at the VA home. The camp is in our names and our daughters' names. I think our house is too? There were some lawyer fees, of course; but everything is legal and clear. Whew!

[smudge ★]

1 minute ago, BR46 said:

I'm going out kicking and screaming. 

Unlike the drunks in this bar. Most of think that when you turn 40 you supposed to sit on a barstool and wait for their time to die.

Oh hell no! I'm apparently a late bloomer; I'm 55 and just now hitting my stride!

[Dottleshead ★]

1 minute ago, smudge said:

Oh hell no! I'm apparently a late bloomer; I'm 55 and just now hitting my stride!

Drink up buttercup??

[maddmaxx ★]

12 minutes ago, Dottie said:

Yep.  It all sucks. Nothing good about getting old.

This is the way.

[BR46]

We are looking at that when Wo46 retires that we start transferring everything out of our name. My grandfather did it when he retired he owned nothing that way if ended up in the nursing home they couldn't come and take his farm. 

[maddmaxx ★]

Who pays for the nursing home if there is no money in the estate?

[Longjohn ★]

5 hours ago, shotgun said:

Then there is the issue of non-standard sized everything, such as doors which are hard to find

When I bought my 12X 65 mobile home it had a six foot tall front door. My wife’s grandfather told me to buy whatever size door I wanted and he would teach me how to install it. I bought a big beautiful oak door from a medical facility that had to replace their doors with fire doors. He showed me how to use a saws all, build an oak door frame, mortise the hinges and hang the door. The big door made it easy when we moved. I used that skill many times in the first ten years I was married.

[Dirtyhip]

14 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Who pays for the nursing home if there is no money in the estate?

This is when the state facility comes in

[Longjohn ★]

15 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Who pays for the nursing home if there is no money in the estate?

Medicaid, they put a lean on the property if you own property. 

[BR46]

26 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Who pays for the nursing home if there is no money in the estate?

Title 19 

[maddmaxx ★]

26 minutes ago, BR46 said:

Title 19 

Who pays for title 19?

 

[Longjohn ★]

Taxpayers

[maddmaxx ★]

5 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

Taxpayers

Indeed.  So if dad and mom can manage to hide the estate we pay instead.

[Longjohn ★]

7 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Indeed.  So if dad and mom can manage to hide the estate we pay instead.

Bingo, in Pennsylvania you have to give away (hide) your assets at least five years before you apply for Medicaid.

[BR46]

45 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

Taxpayers

I did not intend to ruffle anyone's feathers here and for that I'm sorry. But we took care of grandma in stead of the state of Wisconsin. 

On the in laws side I watched the system drain the mother in law saving account of $400,000 in a short period of time. 

 

[Dottleshead ★]

2 minutes ago, BR46 said:

I did not intend to ruffle anyone's feathers here and for that I'm sorry. But we took care of grandma in stead of the state of Wisconsin. 

On the in laws side I watched the system drain the mother in law saving account of $400,000 in a short period of time. 

 

I'm burning through half that. And have spent $10,000 on legal fees. Bottom line bus in this state, AFHs are the way to go. His house can be moved in our (children) names.

[maddmaxx ★]

4 minutes ago, BR46 said:

I did not intend to ruffle anyone's feathers here and for that I'm sorry. But we took care of grandma in stead of the state of Wisconsin. 

On the in laws side I watched the system drain the mother in law saving account of $400,000 in a short period of time. 

 

Personally I believe that there are several things like this in the US that a touch of socialism would improve.

[BR46]

12 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Personally I believe that there are several things like this in the US that a touch of socialism would improve.

And that would be a fine line that I don't think anyone can come to terms on. There's so much I want to say on this but this is not the place for it so I'm going to shut up now. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled program. ..yes I could live in a trailer as long as I have a place that I can work on my motorcycles. 

[Longjohn ★]

35 minutes ago, BR46 said:

Now back to our regularly scheduled program. ..yes I could live in a trailer as long as I have a place that I can work on my motorcycles. 

No problem, I think the trailers all come with a living room.

[BR46]

1 minute ago, Longjohn said:

No problem, I think the trailers all come with a living room.

If it's a 2 bedroom I could put the mill and lathe in the spare room. I'll just have to find a room for the Mig and the Tig welders.

[maddmaxx ★]

IMO the trailer would look like paradise compared to some of the places I've lived.

 

[Parr8hed]

12 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

IMO the trailer would look like paradise compared to some of the places I've lived.

 

word

[groupw]

We lived in an 8x43 trailer until I was 12. I vowed I would never live in something that small again. Now I look at how much of our house we don’t use regularly, and downsizing is getting more attractive. Problem is most smaller homes In good condition  with less yard to maintain Will cost me more than staying here! 
The fair usually brings in a couple manufactured home models. We walked through on last year. Build quality was good. Like someone said earlier, they are often using standard door, cabinets, fixtures, etc. Now the only problem seems to be zoning. Our city will not allow them on many standard residential lots. Some of the smaller towns nearby allow them. It would be a straight across move for us. 
We keep looking at AZ. We plan to downsize, but glorified trailer parks like Apache Junction are not appealing at all. 

[Naomi]

Having rethought the question,  there have been times in my life I would have been happy to live in a double wide.  That ship has sailed.  If I had to today, no, I would not be happy.  I could survive, sure, but not happily. 

[Dottleshead ★]

3 hours ago, Wilbur said:

Having rethought the question,  there have been times in my life I would have been happy to live in a double wide.  That ship has sailed.  If I had to today, no, I would not be happy.  I could survive, sure, but not happily. 

Well, it's always the same thing for me.  Look for relief and consider the options.  Double wide on a plot of land somewhere seems great.  But financing those can be tricky because they're considered private property as they can in theory be moved.  Then I think why not pay a little more and get a nicer modular home and put it on a permanent fixture? Getting financing for that would greatly improve.  That sounds like a good idea.  On the surface, I probably could get the same thing I own now for about half the price.  But then I start considering all the hassles of finding property and the mayhem I would have go through to build on site. I'd probably have to hire somebody since I've never done anything like this and I'll be damned if I'm going to really screw my future up.  I read somewhere to get a modular -- often referred to as a prefab home -- is going to cost you between $150K and $315K not including the property and dependent on the sizing and customizations.  Well, you can't get a good piece of property around here for at least $40+K -- and that says nothing of the expenses to pave a driveway, for example, or create and maintain a yard or outside area -- and no fucking shed!!  It also doesn't take into account all the hoops I'd have to jump through.  So then I think just buying a smaller house would be a hecka lot easier and less risky. 

But around here, if I downsize and drop a thousand square feet say, I may be able to get a mortgage for about $100K less.  Well that doesn't take into account the money I'd lose selling this place and the time spent packing up and going to the other place. I'd say off the top I would lose about $20K of equity just to pay the realtor and for moving expenses.  Maybe/probably more.  On a 30 year loan (wait, what?  I'm in my early 50s -- a 30 year puts me into my 70s on best case scenario before I can pay it off), that's about a $400-$600 savings a month. A good chunk of change to be sure but it gets me nowhere closer to owning my own home outright.

The best part?  There's no housing inventory here.  We'd be lucky as hell to find something we both liked in an area we both liked that reduced our square footage by a 1000 ft.  Two or three bedroom ramblers are really, really hard to come by.  We're getting older now and I'm not interested in a house with stairs.  It can be done but it means selling our house and moving in with her mother while we patiently wait and pounce.  Good Lord.  You see what I'm dealing with here? 

So I then return back to the double wide  thing and the loop continues.

[Longjohn ★]

1 hour ago, Dottie said:

and that says nothing of the expenses to pave a driveway, for example, or create and maintain a yard or outside area -- and no fucking shed!! 

The shed is the easy part, it’s the platform  that is a pita.

[Dottleshead ★]

56 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

The shed is the easy part, it’s the platform  that is a pita.

Maybe I pay to get the soil sampled of the next place? Heh.