Very interesting thread! Looking forward to learning more about this. 
@thumper1
In this article:
http://www.mawilliamshomes.com/whymanufactured.aspx
It says manufactured home building techniques have improved over the last 30 years. In this area, I have not seen such a late 70’s stick built home has the “features” I saw today. Especially the 2" exterior wall. So that home must be out of the norm. Perhaps it was a mobile home placed on a permanent foundation? What made me suspicious is that there is hardly any dining room and family room inside, there is a small living room and a kitchen and everything else are bed rooms and bath rooms, There are 6 bed rooms and 4 bath rooms. Neighbors told me when it was occupied, there were over 15 tenants living there.
The above article also discussed the financing and appraisal aspect of manufactured homes, Interesting reading.
Artloversplus, that just sounds like an ODD house regardless of its other issues. Six bedrooms, four baths, amd a small kitchen and living room? Just sounds weird.
BTW, the interior dividing walls are wood panels, not sheet rocks. they are poorly installed, not sure if it will have any sound proof effect.
You can buy wood panels at home depot like this
http://www.homedepot.com/b/N-5yc1v/Ntk-All/Ntt-wood%2Bpanel?Nao=24&Ntx=mode+matchall&NCNI-5
Basicall, the deal is to purchase the land and the building rights to replace the improvement with a foundation, the house itself is worthless.
Yes those are all serious issues. But I’ve seen some beautiful well constructed manufactured homes as well.
@mathmom
I am sure you have. No doubt, when they allow to put in a manufactured home near a multi-million dollar community, they had better be good. Unfortunately, the one I saw was not of high quality.
I could make a fortune buying that house and rent it out by the room! Except when its time to resale…
Renting out by room has it’s own seat of issues–zoning violations, complaints by neighbors about parking and noise, excess wear and tear on the house, are just a few. If you can make enough, overcome zoning and other legal and reg issues, and don’t mind the headaches, some folks make a lot of money renting by the room.
Artloversplus. I loved in rural central Illinois where I saw the three fabulous manufactured homes in 1976. And guess what…I even was taken on a tour of the factory. It was state of the art, and constructed homes with many features stick built homes…at the time…did not always have. And the amazing thing…every bit of the houses were square, and level.
What you are talking about is shoddy construction…and it wouldn’t matter if it was a manufactured home or a stick built one.
I looked seriously at one a year ago. It was on a park and SO much cheaper than it would have been otherwise. It had a full basement and was adequately constructed but the interior walls were thin and the house did not feel very substantial. On the other hand, the inspector said it would be really easy to move rooms around since the walls were not load-bearing. In the end I just decided it wouldn’t be worth it to try to “retrofit” quality where it didn’t exist.
This fall I had an offer out on a house that fell through because a secondary offer came in with no sale contingency. In the time that I was working on getting it, the appraiser for the lender flagged it as possibly being a manufactured home and I was told that would make financing more expensive. We don’t think it was one but some how the construction date and neighborhood triggered the warning on the appraisal.
A month from today (if all goes well) I will be closing on a different house. My inspector said it was completely overbuilt and massive has steel I-beams that no one would consider using now. We live in a region that occasionally has tornadoes, so I am grateful to be moving into such a solid house. It just feels substantial when you are in it.
^^Sally,
Perhaps you did not notice the exterior walls. The interior walls in my house are 6 inches thick, a 3 inches think interior wall indicated that the home was not adequately built because exterior walls should be the same thickness as interior walls. The inspector was just make you feel good! Sure, it will pass inspection, but you made a decision walking away.
@HImom
I was just joking…renting it out by the room.
I understand the problems rent out by the room and I have even rented out a legal duplex to one single family…just to avoid complications on rent collection and tenant problems.
There was a house at the end of our street rented out by the room. It looked pretty worn down at the open house. I like having just one reliable tenant. I don’t mind slightly below market rent for the right tenant.