And in the city, instead of septic tank and well there is a charge for connecting to the city water and sewer system.

I see that prepping a site for installation has MANY variables.

• has the site already been cleared by a developer/seller or not

• is electricity anywhere near the site? And, if it is, can it be buried on your site or must it be above ground.

• obtaining & installation of the meter

• oil fired furnace isn't common in the south, central heating is

• a driveway could be pretty short or long, and paved or not; concrete or asphalt or gravel

• then there's the water/sewer vs well vs septic issue

• perimeter foundation or installation on piers

• etc. etc. etc.

Any one that makes it through all of this should be given a professorship or at the least a parade... with confetti.

I thought I would buy a new SW and park it in a MHP. The the park manager talked about their lease-purchase option (a horrible deal). Then I came across purchasing a used home (big savings). Then, what about purchasing land because the lot fee seems very high especially if you're looking at being there for 10 years. Then, the whole foreclosed properties w/ and w/out land comes up. Dorthy in her tornado had nothing on my brain trying to comprehend, analyze, and sift through all of this.

I'm very grateful for this forum and for the input from Cathy and Christopher. I thought the Internet would be full of discussions by folks trying to make their way though this swamp but it's slim pickins out there.

Gotta get some sleep. Chow.

The biggest bang for your buck in my area is a used MH home on land; you can get it for just a little bit over the cost of the land. Foreclosures are even less. The problem is that it is unlikely to have the structural upgrades you want, the extra insulation in particular.

Yeah, MHP lease/options are a terrible idea.

Do the math about your MHP lot rent versus the property taxes in your area. For me, the total lot rent for 20 years is less than the combined cost of acquiring the land, putting the home on it, and paying the annual property taxes for the next 20 years. Since I am 63, I might live to break even, or I might not.

LOL, I'm 63 also and have been wondering if I'd do better trying to pay everything off as soon as possible (becoming cash poor), thus just having utilities, food, and annual property tax type of expenses in the years to come (no mortgage). Or, put as little down as possible thus keeping as much cash as possible. Not knowing how long I'll live -- it seems to be a gamble.

I've been spending hours on Zillow & Trulia looking at bare lots for sale where a mfg home would be acceptable. And, land with a mfg home for sale. I've even been looking at houses (older & smaller).

I've been ignoring foreclosures as they seem too complicated and more than I want to get involved with now. Maybe it's not more complicated than getting a lot prepped for an installation but I just don't have the time or inclination to tackle that also.

Waiting to hear back from a loan company re my pre-approval application. I've got a good idea of home much I'd be willing to pay each month, just need to make sure I qualify. [fingers crossed]

I'd link some of the awesome deals on MHs on land in my economically depressed area, but Michigan winters are not something to retire to if you aren't used to them. They aren't as bad as people think they are, though.

Hey, with the global warming, Michigan will be the new Georgia in a few years. LOL I really don't want to leave the NW Georgia area (NW of Atlanta). I've been spending a lot of Internet search time in the Rome, GA area. Prices seem to be really good there. If I can catch something soon before prices and interest rates take off again, I think that would be great.

I've got to get out of this apartment. Been here 13.5 yrs. and it's going down hill really fast since the 3rd set of owners took over last year. Now they're renting to college age kids and lower income folks but they're raising the rent. It's going to be a horrible summer here - what with the swimming pool and partying, etc. AUGH

I contacted the mfg home dealer that I've been working with and they have no connections or referrals for lots/land. I thought that was strange. I would have thought that they'd be dialed into it so that folks could more easily find a place to drop anchor on the their new home. Thank goodness for the Internet, Zillow, Trulia, etc.

Still waiting for the pre-approval report. Had to get security freezes removed from my credit reports which caused a tizzy. But, now everything should be cleared out for the mortgage evaluation to proceed. [fingers crossed]

Just out of curiosity, about how much can you put as a down payment?

If you plan to build on your own lot can you put a good chunk of money down on the whole package? If so, at 63 years old your MH on it's own lot could qualify for a reverse mortgage and you would have no mortgage payments at all.

A lot of seniors are doing this very thing. The ones who don't like it are the kids who think they are going to inherit the house and cash out.

That is a very interesting concept. I'll have to do more research. However, I'm not sure I will be able to manage a 50% down payment that covers the mfg home, purchase of the land, site prep, and installation.

This site might be of help in your search. You have to join for full info, but it is free and no hassle.

https://www.mhvillage.com/SearchState.php?State=GA

Thanks, Wantoretire!

Hey Cobb! How's it going? Have you found/decided upon a place? I'm apparently the spring chicken here at 56, haha, but I own my MH outright and rent the lot in an MHP. The house was already here. I'm way out in the country, literally surrounded by farms.

That's why my lot rent is so cheap--$300 a month, and that includes well and septic. You couldn't touch a comparable lot in an MHP in the city for less than $550-$600 a month--and that's in a comparable park, meaning no amenities. By "in the city," I mean Spokane, WA.

There are trade-offs, the biggest being time and money. The nearest little town is 9 miles and 25 minutes away, and Spokane is 45-75 minutes away, depending upon where you're going, and gas prices are going up every day here.

For me, however, in my current situation, it's worth it.

All that to say, have you considered a more rural setting? You could potentially save big bucks!

Good luck, and keep us posted! :-)

Agree with the rural bit. I live in a town of 7000 people, about 30 miles from the Big City. My lot rent is $345 a month including trash, water and sewer, plus we are on city water and sewer. If we go even 15 miles closer to that big city, the lot rent in an even smaller town is about $550 a month. My park has no amenities like pool or clubhouse, but there is a community pool in town, and plenty of spaces for free use by groups, like the library and community enrichment center.

Cathy, with my garbage bill we're paying almost exactly the same in lot rent. I don't want/need amenities; I've lived in apartments with club houses, etc., and never used them. I'd rather save the $$ and use it for any "amenities" of my own choosing, i.e., a dinner out, a show, whatever. The Spokane library system is great, and even though our library here in Cheney is tiny, they can order any book I want through the system.

I also like that my MHP has only 38 lots. It's an unusual park, in that the lots are in one straight row on one side of a long road (read: dirt road). We have a community shed where anyone in the park can borrow a lawnmower, weed whacker, and many other yard tools. Just sign the sheet and return it same day.

A neighbor of my brother's, outside of Olympia, has a neighborhood "library." It's a tiny little wood shed at the front of his property. You can take a book, leave a book, return the book, or keep it. He rarely has to re-stock it, as people enjoy leaving books they've read for others. If the supply does get low, he hits up friends of the library sales.

I'm strongly considering trying that here.

I like the definition of "rural". Everybody has their own concept of what rural is. The entire state of Vermont is classified "rural" and my town has 850 people.

On the flip side, the entire state of NJ is classified "Urban".

Hey, we so rural where I live cell phone service is spotty, with huge dead zones. I blame it on the hills.

Me too. The only cell service that works out here is Verizon, and they are more expensive than I can afford. So now I have a land line, something I haven't had since 1998. We also can't get cable at any price, so I had to bite the bullet and get satellite internet, which is both spotty and expensive. I can't live stream anything because it would use up my data allowance so fast. Christopher, I consider it to be rural out here because we have two road signs I've never seen before: cattle crossing and tractor crossing, LOL! And I hear coyotes howling at night. Cheney proper has a population of 11,200 that swells to 17,000 when EWU classes are in session. Oh, and there is no pizza delivery that comes way out here, haha!

There are places where the actually deliver pizza???

Our signs don't say cattle crossing, they say moose crossing. We too didn't have cable at first, so we have DirecTV and we like it. We didn't have cell service at all until they put a cell unit inside a local church steeple.

I win. We have 10 or 11 pizza places, and at least half of them deliver. Three cheers for living on the very edge of town- city convenience but countryside around us. A lot of the neighbors choose satellite over cable, but we have cable for both TV and Internet. We have deer crossing signs, and tractors/heavy agricultural equipment that drive down the road, not just cross it.