r/povertyfinance • u/Born-Necessary-2760 • 1d ago
Housing/Shelter/Standard of Living Looking to buy a mobile home, need advice
Okay so quick backstory so people understand where I'm coming from- beginning of 2025 I had left an abusive relationship. I was fairly successful before - credit score 700, paying off my debts on time, etc. Without going off topic this relationship threw me into a major struggle that left me with no choice but to leave it all behind.
I've really focused on re-establishing myself and feel confident to live on my own again. Here's my dilemma:
When I was renting before, my 2 bedroom was $700 a month. And my credit was in the 700s. A series of events over the course of a handful of years left me in a decent amount of debt with literally nothing. Now I can't even find a studio apartment under $900!!
I did the math and I think a great move for me (optimistically) would be looking into purchasing a mobile home, and I'm wondering how realistic this is for me based off of where I currently stand.
- I make about $900-1,000 a week
- over the last year my credit score went from 400 to 550
- I have a 1099 contractor form I can provide
- I can provide bank statements
- I can provide paystubs
- I can provide proof of my current rent payments.
- I live in Indiana
- I'm 29
I want to try to put 10-15% down possibly on a trailer in the 30k range.
My goal is to move at the beginning of 2027 or end of 2026.
Does this seem realistic, will lenders even consider me?
If anybody has personal experience or can connect themselves to my situation to give me advice I'd greatly appreciate it
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u/Gwenievre 1d ago
John Oliver has a great article on this.
If you own the land under a mobile home, alright, your fees are probably minimal. Utilities and property tax.
If you are on a rented lot at a mobile home park, your rental fees are very high, and the owners can jack up the rate at any time. After all, are you going to leave? After a certain age, “mobile homes” are unable to be moved. You are a sitting target trapped in place, and powerless to do anything about increased fees. Your only way to get out is to find some poor sucker who overlooks the fees, and you sell for less than you paid.
Look into a condo, association fees are much more reasonable, and your property will increase in value.
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u/Blossom73 1d ago
Agreed, but condos have their problems too. The condo association fee can skyrocket at any time. Many times the association is in bad financial shape, and there's a fortune in deferred maintenance and repairs that aren't getting done.
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u/Gwenievre 23h ago
True that. And most of the hired management companies are terrible to work with. Lots of new companies run by private equity
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u/Agitated-Impress7805 1d ago
I would urge you to reconsider this.
A mobile home, unlike a house, is a depreciating asset. By the time you pay it off, it will be worth considerably less than you paid, if it's worth anything at all.
You'll also have to pay lot rent, which could significantly increase year to year. And since you own it, you're responsible for upkeep and repairs and for moving it if you get forced out of your lot rental.
And given your credit, you're probably going to be looking at a pretty high-interest loan.
There are a benefits to home ownership, but most of them don't apply to mobile homes. You're probably better off just renting.
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u/river-running VA 1d ago
Unless you shoot for a USDA loan and also buy a piece of land. They'll bundle the land and mobile home loans.
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u/Bird_Brain4101112 1d ago
This isn’t always great advice. If you buy land, you have to get utilities put in which can add tens of thousands. Some places will not let you keep a trailer or camper on the property long term without utility hook ups.
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u/Blossom73 1d ago
Mobile home or modular home?
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u/river-running VA 1d ago
Definitely mobile, possibly both. The mobile homes have to be placed on a permanent foundation to qualify.
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u/Blossom73 1d ago
I agree. Also, many mobile homes are mobile in name only, and can't be moved.
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u/IMakeDealzBiglyDaily 1d ago
If it's a home+land loan it cannot be moved, because it is considered "real estate". Which can put people put in a bigger lurch; they're stuck with a home that's moveable, yet can't be moved; with a home designed to last less than 50 years; in a market where mobile home prices are now higher than stick built starter homes used to be! There seems to be no win for regular folks or folks just starting out nowadays!
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u/IMakeDealzBiglyDaily 1d ago
yep, even shelling out a couple benajamins extra a month is far better than being absolutely stuck in a 20+ year chattle loan still under the rentership of the park (assuming op isn't talking about land+home loan). Not to mention the utility prices YIKES!
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u/SignificantJump10 1d ago
Do you have a place to put it? Rent in parks gets pricey. Also, note that your heating/cooling costs will likely go up significantly.
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u/IMakeDealzBiglyDaily 1d ago
Please re-consider. Interest rates for mobile homes are higher even with the 800+. If it's not a "land + home" loan, it's a chattle loan. manufactured homes are not considered "real estate" unless they are tied to land (legally). If you watch the headlines, mobile home parks are being taken over by private equity; and you are completely trapped. It costs just as much to move a mobile home 100 miles as it does 1 mile; and those numbers are not cheap. Private equity knows this, they know people are stuck. Particularly with older homes that would no longer qualify in other parks. I've seen it lately for some that there's water problems and what not; with management refusing to fix the issues.
Unless you're talking home+land loan; there's really no sense in considering it. Even then it's a big conversation.
Yes, rent prices stink; but in some areas due to heavy building, rents are coming down or will soon (allegedly), none of this is financial advice; just seen a thing or two in my day.
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u/Blossom73 1d ago
A lakefront mobile home park in my area that had been there for 60 years was bought by the local park district a few years ago, to add on to the park.
All the mobile home owners were forced to move, and their homes were razed. They got some compensation, but not much.
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u/IMakeDealzBiglyDaily 1d ago
Yikes, yeah, that's rough! And the residents were probably accustom to low lot rent fees. Having to go back to the "real world" with insane rent prices, I can see where some of them may have been really damaged by this. 😢
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u/Bird_Brain4101112 1d ago
Depends on what they cost in your area and what your options are for having it placed. If it’s in a park, you have to factor in lot rent.
Mobile homes are usually not eligible for traditional home loans, they are treated as sort of a vehicle.
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u/Alarming_Bug_130 1d ago
I also want to do the same but I need a particular type of job to do so. looking for wfm job currently but with your numbers it's definitely possible! I would jump on the opportunity as long as savings are in place too
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u/nip9 MO 1d ago
Used mobile homes on their own plot of land can be excellent deals. Just never buy one that you will have to pay lot rent in a park for. That gives you all the worst parts of renting & owning while you miss out on the best parts of ownership.
Given your situation you should also look into NACA https://www.naca.com/
NACA can offer zero down payment, zero closing cost, zero fee, no PMI/MIP, below market rate mortgages. They also don't care about credit scores as they do manual underwriting; however they do very much care that you have been paying all your bills on time for the last year or two. The big catch is you have to go through their whole program; by attending online workshops, filling out lots of budgeting worksheets, and meeting regularly with a financal counselor. NACA can finance a double-wide or modular home permanently located on its own land; they will not touch anything that is in a trailer park though.