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My wife and I are thinking about downsizing and purchasing a manufactured home. We live in Arizona and have looked at an area where MF homes are available. They are all ground set on concrete with a crawl space underneath. They range in age from the mid 70’s to the 80’s and 90’s but primarily in the mid 70’s. Never having owned a MF home before what are some of the things that we should be looking for before purchasing, the good and bad. We would like to purchase a home that we can go into and renovate with a new kitchen, bathroom(s), wood flooring, drywall, etc. Some homes have already been dry walled, some have stucco outside finishes and some have had addition(s) added on. Any and all help would be helpful.

First thing that comes to mind is water damage, particularly in the floors. Double pane windows. Being in Arizona, you will appreciate a light colored roof and exterior to reduce heat gain, since there is no attic to handle the heat. Most newer homes, maybe mid '80's up, will have 2x6 exterior walls for sturdiness and insulation. The older homes will have 2x4 or 2x3 for the outside walls.

Try to get at least a house built after 1980 before them some electrical systems may be aluminum instead of copper. I think the year it stopped was 76 but I'm not sure.

Based on my personal experience, renovating mobiles, I would advise you buy the newest one you can afford and preferably one that has not had any additions added on.
My experience dealing with older mobiles with additions is that the majority of owners and contractors working on mobiles in the 70s and 80s did not follow building codes, did not understand the basics of construction and believed if it kept out the rain it was good enough.

I hate to say it but too many mobile home owners back in the day lacked basic construction skills, did not respect building codes refusing to get building permits (still common today) and generally had lower standards for what is right.
If you buy a home with a older addition expect to entirely rebuild or tear down and redo.

Hi & welcome.

Here is a link for a list that was put together by Yanita.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=863

It covers most of the things that you need to look for when buying a home. The age range that you are talking about are what is know as pre HUD. HUD got involved with the mobile home industry in the mid 80's making minimum building standards a law. Many homes built met the standards, some far exceeded them. There were many manufacturers, even some that were building far above the standards that closed their doors simply because of the paperwork involved.

As far as buying a home that has been renovated, pay very careful attention to details. It is almost impossible to put an addition on a mobile and not have it leak. BOTH halves must be on a foundation of some type to keep them from moving. Here in the north we have frost heave to contend with, when the ground freezes it will push the two apart if they are not on below the frostline footers.

As I said the list from Yanita contains all of the major things to look for, it was put together over a few weeks with input from the members here so it is a VERY thorough list.

Greg

Thanks everyone for your thoughs. Greg I did read through the list you had a link to and was helpful. I'll have to check and see when the HUD standards were effective. Not looking to purchase something that is going to be a problem child and a money pit. Living the Phoenix, AZ area freezing is least of my problems its the 100+ heat that is.
We are also looking a some other areas where the MF homes are newer (2000 and up) where you own the home but lease the lot. I'll ask questions about this in a later post.

The newer you can afford the better. They will also have higher ceilings. It's best to try and find one from a family or person who needs to get rid of it. It it's inherited the new owners will have to continue to pay the lot rent and in a year will lose thousands of dollars. Buying from the mobile home park may be easier and you can get great incentives too. Sometimes people try to sell a place that does not in good standing with the MH park. Never give anyone a cash deposit up front. You have to be approved by the MH park before you can buy anyway unless you can find something on private land. Some of the newer ones are built to withstand some hurricanes. Some of the older ones have been around for over 40 years and are still there.