New to this forum and new to mobile homes

[Bill 72]

Hello It is my hope to garner some tips from more seasoned folk as I enter this new experience..My wife and I are retired and planning to rent an older single width 3 bedroom mobile home in October. It is located on a dead end street in a small community of mixed housing in eastern Ontario.
The owners are long time residents of the village and rent several properties and are well respected in the community as our we. The previous tenants were heavy smokers and left the place in shabby condition...The owner is a general contractor and he is having the place painted from top to bottom ...he has torn out all the carpeting and replacing it with "floating floors" throughout and is replacing the commode and has repaired and repainted the 8x18 ft deck.
Some time ago he changed the Coleman oil furnace over to electric baseboard heaters and I have asked that he remove said furnace to free up some storage space.

The unit seems high on it's foundation like about 4 feet off the ground..there is no visible damage to the current siding .. no evidence of a leaky roof..so...how well insulated are these old units?
I would really appreciate any advice that might be useful for a first time user ...thank you for reading and I look forward to your thoughts on this endeavor ...Bill

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. Yanita has posted tips for buying a used home at the top of the menu in this section of the forum. Other than that take your time, look around here this is a huge site with lots of information. As always feel free to ask questions.
Greg

[Groo]

electric heat will cost you a fortune in a cold climate.

I lived in a fairly new prefab house with electric baseboard for a year while going to Michigan Tech. (I could pick up a Thunder Bay station in my Jeep once I drove up to the highground to give you a general idea on the location)

we kept the house so cold, my Mom wanted to wait till we went out to eat to use the bathroom when she visited in the winter.
it still cost us a gawdawfull fortune to heat. more than twice what my next rental, and old mining house (I think with no insulation) with an oil furnace, ran to heat.

speaking of heat, make sure those nice tall side skirts are insulated and intact, and of course door and window seals. not much you can do to check attic and wall insulation. when you say older, how much older? look at wall thickness. if the exterior walls are 2x4s or even 2x3s, that doesn't leave much room for insulation. another posability; much of what little insulation that ever was there could have settled too, leaving the top foot or so uninsulated.

I'm guessing the added height was to make room for the oil tank underneith.

Honestly, It doesn't sound like a home I'd pick for a pair of retirees. the needless climbing of stairs and the high heating bills would make me suggest something else.

[JD]

Hi Bill and welcome to the forum. Sounds like you will be getting a nice home.

JD