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Trailer house. $238,000

That's hard to imagine. One could buy a nice regular house in my area for that. The median value of houses with mortgages was about $100,000 in 2013.

Reply to
Dean Hoffman
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replying to Dean Hoffman, Iggy wrote: Agreed! Go figure, Warren Buffet enters the industry and prices "magically" skyrocket...again. Nothing about the both very easy hurricane resistance nor highest energy efficiency. Just wolves upon the prey...again.

Reply to
Iggy

I don't get it either but if they were dropping in on a water front lot that only accepts modular/mobile homes it might make a tiny bit of sense. It is pretty much impossible to get mobile home zoning in a place that was not grand fathered in here tho. I agree you could build a pretty nice concrete block and stucco house here for $200k. I admit my Cavco stock has been doing very well.

Reply to
gfretwell

Not really. Buffet's company reacted to the pre-hurricane market where buyers wanted more upscale mobile homes. It is not a matter of price gouging a giving people what they want.

There is an opportunity here to supply a basic, modest priced home. Rather than gripe about what others chose to make, jump in and start making the cheaper ones.

If you crash your Chevy, don't blame the Caddy dealer because you cannot afford what he sells. You won't find a $5000 Chevy any more either.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Since this story seemed to be centered around Naples/Ft Myers Fla it should also be noted that these trailers need to be 160 MPH wind code and that is up to 80 MPH more than your average site built home up north. Bear in mind wind pressure not a linear scale. That is the reason why so many get blown up. A trailer set in the 70s only needed to be 80MPH rated if it was rated at all. It also explains why northern houses sustain so much damage in minimal storms that we would not even put up the shutters for.

Reply to
gfretwell

There is the supply and demand disruption from the hurricane.

Mobile homes are not sold like regular houses and loan periods are more like those for a car. Plus if you do not own the property there is a rental fee.

Mobile homes are the first thing to go in a hurricane or tornado and buying them in areas prone to that is a mistake.

Premanufactured homes are different as they are put together in a factory but are a permanent residence put on your property with a regular mortgage.

Reply to
Frank

replying to Ed Pawlowski, Iggy wrote: Yep, just like he ruined Acme, Benjamin Moore, Insurance, Electricity Rates, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom and Duracell. Up the price "claim" new and improved and yet only looks were new and nothing was improved and only worsened. He preys upon those that, unbelievably, still believe in "you get what you pay for". The King of Cheap.

Reply to
Iggy

replying to Frank, Iggy wrote: Yep, I know. But, we are talking about cookie cutter on every level. To not ramp-up your cheapest models that are far quicker to produce to meet the ACTUAL demand and only offer your most expensive models is pretty sinister. Clearly putting profits before people and especially their best interests. He's setting up another slew of Underwater Mortgages and the next generation of homeless.

Reply to
Iggy

That's interesting to know. Thought it was maybe just houses there.

Reply to
Frank

Nope, even your garden shed has to be built to wind code. We don't see many of those sheet metal things they sell up north and if they are here, they were put in without a permit (illegally). There is no exception for size, square footage, portable or any of the other dodges you get in other places. It is more about them becoming flying debris than the loss of the shed itself. "Portable" means you can put it in your garage before a storm, not that you could pick it up and move it with a crane. Even things like HVAC condensers require tie downs and these days they have to be above FEMA elevation so you see them up on concrete block pads at finish floor height.

Reply to
gfretwell

Owning a home is not a "right" and many of these people should be tennants, not home-owners. Then again, even RENTALS are out of reach of many i n "america's poorest states" - which just happen to also be the hurricane targets.

Reply to
Clare Snyder

There's a trailer park (quite a nice one, thus far) located just west of our property. We've always imagined trailers rolling across our lawn like tumbleweeds while we sit snug in our concrete block house. Of course, our roof would present some difficulties for those downwind of us, since I think it's held on by gravity. Still, in 70 years it hasn't gone anywhere. Knock wood.

Cindy Hamilton

Reply to
Cindy Hamilton

Just lay old tires on top of it to hold it down...

Reply to
rbowman

Snerk. Good one.

Cindy Hamilton

Reply to
Cindy Hamilton

I don't think it is too hard with new construction to tie down roof to walls. Gravity is depended to keep the roof on but wind might overcome it and a few extra braces, whatever, make sure gravity is not overcome.

Reply to
Frank

Most northern homes are pretty much held together by gravity. The trusses are toe nailed into the top plate and that is end nailed into the studs. If it is sitting on block there may not even be nuts on the "J" bolts that are just mortared into one cell of the block holding the top plate down. In Florida the roof is continuously connected to the foundation by simpson connectors and block walls are reinforced with about 20% of the cells poured solid and #5 rebar continuous from the foundation to the 16" poured tie beam on top. Then embedded straps go over the trusses.

They have required tie downs on trailers since the 60s and they have to meet the same wind code as a site built home. There was a time around 2000 that nobody in the US built a Florida compliant trailer. It was a problem because you can't get a permit to move an existing, non-compliant trailer and install it somewhere else.

Reply to
gfretwell

They actually do that in some places but if you have a real hurricane, those tires will be going for a ride along with the roof.

Reply to
gfretwell

More than a few.

Reply to
gfretwell

I think one of the issues here is inflation and expectations. That quite nice trailer park may be loaded with $200,000+ units that would be quite nice. If they were lost, insurance would cover most of the replacement cost.

The trailer park down the road is much older. The owners bought new units back then for $40,000, maybe less. Can you get insurance for replacement value? If destroyed 40 years later, they cannot get that $40,000 trailer. OMG, what do I do? I'll blame Warren Buffet.

I bought my first house in 1966 and paid $10,600. If it was destroyed, I'd have to pay considerably more to find anything at all above a storage shed. I sold that house for triple what I paid but still spent double that for my present house that has quadrupled in value.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Insurance usually comes with the top limit they will pay, replacement or not and you pay a premium based on that. They also manage risk based on inspections and mitigation. Down here you get reduced premiums if you bring your old house up to current "uplift" and other wind codes. Trailers are different breed of cat and you might not be able to get "storm" insurance on an older unit. You would only have fire, theft and liability homeowners. In fact that is all I carry on my house. Storm and Flood are just too expensive to make sense.

Reply to
gfretwell

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