Good or Bad: The Truth About Investing in Mobile Homes in Texas

Texas is a great place to plant roots.  It's doesn't matter if you're looking at Amarillo, Texas or Laredo, Texas, Dallas, Austin or in between.  It's a great place to live.

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Living in Texas, most people prefer to own their property rather than rent. Renting can be tiring, and doesn't provide any investment towards your future. However, buying a home is a significant investment, and currently, homes in Texas are particularly expensive. Furthermore, high interest rates are causing a hindrance for many people who are interested in purchasing a home.

What About a Mobile Home?

• Mobile homes are manufactured.  Mobile homes and manufactured homes are essentially the same, if it was built before 1976 it was called a mobile home, after 1976 it was called a manufactured home.  For the purpose of this article we'll call it a mobile home.
• Similar to a car, mobile homes can depreciate over time.  There is a blue book for mobile homes.  The worth of your mobile home will be less valuable over the years, unlike a house that becomes more valuable over the years.  However, if you also own the land the mobile home is placed on, the value of the land can increase thus the mobile home will appreciate as well.
• Although these homes are mobile, meaning they can be moved, they aren't like an RV, you can't hook them up to a hitch and drive away.  It's quite costly to move a mobile home.  Much like a house, a mobile home needs some form of foundation.
• The maintenance of a mobile home is quite extensive and expensive.
• Mobile homes are generally not allowed within city limits, and if they are, they must be in a designated mobile home zone. As a result, most mobile home residents live outside of the city limits.
• If you are renting the land in which your mobile home sits, you will pay personal property taxes.  If you own the land, then you will have to pay real property taxes.
• Texas is a place where many cities experience tornadoes, and others face hurricanes.  Most of the time manufactured homes don't survive either.

On a more positive note, the Federal Government has expanded loan limits for mobile homes, this will give individuals a chance to acquire more affordable housing.

When it comes to mobile homes, you have to weigh the pros and cons, however, if you want to own a home and can afford a mobile home, then this may be the choice for you.  If you purchase the land your mobile home will sit on you may choose to build a house on that land in the future.