Park Model Homes: is it worth it?

[evanm]

Hello all,

New here. I find myself having moved back to Austin, TX to help my mother after my father passed away. We have 2 acres of family land, where we operate our business, and I don't want an insane mortgage. The average home cost here is $250,000. Rent is also sitting right around $1200-1800 for even a one bedroom apartment. So needless to say it is ridiculous.

So here in lay the question. I want to put a park model on our unrestricted business property (I can't put anything permanent). My worry is if it will be worth what I owe after 3-5 years of living in it. The purchase price will be between 45-55,000 dollars. I can't seem to find any comps online for Park Models (built by Athens in Athens, TX) that are used.

I don't want to be upside down in it after 3-5 years but I just can't find anything to put my mind at ease. What do ya'll think? I would not own the land at the time of sale, and it would be only the house for sale.

This park model would be the trailer pull, not an RV. It would be lived in full time, and I can do any maintanence it requires. What do ya'll think?

[Spdracr39]

What will you do for water, electric, and sewer? Hookups could cost anywhere from 2,000 - 25,000 depending on how far the lines have to be run. Also "not being upside down" is a factor of how much down payment you are making and how long of a finance term.
Most of the time the concept of saving money by living in an RV is flawed because it isn't really the case. The average cost of a home in the area is not relevant to what livable homes sell for. An RV is going to cost you as much or more per square foot as a house and will have higher maintenance costs associated with it. That doesn't even consider depreciation vs investment.

[fagnaml]

evanm -


Welcome to the forum! There are many good forum members will to provide help anytime! An Athens "Park Model" is a very nice looking "tiny house" on wheels that I wouldn't classify as an RV --> https://www.athensparkmodelrvs.com/

I'd think a Anthens "Park Model" given it's construction and amenities would be more like a mobile home that depreciates at 5-10% per year --> https://www.mhomebuyers.com/how-much...ate-each-year/

As spdracr39 commented, your finances need to consider the cost of providing utilities for a park model i.e. electrical power, water, sewer, etc. Additionally, it would be good to learn the "re-sale" market for an Athens type park model. I personally have not heard nor read of anyone trying to sell a pre-owned Athens type park model.

[evanm]

I plan to put 10% down, and we have a well and septic on the property that has already been approved by the county for the addition of the tiny home.

That is my issue I can’t find any comps what so ever for the home. I also am not sure if anyone would want to buy just the house. The finance term would be 15 years at 6.25%

[slowmachine]

You might consider leasing a trailer or container, similar to those found on construction sites, etc. The utility costs are probably the same, and it should be a fixed cost.

[Hugmongous]

You might look for a used trailer/park model. I found one at Copart I bought.. a 2018 and got it for app. 30% cost of new. I put about $500 into it and it is darn nice. List on it was around $25k, and I got it for $6000.

[Podivin]

At 10% down on a 15 year loan it's a nearly sure thing that you'll be upside down at the end of 3 to 5 years. These things tend to depreciate fairly fast. It's not like a house and land where you can count on it holding it's value.
Buy used, get one that's already taken the first big hit on depreciation, that'll give you a better chance of breaking even at the end. Not a good chance, just a better one.

[tuffr2]

For 45k I would look at a single wide mobile home (like in a trailer park). You can get a very nice single wide with finished drywall for 50k. I think you can even get a mortgage at a cheap(ish) rate now.

A mobile home can be moved when needed but needs a special truck and permits as you would want a 16' wide model.

This is a lot of bang for the buck I think.

You can go crazy and get a double wide for not much more $$$ if you want to live in a more conventional dwelling. The footprint of the dwelling could be 32' by 52' for example.

In my mind, a single wide trailer is better than a park model, especially if dry walled. And a double wide is even better.

[Skiddy]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

For 45k I would look at a single wide mobile home (like in a trailer park). You can get a very nice single wide with finished drywall for 50k. I think you can even get a mortgage at a cheap(ish) rate now.

A mobile home can be moved when needed but needs a special truck and permits as you would want a 16' wide model.

This is a lot of bang for the buck I think.

You can go crazy and get a double wide for not much more $$$ if you want to live in a more conventional dwelling. The footprint of the dwelling could be 32' by 52' for example.

In my mind, a single wide trailer is better than a park model, especially if dry walled. And a double wide is even better.

I would do this, my first starter home was one. however I did own the land. bought it used and needed new plumbing. bought it for 2500.00 and another 1000 in plumbing done by me. got out of it plus a little more when I sold it

[Desert Flyer]

Another ‘wild hair’ idea would be to purchase a used mobile modular office, like you would find on a construction site. $30k.