When a price point for real estate is fairly low, choices in what to purchase may become fairly limited.  For the last two days, I’ve been touring homes with buyers who are relocating from out-of-state and we are very careful to keep a low price point in mind so that monthly payments will remain low.

This has resulted in two distinct kinds of houses:  the handyman special or mobile homes.

The plus of the handyman special is they have been site-built so living in tornado alley, they should be a little safer.  In addition, they’ll likely be sturdier in the long-term when faced with weathering the elements.  The downside?  Oh my… the bad smells, the foundation issues, close neighbors, overgrown yards (one where we actually saw a mouse run from one side of the yard, across the driveway, and into the tall grass on the other side of the yard), the holes in the wall, the additions clearly built without permits and codes inspectors, the missing appliances, adn the list goes on.

The plus of mobile homes?  They have in general been in excellent condition.  They typically come with several acres of land.  And they’re usually thousands of dollars less than the site-built homes.  The downside is even with a permanent foundation, a strong wind could tear them apart.  Insurance will be higher – especially because the acreage is located outside of city limits, therefore farther from fire stations.

What would you pick?  Me?  I’d be all about the mobile homes with lots of land and trees for added privacy.