update and more info

[caleb]

Okay heres all the details. Its a 2006 Mobile home on 6.5 acres with a 30x12 horse barn. There are nice trees on the property. She was asking 165 and we offered 160 because that was what we would have liked to get it for. She wouldnt budge from 165 at the time so we said okay thinking that the appraisal would be okay. It appraised at 155 in part because its a trailer, they valued the land at 58000. The bank wont loan us more than 90% of 150 which is to cover their tail I guess. We have about 15% down money. If we buy for 165 there goes our downpayment. This lady wouldnt take our offer of 160 even after the appraisal. So then today I have found 10 acres 10 more miles out of town(thats a plus to me) for 58000 and palm harbor has discounted a trailer that has 400 more sq ft to 85,000. So i can get a new house, more land, and less taxes for close to the same.. What would you do? Like yall have said its been on the market this long Im not the only one that wont pay her price. I screwed up and ordered the appraisals and the inpections out of pure haste and I learned from it. I should have just got an appraisal and gone from there. This has been a very good life lesson. Another note is that Im aware that a trailer depreciates but I plan on moving the trailer to the big parcel of land that I plan to purchase in about 10 years and using it as an office and guest house. Therefore Im not worried about it losing value because I wont be resaling it. Thanks for all the good words and sorry I didnt write all this last night. Caleb

 

[glennster]

i would go for the second parcel, walk away from the other one. re the trailer, if its livable, rent it out. a mobile home will probably bring 300 to 400 a month rent in.

 

[noncompos]

I don't know anything about your area, how much prices ran up the last few years, and how much they're likely to run back down, if things don't pick up pretty fast...
While they're not making any more land, they are bringing more and more foodstuffs in from cheaper producing places outside the US...
For a gloomy forecast see Lawrence Yun's tables and comments (he's with the Nat'l Assoc of Realtors, and he's been very optimistic--as he would be,usually, that's what he's paid for--punch in "housing starts" and scroll down to realtor.org); granted, he's talking about housing starts, and it's not directly applicable to farmland, but if housing really crashes, it'll pull a lot down with it.
For God's sake, do a lot of research, both about your local area as well as nationally, and if you decide to buy do it on the basis of "it seemed like a good idea at the time"...if you do well, wonderful;, if you turn out upside down, you'll have lots of good company. Best wishes, and Good luck.

 

[kyhayman]

I'd take the more land one.

 

[Mathias NY]

It is really hard to add land onto a property. Sounds like the second place is the way to go.

Try to think of the costs on the first place as education...

 

[WalJohn]

Go with number 2. We have a Palm Harbor modular home, and could not be happier with it.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Looks to me like you are doing your homework just fine. You will not always win at every transaction so don't beat yourself up over the appraisal cost on the first property. On the mobil home listen to the furnace before buying as they can be real noisy especially if placed by the living room or bedrooms. Downright deafening in some cases and very annoying because the blower will be working both Summer and Winter for heating and cooling. I'm surprised the bank will lend you that much money on the mobil home. Check to make sure you can write off the interest on the mobil home as they are not always considered a permanent dwelling My son found out the hard way that his mobil home payment interest was not deductable. If it had been a modular it would have been deductable since that is considered a permanent structure. Good luck and keep checking and asking questions.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Don't get hung up on the $1200. It is part of the due diligence on your part to establish its value to you.

Whats the barn worth, both in dollars and usefulness to you?

All things being equal, the #2 appears better. What will land improvements be worth, well, septic, foundation, electric, etc? How deep is your water table and will the soil perc for a septic and leach field.

Are you dealing with a sales agent? That person should be explaining the time value of money.

Time is on your side, explain to #1 you will be by next month with the deal worth $500 less.

I passed on a property, had made an offer less than they were lookin for, seller came back 2 months later with my original offer, which I refused. Found a nicer deal, that made me alot more money.

Second rule is not every deal has to go through.

First rule, don't fall in love with a deal; if you
gotta have it, you will pay too much.

 

[NBAllen]

Yes, the second sounds like a better choice.

A couple other things to think on -
A little over two years ago, I started a new job 30 miles from my house - the first 6 months, I didn't mind the 45 - 60 minute drive. Now, I am not so cheerful about the drive (if you catch my drift).

The first option might be better, depending on your requirements and your cash-flow. Is the 10A bare ground? If so, what are your basic facility requirements? Can you pencil-out the second place and still (with cushion) add the infrastructure that you want / need?

Like I said, food for thought.

Nathaniel

 

[Anonymous-0]

Don't overlook the expense of septic, power, and water if the 10 acres lacks them. I'm always cautious about restrictions on small parcels as well.

 

[steveormary]

How many of ya'll drive 30 mi or more one way to work and try to farm some yet? I took a job where it was a good hour from my front door to time clock plus trying to farm. Woke up on the wrongside of the road while going to work one morning. Turned the pickup around,went back home and quit that job right then and there.

steveormary

 

[1206SWMO]

What part of the country do you live in and what size mobile home are we talking?Its amazing how much the price of land and houses varies from state to state.

In my area 10 acres located 10 miles from town can be bought for $20,000,maybe less.A new 32' by 80' mobile home can be bought for $60,000.

The place you descibed above wouldnt even come close to bringing $100,000 here.Low wages tend to hold prices down.

Whats odd is the price of bare land here is rising but the price of homes with little or no acreage is falling.

A neighbor has 40 acres for sale 5 miles from town with a 1970's 3 bedroom frame home,cattle shed,big pond,creek thru property,open pasture and timber,etc for sale for $139,000 and has sat on it for a long time.

 

[super99]

Why are you looking at a trailer house( manufactured house)? Check into modular homes, price is comparable and you get so much more. 5 years ago, we bought a Design Homes Modular home that was on the display lot that was marked down $7000. 24x36 setting on our foundation for under $42,000. I'd recommend checking around some more before buying a trailer. Chris

 

[MarkB_MI]

First thing is this: You've already spent the 1200 bucks. It doesn't matter whether you walk away from deal #1 or not, that money is already down the drain. So do what makes sense right now and don't worry about the money you've already spent.

Second thing: time is PROBABLY on your side. Unless the real estate market is really hot in your area, you can afford to be choosey. You may find something better than either of your choices.

Regarding the appraisal on the first place: mobile homes and outbuildings take a beating in an appraisal. No doubt the seller of #1 owes more against the trailer than it is actually worth. Her hard-nosed position may be because she needs $165K to pay everthing off. It may be that sooner or later she will end up walking away from the property. But until it comes to that, she probably won't budge on the price.

Is the building on #1 really what you want? 30 x 12 is a pretty small building. If you are willing to do the work yourself, you can put up a nice 30 x 40 post frame building for under ten grand.

One last thing: If you are out west, water rights may be the single most important consideration if you are keeping horses.

Good luck.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Where I live, that house by itself, sitting on an acre lot would bring $150,000.00.

 

[skyharborcowboy]

All I can say is MAKE SURE YOU KNOW what your zoning, covenants and laws are in either place before you buy. Second, make sure to introduce yourself to any potential neighbors before you buy ANY place! Make sure you understand the taxing and permitting laws of any community you are moving to! Having any out of whack people that dont think like you do will surely drive you nuts faster then you can think!

Joe

PS. $1200 is nothing in the long run to lose right now if the deal isnt right in your gut! The way I look at things like that is, how many hours did you work to avoid how many hours of heartache?

 

[paul]

Couldn't do much of anything like that here - trailers are very rare to be allowed even for an office any more. Wonder if the zoning catches up with you in 10 years.

But - sounds like you have a plan for your location, & sounds like it will be a fun beginning. Enjoy.

--->Paul